Wider World Winter 2022

WIDER WORLD Winter: December 2022 - February 2023

Always hope Christians Against Poverty

A beacon of light January Reading Challenge The Book of Proverbs

A Traveller Passing Through

Mission in Ireland 2022/23 Deaconesses

Sonya Anderson

Paula Burrows

Rachel Cubitt

Louise Davidson

Eleanor Drysdale

Deaconess

Deaconess

Deaconess

Deaconess

Deaconess

Shore Street, Donagahadee

Ballygrainey

Whiteabbey

West Church, Bangor

Wellington, Ballymena

Joanne Dunlop

Heidi England

Sharon Heron

Roberta Irvine

Heather McCracken

Deaconess

Deaconess

Deaconess

Deaconess

Deaconess

Craigavon Area Hospital and Antrim Area Hospital

Railway Street, Lisburn

International Meeting Point, Belfast

Elmwood, Lisburn

Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and additional duties in chaplaincy in Musgrave Park Hospital

Tracey Nicholl

Hazel Reid

Sylvia Santos Bryce

Rosemary Spiers

Heather Healy

Cathy Smith

Deaconess

Deaconess

Deaconess

Deaconess

Student Deaconess

Student Deaconess

St James’s, Ballymoney

First Broughshane with additional duties in chaplaincy in the Causeway Hospital

West Church, Ballymena

Greenwell Street, Newtownards

Rebecca McConnell Editor

WELCOME TO OUR WINTER EDITION

What type of magazine reader are you? Do you read cover to cover with a cup of coffee in hand or do you dip in and out when you have the time? Our winter edition covers December to February and commercially there is so much within these three months - Christmas, New Year, Valentine’s Day and Pancake Tuesday. The shops go from one occasion to the next and before you know it, Easter eggs are on sale.

As Christians, we celebrate these occasions and maybe you are organising or will organise some events and activities in your PW Group or within church to reach out to your community. It is great to make the most of these dates and particularly to remind people of the true meaning of Christmas that often gets overtaken by turkey and tinsel, shopping and stress.

You will most likely receive this magazine in Advent - Rev Ruth Patterson’s favourite time of the year. In an extract from her latest book, A traveller passing through, Ruth takes us to Bethlehem, one of the many places she visited in the Holy Land. Her honest insight helps us to remember that sometimes our expectations are not met. She points us to the heavenly realms and the inner spiritual journey we all make. Regardless of whether our feet ever touch the Holy Land or not, that is the most important journey we make. And she reminds us to sing songs of hope along the way, through the disappointments and trials of life.

Hope can be lacking in our ever increasing material world. With all the media attention on the cost of living crisis, and our own reality of higher bills, how will our Christmas be affected financially? We cover the current pressures in articles from the Presbyterian Children’s Society and also Christians Against Poverty, both working with vulnerable groups in society who will be impacted the most.

Being Presbyterian means we can do more together than we ever can do on our own and campaigns, such as World Development, are an example of this. Read all about this year’s appeal supporting Lebanon and South Sudan and also remember it in prayer.

CONTENTS 04 A tribute to Michelle 06 A beacon of light 10 Always hope 13 Concern for the community 14 How can Presbyterians help each other...

18 January Reading Challenge - Book of Proverbs 20 Getting going again 22 A Traveller Passing Through 26 A Christmas Reflection 28 Group Focus: First Dromara 30 Finding faith in later life 32 Grateful Heart 34 Overseas prayer and news Freelance Editor: Rebecca McConnell Contact: Presbyterian Women, Congregational Life & Witness Department, Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Assembly Buildings, 2-10 Fisherwick Place, Belfast, BT1 6DW. Email: pw@presbyterianireland.org Web: www.presbyterianireland.org/pw Tel: +44 (0)28 9041 7257 Like us on Facebook: Presbyterian Women Digital download: issuu.com/presbyterianireland Designed by: Break - madebybreak.com Wider World is the magazine of PW. Published quarterly: March, June, September and December. Annual subscription: £7/€8 or £1.75/€2 per issue. Each year, an order form will be sent to Wider World agents. This should be returned, together with payment, to the above address.

