Magazine V7.2

Vol 7.2

Feb - Mar 2004

Dear Friends ,

Having moved from the Christmas season of forty days, which includes Epiphany and is completed officially on 2nd February with the celebration of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple or Candlemas as it’s otherwise known, we now enter a period of ordinary time marked by the liturgical colour green as we begin the countdown to another of the seasons of the church’s year, Lent.

Lent is the chief penitential season for us as Christians and is about preparing for the celebration of the death and resurrection of Christ in Holy Week and at Easter.

Lent which begins on Ash Wednesday 25th February gives us the opportunity to ask ourselves searching questions about our priorities in life, religious and otherwise. Most would agree that the well being of one’s personal life has a direct bearing on personal spirituality and sense of the spiritual self. So Lent is to be seized as an opportunity for growth, self-examination, reflection and reorientation towards a closer walk with God on our spiritual pilgrimage and in life.
In order to help us achieve our aspirations a number of special services and events have been organised for these forty days.

Lent
The Rural Deanery Lenten series of services this year is entitled “The Cross he bore”. As in previous years it will rotate around the various churches in the Antrim Deanery and is followed by tea at each venue. The services are at 7.30pm. This is your opportunity to set aside some time each Wednesday evening for reflection in the context of worship. Please do come along and bring a friend or another parishioner with you. The series venues are as follows:-

Ash Wednesday 25.2.04 Kibride Parish Church
3.3.04	St Patrick’s	Templepatrick
10.3.04	All Saints'	Antrim
17.3.04	St Patrick’s	Parkhall
24.3.04	Ballyscullion Parish Church
31.3.04	St Jude’s	Muckamore

Daily in Lent
Also during Lent as we have been doing for a couple of years, matins will be said Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday in St Patrick’s. You are of course very welcome to come along to this brief office lasting approximately 10-15 minutes.
The service will begin at 9.20am

.Youth Worship
The clergy of the Rural Deanery have continued to plan a number of events supported by the Building for Generations Strategy in the Diocese. An evening of praise and worship will take place in Connor Parish Church on Sunday 4th April at 6.00pm. Young people especially are encouraged to attend. It has been planned by clergy and young people of the Rural Deanery and should prove to be an uplifting evening with contemporary music and is followed by refreshments in the Parish Hall.

Wedding Preparation
Classes for those intending to be married this year will commence in Clotworthy Arts Centre Antrim on Tuesday 3rd February from 8.00pm - 9.30pm with a tea/coffee interval. Those intending to be married this year and haven’t already made themselves known to me are asked to get in touch as soon as possible. All couples have been asked to undertake these worthwhile classes before getting married. Running for consecutive evenings they include the following topics: Introduction to Christian Marriage; Finance; Relationships; ‘Christian Guidelines’ evening.
Couples intending to be married should be aware of the new rules governing the registration of marriages.

BCP 2004
Orders for the new book are now being taken by the Churchwardens in St Patrick’s and St John’s. As you will have read in the last issue of the magazine, the weekly notice sheets and the Church of Ireland Gazette, this book will become the new legal standard of worship for the Church of Ireland this year. A Diocesan launch will take place on Ascension Day, Thursday 20th May (venue to be decided) and is expected to be in use in parishes from Trinity Sunday, 6th June.

Adult Confirmation Classes
It would be my intention if there is the demand, to hold a series of confirmation classes for adults during Lent. Anyone who is interested or just curious please speak to me and I would be more than happy to have a chat with you about this. I am anticipating some demand and look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours in Christ

Stephen Fielding

Bowling Club
bowler.gif (1418 bytes)

The Bowling continues to meet on
Friday evening from 7.30 pm – 10.30 pm and
Monday evening from 8.00 pm – 9.30 pm.

Since our last magazine we have had our Christmas party night on Friday 19 December 2003. The winner on the evening received a turkey, with lots of prizes for other members.

