Carrickfergus, N Ireland
MINISTER’S LETTER
I wonder if anyone has ever told you that you are special. Well just in case they haven’t here goes, “You are special!” I am not being flippant when I write this to you. I believe Holy Scripture would affirm the very same thing, my mind races with many of the pictures in the Bible. The prodigal son, the woman who searches so long and so hard for her lost coin, the shepherd who does not give up until he finds the lost sheep and then the pictures that speaks so powerfully the first Easter.
God loves you so much! You are special to Him. There is no one else quite like you, you are unique. Ok I accept that we may mess up at times, well perhaps lots of times but I still say you are unique. The world may not revolve around you but you are gifted in many ways that will help our world to go round. Have you ever found yourself saying I don’t understand how they can do that, it would drive me crazy? Perhaps it is going through finances, patiently building a piece of furniture. I often think this way when I’m with Karen; she has a patience that I know I don’t have. She can do things that I can’t.
Recently Karen was telling me how her mother Hazel, when looking after Kailin, our 18 month old niece, taught her to help hang out the washing. Hazel would get Kailin to take an item of clothing out of the washing machine and bring it to her so that she could put it over the clothes horse. Kailin was chuffed and felt she was contributing.
God has given you certain skills and abilities that are unique to you.
10one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. 11If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4:10-11. Max Lucado in his book ‘Cure for the Common Life’ made the observation that, “When God gives an assignment, He also gives the skill. Study your skills, then, to reveal your assignment.
Why am I making this point? Well I guess I want to encourage those who are faithfully doing what they are doing in the life and ministry of the Church and at the same time challenge others to explore what it is that God is wanting them to do within the life of His Church. Take a look back over your life. What have you consistently done well? What have you loved to do? Find your uniqueness.
Something from the Spirit can be seen in each person, for the common good. 1 Cor 12:7 (NCV)
Find that Something!
Reverend Darren James McCartney
THE BIBLE FOR HEALTH
A healthy body is really important, but Deuteronomy 8:3 tells us that ‘people do not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord’.
So where do you get the nutrition you need from God’s word? Strength and energy are crucial if we’re to keep on living the Christian life day after day, year after year. The letter to the Hebrews says, ‘Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us’ (12:1), and Paul says, ‘I press on towards the goal to win the prize’ (Philippians 3:14). Reading the many stories of people in the Bible who loved God and gave up everything to serve him, from Abraham through to Jesus and his followers, strengthens us to keep pressing on in our faith.
We need to keep growing, too. Peter urges us, ‘Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love’ (2 Peter 1:5–7). Does that sound like a tall order? Well, reading the Bible regularly can help us add a little bit of growth each day.
What if we fall ill? Fear, worry, resentment, pride and greed can all take hold of us and weaken our ability to live for God. ‘All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,’ says 2 Timothy 3:16. The Bible shows us where we’re going wrong, so that we can put it right and ward off the ‘heart disease’ that harms our spiritual lives.
Do you need more nourishment, to live a healthy spiritual life? Then take a helping of the Bible every day!
Lisa Cherrett, Project Editor & Managing Editor
for Bible Reading Notes
Vintage Church
Author Mark DriscollIn this book Mark Driscoll defines the local church:
“The church is a community of regenerated believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord. In obedience to scripture they organise work under qualified leadership, gather regularly for preaching and worship, observe the biblical sacraments of baptism and communion, are unified by the spirit, are discipline for holiness, and scatter to fulfil the great commandment and the great commission as missionaries to the world for God’s glory and their joy.”
This definition is a summary of Acts 2. In that text are the following 8 characteristics of the true local church.
1.Regenerated Church Membership
2.Qualified Leadership
3.Preaching and Worship
4.Rightly Administered Sacraments
5.Spirit Unity
6.Holiness
7.The Great Commandment to Love
8.The Great Commission to Evangelize and make disciples.
He goes on to explain these characteristics fully from scripture and how to achieve them in our local church. Jackie Kane
2009 marks the 30th anniversary of the United Nations’ International Year of the Child. This series of articles, which ends with the June issue, will highlight some of the children and young people we meet in the Bible.
A CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM...
2009 marks the 30th anniversary of the United Nations’ International Year of the Child. Being young does not always mean being weak, as the story of Daniel and his three friends reminds us....