If required, invoices will be issued upon receipt of the order form. Cheques should be made payable to ‘The Presbyterian Church in Ireland’ marked Wider World on the reverse.

The Editor reserves the right to accept, reject or edit contributions. Opinions expressed in Wider World are not necessarily those of PCI, Presbyterian Women or the Editor.

We want to start off 2023 with wise words to guide us, so let me introduce to you our January Reading Challenge. Proverbs is often referred to as the book of wisdom written by Solomon himself. We are challenging you to read a chapter of Proverbs a day in January.

Why not do it with a friend and use it to discuss the advice given and go deeper with each other about situations in your life where you perhaps lacked wisdom and give thanks for times when you heard and followed God’s leading.

So, as I say Happy Christmas to you all, I also say have a blessed New Year trusting in the Lord and leaning not on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5&6).

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DE AC ON E S S

A T R I BU T E TO

Michelle B Y ROB E RTA I RV I N E

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here’s a popular reminder in other magazines these days which encourages people to ‘live life in the present’. Few people ever did this in a more God glorifying way than Michelle Purdy.

Born in Dromore, Co Down, her natural talents saw her achieve a degree in history at Queen’s University Belfast and a scholarship to Washington. During her student days, she was also President of QUB Students Union in 1996.

On coming to saving faith whilst at Banbridge Academy, her spiritual gifts led to her having a massive impact on the youth ministry at Banbridge Road Presbyterian in Dromore, including taking teams to OM Teen Street, a ministry which she continued over the years.

Fuss free, she had ably organised the volunteer bureaus in Fermanagh and Downpatrick prior to becoming a deaconess. God was to use these organisational skills when she accepted his call to become a deaconess and commenced study in Union Theological College.

After a probationary year at Legacurry Presbyterian, Michelle was commissioned as a deaconess in June 2005 in Ballygowan Presbyterian segueing into service at Second Saintfield. Forthright, decisive and honest with clear gifts she was ready and able for anything; sure-footed and compassionate. Her strong, glad, spontaneous laughter, good company and wise, direct leadership quickly became an integral part of the Deaconess Association.

In September 2013, she was inducted into Ballyclare Presbyterian where, along with pastoral duties, she coordinated the foodbank and organised Parents and Toddlers and Messy Church.

On describing her work, one of the Foodbank committee in Newtownabbey shared her impact telling me, “she was a genuine representation of Christ.”

Michelle was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 45 in April 2018. On discovering that the cancer had spread to other parts of her body, her calling to work for her Saviour (which we all share, readers) meant that she worked despite pain, fatigue and multiple medical appointments albeit carefully and wisely still with that big heart for others, still open to God. At times, she seemed to wear her cancer with the lightness of a summer coat, but Michelle was always a woman of depth and behind her bravery lay a strong faith and submission, and the continued Godhonouring support of her thoughtful, loving husband Tom. In her last weeks in hospital a patient in her ward shared their love of Psalm 62.

Raising herself to her feet and enlarging the font on her phone so that she could read it, Michelle proclaimed it to the ward, and allegedly, the ward next door! God used her strong voice much over the years, perhaps even more, we pray, in those moments.

She passed to glory on 26 August and is mourned by Tom, her mum Jean, sisters Lisa, Leanne, Emalyn and Gary, her family, friends and by the deaconesses who were blessed by her life, friendship and faith.

Rev Tom Pollock put the feelings of all our hearts into words at her funeral service: “There was only one Michelle. There will only ever be one Michelle and we thank God for her.”

My salvation and my honour depend on God, He is my mighty rock, my refuge.

Trust in him at all times, you people, pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.

To God be the glory.

... she worked despite pain, fatigue and multiple medical appointments albeit carefully and wisely - still with that big heart for others, still open to God.

