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

Categories: Participating Parishes, Down and Dromore   •   0 Comments   •   Permanent link