The Leprosy Mission

Mission Statement

To minister in the name of Jesus Christ to the physical, mental, social and spiritual needs of individuals and communities disadvantaged by leprosy, working with them to uphold human dignity and eradicate leprosy.

The Leprosy Mission is a leading international Christian development mission working in around 30 countries. We have served people affected by leprosy since 1874. Our work covers medical treatment, education, detection, rehabilitation, advocacy and the reintegration of people into their communities We focus on three areas: South Asia, East Asia/Pacific and Africa.

Leprosy is still a disease of our time. Every year over 300,000 new patients are diagnosed and registered for treatment. But because of the stigma associated with leprosy and the consequent reluctance to seek medical care, it is estimated that even more cases go undetected.

Although leprosy is found in all sectors of society, it often traps the most vulnerable in a cycle of poverty. Leprosy is a human rights issue and our work goes beyond curing a disease. Our strategy includes strengthening communities and advocating for people who have no voice. We help to create health-promoting environments and support local health systems.

The Leprosy Mission’s international family of 28 national councils works through a secretariat in London to co-ordinate field work and deployment of funds. We employ 2,000 national and international field staff and partner with communities, churches, national governments and other NGOs. Our annual budget is over £10 million and we rely on the contributions of individuals, churches, trusts, legacies and government agencies to support our work. The Leprosy Mission is recognised in the countries where it operates for the quality of its work and commitment to assist anybody affected by leprosy, without discrimination.

Jesus said
"what ever you did for the least of these my brothers,
you did it for me..."
Math 25:40

Susan Donaghy is the Leprosy Mission contact in Magheragall if you would like any further literature concerning this topic please see Susan.

Confirmation 2008

There will a service of Confirmation on St Andrews Day, Sunday the 30th November in the parish Church. It is the turn of Magheragall Parish to host this service and we will be welcoming our neighbours from Ballinderry Parish. For those raised in Church of Ireland homes you will know that the rite of Confirmation is to confirm the baptismal vows that were made on behalf of the candidate at their baptism. So in some ways it is the end of a process, it is an end in that the candidate takes on their baptismal vows for themselves and in another way it is the beginning because the candidate is making a personal and public commitment to Jesus and is it now up to the candidate to find their place and ministry within the church family.

At this point I would be interested to hear from those in the parish who would like to prepare for confirmation this year.

Nicholas

The Vetca Olympics 2008 – Go for Gold!

“Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus!” Hebrews 12: 1-2

On 28th June this year I am taking a Team of 16 young adults to Targu Mures in Romania for 10 days to work alongside Livada Orphan Care Staff & Paul & Fiona Coles.

The criteria for Camp this year is…No prior training is necessary.... No sports expertise required.... No physical fitness will be given.
All you need in order to be part of this life changing experience is to love God, love kids and have a heart that is willing!

We are very privileged to have the opportunity to go and spend some time with the orphans. As a Team it is our prayer as we begin to make our plans that we will raise enough money to take 65 orphan children & teenagers to a fun filled Summer Camp & share the gospel of Jesus to these forgotten children.

Please remember us in your prayers too. Thank you
“For I know the plans I have for you”…

Patricia

Have you walked in the garden?
(Mk. 14:33-34,42, Jn. 20:16)

Have you walked in the garden of desolation,
Do you know what it's like to fall down?
Have you trusted and shared and been rejected,
Has the broken heart within you turned to stone?
Have you known the pain of misinterpretation,
Of betrayal by the ones you knew as friends?
Have you pleaded that your nightmare might be lifted,
Just to waken to a night that never ends?
Have you walked in the garden of desolation?
Jesus walked in your garden.
Let him lead you from the garden of your suffering,
Let him show you to the place beyond the night.
He has overcome the darkness by his death upon the cross,
He has won for you his glorious Easter light.
There is life and joy within his resurrection,
There is freedom and forgiveness for the past,
Let him lead you in the garden of his triumph
As he calls your name and offers peace at last.
Let him lead you from the garden of your suffering.

Daphne Kitching

It's not only words:
worship changes lives for the better, says Church

The central importance of worship in the life of the Church has been emphasised in a new book published by the Church of England's Liturgical Commission.

"’Worship Changes Lives’ stresses that all worship should honour God and, like a newspaper headline, grab people, engage them and change their lives. It should inspire and excite. It is the heart of a church. Worship is the Church's 'headline business'," argues the guide. It goes on to urge churches to review their worship so that it reflects the power that lies beyond the words said and sung each week.