Psalm 62 was one of Michelle’s favourite scriptures. Verses 7 and 8 help reflect her life and witness.

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Yet, in the midst of this darkening crisis, we had come to Beirut to visit a beacon of light...

Jihan teaching some students 06 | Wider World Winter 22/23

Photography credit, Chris Nelson, Storyhouse

WOR L D DE V E L OP M E N T A P P E A L

A beacon OF L IG H T

Tearfund’s Media and Communications Officer Suzanne Simpson introduces one of the 2022 World Development Appeal projects helping children and others in need in Beirut, Lebanon.

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ur flight landed just as the sun was setting into the Mediterranean, so it shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise to find ourselves struggling to see on leaving the airport. However, we soon realise that it isn’t a case of allowing our eyes to adjust from the brightness of the stark lighting in arrivals to the dimness of the streetlights outside. Beirut, a city home to over 1.9 million people, is bathed in darkness.

The failure of the Lebanese national grid is just one of the many factors compounding the ongoing economic crisis faced by the people of a nation once referred to as the ‘Paris of the Middle East’.

Today, nearly 80% of Lebanon’s population lives under the poverty line. Political uncertainty has repeatedly delayed promised social protection plans, and electricity blackouts last up to 22 hours each day. Our colleague, Farah, explained that, as a result, “Tensions are increasing as the employment rate nosedives. This nation is already vulnerable and fragile and so social cohesion is a much-needed thing, not more prejudice and fear.”

Social cohesion in Lebanon is an incredibly complex task. As of 2012, Lebanon found itself host to over 1.7 million refugees, predominantly Syrians escaping from the conflict in their own country, alongside Palestinian and Iraqi asylum seekers. Over the past decade, these figures have risen exponentially. Lebanon is also the most religiously diverse country in the Middle East: home to Christian, Muslim and Jewish populations. All of which is compounded by decades of traumatic civil war and military occupation, most recently by Syria itself from 1976-2005. The shadows that cover Lebanon aren’t merely a result of electricity shortages.

Yet, in the midst of this darkening crisis, we had come to Beirut to visit a beacon of light: an education centre located on the outskirts of an illegal settlement now home to between 10-15,000 refugees, migrants and stateless people. Tahaddi, which in Arabic means challenge, is Kingdom work at its best. What began as a mustard-seed planted in faith by two friends, Catherine (a teacher) and Anyas (a doctor), has grown into an organisation which now provides early childhood and primary education, psycho-social support, adult learning and health care to this desperately vulnerable and increasingly forgotten community.

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Photography credit, Chris Nelson, Storyhouse

It is Catherine herself who welcomes us into the centre on the first day of our visit and proudly introduces us to each of her staff members, all of whom have worked in Tahaddi for most of their teaching careers. Jihan, Head of Computers, Science and Maths, whose infectious smile and deep love for her students and role is captivating, shows us around the school, beginning with the kindergarten.

It is a bright, airy space, lined with neatly organised shelves of picture books, boxes of Duplo and toys. I’m struck by the variety of baby dolls currently resting in wooden cribs in the corner of the imaginary-play space: one of the dolls has a cochlear implant, one has Down’s Syndrome, another wears glasses. They are diverse and individual, and each is dressed in a beautiful hand-sewn outfit.

Jihan explains these have been made by the mothers who work in the sewing workshop located in the psycho-social centre next-door.

The women involved in this income-generating project also make school bags, pencil cases, aprons and floor cushions for Tahaddi, taking great pride in providing their children with the resources they need for school.

In each classroom, teachers and assistants are busy preparing this year’s resources, lining display boards in anticipation of the students’ artwork, and welcoming new families to the centre.

As we make our way onto the roof of the centre, which ingeniously doubles as the playground, I ask Jihan why she joined Tahaddi.

She explains, “I wanted to work in Tahaddi because I love humanitarian work and I think this is the place where I can do that. Many of our students are refugees from Syria.

