 | Our parish magazine "Contact" is published each month and distributed to every parishioner's home. Through it all our people, whether they are able to attend regularly or not, are kept up to date with what is happening in the parish. We hope that the snippets below from recent and past editions of Contact will give you a flavour of what has been going on in the parish. |
| Great News ! Full colour editions of Contact are now available to download in pdf format. Simply right click on the relevant month below, select Save Target As, then select where you want the magazine downloaded to on your computer and click on Save. February
2008 - March 2008 - April
2008 - May 2008 To unsubscribe, email the same address with the text "Please cancel my email subscription to Contact" (or any words to that effect ! ) We will not send you any other communications by email or share your address with anyone else. Confirmation Five of our parishioners were Confirmed by the Bishop at a service in St Dorothea's Parish Church, Gilnahirk on Sunday 27 April. They are Carol, Chloe, Daniel, David and Douglas. Please contimue to remember them in your prayers. Metamorphosis for some of Stormont's Women "Woman Together" is the new name for the Young Wives group, who have undergone something of a change recently. The "girls" changed their name because they thought their old name might be excluding some of our parishioners. This action is a thoughtful and considerate one, and one which we think will be appreciated. Women Together have been very busy, and it is these folk who organised the recent Table Quiz. With this they received the help of Noel Donaldson who compiled the quiz, and Raymond Hastie who was the Quizmaster. Skilled craftsman reveals secrets to Parishioners Furniture restorer and marquetry expert David Davies was the guest at an open meeting of the Men's Society last month. As well as showing many examples of his work, David explained what furniture restoration was all about, and displayed some of the tools of his trade. He explained how veneer is used on a piece of furniture, and how a piece can be dated, not only by its overall style, but also by the thickness of the veneer and the method and techniques used to polish the piece. David also revealed some of the many waxes and polishes which can be used, showed examples of many different types of wood, and revealed how different woods could be used for different jobs; he gave away a few secrets about recognising various woods, and showed how the art of marquetry is executed. The audience was shown several examples of David's marquetry which he had done in various woods and in brass. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of David's presentation was when he quoted several passages from Holy Scripture, revealing what the Bible says about various skills and occupations. He emphasised that any skill is the gift of God to the individual, and that it should be used to God's greater glory, as well as for the benefit of one's fellow-men. David's great enthusiasm for his work came across clearly, as did his humility in the light of his skill and craftsmanship. The Ladies Guild Just before Christmas, the members of the Ladies' Guild did just what they had done the year before-they invited ladies from neighbouring churches to join them for afternoon tea in the Hamilton Hall, and they asked the Rector to come and give a little talk. To the ladies, this was probably a natural thing to do - but the very positive reaction of those who were invited has been amazing ! Both Anne and the Rector have received messages of appreciation from many of these churches, and this act of Christian friendship has certainly strengthened the bonds between St Molua's and some of our neighbours, including those of other denominations. Thank you, ladies, and well done. News of RTE Radio 1 Over the years, Church of Ireland listeners have enjoyed a good listening relationship with RTE, the state broadcasting service in the Republic of Ireland, which regularly broadcasts a Church of Ireland service. This practice will continue, but no longer on medium wave. From 24 March, to listen to the service on RTE, you will need to retune your radio to FM, and you will find RTE Radio 1 somewhere between 88.2 and 90.0 Mhz. You can also listen to RTE on LW 252. Why the move away from medium wave? Well, RTE have declared that medium wave technology is inefficient, environmentally unsound and out-of-date, with poor quality reception and audio. Apparently the vast majority of people listen on the superior FM band, and many radios now lack MW capabilty. Book Review A
Short Catechism of Basic Church Teaching This is the book the Rector has been promoting throughout the season of Lent - a large number of our people have purchased this book and have reported that they found it useful and informative. Victor Griffin is probably best known as having been Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. His book outlines Church of Ireland teaching on many subjects, including worship, the Book of Common Prayer, the Church of Ireland and the Anglican Communion, Regeneration and Conversion, the Bible and hostile sects, the Christian year, the Sabbath and Sunday. It also contains three appendices dealing with all sorts of matters including the 39 Articles, signs and symbols, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments. The original version of this book was published in 1963, but it has just been updated and republished. The appearance of this little book is very timely, as we live in a period when the Church of Ireland is in danger of losing a great deal of its rich heritage of worship