The historic wee church on the walls; Presbyterian Church appoints new clerk; International evening at Seagoe; Cancellation of BACI Conference
The historic wee church on the walls
The News Letter has been extensively redesigned. The paper’s faith coverage has been extended by two pages on Fridays and an extra two pages on a Saturdays. The additional Saturday pages will feature the activities of individual congregations and parishes.
The first two page feature on congregational life was on St Augustine’s Londonderry, where the rector is the Reverend Pat Storey. Part of the feature follows –
‘We are a community whose hope is in Christ’’. So reads part of the vision statement of St. Augustine’s Church, an ancient church on the city walls of Londonderry.
Proud of its far-reaching heritage it is seeking to live out the faith in a contemporary way in the centre of a bustling city.
Known affectionately as ‘the wee church on the walls’, St Augustine’s sits on the site of St Columba’s original monastery in the city.
Columba (Columcille, meaning dove of the church) was born of royal parentage at Gartan, Co. Donegal in 522AD.
After study at Glasnevin, in 546AD his cousin Aed, King of Cenel Conaill gave him the oak clad Hill of Derry on which to build his first church.
Reluctant to cut down any of his beloved oaks, Columba chose a clearing in the middle of the oak grove, resulting in the church structure running north-south rather than the usual east-west.
This unique footprint remains to this day, on the very site that St Augustine’s now occupies.
In 563AD Columba travelled down the River Foyle into exile on Iona from where he spread the message of Christianity to pagan Britain and Europe.
His Derry monastery continued to flourish and became the leading monastery in Ireland.
Over the ensuing centuries the monastic site was raided, destroyed and rebuilt many times.
Part of the recently opened Christian Heritage Trail in the city St Augustine’s is a popular destination for tourists.
Part of what attracts people to the church is the sense of history.
During the Great Siege of 1689 the mortar shell containing the Terms of Surrender fell into the old graveyard.
The present church of St. Augustine’s was built and consecrated by the Bishop of Derry and Raphoe Dr William Alexander (husband of Mrs Cecil Frances Alexander, the hymn writer) on June 11, 1872.
Ivan Bell, a church member, talks of the attraction of the building as being “an oasis of peace and tranquility, a place that has absorbed centuries of worship and belief”.
The years of the Troubles saw many difficult and painful times for Londonderry.
This included a very significant population shift from the late Sixties.
Ninety per cent of the Protestant people living on the west bank of the River Foyle moved away from the city side between 1969 and 1979.
This movement of people obviously made it more challenging for parishes on the west bank.
However, the congregation remained very committed to St Augustine’s and it currently has 230 families, and the church takes its place as part of the fabric of the city.
Presbyterian Church appoints new clerk
News Letter – The general board of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland has agreed to the nomination of the Rev Trevor Gribben as the next Clerk of the General Assembly.
Mr Gribben’s nomination will now be put to the General Assembly meeting in Londonderry in June for final approval.
Mr Gribben, 52, is currently deputy clerk of the Assembly and, should his nomination be approved, he will be appointed clerk-designate to work with present clerk the Rev Dr Donald Watts before taking over as clerk when Dr Watts retires in 2014.
Mr Gribben was born and brought up in Tandragee, Co Armagh, belonging to the local Presbyterian congregation.
He was ordained in 1988 and served as assistant minister in Duncairn and St Enoch’s churches in north Belfast before being called to the Leckpatrick congregation in north Tyrone in 1990.
In 1996 he became minister of Whiteabbey before being appointed deputy clerk of the general assembly in 2008.
He has convened a variety of church committees and boards and is currently secretary to the Presbyterian Church’s board of education and board of Christian training.
The Presbyterian general board has also recommended the appointment of the Rev Dr Stafford Carson, former Moderator and minister of First Portadown Presbyterian Church, as principal of Union Theological College in Belfast which is the vocational training institution for Presbyterian ministers.
His nomination will also go before the Presbyterian general assembly in Londonderry in June.
Dr Carson this week represented the Presbyterian Church in Ireland at the funeral of Lady Thatcher in London, deputising for Moderator the Rev Dr Roy Patton, who is at present in Jamaica and Grand Cayman on a mission trip.
Dr Carson, who joined other UK church leaders at the funeral service in St Paul’s Cathedral, said he was left “overwhelmed” by the dignified farewell to Lady Thatcher.
“The British and the Church of England can meticulously organise wonderful occasions like this,” he said. “It was dignified and solemn.”
On Wednesday, Dr Patton attended the annual synod of the United Church in Jamaica and Grand Cayman, which administers for 200 congregations and a pew membership of 20,000.
Irish Presbyterianism, while it has no overseas personnel currently working on these Caribbean islands, remains in partnership with the united Protestant Reformed churches there.
Dr Patton recently became the first-ever Presbyterian moderator to visit the National University of Ireland at Maynooth. He was welcomed by the university president Dr Philip Nolan; vice-president Dr Jim Walsh and Dr tony Walsh, director for the study of Irish Protestantism at the university.
During his time in Maynooth, Dr Patton visited the local Presbyterian church and also attended a conference on reconciliation and the churches.
International evening at Seagoe
On Friday 14 April, Seagoe Parish held an International Evening which gathered people from a variety of different backgrounds to celebrate their common Christian faith.
Seagoe’s Missionary Curate, Revd Canon Rajkumas Santhyaraj, organised the event. Part of his role is to reach out to those of different ethnicities and help them feel welcome in the local Christian community.
“We welcomed members of the International Fellowship which meets regularly in Belfast and includes people from diverse backgrounds,” said Seagoe rector, Canon Terence Cadden. “They have participated in our worship on a number of occasions.
“We also had contributions from members of the Romanian community, the parish choir and a Filipino choir who regularly sing at worship in Drumcree Roman Catholic Parish. Many of the choir work in Craigavon hospital,” he continued.
An Indian gentleman read Psalm 23 in his native language and his wife gave testimony of her conversion from Hinduism to Christianity and the family loss that resulted.
Bishop Harold Milller preached on the blessings of fellowship with those from other cultures. The Deputy Lord Mayor, Alderman Arnold Hatch, also spoke encouraging the parish in the integration of people of different ethnicities into the community.
Cancellation of BACI Conference
The BACI Conference scheduled to take place at Edgehill College, Belfast on Saturday 20th April 2013 has been cancelled. Details of a rescheduled conference will be issued later in the year.