Participating Parishes from the Diocese of Armagh

Drumcree Parish, is situated on the outskirts of Portadown and is a mixture of town and country parishioners. It has had a tradition of long serving rectors and would be classed as an evangelical traditional church. It is also a church that has been seen for all the wrong reasons, and yet this does not necessarily reflect the people of the parish. It is a church which is moving forward and has experienced a lot of changes over the last 6 months. But ultimately it is a church which is seeking God’s plan and God’s direction.

Tartaraghan and Diamond are two adjacent rural parishes in north County Armagh, a few miles to the west and north-west of Portadown. This year Tartaraghan celebrates 300 years since it was established as a Parish by Act of Parliament. There has been slow but steady change down the years – from a densely populated rural area in the past, to an area with a much less dense, but a much more diverse and mobile population today. A significant number of new houses have been built in the area bringing in many newcomers. At present, roughly 100 people worship on a Sunday in Tartaraghan, and roughly 50 in Diamond Grange. The challenge for us in the years to come is to reach this increasingly mobile younger generation, to attract them to the church, to help them to experience Christ in a meaningful way that is right for them and to develop worship and spirituality that connects with them, while not alienating the existing older generations. Our vision statement is ‘Growing communities of faith, reaching out in Jesus’ name’. The challenge is to be what we claim to be, to grow in faith, to respond to Jesus, and to reach out in his name to those around us.

Milltown Parish is a rural parish situated on the southern shore of Lough Neagh, sandwiched between the M1 Motorway and the Lough. It consists of some 225 families. The services of the church are a mixture of the traditional and modern services contained in BCP 2004. We have a good mixture of young families and mature couples who worship well together. We have a thriving praise group called ‘Corban’ who recently released a CD and have been invited to sing in parishes both inside and outside our own diocese of Armagh.

Kilmore and St Saviour’s are rural parishes situated within a few miles of the major towns of Portadown and Armagh, as well as the villages of Richhill and Loughgall. Despite being quite small congregations (in total around 240 homes) we are very thankful for the variety of organisations we enjoy including Sunday Schools, Church Lad’s and Girl’s Brigade, Youth Club, Bible Fellowship, Bowling Clubs, Indoor Football and Craft Classes. Whilst several interest groups are well served by our parishes, we recognise that some members of our congregations have little contact with the Church outside regular, or occasional Sunday Worship. We are keen to establish a sense of vision as to how we can encourage more people from our parish and community to see us as people with whom they feel comfortable and belong. We hope that Church 21 will help us develop a sense of purpose that will characterise all that we do, as we seek to serve our Lord Jesus in our community and world.

Loughgall and Grange is a rural, grouped parish of about 200 families lying in the heart of Armagh’s orchard county. Loughgall, the larger parish, consists of around 125 households with a high proportion of elderly or retired people. Although we have few primary-aged or teenage children, the last few years have seen something of a baby-boom. We have begun a ‘vision-process’ in recent years and see our involvement in Church21 as a continuation of that process; enabling us to develop a parish family more welcoming to all ages. Grange parish consists of about 75 households and is a close-knit parish with a strong family emphasis that incorporates our young families, children and teens. Through Church21 we hope to strengthen that sense of being God’s family – worshipping and working together. It is hoped that Church21 will enable our parishes to build on their individual strengths while developing a shared vision for working together within our parish group.

Posted by Annette McGrath on 27 Feb 09

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