A video marking the 50th anniversary of the Church of Ireland Bishops’ Appeal for World Aid and Development was presented at our General Synod in Belfast, last May. It includes contributions from those involved in organising the work of Bishops’ Appeal and agencies which have benefitted from its support over many years.
Given the recent and continuing disaster following the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, this might be an appropriate time to reflect again on the valuable work done through Bishops’ Appeal.
St Augustine’s Church in Londonderry was the venue, on Sunday afternoon (12th February 2023), for a Remembrance Service with a difference – one held to honour those who had been associated with renal services in any way.
The poignant service was organised by the Altnagelvin Renal Support Group and led by the Rector of St Augustine’s Church, Rev Nigel Cairns, who is the Church of Ireland Chaplain to Altnagelvin Hospital. The Rector was assisted by the Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Rt Rev Andrew Forster; the Vicar General of the Diocese of Derry, Fr Michael Canny (representing the Bishop of Derry, Dr Donal McKeown); and Diocesan Reader Mr Sean McClafferty. Among those in the congregation was consultant surgeon, Mr Zola Mzimba, who is a Deputy Lieutenant for the Borough of County Londonderry, and who was accompanied by his daughter, Niamh.
The service sought to remember all those whose lives (or whose family’s lives) had been involved in some way with renal services, including those who had died because of renal failure; those who had died for some other reason and had donated organs, including kidneys, to give someone else a chance of a better life; and living donors who had donated a kidney to give someone else a chance of a better life.
The guest speaker at the service was transplant consultant, Dr Aisling Courtney, from Belfast City Hospital. Dr Courtney talked about the impact that transplantation had made in the lives of those who had received organs. “Kidney transplantation, as well as transplanting other organs, makes such a massive difference to people that really it’s hard to put into words. There are those of you here who have experienced that for yourselves in terms of the transformation of your health with transplantation.”
Dr Courtney said that every time she and her team “plumbed” a kidney in, they were conscious that it was a kidney that had come from somebody else as a gift. “Every time we give the gift of life to someone in transplantation – unless it’s given from a living donor kidney – it’s the tragedy of loss, and some of you here will feel that, and feel that keenly.”
The consultant wove a number of biblical references into her address, reminding the congregation of a verse in Revelations which talks about where we can go to with no more sorrow and no more death.
“I don‘t know if you’re aware,” Dr Courtney said, “but the Bible talks about transplantation, as well. There’s a verse in Ezekiel – Ezekiel 36:26 – where God says, ‘I will give you a new heart’. I will take out of you your stony heart, your hard heart, your diseased heart. And we all have bits in our heart that we hope nobody else knows, parts that we’re not proud of, parts that are sinful. But God says, you know what, I can do a heart transplant on you; I can take away the heart that’s diseased and I can give you a new heart.”
Music for this afternoon’s service was provided by the Altnagelvin Hospital Choir, under the direction of Dr Derek Collins, who accompanied the choir on the organ. Afterwards, the congregation enjoyed refreshments in the adjoining parish hall.
A minister’s young son provoked joyful laughter in Clooney Methodist Church when he interrupted an evening service arranged by churches in Londonderry’s Waterside area to mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. It was part of a joint initiative, on Wednesday 25th January 2023, which drew around 80 people who walked to each other’s churches, sang hymns and prayed together to celebrate the occasion.
The ecumenical event began in All Saints, Clooney, where participants were welcomed by the Rev Andrea Cotter. Rev Cotter told those present that the theme for this year’s week was ‘Be-Longing: praying for unity amidst injustice’. Globally, the week was focusing on the injustice of racism, but here the service was being adapted to take account of issues such sectarianism and prejudice, too.
The congregation sang a number of hymns at All Saints before making their way the very short distance to Clooney Methodist Church, virtually next door.
There was laughter when the youngest member of the congregation rushed to the front of the church to join his father – the minister, Rev Peter Morris! Rev Morris performed a minor miracle of sorts by continuing to lead worship while keeping a gentle, restraining hand on his son. The youngster discovered that thumping his father’s microphone could make a funny noise in the church’s sound system – much to the congregation’s amusement and his father’s embarassment.
There was less drama during the third and final part of the joint service, which took place in St Columb’s Church. The 80 participants walked up Chapel Road to the church. Worship there was led by the Parish Priest, Fr Michael Canny, who invited those present to challenge racism and sectarianism wherever they encountered it.
Afterwards, the dozens of walkers enjoyed refreshments together in the parish hall beside St Columb’s Church before going their separate ways.