At the end of the first chapter of the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament are the words, ‘Daniel continued until the first year of King Cyrus.’ The word ‘continued’ covers a period of around seventy years. Daniel lived to see the end of the Babylonian kingdom and the beginning of the Persian kingdom.
Daniel and his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, were Israelite teenagers when they were captured by the Babylonian army and taken to Babylon. There their names were changed, they were given a strict Babylonian education and every effort was made to make them forget Israel and Israel’s God. But from the beginning these four teenagers were determined they would not compromise their faith. They asked to be excused from eating the prescribed meals because they had been offered to Babylon’s gods. Instead they choose to live on vegetables and water. After a trial period they looked better and performed better academically than those eating ‘the king’s rich food’ (Dan. 1:15).
They had faced their first test and came through it triumphantly. Their second test came some time later. Refusing to bow down and worship Babylon’s gods when they heard the sound of music, Daniel’s three friends were thrown into a roaring furnace. The Babylonish king Nebuchadnezzar was astounded when the furnace doors were opened and the three Israelites stepped out alive and not even the smell of fire upon them. Again their deep faith in Israel’s God had brought them through.
Daniel’s wisdom and wise counsels were such that he was raised to high office but his enemies were busy. During a thirty-day period in which all prayers were to be offered to King Darius, Daniel continued his daily devotions to Yahweh, the God of his fathers. Thrown into a den of lions, he was protected by God’s power and even King Darius admitted that Yahweh was the one, true God.
The strong faith of Daniel and his three friends preserved them from teenage years through to old age. Children and young people must be given every assistance to find faith in God for themselves and every encouragement to develop that faith as the foundation for their lives.
TRANS WORLD RADIO – now 24 hours a day
Trans World Radio has just launched its new Freesat service in Britain. This new digital satellite TV and radio service means you can now tune in to TWR 24 hours a day, without having to pay any service subscription or monthly charges.
TWR is an international Gospel network spanning more than 70 countries. It broadcasts over 1800 hours each week in 225 languages and dialects . It transmits from 15 primary transmitting sites around the world, by continent-wide satellite networks, over thousands of local stations, and via the Internet.
Freesat is the satellite TV service providing subscription-free digital television to everyone in the UK. It offers over 140 TV, radio and interactive channels, including High Definition
(HD) services from the BBC and ITV. Freesat is a not-for-profit organisation and is a joint venture between the BBC and ITV. (Visit www.freesat.co.uk)
TRAINING V TRYING
Most of us would like to more aware of Jesus’ presence in our lives on a daily basis. However, we can often find ourselves saying, ‘if this is going to happen, I will have to try harder – to pray, listen to God, read the Bible etc’. However, if God really wants us to know this life, he wouldn’t have suggested it if it wasn’t possible.
Paul makes the important distinction between training and trying in the Christian life:
‘Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever’. (1 Corinthians 9:24,25)
Notice what he says: runners must go into strict training if they are to win the race. As we know, it would be foolish to enter a marathon without training. We wouldn’t complete the course despite trying hard! However, with training we could attempt a marathon if we really wanted to. We would have to eat differently and exercise, but with the right coaching we could complete the race. The same principles apply to the Christian life: God wants us to train spiritually if we are to live the life he wants for us.
Training is an indispensable ingredient for pursuing spiritual transformation. As Dallas Willard has pointed out, ‘to train means to arrange my life around activities I can do that will enable me, over time, to do what I cannot do by direct effort alone’. Generally, we overestimate what we can do by trying and underestimate what we can do by training. As Paul writes to Timothy, ‘train yourself to be godly’ (1Timothy 4:7).
How does this work out in practice? It means engaging in spiritual practices in order to use them to train us to be more like Jesus. For example, as we learn to listen more to people, we will listen to God.
Prayer Diary – May 2009
1st May – Friday
Operation Mobilisation’s ship ‘The Logos Hope’ arrived in Belfast on Wednesday and is open for visitors until 11th May. Pray for a successful Belfast visit, for the crew and visitors, and for open minds ready to take up the challenge of this type of mission.
2nd May – Saturday
This month sees the beginning of GCSE, AS, A Level and other exams. Pray for all children and young people sitting exams this summer, that they would give of their best and that those around them would not add to stress levels.
3rd May – Sunday
Pray for today’s services, once again giving thanks for the teaching we receive from Darren, Kathleen and Andrew.
4th May – Monday
The annual Fun Day Out takes place today. Pray for safe travel for all those going to Tollymore Forest today and for fun and fellowship that will last long after today’s outing is a distant memory.