Our ‘Annual’ concert will be in March, date to be finalized.

Our second visit to the Baker Stadium will be sometime in March, were we will bowl for 2 hours and afterwards have a meal and refreshments.

New members would be made most welcome.

Isobel McCollam (Hon. Sec.)

New Daylight
Bible Reading Notes

By now you will, if you’re like me, probably have broken all your brave New Year resolutions. Perhaps this is the year when you could resolve to do something different, which could really help change your life. Maybe 2004 is the year you get to grips with your bible reading on a daily basis. We are all so fortunate in this part of the world to have not one but probably several copies of the bible sitting on our bookshelves. Unlike the Chinese Church, where estimates suggest that less than half of China’s 60-90 million Christians have their own copy of the Scriptures. We are indeed fortunate to have God’s word so freely available to us. I know it can be difficult not only to find the time but to really understand some biblical passages and their relevance to our 21st century lifestyle. It was with this in mind that I started to use the New Daylight notes while I was a member of St Mark’s Church, Dundela, that was way back in 1990. I was very pleased when in 1998 Rev Fielding asked me to look after the distribution of these same bible notes in our church. Since leaving St Mark’s I had fallen behind with using the notes, so it was good to start again with them and to find my spiritual walk with the Lord has grown so much deeper thanks to that. Since then there has been a small but faithful bunch of parishioners who use these notes. I hope they have found them as helpful and encouraging as I have.

The New Daylight notes offer four months of daily bible reading and reflection, provided by an excellent team of writers, who present a bible passage, helpful commentary and a prayer or thought for the day ahead. These notes or in fact any of the many commentaries widely available, give us a greater understanding of God’s word. It is from reading and studying the Scriptures that enables men and women ‘to know Jesus Christ more clearly, to love him more dearly and to follow him more nearly’. I hope that you might take up this challenge for 2004.

Daphne Lucas

Communion Rota for St John's communion.gif (2023 bytes)

St John's
Feb.	Mrs McElhinney & Mrs Finlay
Mar.	Churchwardens

Kitchen Fund / Parish Hall

The Kitchen fund account is now on going. All contributions would be most welcome.

Anyone wishing to contribute please contact Isobel McCollam or the Hon Treasurer Norman Shirley.

Amusing gaffs

Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don't forget your husbands.

The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.

Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and community.

The sermon this morning is "Jesus Walks on the Water." The sermon tonight is "Searching for Jesus."

Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.

Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.

Miss Charlene Mason sang "I Will Not Pass This Way Again," giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.

Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
The cost for attending this week's "Fasting and Prayer" conference includes meals.

Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10:00. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B. S. is done.
Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Please use the back door.

Attend and you will hear an excellent speaker and heave a healthy lunch.

This evening there will be a hymn sing in the park across from the church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.

Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions. She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor Jack's sermons.

The church will host an evening of fine dining, superb entertainment, and gracious hostility.

- Those without a sense of humour are at the mercy of the rest of us!

Parking outside St Patrick’s

It has been suggested that I bring the following to your attention.

Please note that if you choose to park outside St Patrick’s, Templepatrick you should leave enough room for pedestrians or childrens’ buggies to pass on the inside.

Many thanks for your continued co-operation.

The Rector

Swedish Link

Our link parish in Västerviik have appointed a new chief Rector (Kyrkoherde). Her name is Britt Alf. Those of you who travelled with us to Sweden should remember her - she officiated at the Evensong in the chapel in the cemetery on the Saturday evening. She was also on the video that Gunnar & Sven-Allan brought on their first visit to NI. She is in her fifties and has served in Västerviik for over 15 years. She is very much loved in church circles there, especially for her warmth and compassion at funerals, marriages and the like.

Please remember her in your prayers, especially for her Inauguration Feast (which is what they call it in Sweden!) which is on Sunday February 1st, and which, following Västerviik's kind invitation, will be attended by our very own rector, Stephen, accompanied by Brian McMeekin. We wish them well on their travels!

