St Mark’s Newtownards launch Community Outreach initiative
On Shrove Tuesday the parish of St Mark’s Newtownards launched an initiative which would see the church family create, build and pray over a food bank for local people
in need.
The name ROC was selected as we as a family of faith want to Reach Out to our Community. We want to put the words of Jesus into practice.
ROC is based on Matthew 7:24…
Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into pratice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock
Initially, we plan to spend Lent inviting parishioners to consider buying one or two items every time they go shopping and bring it along to the ROC shoppng trolley.
The trolley will be in church every Sunday and in the Parish Centre throughout the week.
Also in Lent, everyone is asked to surround the initiative in prayer, asking God to protect it and bless as we strive to reach out to those families in real and urgent need.
Over these few weeks, the Rector and Stephen Doherty will be engaging with local representatives on the ground who know where the urgent need is and it’s during this time that practical steps will be put in place so that beyond Easter, the church can begin putting Jesus’ words into practice by distributing the food parcels to those without.