June 2008

Many a Rector looks to the time after Easter as the time when the parish begins to slow down for the summer with the organisations closing for a well earned break. Alongside that, many folks are away at the weekend to caravans and holiday homes. In one sense parish life does slow down a bit but God is still at work in each and every day and at this time of the year there are still many different events happening in the parish.

Once such event took place on Sunday the 11th May when Nigel Adams was commissioned to serve as Parish Reader for Magheragall. It was a beautiful evening for a commissioning service and I would estimate that there were about fifty from the parish attending the service in the Church of the Epiphany in Upper Malone. Can I thank you for coming and showing your support for it was a great encouragement to Nigel as he steps out in this new role. As a Parish we all join in congratulating Nigel and wish him well as he begins to assist in leading worship. Nigel and I have spoken about when he might begin and have decided that it would be appropriate to wait until September for he has just finished three years as Church Warden.

As I mentioned there are still many different events happening in the parish in the weeks ahead and I would want to draw to your attention in particular to our Sunday Worship during the month of June. In our worship it’s a month in which we will invite people into church and it is also a month in which we give thanks to God.

On the first Sunday in the month we will be giving thanks to God for the Sunday School and the JAM Group. On the second Sunday Revd Paul Hoey, one of our three evangelists, will be back with us to preach at the 11.30 service. It will be good to welcome Paul back into our church family and to share with him the positive impact of “Rise and Shine”, in particular how the Alpha Course has been going in the months since our week of mission. Then on the fourth Sunday we have Dave Healey coming to speak about the Intercontinental Church Society. ICS has had a long association with this Parish and if you’re planning a holiday in Europe this summer then you may find yourself worshipping in one of the churches that ICS support. Finally on the fifth Sunday in June we welcome the Lisburn Branch of the Royal British Legion to Morning Prayer as together we remember the Battle of Somme. It is good to welcome our neighbour’s into church and it’s important to remember the past in the context of what Jesus did for each one of us.

In one sense Parish Life does slow down as we come into the summer but as I said at the outset God is at work each and every day.

Grace and Peace to you All

Nicholas

Pastoral Cover 10th June to 12th June

I will away from the Parish from 10th June to 12th June on the Diocesan Clergy Retreat in Bristol. If you need a Minister during that time, if there is a serious emergency, then please contact the Minister below who will be providing emergency pastoral cover.

Rev’d John Rutter Rector Glenavy Tel. 028 9442 2361