Steve Laird

Junior Sunday School

Last January I was confirmed and I decided to do something for the church. As I enjoy being with young children, I offered to help with Sunday School. Since then I have been teaching and doing many interesting things with Junior Sunday School. Each week we look at a different Bible story and take part in a fun activity. I have really enjoyed helping with Sunday School and getting to know lots of boys and girls and I would like to thank the Rector and Gail, our co-ordinator, for giving me this opportunity.
Catherine Lucas

What is Junior Sunday School?

The Junior Sunday school in Templepatrick Parish Church takes place during the Church service. The Children learn fun facts about God and Jesus and how Jesus had the power to heal people. They work through a booklet simplifying the details into easy, understandable steps and with the help of the Sunday School teachers they remember important details by doing various activities. Every week the Children leave the Church rooms feeling more educated about the love and care from God and Jesus to themselves. They will begin to understand the way in which Jesus lived, how much God cared for Him and why He died for us!

Stephanie McCollam
(The above views and observations of Junior Sunday School were made by Stephanie McCollam, who is currently helping at Junior Sunday School as part of her Duke of Edinburgh award.)

Ladies Fellowship

There was an extremely good turnout for the November meeting. A presentation by Mrs Christine Cuthbertson of her experiences when she walked/hiked the Great Wall of China, in aid of charity. A fascinating talk by Christine, she held the attention of all present.

In December a group of 13 members spent a quiet evening at Coleman’s, viewing the Christmas decoration display, which included a seasonal floral demonstration by Mrs Marretta Coleman. To round off the evening we retired to Barnaby’s Restaurant for supper.

Forthcoming activities:

February
On Tuesday, 20th, Mrs P Wallace, All Ireland President of the Mothers’ Union (MU), will give a Presentation titled, “Around the world, around the corner”. The purpose of this subject is to give us a greater awareness of the work undertaken by the MU. All ladies of the Parish are very welcome to attend.
March
Friday 5th, 8.00 pm - Women’s World Day of Prayer at Kilbride Parish Church.
Sunday 7th – Bishop’s Appeal – Soup and Cheese Lunch.
Tuesday 16th – Presentation by Mrs H Semple, subject “Camphill Community” followed by the AGM.

Ann Kerr (Hon.Sec.)

Rotas for St. Patrick's

Intercessor Rota for Parish Eucharist

St Patrick's
Feb.	A Cooke
Mar.	W Brolly

Communion Rota

St Patrick's
Feb.	Young Parishioners
Mar.	Mr T & Mrs C Michael

Cleaning Rota

St Patrick's
Feb.	A Cooke, O Erskine, M Montgomery
Mar.	C Michael, R McCoy, G McCoy

Flower Rota

St Patrick's
Feb. 1	Vacant
8	E Smyth
15	E Smyth
22	E Smyth
29	Lent
Mar. 7	Lent
14	Lent
21	Lent
28	Lent

Organising your wedding

Weddings are very special occasions in the life of any family and in the life of the church. When considering getting married please check possible dates with the Rector before confirming arrangements.

It is expected that couples will make a regular commitment to the life of the church in preparation for marriage.

An annual Rural Deanery marriage preparation course takes place every year in February which 'intending' couples area asked to atttend.

Large Print Hymnal

Anyone who would find it useful to have a large print Hymnal for worship, please speak to the church wardens as there are now some available for those who have difficulty reading the standard print.

BCP 2004
Pew editions of BCP 2004 can now be ordered at £11.99 (including 20% discount if you order through the parish now) The parish will be buying these early, in a quantity, to obtain the discount.

The Select Vestry are asking parishioners that they might consider buying their own copy and perhaps donating a copy to their parish to help meet the considerable expense of the Church of Ireland’s new Prayer Book which will become the legal standard of worship in June this year.

