Participating Parishes from the Diocese of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh

Drumcliffe Parish is situated in the heart of Yeats Country, 8kms north of Sligo town and under the shadow of Benbulben mountain. It is famous for its ancient connections with St Columba and, in more recent times, with the poet W.B. Yeats, whose grave may be found in the churchyard. The church attracts many thousands of visitors from across the world each year. However, we are not simply a tourist attraction; we are also a living, active congregation seeking to worship God and grow as disciples of Christ. Our weekly Sunday attendance is around 60, of which as many as 20 are children of primary school age. We work hard to include all ages in Sunday worship. We also have a strong Mothers’ Union and last term we ran a Christianity Explored course for the first time. The Drumcliffe group of parishes is made up of Drumcliffe, Lissadell and Munninane.

The Florencecourt Group comprises the Parishes of Killisher and Killinagh. The group straddles the Fermanagh-Cavan border with almost all the parishioners living in the Florencecourt area of Co Fermanagh. The area is well known for its scenic beauty and tourist attractions. The Group extends for about ten miles from east to west and about three miles from north to south. It’s nearest point lies about six miles from Enniskillen, the thriving County Town. The Group has about 250 families and is served by three Churches, Killesher (St John’s and Druminiskill Chapel of Ease) and Killinagh. There is a thriving Sunday School at St John’s with approximately fifty pupils served by a dedicated group of teachers.

Posted by Annette McGrath on 27 Feb 09

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Participating Parishes from the Diocese of Derry and Raphoe

The rural parish group of Derg and Termonamongan, in the diocese of Derry and Raphoe, is situated in and around the town of Castlederg in western Tyrone. It consists of 2 congregations – St. John’s, Castlederg, being the largest, and St. Bestius’, Killeter. We currently serve about 1,000 people (450 households) and have a good mix of young and old. With no full-time staff other than the Rector. Our immediate challenge is to build people and teams to help grow God’s kingdom both in quality in our congregations and in quantity as we reach out to our community.

Posted by Annette McGrath on 27 Feb 09

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Participating Parishes from the Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough

Raheny and Coolock. All Saints, Raheny is central to the village of Raheny with quite a number of younger families bringing their children to the Sunday JAM Club (Jesus and Me). We are proposing to develop a Youth Club in 2009 and we also have a faithful group of elderly weekly worshippers. St. John The Evangelist, Coolock, is three miles from Dublin, close to 1950s estates with quite a few factories around like Cadburys. There is a lively teen’s ministry with about 180 meeting weekly and G4J (Generation for Jesus) gathering every Sunday. We have a great team but we need to attract more young people. A weekly Bible study and reflection is led by a layperson.

The parishes of Celbridge and Straffan with Newcastle Lyons are situated in west County Dublin and County Kildare. They are a mix of both semi rural and suburban areas which have experienced huge development over recent years. This has brought exciting challenges of outreach and evangelism to both our established and growing communities.

The Parish of Donoughmore and Donard with Dunlavin is situated in the heart of West Wicklow, between Blessington and Baltinglass, approximately one hours drive from Dublin. Donoughmore and Donard are in the Glen of Imaal while Dunlavin is situated on the other side of the N81. The area is steeped in history and the scenic beauty of the Wicklow Mountains attracts many people to the area in pursuit of recreation and relaxation.
The parish has two schools. The children in both schools lead a Service of the Word during each term. The three churches have regular services, ranging in form from Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, Holy Communion and once a month a Modern Service. Where there is a fifth Sunday in the month, there is a central Service alternating between the churches. The parish has one lay minister and two parish readers who regularly lead the services.
The parish currently has a Mothers Union, Girls Friendly Society, Mothers and Toddlers, Singing, Badminton and Home Prayer Groups.

On being accepted for inclusion in the Church 21 Development programme, the parish representatives to this initiative, along with members of the pastoral council and other parishioners have formed a working group (Church Alive).
This group identified three areas on which they would focus:
1 Communications within the parish and to the wider community,
2 Children and Youth
3 Social Events and Outreach.
Sub committees have been formed to work on each of these initiatives. Within our parish there is a range of all age groups and a healthy variety of opinion with everyone striving to achieve the same objectives.

The challenge now is to communicate with all parishioners and to actively engage them in the process, while listening to and respecting all views and opinions.

The Parish of Howth is set at the Northern tip of Dublin Bay. It includes both the village of Howth and the houses on the hill as well as the suburbs of Baldoyle, Sutton and Bayside. It is a welcoming and inclusive community, anxious to broaden its appeal to the whole spectrum of families who make up the parish community. Our biggest challenge would be our ministry to youth and young families.

Posted by Annette McGrath on 27 Feb 09

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Participating Parishes from the Diocese of Down and Dromore

Seagoe, originally a rural parish, now lies on the edge of Portadown and Craigavon. Currently we have about 700 families associated with the Parish and as a result the life of the Parish is quite busy. We are privileged to have a fairly good age range of people involved, and in particular healthy numbers of children. We face many challenges in seeking to become more fully the Church God desires us to be in this particular point in history. A major practical challenge is to bring into being a much needed Parish Centre to enable us to develop into the future.