08 | Wider World Winter 22/23

“They and their families have been subjected to incredible trauma. As a result, they struggle with their mental health, which then impacts their educational abilities.

“This is where Tahaddi is helping most, both educationally and psychosocially. I am very proud of how we teach learning by doing here. We try to do as many activities as possible. Rarely would you see us just opening a book and writing.

We say to the children, ‘Let’s go outside, let’s do group work, paired work, let’s play and learn together.’ I enjoy this style of teaching and so do the students. It’s a very beautiful environment that we share together.”

Jihan is right. The environment within the school is beautiful: colourful, clean and safe. On the roof of the education centre, we get our first panoramic view of the area, and the contrast could not be clearer. She points to the foundation-less homes built from cinder blocks, roofed with tarpaulin or corrugated metal, and connected by a chaotic web of electrical wires and plastic piping.

“The students come here [Tahaddi] and see all this beauty, all this organised space that has been carefully arranged for them. But, when they go back home what they see is just one room that serves as a bedroom, a kitchen and a bathroom, with more than eight people living there. They don’t have a desk; they don’t even have a corner in which to study.

“Life is so different outside of these walls – it’s miserable. But when the children are here, they are hopeful, they want to

be here. They can jump and run and play and know they won’t get hurt; they can’t do that on the streets, it’s too dangerous. Here, they talk to their teachers, to their mentors and their social workers. Often, they don’t want to go home because their situation is so sad, but we are helping them to know that this can change and that they can rise above their circumstances.”

We spend some time on the roof, each of us taking in the neighbourhood from this unusual vantage point. As we do so, we’re spotted by some young children who are standing in the orange dust of the street below. They call up to us, making the shape of hearts with their little fingers and waving. They are thrilled when we wave back and tell them our names. My heart instantly feels heavy at the thought of the lives that could lie ahead for each of those children, some only slightly younger than my own. However, I am reminded they are the reason this centre is here. Their futures will be brighter because Tahaddi exists.

Our lunch is provided by Tahaddi’s community kitchen which, alongside cooking healthy meals, offers catering training to students and parents alike.

Over a large bowl of rice and aubergines, accompanied by Lebanese coffee lightly spiced with cardamom, we have the opportunity to talk more with Catherine about how Tahaddi has grown into a multi-disciplinary centre bringing hope to this forgotten community.

WOR L D DE V E L OP M E N T A P P E A L

Director of Tahaddi, Catherine Mortada (centre), with staff and pupils

To find out more and to donate visit www.presbyterianireland.org/worlddevelopmentappeal

In the Gospels, we see how Jesus was so open to others, especially people who were rejected or were so-called ‘foreigners’.

I begin by asking about the ethos of the education centre and how that is demonstrated to the community.

Catherine explains, “When we began Tahaddi, we thought about our core values, our vision, and our mission.

There is a lot of injustice around us, for these families and their children. Lots of these families are marginalised because of their social background or their nationalities – who they are, where they come from and how they look. Prejudice and racism are unjust, and so justice is one of our core values.

“We also hold integrity as another core value. We really believe it is important to be honest with the families of our community and we are completely transparent in all our relationships.

Finally, compassion is also key. We care for the wellbeing of the staff, the community, the children and their families and the elderly, and we do so with empathy.

“We put ourselves in their shoes to understand what it is to live in extreme poverty or to have had to leave their country and be in exile. We must fight on a daily basis against the pressures of an environment like this in order to maintain these values in Tahaddi.”

These values are clearly embodied through Jesus’ own ministry, so I ask Catherine to share how the work of Tahaddi responds to his call to ‘let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.’ “Tahaddi is a place where we welcome people from all backgrounds.

The diversity of the people who come together here is very enriching. In the Gospels, we see how Jesus was so open to others, especially people who were rejected or were so-called ‘foreigners’.