If you would like a pew edition (or a presentation pew edition £15.99) of the Book of Common Prayer 2004 please speak to the churchwardens soon. Colour illustrations of the BCP 2004 are on the clip rail at the back of the Church in St Patrick’s.

Words of introduction to a service order for the beginning of Lent:-

“ I invite you to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer and fasting, and self-denial; and by the reading and meditating on God’s holy word.”

Safeguarding Trust

In accordance with the recommendations in 'Safeguarding Trust - The Church of Ireland Code of Good Practice for Ministry with Children', a Parish Panel has been appointed (operating since June 1998) to implement some of the responsibilities identified in the Code.

The Panels responsibilities include:

interviewing persons willing to serve as workers in the parish
advising workers on their responsibilities in respect of the Code

advising the Select Vestry in respect of its responsibilities
being an immediate contact point for workers when a suspicion, complaint or allegation of child abuse is made about a worker or on parish premises in accord with the procedures set out in these guidelines.

The Parish Panel Members are:-

The Rev. S A Fielding, Templepatrick
Mrs M Bell, Glengormley
Mr S Clendinning, Templepatrick
Mr M Cooke, Dunadry

Saints of the Church

Brigid, Abbess of Kildare
1 February -- Festival
Brigid (also known as Bride) was born in the latter part of the fifth century, of humble origin just five miles from Kildare. She was to become first a nun in the monastery there and then its Abbess. She is believed to have been baptised by and the stories of her portray a woman of great compassion. She is even said to have been consecrated a bishop by Bishop Ibor, because of her resemblance to the Virgin Mary, but this may have been put abroad to support the claim of the primacy of the Abbey of Kildare. By her prayers and miracles, she is reputed to have strongly influenced the formation of the Church throughout Ireland, where she is, with St Patrick, the patron saint. She died in about the year 525.

The Presentation of Christ in the Temple (Candlemas)
2 February -- Principal Feast -- Gold or White
This day marks the completion of forty days since the birth of Jesus, when Mary and Joseph took the child to the Temple in Jerusalem. The requirement in Levitical law was for Mary to be 'cleansed', the completion of her purification following the birth of a male child. Until that day, she could touch no holy thing nor enter the sanctuary. Yet on seeing the holy family, Simeon praised God and acclaimed the infant as 'the light to enlighten the nations' and the prophet Anna gave thanks and proclaimed him her Redeemer. The image of Christ as the Light has led to the celebration of light countering darkness, with candles often taking a central place in the observance.

Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy, Priest, Poet
8 March -- Commemoration
Born in 1883, Studdert Kennedy was a young vicar in Worcester who became an army chaplain during the First World War. His warm personality soon earned the respect of soldiers, who nicknamed him 'Woodbine Willie' after the brand of cigarettes he shared with them. After the First World War, he became a writer and regular preacher, drawing large crowds, who were attracted by his combination of traditional sacramental theology with more unconventional theological views. He worked tirelessly for the Christian Industrial Fellowship, but his frail health gave way and he died (still a young man) on this day in 1929

“God is love,
and those who live in love
live in God: and God lives in them.”
(1John 4.16)

Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland
17 March -- Missionary -- Festival -- White
Patrick was born in Celtic Cornwall around the year 390 and was captured by Irish raiders when he was sixteen years old and taken to Ireland as a slave. After six years, he escaped and seems to have gone to the Continent. He eventually found his way back to his own family, where his previously nominal Christian faith grew and matured. He returned to Gaul and was there trained as a priest and much influenced by the form of monasticism evolving under Martin of Tours. When he was in his early forties, he returned to Ireland as a bishop, and made his base at Armagh, which became the centre of his See.

He evangelised the people of the land by walking all over the island, gently bringing men and women to a knowledge of Christ. Although he faced fierce opposition and possible persecution, he continued his missionary journeys. Despite being unsuccessful in his attempts to establish the diocesan system he had experienced in Gaul, his monastic foundations proved to be the infrastructure required to maintain the faith after his death, which occurred on this day in the year 460.