5th May – Tuesday
The new Select Vestry will meet this evening for the first time. Pray for the members of our Select Vestry, that they would be guided by God’s will in the running of our Parish.
6th May – Wednesday
Pray for the Rev George Davison, his wife Nadine and their children Erin and Jamie and their preparations for their move to Carrickfergus. Pray that our church family will be a welcoming people.
7th May – Thursday
Pray for the Parish Bible Study and Prayer Group.
8th May – Friday
Pray for the sick in mind and body. Pray especially for those struggling with mental illness, their families and carers.
9th May – Saturday
Once again this summer children and young people will attend Crosslinks Camps. Pray for God’s provision of sufficient leaders for these camps so that everyone who wishes to attend may do so.
10th May – Sunday
One week before our Confirmation service, pray for our Sunday Schools, Bible Class and Youth Fellowship. Pray for those who teach by word and example. Pray for those going forward for Confirmation.
11th May – Monday
Last month we say the devastation caused by the earthquake in Italy, with hundreds killed and thousands left homeless. Pray for all those affected by the tragedy as shock gives way to grief or despair. Pray for the Italian government and its response to this disaster.
12th May – Tuesday
This evening our Women’s Fellowship rounds off its year with an outing to Sentry Hill, Carnmoney. Pray for the Women’s Fellowship, giving thanks for the Committee and for Karen McCartney’s leadership these last months.
13th May – Wednesday
Pray for our Organist, Alison Irwin and for the members of the choir, giving thanks for their contribution to our Sunday worship.
14th May – Thursday
Pray for the bereaved. Pray for those who feel they are now alone following the loss of a loved one and for support of others.
15th May – Friday
Pray for the Beavers, Cubs and Scouts.
16th May – Saturday
Pray for the church in Tabora, for Bishop Sadock Makaya and for the safety of priests and evangelists bringing the Gospel to new areas.
17th May – Sunday
Bishop Alan Abernathy will be with us this evening for this year’s Confirmation Service. Pray for the Confirmation candidates - fourteen young people and three adults, and for parents, Godparents and friends.
18th May – Monday
Pray for those who assist our Honorary Treasurer by counting and recording FWO giving and the Select Vestry’s Gift Aid Committee.
19th May – Tuesday
Pray for both sections of our Girl Guides and their leaders.
20th May – Wednesday
The Widow’s Group meets again this evening. Pray for the leadership and organisation of the group and the friendship and fellowship it offers to widows in our parish.
21st May – Thursday
British Army deployment in Iraq is ending but operations continue in Afghanistan. Pray for those currently serving in areas of conflict and for their families at home. Pray for peace.
22nd May – Friday
Pray for MECO; for Don Howe’s leadership in Ireland and for the men and women working for MECO throughout the Middle East.
23rd May – Saturday
You may have noticed that rebuilding work is well under way at the Methodist church site. Pray for our friends in the Methodist congregation, for the swift completion of the building work, and for the continued smooth running of our hall sharing arrangement.
24th May – Sunday
This morning’s Family Service will include the Presentation of Awards to our Boys’ Brigade Company with Mark and Alison Gill from CMS Ireland as our special guests. Pray for this service and this evening’s Youth Church, for everyone involved in our Boys’ Brigade. Pray for CMS, Mark and Alison and for those continuing their work in Nepal.
25th May – Monday
Andrew Campbell and his fiancée Alison marry today. Pray for them as they begin their new life as husband and wife.
26th May – Tuesday
The Recession continues with more people losing their jobs, businesses closing, and homes repossessed. Pray for economic recovery and that our government will do everything possible to help those most in need.
27th May – Wednesday
Pray for Carrickfergus Ministers’ Fellowship.
28th May – Thursday
Once again this morning Parish News will be assembled ready for distribution. Pray for Catherine Wallace our Secretary, for her team of helpers and for Parish News Distributors.
29th May – Friday
Pray for Brownies and Rainbows.
30th May – Saturday
Children from both Sunday Schools will come together today for the annual Sunday School Excursion. Pray for everyone travelling to Carnfunnock today.
31st May – Sunday
As we gather today for Sunday worship and as we pray for our services, pray also for persecuted Christians in other parts of the world and for the help and support of Open Doors.