In doing so, the book questions the idea promoted by some elements of popular psychology that words can have a subconscious power of their own. Instead, it suggests that the words and actions of worship - when practiced in fellowship with Christians across the world - are powerful because they reflect God's love and shape worshippers to serve God's mission.

Written on behalf of the Liturgical Commission as part of the Transforming Worship initiative, the 48-page guide aims to stimulate discussion within Parochial Church Councils, worship groups and ministry teams on how worship might be a greater force for change within local communities. Rooted in real-life practice with accessible text and attractive photography, the guide aims to inspire the whole worshipping community to reflect on 'connecting with the God who, in Jesus, transforms us and the world'.

’Worship Changes Lives’ sets out a series of discussion-starters aimed at the whole Church: "This guide isn't just for clergy or academics or people with a special interest in liturgy and ceremonial. It is for everyone who worships, to help each one look again at what we are doing when we worship God. Worship lies at the heart of what and who we are as Christians: it shows God to us and us to God," the editors, the Revd Peter Moger and Professor Paul Bradshaw, state in their introduction.

"This booklet is designed to force a gear shift in thinking within churches about worship, and in particular the importance of Baptism and Holy Communion, and the value of music and daily prayer. It's a key part of the vision behind the Transforming Worship initiative, to enhance the Church of England's worship across the whole church."

Areas explored by the guide include:
* How weddings and funerals may be examples of services that change people on many different levels
* How intercessory prayer focuses Christians on God's objectives rather than ours
* How baptism shapes Christian identity and is the hallmark of a mission-focused Church.

To help churches get the most out of the guide, additional questions and supporting study material are available at www.transformingworship.org.uk.

Worship Changes Lives, priced £4.99 (ISBN 978-07151-2132-0), is available from Christian bookshops including Church House Bookshop, or by mail order via the web at www.chpublishing.co.uk.

Care for the Family

Twelve ways to avoid losing your home because of debt

Rob Parsons talks in his letter about the financial difficulties facing many families. We hope this guide will help you, or someone you know, who may be struggling with debt.

1. Go to a free debt advice agency immediately.

2. Don't ignore a bank or building society when they write or telephone you. The problem is not going to go away and nothing frustrates creditors as much as people who just won't talk to them.

3. Even if you have ignored the lender for some time, it is never too late to contact them. If you have not made a payment for some time, start paying again as soon as possible.

4. If you have an endowment policy with your mortgage, it may be a good idea to cash this in but in some cases there may be a better option. Make sure you get independent advice.

5. If you have a repayment mortgage, ask the lender if they will allow you to pay interest only. This means that you won't actually be paying back any of the capital (the money you originally borrowed) and so your mortgage will take longer to repay, but it will give you a little breathing space. Your lender may insist that the 'interest only' arrangement is a temporary measure.

6. Ask the lender to roll your arrears into the amount you already owe and to extend the number of years over which you will be allowed to repay the mortgage. The advantage of this is that the arrears will be totally wiped off, but, of course, you will owe that extra sum and your mortgage will take longer to repay.

7. Ask the lender to allow you to make a reduced payment for a while. This is hard to get them to agree to, but they will sometimes do so because it is cheaper and easier for them than repossession proceedings.

8. Consider the possibility of whether you should sell your home and buy a less expensive one. Definitely do this before losing your home in repossession proceedings as you will almost certainly get a better price for it by selling it yourself.

9. Ask your local authority if they have a 'mortgage rescue scheme' for which you might qualify.

10 If court proceedings have already been issued, always attend the hearings. Remember that the court will want to keep you in your home if possible. Usually, if you show that you can make the normal monthly payments as well as repaying the arrears within a reasonable time, the court will suspend any possession order.

11. Don't be bullied into paying more than you can afford. Lenders often like the arrears to be cleared in one to two years, but if you cannot afford this, don't panic. Remember that it is up to the court, not the lender, what amount you should repay, and in some circumstances the court will allow you to stretch your repayments of the arrears over the remaining term of the mortgage.

12. Above all, don't put your head in the sand - get help as soon as possible. Most banks and building societies don't want people to lose their homes. Just work with them - give them a chance to help you.

"Don't battle on alone. With help, you will come through this difficult time."

Taken form The Money Secret book by Rob Parsons.
Published by Hodder and Stoughton

Would you donate part of yourself?

Is it right for Christians to donate their body parts, either during life or after death? That is a question considered recently by the Church of England's Mission and Public Affairs Unit, when the House of Lords invited evidence on the ethics of donating and transplanting organs.

