MAY 2018
Looking
out
for
the
lonely
A POWERFUL PRAYER SPACE
An innovative way of reaching out to a local school
SAFEGUARDING OF ALL
PCI’s new ‘Taking Care of All’ resource
THE POWER OF LIFE ON LIFE The impact of mentoring
CONTENTS | MAY 2018
FEATURES 16 Safeguarding of all
PCI’s new ‘Taking Care of All’ resource
18 The power of life on life The impact of mentoring
20 A powerful prayer space
An innovative way of reaching out to a local school
32 All the lonely people The epidemic of loneliness
34 In the right ‘Kee’
Interview with Alastair White from Kilmakee Presbyterian
36 Building bridges with Muslims
Offering guidance on how to reach out A powerful prayer space p.20
REGULARS 4 6 8 9 13 14 15 23 38 40 44 45
Letters News In this month… My story Life lessons As I see it Arthur Clarke Mission Connect Reviews Life in PCI Crossword Betsy Cameron
Safeguarding of all p.16
CONTRIBUTORS Suzanne Hamilton is Senior Communications Assistant for the Herald. She attends Ballyholme Presbyterian in Bangor, is married to Steven and is mum to twin boys. Ruth Sanderson lives in Co. Down with her husband Harry. She is a freelance radio/television presenter and producer.
May 2018 No. 811 £1.00 (€1.20) Published by: The Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Assembly Buildings, Belfast BT1 6DW. T: +44 (0)28 9032 2284 E: herald@presbyterianireland.org W: www.presbyterianireland.org
Building bridges with Muslims p.36
Editor: Sarah Harding Subscriptions and Advertising: Elaine Huddleston; Lisa Skinner; Suzanne Hamilton Design and Layout: Edward Connolly Printing: Nicholson and Bass Ltd.
Alan Meban attends Kilmakee Presbyterian Church and writes about culture and politics as Alan in Belfast on his own blog and Slugger O’Toole.
Graeme Thompson is PCI’s Youth Development Officer and a member of First Holywood Presbyterian Church.
The views expressed in the features, news reports, letters and book reviews of this magazine are not necessarily those of the Editor. Editorial comment and signed articles do not necessarily contain the official views of the Church, which can be laid down only by the General Assembly. Acceptance of advertisements does not imply endorsement of the goods or services. The Editor reserves the right to decline any advertisement or letter without assigning any reason. Letters may be edited for publication. No correspondence can be entered into regarding non-publication of advertisements or letters.
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland is a Registered Charity in Northern Ireland (NIC104483); Registered Charity in Republic of Ireland (20015695).
Herald May 2017
3
NEWS | PCI Family holiday PCI’s family holiday took place over Easter at Castlewellan Castle, Co. Down. The family holiday is a time of fun and fellowship open to everyone across PCI congregations. The 2018 holiday was fully booked and families enjoyed a varied programme, including arts and crafts, a treasure hunt and canoeing, as well as quizzes, Bible teaching and praise.
River House resident celebrates 106th birthday Mrs. May O’Hagan, a resident of PCI’s River House residential home in Newcastle, celebrated her 106th birthday on the 22nd March. May moved into River House aged 103 from Fold accommodation. She loves music, especially a Viennese waltz, and claps enthusiastically to all entertainment. She is known for her love of poetry and likes to recite verses by heart. May was born in Saul, Co. Down and was married with two boys. Sadly, she was widowed aged 27 and says she never even thought of remarrying. One of her sons lives in Canada who May talks to often on the phone and her other son, Eddie, lives in Newcastle with his wife. May’s family, including grandchildren and great-grandchildren, all adore her and visit often. All she asks for in life is a box of tissues. Her faith is also very important to her. River House residents celebrated the occasion with entertainment – a cello and banjo mandolin duo made up of a local GP and a retired GP in his 80s. Photographed are May and her son Eddie and grandchildren and great grandchildren.