Joseph of Nazareth
19 March -- Festival -- White
In the gospel of Matthew, Joseph is depicted as a good man, a working carpenter, who trusted in God. He received God's messenger who shared with him God's will for him and for Mary, to whom he was engaged to be married. Luke's gospel describes how Joseph took the new-born child as if he were his own. He was with Mary when, on the fortieth day after the birth, Jesus was presented in the Temple, 'where every first-born male is designated as holy to the Lord'. The adoption of Jesus by Joseph also established Jesus in the descent of David, to accord with the prophecy that Israel's deliverer would be of the House and lineage of David.

The Annunciation of our Lord to the Blessèd Virgin Mary
25 March -- Principal Feast -- White or Gold
The story of the announcement of the coming of God made flesh in the person of his Son, Jesus the Christ, the Anointed One, is heard in today's proclamation of the good news from the gospel of Luke. The feast marks the conception of Christ in the womb of Mary and has been celebrated in the Church at least since the late fourth century. The perfect humanity and the complete divinity of Jesus is affirmed, following the controversies around those orthodox assertions, which themselves led to the acknowledgement of Mary as Theotokos, God-bearer, which in the West became translated as Mother of God. The celebration thus took on strong associations with the person of Mary, and became known in England as Lady Day. In recent years, the Church has re-affirmed the day as a Feast of our Lord, on which his virgin- mother has a unique place of honour and veneration.


Parish Directory
Rector The Rev. Stephen A Fielding B.Sc., B.Th., M.A. The Vicarage, 926 Antrim Road, Templepatrick, Co.Antrim, BT39 0AT (028 9443 2300 E-mail: templepatrick@connor.anglican.org
*CHURCH OFFICE BEARERS* Rector's Churchwarden:(St.Patrick's) Mrs M. Walbridge, Templepatrick People's Churchwarden:(St.Patrick's) Mr D Mawhinney, Dunadry Rector's Churchwarden:(St.John's) Miss Y.Hutchinson, Doagh People's Churchwarden:(St.John's) Mrs M Bell, N'abbey Rector's Glebewarden:Mr R Barnes, Dunadry People's Glebewarden: Mr M Cooke, Dunadry Supplemental Glebewarden: Mr S Clendinning, Templepatrick *Select Vestry:* (Meets 2nd Monday in month at 8.00 pm) Mr R.Barnes, Mrs R.Barnes, Mrs M Bell, Mr H Cinnamon, Mr S Clendinning, Mrs M Coe, Mr M Cooke, Mrs Y Hutchinson, Mr J Jones, Mr C Lundy, Mr D Mawhinney, Mr T Michael, Mrs I McCollam, Mr S McCollam, Mr B McMeekin, Mr N Shirley,Mr A Walbridge, Mrs M Walbridge Diocesan Synodsmen: Mr E Cinnamon, Mr H Cinnamon Honorary Secretary: Mrs M Bell, Newtownabbey Honorary Treasurer: Mr N Shirley, Templepatrick Honorary F.W.O. Recorder and Envelope Secretary: Mrs I McCollam, Templepatrick Covenant Secretary: Mrs P. MacKean, Loughanmore PARISH PANEL:- The Rector; Mrs M Bell; Mr S Clendinning; Mr M Cooke Parish Organisations and their Leaders:- *Choir* Practices on Thursdays at 8pm. Organist and Choirmistress Mrs M.Irvine, The Rectory, Killead Sunday School Coordinators: Mrs G McCoy, Mr B McMeekin. Leaders: Mrs V Brady, Mrs D Gaffney, Miss R Laird. Helpers: Miss C Lucas, Miss S McCollam.. Crèche (Sundays) Mrs Judith Collister, Mrs Julia Fielding Youth Group Mr Philip Lusty, Mrs Valerie Brady			Building for Generations & Swedish Link Rep: Mr S Laird Sacristan: Mrs R Barnes Hall Secretary: Mrs I McCollam CofI Gazette Secretary: Mrs M McConnell Bible Study Notes Secretary: Mrs D Lucas Christian Aid Secretary Mrs L Lynas Parish Webmaster Mr Alan Walbridge Magazine Producer Mrs Gail McCoy *Youth Organisations* Choir Practices on Thursdays at 8pm Rainbow Guides (4-7 years): Tuesday 2.15-3.15pm Mrs Ann Forsythe, Mrs D Reid Brownies (7-10 years): Wednesdays 6.00-7.30pm Miss Elaine McConnaghie Guides (10-14 years): Wednesdays 7.30-9.00pm Mrs Ann Forsythe Squirrels (4-6 years): Thursdays 4-5pm Mrs C Michael Beavers (6-8 years): Mondays 6.30-7.30pm Mrs C Michael Cub Scouts (8-10years): Tuesdays 6.45-8.00 pm Mr A Martin Scouts (10+ years): Contact Mr P Lawther Parents and Toddlers Group Wednesdays 10.30am-12pm Mrs Hayley Cunningham Adult Organisations Choir Practices on Thursdays at 8pm Indoor Bowling Club : Fridays 7.30pm Secretary: Mrs I McCollam Ladies Fellowship 3rd Tuesday in the month, 8pm. Secretary:Mrs A Kerr Parish Ramblers meet occasionally

