An ordinary Monday in April
On Monday 4 April the rector of St Finnian’s Cregagh, Revd Jono Pierce, joined the final stage of the Bishop’s Big Bike Ride to raise funds for two projects supported by the Down and Dromore Lent Appeal. We’re thrilled that he has written a blog reflecting on his day spent cycling into 22 of our parishes in greater Belfast.
Over to you Jono…
What struck me on the journey through 23 stops (the last one was home) was the incredible generosity of parishes who had raised funds for these projects and to respond to the crisis in Ukraine through Bishops’ Appeal, who are working in that situation in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. I was struck also by the warmth of the welcome and the hospitality and inspired by all the good news stories I encountered on my way around the 23 stops. So, here’s a little whistle–stop tour of some of the great things happening in our diocese on an ordinary Monday in April.
My first stop was at a bus stop not far from my home where I met my neighbouring rector, Reverend Lucy Burden from Mount Merrion. Together we cycled to our first stop at St. Columba’s Knock. We met the Rector there who showed us some of the restoration work recently completed on their roof and told us of the resumption of hospitality after services which has begun in recent weeks enabling parishioners to enjoy fellowship and chat together, since that privilege had been taken away by Covid 19 restrictions.
From there we made our way to St. Dorothea’s Gilnahirk. We met a very enthusiastic group of welcomers who handed over a generous cheque and who had a real sense of joy and resilience amongst them as they look forward to welcoming a new rector soon after a long vacancy. They have worked very hard to buy a new rectory and are looking forward to this next chapter.
We then went to St. Molua’s, Stormont who offer healing services on the first Tuesday of the month at 8pm and were planning a very exciting Palm Sunday Muddy Trail with their neighbours in Stormont Presbyterian to help children and families explore the meaning of Easter.
It was on to Ballybeen where we met a team of parishioners offering tea and toast to elderly members of the community and preparing a lunch to serve later. They had recently completed a restoration project to their buildings.
At St. Elizabeth’s Dundonald, I met a young mum who spoke of how amazing the children’s church was and how her 10 year–old son declared their snacks to be the best anywhere.
It was on to Knocknagoney, where a thriving toddlers’ group was in full swing as our welcoming party handed over a cheque to the Appeal.
We proceeded to St. Mark’s, Dundela where a keen group showed us the beautiful Easter Garden they had created in the grounds. We heard of children sowing vegetables and exciting gardening projects afoot to prepare for the Queen’s platinum jubilee.
When we were welcomed to St. Brendan’s, Sydenham, a shopping trolley told us of their involvement in supporting a local food bank and reaching out in compassion to help those in need at a time of rising costs.
At St. Donard’s Bloomfield, we heard of a local church partnership with churches together planning to celebrate Holy Week and a generous cheque towards the work of the Bishops’ appeal was handed over before we pedalled off to St. Clements.
At St. Clements, I met a man who told me of the pastoral care his mum had received from the parish when his mum had dementia. It had rekindled his own faith journey and he was very keen to support the church in all its compassion ministries.
At St. Patrick’s, Ballymacarrett, on the Newtownards Road, we were handed a very generous cheque and it’s a church where services for Divine Healing have been hosted every Thursday night as they reach out to the local community.
From there we made our way to the Dock Café, a church plant in the Titanic Quarter that is now 10 years old. The café had experienced a flood in recent weeks and was closed to the public, but they opened their doors to us to offer a space to have lunch together. It’s a café in the Titanic Quarter that operates a ‘donation box’ policy. There’s a prayer garden there and people can leave requests for prayer and they seek to engage both with residents in the Titanic Quarter and the sizeable student population from the Belfast Metropolitan College.
It was onto the Bishop’s former parish of Willowfield, which has a number of established ministries into the local community, including a very vibrant children and youth programme and a food bank ministry and acts as a centre for Christians Against Poverty, an agency that helps people who have got into debt to repay those debts.
From there it was onto St. John’s, Orangefield, who have recently completed a major refurbishment. At St. Finnians, Cregagh, it was good to see the Hedge project in full swing. It’s a project to teach those who are from the home educated community some gardening skills to help with mental health.
We made our way down to Mount Merrion, where I met a woman who had been searching and praying for a church to get involved in. When she heard the new rector share her vision, she knew this was where she ought to be to help establish God’s work in this community.
We travelled onto St. Jude’s who were hosting a month of outreach events about finding new life in Christ. They were looking forward to a sports quiz in a local bar hosted by ‘Christians in Sport’ this week.
We laboured up the big hill to Knockbreda where, again, we saw a fabulous refurbishment to the entrance to the halls and heard plans of a forthcoming Easter Holiday Bible Club in person next week.We moved along the carriageway to Belvoir where we saw a terrific project working with refugees and asylum seekers. Old bicycles were being repaired and serviced and worked on in a bicycle workshop assisted by parishioners and then offered to refugees and asylum seekers.We received a very warm welcome from the parishioners of Drumbo who had recently completed building a new rectory and have a football pitch for young people to enjoy fresh air together.
Our last church, before the final leg to our finish point of St. Anne’s Cathedral, was Drumbeg, where we heard of their involvement in mission, both local and international. They help local struggling congregations with gifted people who can help lead and have sent teams overseas.There are a lot of sad news stories dominating the news at this time and yesterday was a unique opportunity to visit and see what local congregations have been doing.
It was so encouraging to see all that’s happening on an ordinary Monday in the Belfast parishes in Down and Dromore and, I’m sure, there could be 83 good news stories from all the parishes. It makes you aware of all that’s happening and what a privilege it is to be part of a community of faith.