We are one of the rare education centres in Lebanon where both Lebanese and Syrian children learn together in the same classroom and learn to accept one another also. Tahaddi is a safe haven.”

Tahaddi is indeed a safe haven, but it is also so much more than that. It is a place of unity across social and cultural boundaries. It is an opportunity for children of displaced families to find relief from their daily struggles and learn how to hope for a better future. It is the beating heart of a forgotten community.

I ask each of the staff what this part of Beirut would be like if the centre didn’t exist, but none of them can bring themselves to imagine this because their work is absolutely vital. The support which will come from this year’s World Development Appeal will help to ensure Tahaddi continues to holistically support the most vulnerable families; providing them with education, healthcare, psycho-social support, income generating opportunities and, most importantly, the knowledge that they are loved, they are known and that the light of hope shines through even the darkest circumstances.

“In Tahaddi, we want to live out his message of inclusion, solidarity, diversity, and acceptance of each other.

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Always hope Offering advice and assistance in the midst of financial hardship There is no escape from the conversation and reality of the stark rise in living costs. Paul Livingstone from Christians Against Poverty outlines programmes and initiatives they run, with the help of local churches, to make a difference in their communities to those most in need.

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t present, every time we turn on our televisions it seems that we hear yet more bad news about the economy and the cost of living. Over the last year, we have seen what appears to be a continuous cycle of price increases for gas and electricity customers, not to mention home heating oil, petrol, diesel and food.

According to the Consumer Council in Northern Ireland, as at September: - Electricity prices are up 55% on the same time last year - Gas is up by at least 210% from April 2021 (depending on your supplier, it may even be more) - Oil is up 150% on the same time last year

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All of which means an average household annual spend of between £2,500 - £3,300 (depending on whether gas or oil) which is 2-3 times the price at the start of 2021.

For low income adults this crisis began well before 2022. In 2021, an average CAP client had household debt of £18,238.82. Taking into account average income here, it would take a Northern Irish CAP client an average of 51 years to repay their debts without intervention.

This is, clearly, unsustainable.

News coverage is reminiscent of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown periods when every bulletin seemed to relay yet more grim statistics and stories of suffering.

It is also similar to that period in that it affects us all, individuals, families, businesses, charities and churches.

Very few are immune.

As with Covid-19 though, and as expressed by a saying coined at the time of the first lockdown, although “we are all in the same storm, we are not in the same boat.”

The impact is not being felt evenly.

While a Consumer Council survey showed, not surprisingly, that 99% of consumers here are worried about energy bills and 96% are worried about food costs, how people cope can be very different and low income households are hardest hit as costs have risen and they have the least resources to cope.

C O S T OF L I V I N G Some people will be able to use savings to cope with rising costs of living.

Many, though, have little or no savings.

According to Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) research, across the UK it is reckoned that one in seven people (15%) have no savings at all. MaPS also found that while many people do save regularly, only about one in two (57%) people who class themselves as ‘struggling’ or ‘squeezed’ do so. In Northern Ireland 93% of CAP clients in 2021 found it impossible to save before working with us.

This means many people do not have the luxury of using savings to counter price increases. What do they do instead in the face of rising costs? They may cut back. Some have already reduced their energy use, by turning down the heating or turning off lights. Some will shop around more for groceries or spend less on leisure and luxuries.

This use of credit to pay normal household bills or expenses has been a problem for CAP clients for some time, and is something that we hear from clients each year when we survey them, well before the current difficulties.

Others will, sadly, go without to survive.

This may mean going without heating or electricity completely or skipping meals. Our latest Client report found that four in ten (41%) of our clients here went without meals at some point in the month, while just over half CAP NI clients (52%) rationed their heating or lighting to some degree - again before the latest energy price increases.

This will, in all likelihood, get worse, not just for existing debt clients, but for a large section of society who up until now were coping. Those who, up to now, have still been making their household budget

balance and meeting their bills but who report the real prospect of getting into difficulties if price rises continue.

