360 Miscellany – News, views, resources, and online events

New Community Hub, Manorhamilton

The Sexton’s House Community Hub, Manorhamilton has been developed into a new shared community space. This beautiful space was funded by the Peace IV programme and was developed through the Shared Spaces initiative led by Leitrim County Council.

An Epic award for Ballymena Church Members Forum

Congratulations to the talented members of Ballymena’s Care for Creation team which picked up the Northern Ireland Award in the 2020 Epic Awards.

The awards were set up in 2010 by Voluntary Arts, an organisation that works across the UK and Republic of Ireland to promote participation in creative cultural activities.

Care for Creation is a unique, large scale, inter-faith, public art project, devised and delivered by Ballymena Church Members Forum, including Craig’s Parish Church and St Patrick’s and St Columba’s, Ballymena. The awards were announced on Thursday October 22.

The Care for Creation team project was a celebration of the natural world, aiming to highlight environmental concerns and how people can all work together to ‘Care for Creation.’

Along with the three Church of Ireland parishes, the churches involved were High Kirk Presbyterian, Ballymena Methodist, West Church Presbyterian and Gracehill Moravian.

During the winter months of 2019/2020, the Care for Creation project engaged more than 400 people of all ages, abilities and faith backgrounds in a collaborative process of making large scale public artworks as part of a unique art trail around the Ballymena area.

Around 60 volunteers, including local artists, made the project happen by guiding a series of more than 30 expressive arts workshops involving 14 local groups to develop ideas. Part of the project saw the formation of a new children’s choir from all the participating schools.

The resulting bus shelter art trail was viewed by thousands of local people using buses and those driving/walking past and feedback has been very positive.

Many of the volunteers tried making art for the first time through this project and are now seeking continued arts projects. New skills were developed in working with new materials, in large scale, for public exhibition, with new people and in new spaces. Volunteers were encouraged to be expressive and to celebrate their art works.

100th outing for Farming Life’s ‘Good News’ column

A unique column in Saturday’s Farming Life marked a significant milestone for its writers and readers alike, when ‘Good News for the Countryside’ marked its 100th outing. Presbyterian Moderator, Rt Rev Dr David Bruce called it ‘a significant achievement’ and offered his ‘heartfelt congratulations’.

An initiative of Presbyterian Church in Ireland’s Council for Mission in Ireland, Dr Bruce is also Secretary to the Council and thanked everyone involved in getting the column to the printed page every two weeks for nearly four years. “For generations, farms and farming families have been the backbone of Ulster and life on the island of Ireland. They have also been the mainstay of so many of our congregations up and down the land,” he said.

“At the mercy of the weather, the changing of our seasons and prices at the Mart, it has never been an easy way of life. This why, at this special time of Harvest, we give thanks for the Lord’s provision, what has been gathered in and for the farmers and their families.”

Former GP and Minister Emeritus of Castledawson and Curran, Rev Dr Kenneth Patterson, has written the 100th column, Summer is over.

Music for All Saints’ and All Souls’

🎶For all the saints
🎶Let saints on earth in concert sing
🎶Ye watchers and ye holy ones

🎵Lord of all hopefulness
🎵Be still my soul
🎵The day thou gavest

Mothers’ Union resources for 16 days of activism

December 5th 2020 is our Global Day. We will be holding an online Global Protest against Gender Based Violence. For more details and to find out how to get involved please visit our website:

https://www.mothersunion.org/16-days-activism-and-global-day-resources-2020

Catechetical support for parishes, families and schools

The Derry Catechetical Centre supports parishes, families and schools in the preparation of children receiving the sacraments of First Confession, First Holy Communion and Confirmation. Bishop Donal McKeown, Fr Paul Farren and Thérèse Ferry have commended their use – photo above.

Bishop visits healing centred garden

Bishop David and Mrs. Hilary McClay, visited the Church’s Ministry of Healing at Cregagh House, 162. Rev Pat Mollan said, “This was a wonderfully positive evening of joy and encouragement as we explored the past experiences of the Mount ministry, and our hopes for the future. Just glimpsing our beautiful prayer garden in the floodlights, Bishop David, a keen gardener, promised to return in daylight, to get a better picture.

Pat continues, “It was such a blessing, and reminded me of God’s continuing benediction and sanctification which we receive in Numbers 6:24-26, the Aaronic blessing;

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

“We should extend this to our loved ones, and to those in trouble at this time….”

New PCI blog on ministry among women across the church

Pauline Kennedy, PCI’s Women’s Ministry and PW Development Officer, reflects on the newness God’s refining is bringing to ministry among women across the church.

“As we look back we can see how God has been helping us to prioritise what is of real value. He has given us tools to develop and grow our faith despite the fact that we have been apart physically. As we look forward we want to continue with him as he helps us refine how we do ministry among women.”

Read in full –
[[] https://www.presbyterianireland.org/Blog/October-2020/Refined-women-s-ministry.aspx ]

Well said

Pointers to Prayer

Today we pray for those worst hit by the financial divides caused by the pandemic. Official figures have revealed that young adults and BME people have been worst hit. We pray for financial security for those hit by income cuts and those struggling to make ends meet.

Many people in Ibba had their farms and homes destroyed by heavy rains in August. Pray for the Church as it supports families with material assistance, spiritual encouragement and friendship.

Today we pray for Spain. Last week they passed one million recorded coronavirus cases, amid political unrest and a no-confidence motion in Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. We pray for political stability and effective measures to curb the spread of the virus.

Pray for the Mothers’ Union in Ibba, South Sudan. Pray especially for their Development Coordinator Canon Naomi Edward and the MU Leader Mama Esther Phillip, as they work together with the other MU leaders to ensure that women are economically empowered.

Give thanks for the Trussell Trust and other groups fighting to end food poverty in the UK. In the UK, more than 14 million people are living in poverty – including 4.5 million children.

The Lord bless us and keep us, the Lord make his face to shine upon us and be gracious to us, the Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon us and give us peace. Amen.

God in creation