Services

February - March 2004

1 Feb.	Sunday	Presentation of Christ in the Temple (tr)
	8.30 am	Holy Communion
	11.30 am	All Age Worship
RCL	Old Testament Psalm Epistle Gospel	Jeremiah 1: 4-10 71: 1-6 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13 Luke 4: 21-30

8 Feb.	Sunday	Third before Lent
	8.30 am	Holy Communion
	11.30 am	Matins
RCL Full texts available	Old Testament Psalm Epistle Gospel	Isaiah 6: 1-8, (9-13) 138 1 Corinthians 15: 1-11 Luke 5: 1-11

15 Feb.	Sunday	Second before Lent
	8.30 am	Holy Communion
	11.30 am	Parish Eucharist
RCL	Old Testament Psalm Epistle Gospel	Genesis 2: 4b-9, 15-25 65 Revelations 4 Luke 8: 22-35

22 Feb.	Sunday	Transfiguration Next before Lent
	10.00 am	Matins - St. John's
	11.30 am	Matins
RCL Full texts available	Old Testament Psalm Epistle Gospel	Exodus 34: 29-35 99 2 Corinthians 3: 12 - 4: 2 Luke 9: 28-36, (37-43)

25 Feb.	Wednesday	Ash Wednesday
	10.00 am	Holy Communion
RCL Full texts available	Old Testament Psalm Epistle Gospel	Joel 2: 1-2, 12-17 or Isaiah 58: 1-12 51: 1-17 2 Corinthians 5: 20b - 6: 10 Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-21

29 Feb.	Sunday	First Sunday in Lent
	11.30 am	United Parish Eucharist
RCL Full texts available	Old Testament Psalm Epistle Gospel	Deuteronomy 26: 1-11 91: 1-2, 9-16 Romans 10: 8b-13 Luke 4: 1-13

7 Mar.	Sunday	Second Sunday in Lent
	8.30 am	Holy Communion
	11.30 am	All Age Worship
RCL Full texts available	Old Testament Psalm Epistle Gospel	Genesis 15: 1-12, 17-18 27 Phillipians 3: 17 - 4: 1 Luke 13: 31-35 or Luke 9: 28-36

14 Mar.	Sunday	Third Sunday in Lent
	10.00 am	Parish Eucharist - St. John's
	11.30 am	Matins
RCL Full texts available	Old Testament Psalm Epistle Gospel	Isaiah 55: 1-9 63: 1-8 1 Corinthians 10: 1-13 Luke 13: 1-9