It can seem, therefore, that there is little reason for hope. At CAP our message is, however, one of hope. Our strapline is Always Hope - and there is hope.

We know there is hope, because we have seen time and time again in the lives of people right across the UK, including here in Northern Ireland, situations and lives that have been turned around, people freed from debt or the worry of constant financial stresses, confidence restored and peace brought where there was anxiety.

We have seen this, and are seeing it even now, thanks to some wonderful CAP volunteers from amazing churches of all types.

Unfortunately, however, some will use credit - credit cards, overdrafts and loans - in order to cope with rising costs, leading to rising credit card debt and potential problems further down the line.

Others will, sadly, go without to survive. This may mean going without heating or electricity completely or skipping meals.

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Churches who have seen the need resolved to do something about it and partnered with us to reach out to those in need in their communities.

This might be, as in the case of a number of Presbyterian congregations here, by working with us in our debt service to help people out from under the burden of unmanageable debt. This will involve journeying with people for however long it takes to see them become debt free and, while on that journey, supporting them in different ways. Practically; with a food shop or energy top up, emotionally; with a cup of coffee, a conversation and a listening ear, or spiritually; where this kind of help is welcomed by the client.

Churches can also help equip people to gain better budgeting skills and more confidence in managing their money through our CAP Money budgeting course or our Life Skills programme.

Life Skills is designed to help people navigate life on a limited income. It offers practical money saving techniques, budgeting advice and other skills in a friendly group setting, where people can build relationships and learn from each other’s hints and tips. Its content seems particularly pertinent at this time and can be of benefit to so many different groups of people - parents, young people preparing to leave home, older people and more.

Lowe Memorial Presbyterian Church, located at Finaghy, has just launched Life Skills. At the launch event, participants heard from the CAP trained coaches

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We know there is hope, because we have seen time and time again in the lives of people right across the UK, including here in Northern Ireland, situations and lives that have been turned around... with some practical tips and how the course can equip people to navigate their finances through this critical time.

They also heard from others, including previous CAP client Alison who has been working with CAP for a number of years to repay debts on a low income and who, despite her best efforts, fears she may still not be able to survive the cost of living situation this winter. She sees that the Life Skills course, and the help it can give, could benefit her.

This was also true of Raymond, another former CAP debt client, who said he was desperate not to return to living with debt so wanted to equip himself as much as possible to cope with turbulent times.

Others at the event have managed up to now but recognise the increased challenges and want to feel better equipped to cope with them. While we are in no way suggesting that our Life Skills course can ever be a solution to the cost of living crisis, it is one way in which churches can help provide hope, and some practical help, to people in our neighbourhoods - in addition to the sense of community that so many crave.

Please pray for churches like Lowe, and many others, who are providing services and resources like this at this time, and for those who are helping meet needs in other ways, such as partnering with a food bank or providing a space under the Warm Welcome scheme - www. warmwelcome.uk/. Consider whether your church can do something similar.

This is a time when the need is great, but so too is our opportunity to not only meet the practical need, but bring hope to what can be seen as hopeless. While we are realistic and recognise there are many challenges, we should not simply resign ourselves to the situation or simply accept it.

After all, although we may lament the current situation, and the negative impact it has on so many in our society, we can also offer hope, even when things seem hopeless. As Kelsie Doan tells us, as Christians “we know the end of the story; therefore we lament, but we lament with hope”.

C O S T OF L I V I N G

Concern FOR THE COMMUNITY

Jason Sime has been serving as community mission worker in Alexandra Presbyterian Church in the York Road area of North Belfast since October 2021. As mission begins at home, Jason is building links with the church ministries and organisations while also seeking to identify ways to reach out their community. Here, Jason tells us about a project he helped deliver over the summer.

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t Alexandra Presbyterian, we are concerned about the current cost of living crisis and have been seeking to serve our community to help combat rising costs and squeezed budgets.

