Diocese of Down & Dromore

For over 30 years, parishioners of St Mark's Newtownards have marked St Columba's Day (9th June) with a number of events to draw attention to the rich Christian heritage of the town.  Columba was believed to have been at one point a student of Finnian at Movilla Abbey in Newtownards, before eventually forming a Monastic Community on the Scottish Isle of Iona.

This year, on the eve of St Columba's Day, Sunday 8th June, several events took place.  The first was a family service themed around ‘Journeys of Faith', during which the Rector, Canon Ken Smyth, drew the congregation's attention to the journey of Columba and its beginnings in Newtownards.  At the same service, three young children began their journeys of faith as they were baptised into the church.  The Service was followed by a coffee morning, where donations received passed £400.  This money, along with other donations collected throughout the year, will go to designated children's charities.

Following coffee, some families embarked upon their own Journey of Faith as they climbed the hill to Scrabo Tower.  In the past, this has been a sponsored event, but this year the coffee morning raised money in place of sponsorship so the walk was purely for fun.  Revd Adrian Dorrian, Curate of Newtownards, remarked: ‘I don't think I realised when I set off how much faith I'd need to make it to the top - and back down again!  I definitely should have tried to get Sunday evening off!  But the weather was good and we all had a great time.  People from just about all of the age groups in the parish came along and it was wonderful to watch people encouraging one another when at times we began to slow down and struggle.  Well, maybe I was the only one who struggled, but everyone was very nice about it!'

The celebrations came to an end with a service of Holy Communion in the remains of the Old Priory on Court Street in Newtownards.  The former Dominican Priory was dedicated to St Columba and served for some time as the Parish Church, before the present building, St Mark's, was built in 1817.  At the service, Revd Adrian Dorrian presided at the Eucharist while Canon Ken Smyth, spoke of the rich Christian tradition shared by all in Newtownards who profess faith and gave thanks to God for the heritage of which the modern day parishioners of Newtownards are stewards.