The Ballymacarett Group of Parishes consists of the 3 parishes of St. Patrick, St. Christopher and St. Martin. They lie at the city end of the Newtownards Road, an area of Belfast very high in the Noble Index of Deprivation. This area, once the community of shipyard workers, has suffered over the last 40 years from a series of devastating events: the running down of the shipyard hence serious unemployment; redevelopment hence loss of the younger and mobile (this is recovering but there are many single parents) and paramilitary dominance and disruption. It is also an interface with a republican/ nationalist area. A lot of community work is being done on regeneration but there is along way to go. The Group suffers from disjointed witness due, I believe, to fear of losing ‘their’ church and identity and has a serious resource problem. We hope that Church21 will help us overcome the problems of working together on God’s Mission in Ballymacarrett.

The Parish of Gilnahirk was formed in 1956 as a satellite to St Columba’s Knock to respond to the new housing in the area. A dual purpose building was built on the Lower Braniel Road which served as a church on a Sunday and a parish hall during the week. By 1960 we had become a parish in our own right and in 1965 St Dorothea’s Church was completed. The parish area covers much of the Braniel Estate, Gilnahirk, Cherryvalley and about half of Tullycarnet Estate. The people of the parish come from all walks of life and work together well in a close knit community. We feel that our 50th anniversary in 2006 was a watershed for the parish and we need to continue building on the very firm foundation that has been laid down for us. The challenges ahead for us are: to reach out into the local community in cooperation with the other local churches and bring in those who are untouched by the Gospel and/or estranged from the Church; to be a welcoming and vibrant community of faith; to manage our finances to be able to cope with the new maintenance bills that are starting to come in as our buildings show their age. We are looking forward with enthusiasm to participating in the Church21 programme and look forward to meeting the new challenges and possibilities it may give us.

In the Lecale Area there are fourteen small churches linked together in three parochial groupings (the Lecale Group; the Down Group; and Bright, Ballee, Killough and Rathmullan).Two of the fourteen parishes – Down Cathedral and St Patrick’s Saul – are very closely associated with St Patrick; Down Parish is a market town congregation and the remaining churches are small rural congregations. The Lecale area has suffered very significantly through rural depopulation and is predominantly Roman Catholic with Church of Ireland adherents making up about 15% of the community. We enjoy excellent community and ecumenical relationships in this area. No one congregation is able to survive on its own and although the current parochial groups can just about pay for and sustain a basic level of Sunday and pastoral ministry it is obvious that the only way the Anglican witness will survive in the 21st century is through developing much closer collaboration in meaningful mission and ministry. The three full-time clergy are already committed to praying and working together and we hope Church21will enable us all to think creatively about the future.

Dromara Parish lies around the western base of Slieve Croob, the source of the River Lagan that flows through the village on its way to Belfast Lough. There are 150 families of the Church of Ireland involved in farming, business, professional, and rural occupations. A three year vacancy in the church has recently been filled. A large financial debt from church refurbishment has been cleared in a remarkably short period allowing the parishioners to look up and embark upon new priorities of reaching the unchurched who are arriving with us from other places, perhaps to take church to them by serving their needs, which in turn would meet the needs of our congregation also. We anticipate that Church21 will be helpful in this journey.

Hillsborough has a busy parish life and a strong interest in overseas mission. Our aim is to see people come to a living faith in Jesus Christ, grow individually and collectively in Him and to be active witnesses in every place. We look forward to our Church21 journey as one that will help us fulfill our aims more effectively.

Posted by Annette McGrath on 27 Feb 09

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Participating parishes from the Diocese of Cork

Mallow Union consists of three churches, each with its own distinctive character and we number 142 households and 291 individuals. At one time there were 53 Churches in this mainly rural area but only three remain on a full time basis. One other, Buttevant Church, is used on only two occasions in the year. In a recent census over 700 persons in the parish area claimed to be members of the Church of Ireland, the majority of these in places from which the Church has retreated in previous decades. . Due to immigration, the church membership in Mallow town has grown a little, with the new Irish now making up 40% of those who attend church regularly on Sundays. We have good relationships with the two African Pentecostal Churches in Mallow as well as the Catholic Church in Doneraille and Castletownroche.

Posted by Annette McGrath on 27 Feb 09

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Participating Parishes from the Diocese of Connor

Carnmoney is an ancient and probably fairly traditional Church of Ireland parish. A church has been on this site certainly since the 16th century and perhaps since the Middle Ages. It is set in a suburban area on the outskirts of Belfast which has seen some sectarian trouble and experienced great demographic shift in the last 30 years. Many families in the church have been connected with it for generations but we are not attracting many newcomers to the parish. The age profile is increasing with most regular members of the congregation being middle aged or older. We do have an active Sunday School and a Church Lads’ and Church Girls’ Brigade with a long association with the parish, but numbers of both have diminished greatly in the last decades. Two years ago we celebrated the 150th anniversary of the current church building and one of our greatest challenges must be to ensure this church continues to grow and thrive in the future as well as to rejoice in its very vibrant past. We recognise we need to reach out to a changing community if the church is to survive beyond the life of those already committed to it.

Posted by Annette McGrath on 27 Feb 09

Categories: Participating Parishes, Connor   •   0 Comments   •   Permanent link