Belvoir Parish 'Speak Jesus'
At the beginning of 2025, Bishop David introduced Speak Jesus, an initiative to connect and reconnect every home in Down and Dromore with a local parish.
All churches across the diocese have been asked to hold special prayer services on our patronal festival days, as we rededicate ourselves to serve our community and to ‘Speak Jesus’ into every life.
The song that inspired this initiative has become a favourite at Belvoir and is regularly used in our worship.
Patronal festivals are held to honour the patron saint to whom a church, parish, or community is dedicated and to mark a time of celebration, reflection and renewal.
As Belvoir Parish Church is also known as The Church of The Transfiguration, we held a special service on Sunday 2 March - Transfiguration Sunday.
This was the launch of a new monthly service with all ages and all stages worshipping together - we have called them ‘All-in Sundays’ as we want them to be truly for everyone:
All in - as we’re literally all in the same place
All in - we’re all in on a journey of faith together
All in - we’re all in for Jesus, giving Him all we’ve got
The prayers of praise were led by members of a family, with prayers of confession led by our youth and the readings given by our children.
We all joined together in a special prayer of dedication for mission and outreach, (re)dedicating ourselves afresh for service, to ‘Speak Jesus’, responding line by line: “We will love like Jesus loved”.
Using the Bible readings for the day we reflected on the need to live out our faith and use those mountaintop moments to equip us for the stuff of everyday life - to take God’s glory to the world around us and to see where God’s glory already is.
It is a privilege to tell others about Jesus, proclaiming Him as the source of internal peace, that He has the power to give true freedom and healing, and that His love is for everyone.
Using the words of one of our actions songs we were encouraged to SHINE from the inside out, that the world will see that God lives in each one of us.
To mark this 'all in’ worship and rededication, everyone received a little wooden jigsaw piece and after writing their names on it were encouraged to bring the pieces forward and to collect a bookmark with ‘Speak Jesus’ prayer points for the year ahead.
There was an extended time of worship as everyone came forward and the jigsaw pieces have been put together as a frame around the parish boundary map.
Before singing I Speak Jesus to close, we prayed:
'May your glory shine in this place O God, a glory based on love and service, giving and sacrifice, humble gifts and transforming presence. Bless all the gifts we have in this church, O God,
that your transforming glory will shine out from here on those who need love and life.'
Amen.
Revd Emma Rutherford, Rector of Belvoir Parish