POINTS TO PONDER
Humility is the beginning of true intelligence John Calvin
A family is a mobile strung together with invisible threats – delicate, easily broken at first, growing stronger through the years, in danger of being worn thin at times, but strengthened
again with special care.... continuity! Edith Schaeffer
God does not bestow his Spirit on his people in order to set aside the use of his Word, but rather to render it fruitful. John Calvin
Thinking is the talking of the soul with itself. Plato
SUNDAY SCHOOL EXCURSION
As mentioned in last month’s magazine, our excursion will be to Carnfunnock Country Park, outside Larne, and will be on Saturday 30th May.
The excursion is free to all children of both morning and afternoon Sunday Schools, however it is necessary to ask parents and friends traveling with us for a contribution of £8 each.
We will be traveling by coach, leaving from the Railway Station Car Park at 10 am, returning by about 4.30 pm.
It is recommended that packed lunches are brought with you. Children will receive a “goody bag” consisting of a fruit drink, a chocolate biscuit, a bag of crisps and an item of fruit.
Charges apply to all activities except the adventure playground, and these will be the responsibility of parents. Ideally an adult should accompany a child or children from a family. If this poses a problem, please speak to the Superintendent or your child’s teacher to make alternative arrangements.
We need to know the numbers of both children and adults going on the excursion. Please complete and return the tear-off strip from the letter all parents will have received; no later than 10th May 2009.
Yours sincerely Sharon Lutton and Lynn Rodgers
Sunday School Superintendent
WOMEN’S FELLOWSHIP
Our annual outing will be a visit to Sentry Hill, Carnmoney on Tuesday 12 May. We will meet in the car park beside the halls at 6.30pm and travel by car to our destination. There will be a light supper of tea/coffee and scones at the end of the visit and the total cost for the evening is £4.50 concession and £5.50 non-concession.This should be a very enjoyable evening - if you would like to join us and have not already put your name down please speak to me or Karen McCartney as soon as possible so that we can finalise numbers.
Valerie Leighton, Honorary Secretary
Behold, enfold, hold
The Father who created me
With eye benign beholdeth me;
The Son who dearly purchased me
With eye divine enfoldeth me;
The Spirit who so altered me
With eye refining holdeth me;
In friendliness and love the Three
Behold me when I bend the knee.
From an old Celtic prayer
LAUGHLINES
The little girl was anxiously watching the sunny sky for signs of rain. “Mum, didn’t the weatherman on TV last night say there would be rain?” “Yes, dear,” Mum replied.
“Well,” the little girl sighed with relief. “Thank goodness God didn’t hear him.”
Ben, aged five, was getting ready to move up a class at school. He was happy, but puzzled. “Mum,” he said, “I don’t understand why my teacher doesn’t move up, too. She knows almost as much as I do.”
The Sunday School teacher was describing how Lot’s wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt. Young George was most interested. “My dad looked back once,” he said, “while he was driving, and he turned into a lamp-post!”
Football coach: “Men, I want you to remember this if you forget everything else I tell you: football develops individuality, initiative, and leadership. It teaches you about teamwork, but it also teaches you to think and act on your own. Now get out there and do exactly what I tell you!”
Knowing and loving the Bible
Here’s a provocative question: do Christians really need to read the Bible? Yes, we can choose to follow Jesus without personally owning a copy or reading it regularly; that was the experience of most believers until the invention of printing made books widely available. It’s still the case for Christians around the world who cannot afford a Bible - or who simply cannot read.
Getting to know the Bible is part of growing into mature faith, though. The Bible gives us the ‘big picture’ for what we believe: from the story of creation right through to Jesus’ death and resurrection, and the promise of his return.
More than that, the Bible not only tells us about God, but through the working of the Holy Spirit, it can become God’s word for us here and now. This means that as we read it, we have to work out prayerfully how to apply its teaching and values in our lives today.
A starting point is acquiring a translation that we find readable - and if we have been reading the same translation for a while, switching to a different one can bring new insights into familiar verses. Most Christian bookshops stock a range of Bible translations, and also various Bible reference books, such as atlases and handbooks. Study Bibles, where the background information and comment are included on the same page as the passage, are a particularly helpful resource. Daily reading notes and commentaries also offer different levels of help in understanding the Bible.
These days, there is a wide choice of books and related resources to help young people engage with the Bible. One recent publication from BRF, Girls for God, is written especially for girls aged fifteen and upwards – and written by somebody who is a teenager herself! Studying the Bible in a group can also be very helpful for people of all ages, as it gives those taking part the chance to learn from the insights and questions of others.