The resulting submission affirmed that Christian faith is a positive motivation for organ donation and a powerful incentive for many people to donate.
For Christians, acts of mercy are a part of the self-sacrifice that God requires of us. Giving oneself and one's possessions voluntarily for the well-being of others, and without compulsion, is a Christian duty.

However, the body is to be respected and the continuity between life and death, in the form of what is done with the body, matters. The body at its burial or cremation should ideally be recognisably the body of the person who has died. The harvesting of organs should not be such as to violate this continuity or to cause unnecessary distress to the mourners.

Whether organ donation should be arranged through an 'opt-in' or an 'opt-out' system is not a question on which Christians hold a single set of views. Moral questions like this must be considered in their wider social and political context, so the undoubted need for more organs to be donated for the healing of others has to be weighed against the changed relationship between persons and the State which moving to an opt-out system might entail.
Selling organs for commercial gain would never follow from a Christian ethic - it confuses the notion of an organ as a gift and turns it into a commodity. Altruistic organ donation from a living donor, however, would flow from a Christian ethic, provided that there was no coercion, no commercial gain, and no harm to the living donor.
What is not in doubt is that Christians have a mandate to heal, motivated by compassion, mercy, knowledge and ability.

The Bradys from Mullaghcarton to America

The search for family roots brings many a visitor to our parish particularly in the summer months. In the time I have been your Rector in Magheragall I have met people from all parts including America, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, England, Scotland and Wales. Those who are searching out their family roots are so motivated that they will travel miles to spend time in and around our beautiful church to find answers to the questions that have drawn them to Magheragall, their quest is to unravel the past, to find that Ulster Ancestor. One such individual, Chris Clark, South Bend, Indiana, USA, who recently visited Magheragall sent me the family story, so that you and I could share in the links that bind the history of our small rural parish with history of the USA and the emigration that took place in the early 1860’s. As this story relates it was a time of great hardship and distress in this immediate area with many people going hungry due to the lack of work.

Chris Clark writes

“Magheragall Parish records show that on 25 December 1833, William John Brady was baptized at the age of four days. He was the son of Philip Brady and Catherine McKenna of Mullaghcarton. In 1861 William John Brady married Jane Watson, daughter of George Watson and Ann Briggs of Knocknarea, and within two years the couple produced two sons.

William John Brady was a muslin weaver, and the early 1860s were a difficult time. The weavers needed cotton from America, but the United States was in the middle of a civil war. Many cotton fields were being left untilled or destroyed and the market for finished goods in America was down. By Christmas of 1862 many weavers were out of work and near starvation. The situation was particularly bad in the Maze and Broomhedge areas. Relief efforts were organized and in May 1863, a ship full of food was sent from America by wealthy emigrant Alex T. Stewart a successful New York businessman who originally came from Lissue. When the "Mary Edson" returned to New York in July 1863 William John Brady was on board with his wife and two small boys. In all, 137 adults and children received free passage to begin a new life. The situation improved for those who remained and the crisis was over by the end of the year.

The Bradys settled in the tiny hamlet of Hughsonville, near Poughkeepsie on the Hudson River north of New York City. William John Brady worked as a farmer and became a U.S. citizen. When an accident took Mr. Brady's life in 1880 the obituary said he was a "steady, sober man." Jane Brady nee Watson was left with six young sons, but she eventually remarried, outlived her second husband, and died in 1910.

The second son was only five months old when he left County Antrim. His name was William George Brady and he was my wife's grandfather. He worked on a wealthy man's estate and married Catherine Cartwright, who came from Tyrrellspass in County Westmeath. Their three sons worked for IBM in Poughkeepsie. Two were decorated for service in World War II and the third was chief of the town's volunteer fire department. William George's first child, a daughter, was the only family member of her generation to visit Ireland. My wife and I have visited Ireland together twice and found people to be very friendly and warm. This was reinforced when I visited the Magheragall church in March 2007. Rev. Dark was very kind and accommodating. I hope to return with my wife before too many years pass. Perhaps we will be able to meet some distant relatives! “

Chris Clark South Bend, Indiana, USA

Quotes

Genuine fellowship comes when Christians stop relating to one another as righteous saints and accept one another as unrighteous sinners.
David Watson

A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him I may think aloud.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

God gives his gifts where he finds the vessel empty enough to receive them.
C S Lewis

If a person gets his attitude towards money straight, it will help straighten out almost every other area in his life.
Billy Graham