Around 40 members of the four main Churches in Derry-Londonderry, including the city’s two bishops, took part in a walk through the city centre on the evening of Monday 23rd January, 2023 to mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
The participants had gathered outside First Londonderry Presbyterian Church, inside the City Walls, for the start of this year’s walk, which had as its theme, ‘Be-Longing: Praying for Unity amidst Injustice’.
The Rector of St Augustine’s, Rev Nigel Cairns, explained that they would be walking “as one people, united under God”, and stopping at various points for a bible reading, a commentary, a reflection and a prayer.
Before they set off, Bishop Andrew Forster led the first of these, which included a commentary on institutional injustice. “Many have experienced pain, rejection, abuse and exclusion within the Church,” Bishop Andrew said. “A Christian expression of unity must include everyone, and offer healing and justice.”
The itinerary for the prayer walk took the participants along Butcher Street, where they stopped opposite the Maldron Hotel for a reflection by First Derry’s minister, Rev Colin Jones, on racial injustice, which pointed out that “All of humanity, people of all ethnicities, cultures and languages together represent the image of the Creator”. The group then moved down Shipquay Street, past the Guildhall, and along Foyle Street, where Fr Gerard Mongan, from Long Tower Chapel, delivered a reflection on injustice in society.
As the walkers continued on their way – via John Street, and a reflection from Catherine Hume, the Society Steward at Carlisle Road Methodist Church, on societal injustice – they passed Maurice Harron’s symbolic ‘Hands Across the Divide’ statue, before turning up Carlisle Road. There, outside the Kinship Care premises, the Archdeacon of Derry, Ven. Robert Miller, reflected on economic and community injustice. “We are blessed, and we are to bless others,” he said. We are loved and we are to love others. We are to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God together.”
The final reflection – ‘God calls us to walk humbly for justice’ – was led by Bishop Donal McKeown, outside Carlisle Road Methodist Church. “God calls us to honour the sacredness and dignity of each member of God’s family,” Bishop McKeown said. “Caring for, serving and loving others reveals not who they are, but who we are.”
Monday’s walk was organised jointly by Mrs Joan Doherty (Methodist Church), Rev Colin Jones, Fr Gerard Mongan and Rev Nigel Cairns. The event concluded with fellowship and light refreshments in the Methodist Church building.
The Irish Council of Churches – one of the world’s oldest national representative church bodies – celebrated its centenary with a special service of worship in Belfast Cathedral this afternoon (22nd January). The service, with the theme ‘Celebrating our Reconciling Vision of Hope’ took place on the eve of the Council’s first meeting 100 years tomorrow (23rd January 1923) at the height of the Civil War in Ireland.
Present were representatives from 16 all–Ireland member denominations, including the Most Rev Eamon Martin, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, and the Rev Dr Harold Good, former President of the Methodist Church, who both delivered an address. The service was led by the Dean of Belfast, the Very Rev Stephen Forde. The IICM is co–chaired by the President of the ICC – currently the Rt Rev Andrew Forster – and a representative of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, currently the Most Rev Brendan Leahy, Bishop of Limerick, who also took part in the service.
The service also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Talks, which led to the establishment of the Irish Inter–Church Meeting. In 1973, in the midst of The Troubles, the Council began ground–breaking historic talks in Hotel in County Louth with senior members of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland. Over the course of time, these became formalised as the Irish Inter–Church Meeting (IICM), the means by which the ICC continues to engage and collaborate with the Catholic Church.
Reflecting on this point in history, Archbishop Martin said, “Peace, reconciliation and forgiveness on this island will only be progressed by bringing to light the truths that remain hidden and festering about our troubled past, and by engaging in respectful conversations across our communities about what we mean by a shared future.
“It may seem ambitious, but might we in the Churches offer to help develop an agreed truth recovery process to address the legacy of pain and mistrust that continues to hang over us? And might our Churches also work together to create spaces for dialogue at parish, congregation and community level so that all voices can be fully heard about the kind of society and values we want for our children and grandchildren?”
The Archbishop continued by saying that it was a credit to the pioneers of Ballymascanlon that the congregation in the Cathedral “could gather today as true friends in Christ, and much closer companions on the Way, as brothers and sisters who can share each other’s joys and burdens and be open and honest about our successes and our vulnerabilities.”
Dr Good spoke of the Christian Churches bringing humility and hope to realising a vision of reconciliation. He said, “Let us not under–estimate the impact of the words of the late Queen Elizabeth during her historic visit to Dublin, when in humility she spoke of things which could have been done differently, or not at all. Just imagine if following this service, each of us was resolved to acknowledge the hurt which collectively – if not individually – we have inflicted upon each other and for which we now seek to be reconciled.”
