Meet Revd Johnny McFarland
Johnny McFarland has been ordained deacon to serve an internship in St Gall’s, Carnalea:
My name is Jonathan (Johnny) McFarland and I have just completed my second year of theological training at the Church of Ireland Theological Institute. I have been married to Jacqueline for 25 years and we have 3 children.
Before training I worked in Financial Services for 17 years and prior to that I worked in the drawing office and the production shops of Harland and Wolff Shipyard.
My faith was nurtured as a child in St Brigid’s, Glengormley and also Carnmoney Presbyterian Boys Brigade.
I do have a definite recollection of responding to the simple preaching of the gospel message in a Sunday School mission that was held in the Orange Hall at the end of our street when I was 9 years old.
In my late teens I was deeply influenced by the ministry of our curate and rector in St Brigid’s and these years laid the foundation for my own calling to the ordained ministry in the Church of Ireland.
My journey has been long, sometimes difficult, but God has given me a story to tell. It’s a simple story of God’s love for us through Jesus. Through the victory that he won for us on the cross there is hope for those who believe His Good News, the unending love of a Saviour who will never leave us nor forsake us.
I am excited at the prospect of meeting new friends at Carnalea in Bangor when I begin my internship there in September. Most of all, I am looking forward to discovering what God has in store for us all over this next year.
Finally, to relax I enjoy long walks, good movies, travelling, reading and catching up with friends. I also play the guitar.
View a photo gallery here.