17 Mar.	Sunday	St Patrick's Day
	10.00 am	Patronal Festival Eucharist

21 Mar.	Sunday	Mothering Sunday Lent 4
	8.30 am	Holy Communion
	11.30 am	Parish Eucharist
RCL	Old Testament Psalm Epistle Gospel	Exodus 2: 1-10 34: 11-20 2 Corinthians 1: 3-7 Luke 2: 33-35

28 Mar.	Sunday	Fifth Sunday in Lent
	10.00 am	Matins - St. John's
	11.30 am	Matins
RCL Full texts available	Old Testament Psalm Epistle Gospel	Isaiah 43: 16-21 126 Philippians 3: 4b-14 John: 12: 1-8

Wednesday morning Communions with prayer for the sick are at 10am followed by coffee in the Church Rooms. Saints Days are as announced in church.

Becoming a Registered Vestrymember

Notice is hereby given that the Register of General Vestrymen is open for revision from Sunday 1st February until Monday 9th February, 2004.

Persons wishing to qualify as Registered Vestrymembers should complete the necessary form, available from a Churchwarden, and return it to the Churchwarden(s) NOT LATER THAN 9th February, 2004.

Forms of Declaration may be had, upon request, from the Churchwardens.

Persons already registered do not need to re-register. Please check the existing list of Registered Vestrymen in the church porch if you are in any doubt.

Revision will be completed and the list closed by the Select Vestry at its meeting on Monday 9th February 2004 in the Minor Hall at 8.00pm.

Signed: Stephen Fielding
Rector

To qualify you must be:

A member of the Church of Ireland
Over 18 years old
A parishioner or accustomed member - (and not on any other parish register of vestrymembers)
A Subscriber to Church funds

Registering your name on the Register of Vestrymembers entitles you to be elected to the Select Vestry and to a vote at the Easter AGM when, from among the members, the Select Vestry is elected for another year. Registering does not mean that you will automatically be a member of the Select Vestry, which meets monthly and whose terms of reference are furnishings, fabric and finance. Your presence at this meeting is valued and expresses your support for the Select Vestry’s work throughout the year.

Youth Fellowship

The Youth Fellowship group will meet in the Church Rooms on the following dates:-

22nd February
29th February
Dates in April will be announced in church

Time : 2.30 to 4.30 pm

Come along and bring a friend - the craic is mighty!

Philip Lusty

BFG Course

The Diocese of Connor Building for Generations program has been running various courses for both clergy and laity under its newly appointed training co-ordinator, Peter Hamill. I attended a lay visitor training course entitled Pastoral Care in a Mission Context for 8 weeks from October 20th 2003. The course was held in St Paul’s Church, York Road and our tutor was Captain Isaac Hanna of the Church Army.

I found it a most interesting and rewarding experience as it gave an opportunity to look at how we can reach out through visiting others. It was good to meet other parishioners from the Diocese; there were participants from Kilbride Parish, Greenisland, Lambeg, Lisburn and St Paul’s. Captain Hanna was an excellent and very enthusiastic Lecturer.

Some of the issues we looked at were – What is Pastoral care? Pastoral care in the context of Mission, sickness, healing and salvation, also in coping with bereavement. We looked at special groups with disabilities and how to improve communication skills. The course concluded with a very special Service of Commendation in St Paul’s led by Bishop Harper and attended by family members and various Rectors. I felt the course was very worthwhile and I look forward to putting what I learnt to use in the parish.

Daphne Lucas

(Queries on BFG should be directed to Mr Steve Laird – see Parish Directory)

United Parishes of Templepatrick & Donegore
Select Vestry

presents

Glarryford YFC

in
“Quinns Secret”
by George Shiels

in the Parish Hall, on Saturday 14th February 2004
at 8.00 pm Doors open 7.30 pm

Tickets - £5.00

“There is no love without hope,
no hope without love,
and neither hope nor love without faith.”
(St Augustine of Hippo)

The Internet

A special welcome to those new to the computing community as a result of Christmas gifts. Even those who could be classified as “silver surfers” can find much to interest them on the internet.