Dr Good added, “Hope looks at the world as it is and responds with a determination to change it. The shared hope of which we speak is rooted in the unshakeable conviction that if we say and do and be the people that we are called to be, God will not be found wanting.” During his address he also referred to the forthcoming 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement and 60th anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech and noted that “at the centre of our shared faith is the unshakable belief in Resurrection. And, as the Easter people, it is to us that God has entrusted this Gospel of Hope.”
Members of the public joined representatives from the Irish Council of Churches and Irish Inter–Church Meeting at the service along with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the Rt Hon Chris Heaton–Harris MP; the Irish Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Simon Coveney TD; and the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Christina Black.
Speaking after the service Bishop Andrew Forster, as President of the ICC, said, “I would like to thank everyone who took the time to come to St Anne’s today to worship God together and share with us this significant milestone in inter–church relations on this island, especially Archbishop Eamon and Dr Good for their addresses. In eternity, 100 years is but a blink of an eye, not even that, but in the context of our human story a century is a significant moment.”
Bishop Leahy, the IICM’s Co–Chair, added, “I think those who attended each of these historic events 50 and 100 years ago would want us today to be grateful that after all that has happened on this Ireland over the past century we were able to join together to worship God, thanking Him as we continue to pray for the unity that is Christ’s gift to the Church, and for a servant heart. In humility, may we serve and love one another in and across communities and in doing so work for the common good.”
A new Rector has been appointed to the Inver Group of Parishes in south west Donegal. She is Rev Susan Elliott, a South African national, who lives with her husband, Don – a lay preacher – in Haenertsburg, in South Africa’s northernmost province, Limpopo.
Rev Elliott was born in Durban and trained as a teacher, before taking up employment first in the fashion industry as a buyer, then as an interior designer. She ran a retail and design business for 26 years. Her career took her to Johannesburg where she met Don, and the couple married in 1998.
While attending her local Anglican Church, Susan was asked by its Rector to take communion to the sick and the elderly. “This was the start of the journey to ordination and full-time ministry,” she says, “although I didn’t realise that at the time.”
Susan underwent a “gruelling” vocational training programme, before being accepted for ordination training. She was ordained in 2018 and is currently serving at St. David’s Church, in the small village of Modjadjiskloof. “The church numbers had dropped to four, as people left the area or became disillusioned with the lack of regular ministry. Don and I were both lay ministers before I was ordained and, as a team, we began to work to bring everyone back. God heard our prayers and slowly the Church came to life again.
“COVID worked in our favour,” Susan says, “as we were able to reach out personally to everyone through daily WhatsApps. We also were able to bring music back into the church through an overhead projector and YouTube. The beautiful graphics and modern songs appealed to both the youth and young at heart (all of the congregation!). This sparked a Youth Alpha, where we joined with the local Methodist church and a nearby rural church, and we had a vibrant group of 26 young people and eight confirmations.
“God blessed this little congregation – which has now grown to 50 – with an average attendance of 27 and up to 68 on special days. These numbers may be small by Irish standards, but the love and fellowship and sense of belonging is without measure. I am sad to say goodbye to beloved family members of St David’s, but am looking forward to new Irish family members as we grow together in love and fellowship.”
Susan said it was difficult to comment on the differences and similarities between Limpopo and Ireland, since she had only been to Ireland briefly – on the last occasion for just 10 days. “What I can say is that I have felt the warmth, friendliness and hospitality of all the Irish people I have met. There is a similar warmth and goodness in the rural people of Limpopo. Living away from large cities, we know and have friendships with neighbours, and greet people on the roads and at the shops. The village of Haenertsburg is so small that people can literally stop in the main street for a chat – and a passing motorist may stop and join in.
“One of the spiritualities that I briefly studied during my degree was Celtic Spirituality, and I was immediately drawn to the similarities in African spirituality, with the real presence of God interwoven in all of life: God is the great creator of the wild, untamed, beautiful countryside, and is present, interwoven in our daily lives. The rural situation of African spirituality which includes ‘ubuntu’ resonates with the inclusivity of rural Ireland, and the warmth and welcome we have encountered.”
A date has still to be set for the new rector’s Service of Institution, but she says she and her husband can’t wait to be living and settled in Ireland. Rev Elliott describes the impending move to Inver as an answer to prayer. “It is a dream come true,” she says, “as we have wanted to move to Ireland or the UK for many years. I believe that God knows our hearts, our deepest desires and dreams – sometimes before they are even in our conscious thoughts. I also believe and often refer to a few words of scripture – ‘At just the right time’ [God acts] – that have sustained me. God’s timing is always perfect and, when we look back, we can see His hand and blessings on our life-path.”
