Don’t miss the evening of poetry and music in celebration of Revd Liz McElhinney
We hope your diary includes a very special evening of poetry and music celebrating the life of the Revd Canon Liz McElhinney at 8.00 pm on Friday 10 November in Shankill Church Lurgan.
The event will feature readings of a selection of Liz’s inspirational poems by the internationally acclaimed actor Ian McElhinney, as well as musical contributions from the cross–community Lurgan Musical Society, Shankill Parish Choir, soloist Nicola Brown and traditional Irish musicians led by Sean Hanily from Dublin.
As a former Church of Ireland minister, teacher and social worker, Liz was widely loved and known across many walks of life. When she was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND), she chose to focus her creative abilities on writing reflective and inspirational poems over a period of 15 months. These poems form a core part of the concert and twenty of them have been gathered together in a printed collection entitled Solid Joys, Lasting Treasure complemented by beautiful illustrations by Liz’s artist son, David.
The booklet will be included in an admission charge of £10 for those attending the evening. All the proceeds from the event will support the work of the MND Association N.I. Additionally, a CD of the collection of the poems, read by Ian McElhinney, will also be on sale on the evening.
Liz’s poems have been described by author and editor Lynda Neilands as ‘gems’, ‘mined and crafted in the valley of the shadow of death, they glow with the light of Christ, the hope of heaven and appreciation of all that is true and lovely on earth’, while Liz’s creative writing mentor – and editor of the collection – Dr Sharon Heron says that Liz’s vision for the poems grew steadily as she wrote of her experience, hoping that ‘some glory might be brought to the Lord she loved’.
In his preface to the collection, another of Liz’s sons, the Revd Stephen McElhinney, says, ‘My mother’s special ability was to notice’; she had a unique ability to connect with people but also to ‘notice the world in which she lived, which left her ‘invigorated physically, mentally and spiritually’. The collection’s title is taken from the well–known 18th–century hymn by John Newton, ‘Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken’.
This special legacy evening, in aid of MNDA (NI), is not to be missed and all are welcome. For more information, visit the event page on Facebook.