and practice. To know our identity as members of the Church of Ireland, and to pass that identity on to those who come after us, should be seen as an honour and a privilege, and something about which we should be enthusiastic. Copies of the book are still available from the church-wardens and from the Parish Office. They cost just £5.00 each. The book should be a great help to all who hold dear to the Faith as it has been handed down to members of the Church of Ireland. Thirty Kids at the Opera House Some of our adults took thirty St Molua's children to see Sleeping Beauty at Belfast's Grand Opera House in January. Located in the front row, the adults sat in fear in case they would be called up on the stage - but luckily it didn't happen ! They all had a fantastic time, and intend to repeat the experience next year. The People of St Molua's Support Prayers for Peace The Rector and some parishioners recently led the Inter-Denominational Prayers for Peace in Townsend Street Presbyterian Church, Belfast. These prayers are organised regularly by The Revd Bro. David Jardine of Divine Healing Ministries. People from all denominations meet every Wednesday morning in the offices behind the church, and are led in prayer by a different person each time. There is something very fulfilling about praying towards a common goal with people of different Christian traditions, and a big thank you is due to those of our own parish who took up the challenge to do so. Please remember that these prayers take place every Wednesday, and if you decide to go along, you will be made most welcome. Release International - The Voice of the Persecuted Church Michael Wilson from Release International gave an interesting and emotional talk to the 10.30 congregation on Sunday 25 November. He used a short DVD to outline the work of the organisation in China, and also told us about the persecution of Christians throughout the world. At the end of the service, a large queue of people waited to speak to him and to sign up to prayer responsibility and to receive regular information. Michael told the Rector that he was both pleased and impressed with the response from the people of St Molua's. The Garden of Remembrance The Garden of Remembrance is a grassed area in the church grounds, between the east end of the church and the parochial hall, to be used for the interment of ashes. It was the idea of the late Kaye Beck, and was dedicated in her memory during a recent service of consecration by the Bishop. Regulations on the use of the Garden, drawn up by the Select Vestry and approved by the Diocesan Council, may be found on the notice board in the church porch. Parish Library up and running A small library has been set up for the use of parishioners - so important for all of us in our continued spiritual growth and Christian education. There are books on prayer, Bible study, other spiritual books and books on Christianity, liturgy, Church history, the Church of Ireland, etc. The library is available in the office for the use of all parishioners at the close of 10.30am and 6.30pm worship. For some time we may experiment with the best location for the library, so if you don't see it, please ask Sheila or a Churchwarden. You can borrow a book for three weeks, after which time you can either bring it back or renew. Through the library we can enjoy the books, and avail of another opportunity for personal spiritual growth. Friendly Circle The Friendly Circle is still meeting on Thursdays, 10.30 to 12.00, cleaning, knitting, sewing, chatting, coffee-drinking, with a few new members, and doing all manner of good things ! Come and join us. Recycle your old inkjet cartridges Your used printer cartridges could give children in the Dominican Republic an education free from prejudice. Simply leave your old cartridges in the Parish Office, and we will pass them on to Christian Aid. Please note, we can only recycle Hewlett Packard, Lexmark or Dell cartridges, and Canon BC02/05/20/BX2/BX3. We cannot recycle Epson cartridges, so please don't leave them. What an easy way to love your neighbour ! And that's not all... Cartridge recycling helps to reduce carbon emissions, a major cause of global warming, conserves resources and reduces waste - cartridges take about 1,000 years to decompose. The Church's Ministry of Healing Every Thursday evening a small number of parishioners meet in the chapel to pray for the healing of a great number of people including those who are physically and mentally ill. The service lasts for only 15 minutes but in that short time much important work is carried out. The prayers of these faithful people are of great consequence in the healing which God performs because he has decreed that the operation of his will requires our prayer. Pastoral Visitation Team About forty housebound and semi-housebound people are now being regularly visited by a member of our Pastoral Visitation Team, and this vital ministry will continue to expand in the months to come. The team is headed by Dorothy and provides a much needed link with some of those who are unable to get to church. Each member of the team possesses the pastoral skills necessary to carry out this work. Please remember the work of the team in your daily prayers for the parish and its people. Can you hear us ? Just a reminder to anyone with a hearing difficulty that St Molua's provides an audio loop system to enable those with hearing aids to hear clearly everything that is spoken in church. To avail of this system when you go to church, simply switch your hearing aid control to the 'T' position. |
More extracts from Contact can be found in the Achieves by clicking here