“We currently live in a rural part of Limpopo, in a mountain and forest area, which is the coldest part of the province. It has a high rainfall – over 2 meters in December – but it never snows. I was sent pictures of snow in Donegal and Letterkenny yesterday, and can’t wait to experience snow again. Ireland is colder and wetter, but in the current January heat [here in Limpopo], Don has confessed he prefers to be colder than too hot!” That is one prayer that looks certain to be answered in Inver.
1) Rev Susan Elliott in her office in St David’s Church; 2) Rev Susan during a recent trip to Ireland; and 3) Rev Susan officiates at a wedding in Haenertsburg, South Africa
The parishioners of Camus-Juxta-Mourne (Strabane) have been rolling out a sometimes snow-dusted red carpet for a special group of visitors this past week. They have been renewing acquaintance with Pastor Anderson Sanchez, his wife Isabel, and their children Jacob and Ivana, whom some of the Tyrone parishioners first befriended when they visited the Peruvian capital, Lima, eight years ago.
Pastor Anderson ministers to a community in Lima which members of Christ Church Strabane visited on two separate parish trips in 2015 and 2017. There was a temperature difference of around 20 degrees between sunny Lima and wintry Strabane for the duration of the Sanchez family’s return visit.
Their hosts organised a welcoming supper at Christ Church, last Friday evening, to greet the South Americans formally. At Sunday morning’s service, which was was led by the Rector, Rev John White, a collection raised £700 for Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) Church in Lima. The Rector and Pastor Anderson were joined, at the service, by Rev Stephen McElhinney, the Director of SAMS Ireland – the South American Mission Society – who shared with the congregation about the organisation’s work.
Bishop Andrew Forster joined Anderson at an informal Café Church event, on Sunday evening, which afforded an opportunity for fellowship and a chance to find out more about life in Peru. Ivana performed at the event as a guest of the Christ Church Strabane praise band.
While they were here, Pastor Anderson and his family got to see part of the North West, with Strabane parishioners accompanying them on trips to the Ulster American Folk Park near Omagh and to Derry-Londonderry. The family left on Tuesday morning – to visit relatives in Italy – before returning home.
Rev White said: “I am delighted to have finally welcomed Pastor Anderson and his family to Christ Church Strabane. We had intended to host them earlier, but those plans were thwarted by the Covid pandemic. Snow and ice made their visit here more challenging than it might normally have been – we had to abandon plans to visit the Giant’s Causeway, for example – but Anderson and his family had a really great time here.
“Our parishioners were made to feel incredibly welcome when they were in Lima in 2015 and 2017, and we were blessed to have an opportunity, at last, to repay that wonderful hospitality. I can finally put faces to some of the names I’ve heard so much about, and I hope it won’t be too long before we all meet again.”
Pastor Anderson presented both Bishop Andrew and Rev White with a penant and a stole bearing the name of his church in Lima.
The Diocese of Derry and Raphoe offers warmest congratulations to four of its finest parish stalwarts who have been awarded MBEs by His Majesty the King in the 2023 New Year Honours list.
Mr William Oliver – one of the Diocese’s five Honorary Secretaries and an active member of the Castlerock and Dunboe church family – was recognised for “services to education, to business and to charities in County Londonderry”. William’s service to his local churches on the north coast, and to the wider diocese, and indeed to the Church of Ireland centrally, is appreciated greatly. He is a Deputy Lieutenant for County Londonderry.
Mrs Heather Pratt, who is a Parochial Nominator in the Parish of Tamlaghtfinlagan (Ballykelly), was honoured for her “services to education”. Mrs Pratt is chair of the board of governors of Rossmar Special School, in Limavady. The Rector of Tamlaghtfinlagan, Rev Canon Harold Given, was among the many people in the parish to extend congratulations to Heather in person and online.
Distinguished academic, Professor Anne Heaslett – lately Principal, Stranmillis University College, Queen’s University Belfast – also received an M.B.E. for “services to education”. Dr Heaslett – is a parish reader in St. Canice’s Church, Balteagh. In 2017 she had a history of the parish published, The Spirit of Balteagh.
Mr Samuel Godfrey Young, who serves on both the Select Vestry and in the choir of St Columba’s Church in Omagh, was awarded an M.B.E. for “services to social work and to education”. Godfrey has worked in many voluntary capacities, to improve services and outcomes for young people across the west and further afield. He has made a significant contribution to Safeguarding at parish and diocesan level.