No, we don’t have to read the Bible every day to be Christians – but if we don’t, we are missing out on so much, not least the chance to hear God speaking to us through words written generations before, telling us that he loves us and that he watches over our path
Get gardening – and extend your life!
If you garden for three hours a week after the age of 50, it seems that you are likely to live two years longer than people who don’t take exercise. A recent survey in the British Medical Journal has found that high levels of physical activity in middle age (defined as three hours of sport or heavy gardening per week) will reduce your risk of dying to that equivalent to people who have always been active. So – it’s not too late to get planting!
Crèche Rota May 2009
3rd Faye Hamilton, Katrina Todd, Louise Bell, Rebecca Patton
10th Ann Hodge, Kristine McKee, Valerie Leighton, Sarah Nelson
17th Annie Laverty, Annie Crawford, Lorraine Gibson, Jonathan Nelson
24th Joan Gray, Deirdre Beck, Heather Gingles, Hester Gingles
31st Karen Bell, Sharon Lutton, Carol Connor, Ruth Nelson
The Crèche is in the Church Hall. Children can be left there at 11 15 am each Sunday. It would be appreciated if those who kindly staff the Crèche would be there by 11 10 am. If you can't be present on a Sunday listed please arrange for another of the volunteers to cover for you. Thank you for your co-operation.
Flowers in Church May 2009
3rd Agnes Wilson
10th Kathleen Arthur
17th Vacant
24th Mr & Mrs M Armstrong
31st Vacant
If you would like to donate flowers for the Sanctuary please fill your name in against the appropriate space on the Flower List in the main porch–or contact Mary Withers 9336 2869.
Christian Burial
‘I am the Resurrection and the Life’
8th April 2009
Mary Frances Watson (formerly of this parish)
Boniface House, Brixworth, England
SERVICES IN MAY 2009
3rd May
9.30 am Holy Communion
11.30 am Holy Communion
Portrait of a New Testament Church
Matthew 16 v 13-20 1 Corinthians 1 v 1-3
7 pm Evening Prayer—Loving Unconditionally
Ezekiel 34 v 1-10 John 10 v 11-18
10th May
9.30 am Holy Communion
11.30 am Morning Prayer—More than Food
Romans 12 v 3-16 John 17 v 20-26
7 pm Informal—Abiding in the Big Picture
John 15 v 1-8
17th May
9.30 am Holy Communion
11.30 am Morning Prayer—The Body of Christ
1 Corinthians 12 v 12-31 Hebrews 10 v 19-25
7 pm Confirmation Service
24th May
9.30 am Holy Communion
11.30 am Family Service—God’s Big Family
Mark and Alison Gill who have been working for CMS
in Nepal will be our guest speakers
Revelations 7 v 4-10
7 pm Youth Service—How do I know I’m a Christian? -
Because I have the Holy Spirit Aaron Douglas preaching
31st May
9.30 am Holy Communion
11.30 am Morning Prayer—Becoming an Excellent Church
2 Corinthians 8 v 1-15 Acts 2 v 40-47
7 pm Evening Prayer—The Day of Pentecost
Ezekiel 37 v 1-14 Acts 2 v 1-21
Other Events in May 2009
5th 7.30 pm Select Vestry Meeting
12th 6.30 pm Women’s Fellowship Outing
20th 7.15 pm Widows’ Group
CHURCH OPEN DAYS – MAY 2009
Saturdays 2nd and 23rd
Times: 11.00am – 3.00pm.
Church Tour Guides Meeting
There will be a meeting for tour guides on Monday 11th May at 7.30pm in the Vestry. All parishioners are welcome.
CD’s now available
If you are interested in obtaining a CD of the Sunday service then please advise John Kane on the sound desk. Those who bring tapes to folk please find out if they would like a CD instead. Both Tapes and CD’s will be made available.
Brownies and Guides Parents Evening
Tuesday 26th May at 7 pm
In Church Halls
Everybody Welcome
ANNUAL FAMILY DAY OUT
MAY DAY—Monday 4th May 2009
Calling all families and friends—join us for our
Annual Family Day Out at Tollymore Forest Park
Walk/Games/Food/Fun/Fellowship
Meet at the Church Hall at 10 am
For further information
Contact Janice 9336 0415 or Sharon 9336 8808
If any parishioner known to you is sick or in hospital,
please contact the church office or the clergy
so that they may be visited
Thank you