Apart from out parish website, there is now the diocesan website that was recently launched and is nearly over its first stumbling steps. All you need to know about Connor can be found at http://www.connor.anglican.org/

It is still developing so any comments, suggestions or mistakes spotted would be welcome to those who maintain the site. I will gladly pass on anything you bring to my attention. Please be free with your criticism as there is a lot still to be done with the site. However it is a good place to find out what is happening and what is planned for the future. Of course if we don’t let them know what WE are doing then they cannot publicise it. So organisations running events need to let them, or me, know when publicity is required.

On the site you will find sections on
Diocese A-Z, News and Events, Connor Youth/Training, Building for Generations, Connor Organisations, Resources, Connor In Mission, On-Line Ministry
Within each of these is more information. For example under Resources there are sections on
Fund Raising, Sales/Wants/Exchange, Are You an Office Holder, Church Music, Vacancies

The deeper you delve the more you may find of interest to you. Well worth spending some time discovering what information/resources it provides.

One thing that can greatly increase the interest of a website is pictures and with the increased ownership of digital cameras we should have lots more on our parish site. Pictures of members, prizes, events or places could all add to our site. If you are not sure how to do it there is a lot of help on the internet. SayCheese at http://www.saycheese.com has the basics plus tips and tricks for taking better pictures, while your questions could be answered at Digital photography FAQ, which resides at http://www.cs.duke.edu/~parr/photography and has plenty of information for all levels of expertise. Let me have your pictures and parishioners who stay in touch by looking at our site could see them throughout the world.

The letters FAQ above is an abbreviation for Frequently Asked Questions. It itself is a TLA or Three Letter Abbreviation of which the computing world has too many. Eventually the more common ones are learned, but it is nice to have a reference to help with those that are unknown. Such a reference is AcronymGenie, which is available to download from http://acronymgenie.tripod.com/

Once you have it on your machine you do not need to be online to reference it. But be warned that it is only concerned with computing terms. For example RCL is given as Rotate through Carry Left rather than Revised Common Lectionary as you might have expected.

Being the start of a new year our new calendars adorn the walls and backs of doors. We can quickly see what day of the week our birthday is or when festivals are. However we are limited to this year, why not browse through times past and future as well? Discover that 12 July 1690 was a Wednesday or that the Bastille was stormed on a Tuesday. Investigate the calendar of 1752 when 11 days of September were omitted. For the thrifty among you, did you realise that you can keep this year’s calendar and reuse it in 2032, but you will have to change the date of Easter? All this and more at Calendar Magic

I look forward to receiving your material for inclusion on our website on any date. You even have an extra day this year with it being a Leap Year; but that is another story.

Alan

Puzzle

Creation

Across		14	Eve was the first one
3	God removed one of these from man to make woman	16	Little night lights
5	Creatures	18	Grew in the garden; one was of life; one was of the knowledge of good and evil
7	What God used to water the Garden	20	The heavens
9	To make from nothing	21	First woman
11	Our planet	22	The lesser light that rules the night
13	Healing type plants	23	The greater light that rules the day

Down		10	Apples, oranges and bananas
1	Another name fo rthe garden of Eden	12	God created our earth in 6 of these
2	The _________ of Eden	15	First man
4	They fly in the air	17	What God did on the 7th day
6	These swim in the seas	19	Where God planted the first garden
8	These are sown to grow plants; fruits reproduce by these	22	Adam was the first one

elephant.gif (3416 bytes)

Notes for the next issue of the Magazine are due on:
Wednesday 10th March 2004.
Contributions from all Parish Organisations would be very welcome

Please send website contributions or comments to Webmaster