William Oliver M.B.E.Godfrey Young M.B.E.Heather Pratt M.B.E.Prof. Anne Heaslett M.B.E.King Charles IIIM.B.E.
Christmas is a magical time of year for children – and even for many ‘older children’ among us – as they look forward to Christmas morning and discovering what presents they’ve got this year.
Our tradition of giving gifts owes its origin to the account of the nativity in Matthew’s gospel. There we read how the Magi travelled from the east, searching for “the one who had been born king of the Jews”. They followed a star which led them to a house in Bethlehem. “They saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh”.
Magical though the festive season is, it can be bitter-sweet, too. It’s a time for reflection. Since last Christmas, we’ve seen war return to Europe, with thousands of people killed in Ukraine and millions displaced. Here at home, many people have been struggling with the cost-of-living crisis and that terrible dilemma: whether to heat or eat. I think of those battling against illness, or wrestling with addiction, or consumed by grief for a lost loved one. I think back to the twin tragedies at Enagh Lough, in August, and Creeslough, last October. The pain of loss can be felt most acutely at this time of year.
Last September, too, of course, we lost our beloved sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II. The late Queen drew strength, she said, from the message of hope in the Christian Gospel. In one of her many Christmas messages, she told us how much she relied on her faith to guide her through the good times and the bad. The only way to live her life, she said, was to try to do what was right, to take the long view, to give her best in all that the day brought, and to put her trust in God.
King Charles III faces an almost insurmountable task in seeking to emulate his late mother; but I am certain he will rise to the challenge, beginning at 3pm on Christmas Day when he delivers his first Christmas message. He will certainly be in my thoughts and prayers. So, too, will you.
I pray that you will discover what the Magi knew – and what our late Queen found out – that the greatest gift any of us can ever receive is Jesus Christ. His message of hope is fortifying and transformational for those who receive it and those who witness it.
Remarkably, that gift is there for all of us, if we want it. His is ‘the King’s message’ that I want you to hear this Christmas.
I wish you and your loved ones the peace of Christ.
Members of Mothers’ Union groups from throughout the Diocese of Derry and Raphoe gathered in St Columb’s Cathedral, on Saturday 26th November, for a service to mark the organisation’s ‘16 Days’ Global Day of Action – which is the highpoint of MU’s campaign against gender-based violence.
Over the sixteen day period from Friday the 25th of November until Saturday the 10th of December, Mothers’ Union globally is raising awareness of, and calling for an end to, gender-based violence in all forms and in all societies.
The service was led by the Dean of Derry, Very Rev Raymond Stewart, who was assisted by the Diocesan Chaplain of MU, Rev Liz Fitzgerald and Rev Andrea Cotter. Among those in the congregation were the Deputy Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District, Cllr Angela Dobbins, and the Deputy Lieutenant for County Londonderry, Lady Girvan, who is a strong supporter of Mothers’ Union.
It’s estimated that a third of women worldwide suffer domestic or sexual abuse, prompting MU’s call for ‘#No more1in3’. While men and women can both be victims of gender-based violence, statistics show that women and girls are particularly at risk.
The congregation, which was comprised largely of women, was told that domestic violence was a crime and that tackling cultural attitudes was the responsibility of men and boys, as well as women and girls.
The guest speak was the author and editor of Vox Magazine, Ruth Garvey-Williams, who has investigated experiences, perceptions and attitudes surrounding domestic abuse across churches in Ireland. Ms Garvey-Williams thanked Derry and Raphoe Mothers’ Union for “leading the way in the church on this island” in responding to domestic violence.
The Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Rt Rev Andrew Forster, described Mothers’ Union as “a stone in the shoe” that was helping the church to look out and support and advocate for victims of domestic violence. Bishop Andrew said the Diocesan President, Jacqui Armstrong, had been at the forefront of that work and thanked her for being “a voice for the voiceless”.
During the service, the congregation stood in silence for a period of three minutes, during which they prayed and reflected. Roberta Merrick lit a candle at the front of the Cathedral as a symbol of the light of Christ shining through the darkness of abuse. Rev Andrea Cotter shared with the congregation about a new course which Mothers’ Union has developed, in conjunction with Bishops’ Appeal and Tearfund, to counteract domestic abuse and gender-based violence. Readings at the service were delivered by Rev Fitzgerald, Dean Stewart, Jean Thompson, Eva Wright, Irene Hewitt, Ger West, Kay Clarke (Diocesan Vice-President) and Janice Quigley.