10
Herald May 2017
Summer teams Ten denominational summer teams will be travelling the length and breadth of Ireland during July and August. They will work alongside and in support of local PCI congregations as they reach out to their local communities through holiday Bible clubs, teen drop-ins and community service projects. Team membership is open to everyone over the age of 16 years. More information and application forms can be found at www.presbyterianireland.org/ summerteams
Find out more on www.presbyterianireland.org
Events My Place The third event in the ‘My Place’ series takes place at Ballygawley Presbyterian on Wednesday, 2nd May. My Place helps congregations think about how they can help families dealing with special needs to know that church is a place where they are always welcome and where they can find support. The evenings are a mixture of biblical teaching, insights from parents and practical suggestions from those working in the field of special education. It is open to ministers, children’s ministry leaders and all members of congregations. This event is free to attend but please register your interest online at www.presbyterianireland.org The Ballygawley event runs from 7.30-9pm.
MAD MAD will be celebrating a special landmark this year with the 20th running of the event, in Ulster University, Coleraine, from 26th28th October 2018. The theme is ‘ONE’ and tickets will go on sale on 24th May. Tickets will be available at www.presbyterianireland.org
Resources Let’s Pray offer In a follow-up to a previous special offer on the ‘5 Things to Pray’ title, of which many PCI congregations took advantage, the Good Book Company is now offering a 50% discount across the series, so that the three titles, 5 Things to Pray for Your Church, 5 Things to Pray for Your World and 5 Things to Pray for the People You Love, can be mixed and matched as desired. This will apply to orders of 50 or more books of any combination. For orders of under 50 books a discount of 40% applies, but these orders must be placed directly with Robin Fairbairn. Orders can be placed directly with the Good Book Company via www.thegoodbook.co.uk using discount code PCIstorm or directly with their local ministry development officer, Robin Fairbairn, contactable by email at robin.fairbairn@thegoodbook.co.uk, or by telephone at 07841 469165. A DVD clip featuring author Rachel Jones encouraging congregational prayer and explaining how the books work is available on the PCI website.
News Personnel news Colin and Marjorie Dickson are due home in early May on home assignment from the Middle East. They will be undertaking deputation bookings from midMay to the end of June. Rev. Dr. Ian and Pat Hart are going to Myanmar to teach at Tahan Theological College, Presbyterian Church of Myanmar for three months. They are due to depart in late May and return home at the end of August. Helen Johnston (Mission Support Officer – Member Care) is due to visit Nepal in May to attend the board meetings of United Mission to Nepal and also to visit PCI global mission workers serving in Nepal – Peter and Valerie Lockwood and family, and Peter and Jayne Fleming. Rev. Dr. Liz Hughes (convener, Council for Global Mission) and Rev. Uel Marrs (Secretary, Council for Global Mission) plan to visit the Torre del Mar Mission Church Project in Spain from 26th to 28th May. Rev. Dr. Donald Watts is due to travel to Israel/Palestine to attend the ‘Christ at the Checkpoint Conference’, being held at Bethlehem Bible College, from 27th May to 2nd June.
DIARY DATES May My Place
Ballygawley Presbyterian – Wednesday, 2nd
Taking Care refresher training
Cregagh – Tuesday, 1st Fintona – Thursday, 3rd First Ballymena – Thursday, 3rd Limavady – Thursday, 10th First Broughshane – Tuesday, 22nd
Mission in Ireland evening Second Ballybay – Sunday, 6th
June General Assembly
Assembly Buildings, Belfast – Monday, 4th to Friday, 8th
Youth Night and Unplugged Event
Assembly Buildings, Belfast – Saturday, 9th
October MAD weekend
Ulster University, Coleraine – Friday, 26th to Sunday, 28th
Youth Night This year’s Youth Night will take place in Assembly Buildings, Belfast on Saturday, 9th June. With the theme ‘40 years from now’, the event will look at raising a generation of lifelong followers of Jesus and lessons that can be learned from the Book of Daniel. Johnny Bell, youth worker at Saintfield Road Presbyterian Church, Belfast, is the speaker. Tickets for Youth Night cost £5 (euro equivalent). An Unplugged Event, which will take place after Youth Night, will feature acoustic music, food and conversations. Tickets for Youth Night and Unplugged Event combined cost £6 (euro equivalent). All tickets are available online at www.presbyterianireland.org or from the CLW office at clw@presbyterianireland.org
Herald May 2017
11
CONGREGATIONAL STORY
Photography by Jamie Trimble
A powerful prayer space
Suzanne Hamilton visits St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Bangor and experiences its exciting prayer initiative with a local school.
S
t. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Bangor has found a way to reach out to children in its area by forging close links with the neighbouring school, Clandeboye Primary. As well as having representation on the school’s board of governors, St. Andrew’s hosts an informal breakfast club once a week called ‘Early Birds’, and allows its car park to be used by parents at drop-off
20
Herald May 2017
and pick-up times. It’s not just in practical ways that the church has been reaching out, though. In an exciting new development, St. Andrew’s recently held a week-long prayer event, which saw practically every child in the school come through the church doors in order to learn about the power and significance of prayer. The minister of St. Andrew’s, Rev. Mark Johnston, explained that the
idea came about after an approach from the school to find creative ways to teach religious education. Through a partnership with Scripture Union (SU) and using resources from Prayer Spaces in Schools Ireland, St. Andrew’s took the topic of prayer as its focus. The church’s basement was transformed into a prayer space, where a series of activities were set up around the room in order to get the children thinking about
different aspects of prayer. Sorry strings, magnet prayers, bubble prayers, a graffiti wall, a tent and a self-esteem mirror were among the activities used to creatively show the children how they are loved by God, and how they can talk to Him anytime, anywhere. According to Mark, it was a fantastic experience, where everyone – the children, teachers and prayer team – all learned something of God’s power. “It’s been profound on so many different levels,” he said. Mark explained that young people can struggle with anxieties over exam results or with problems in their home life, but this was an opportunity to tell them they are loved and to put their trust in God. “Even if they don’t respond in terms of giving their life to the Lord now, perhaps in 10, 15 or 40 years down the line, their mind might be drawn back to that afternoon spent in the prayer room. “Then they might remember the message they were given, realising their worth in God’s eyes and that in moments of panic and crisis, they can turn to the one who made them.” Scripture Union Northern Ireland’s Rachel Tweedie, who helped organise the week, said the children really engaged with the prayer space, not just enjoying the fun activities, but thinking through what they had been doing.
The church’s basement was transformed into a prayer space, where a series of activities were set up around the room… “It was great to give them space to stop and be silent; a space to dream big as quite often they don’t get to dream big; a space to reflect about things they are sorry for; a space to encourage.” Describing the prayer space as “amazing”, Siobhan Reynolds, who
coordinates RE at Clandeboye Primary, said the children – some of whom had never been in a church before – had benefitted greatly from the experience. “From P1 to P7, they all engaged in their own different ways,” she said. Children normally reluctant to speak in the school setting found the quiet space created by the tent was a place where they could voice their thoughts. Siobhan also explained that the mirror activity revealed self-esteem issues for older children. Having made this discovery, the school can now work on ways to boost their self-esteem. Judging about the amount of prayer requests which decorated St. Andrew’s basement by the end of the week, the children certainly did engage with the prayer space. On the graffiti wall, children were encouraged to write what they love about school, and what they are thankful for. One child wrote, “Thank you God for making all the nice teachers.” The sorry strings section asked children to write down things they wanted to apologise for, with “I’m sorry God for lying to my mum” and “I’m sorry for arguing with my mum and dad” common themes. The dream clouds activity encouraged the pupils to reflect on their lives and dream big. The responses were vast, with Herald May 2017
21