This summer, we ran a school uniform project alongside ROC (Redeeming our Communities). This was the first time such a project has happened in lower north Belfast. We received generous donations of uniforms from local schools and families along with donations of brand new clothes from members of the congregation and our community. The church halls were open for two days in August for families to come and receive uniforms free of charge. Many chose to make a donation to the north Belfast Foodbank. Over the two days, 135 children from 64 families received some items of uniform. We hope to expand the project next year by gaining the support of more local schools. On Friday mornings, we have a free food table.

Alexandra Presbyterian has partnered with Fare Share, which allows us to receive food from a local supermarket that is close to its sell by date.

This food is placed on a table outside the church at 9:30am every Friday and left unattended. Anyone is free to come and take what they need, no questions asked. We have also been blessed with generous donations from members of our own congregations and other local Presbyterian churches allowing us to top up perishable food with tinned products.

‘The Wee Café’ runs on a Wednesday morning. This is a free of charge community café with the opportunity to make a donation to support its work. We have grown used to a buzzing hall every week but as the winter approaches, we hope people will see this as a place to sit with friends in a warm hall with some snacks and a hot drink.

We have received much support from our church members with Presbyterian Women members being volunteers in some of our projects. We hope that these small, but significant, projects can make a real difference to people struggling to balance their budgets at this challenging time.

This is the community where I grew up and I am passionate about reaching people with the gospel and serving those in need by showing the love of Jesus.

This is the community where I grew up and I am passionate about reaching people with the gospel and serving those in need by showing the love of Jesus.

Lower North Belfast is an area in need of investment, support and advice and I look forward to trying to provide these needs through the work of the church.

The North Belfast Presbytery has seen churches close in recent years and so it is also a challenge to grow our churches.

I hope to do this by helping the community see Alexandra Presbyterian as a spiritual home.

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C O S T OF L I V I N G

HOW CAN PRESBYTERIANS HELP EACH OTHER AT A TIME LIKE THIS? Jason Nicholson, Executive Secretary of the Presbyterian Children’s Society, outlines how Presbyterians can show care and compassion to children as families continue to struggle financially from the rise in living costs.

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risis is a word that is so frequently used today – banking crisis, housing crisis, public health crisis – that we could run the risk of becoming desensitised to it. The significance of the current cost-of-living crisis, however, cannot be overstated. Reaching deep into some of the basic needs that provide dignity for us all – housing, heat, and food – the cost-of-living crisis is affecting everyone, but not in the same way.

For many families, particularly those who are helped by the Presbyterian Children’s Society, it is very likely that the current economic situation will exacerbate the challenges that they are already experiencing. For other families, however, it will mean that they will sadly fall into financial hardship (for the first time) because of circumstances outside of their control. Therefore, as household disposable income is squeezed as a result of the increased cost of essential goods, how can Presbyterians help each other at a time like this? How can we grow “deeper together” in action?

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Building community, together…

Facing challenges, together…

John Wesley described Christianity as an essentially ‘social’ religion. Wesley wasn’t denying the need for an individual’s personal commitment to Christ, but rather affirming the importance of the community of the Church in God’s great plan. Moreover, as John Stott perceptibly suggests, “…the Church lies at the very centre of the eternal purpose of God. It is not a divine afterthought. It is not an accident of history.

On the contrary, the Church is God’s new community.”

At present, the Society is currently helping approximately 830 children in around 420 families in over 200 congregations throughout our denomination. We provide financial support to families from a wide range of backgrounds including circumstances where there is bereavement; separation or divorce; disability; single parenthood; unemployment or low income. In normal times, these situations can be difficult.

Christ gave himself for us, not ‘only to redeem us all from wickedness’, but also to ‘purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.’ (Titus 2:14).

The Bible never expounds what some might argue as the virtues of individualism; but it does espouse community.

As Helen Keller once said, ‘‘The welfare of each is bound up in the welfare of all.’’ Meeting need, therefore, within our community is foundational to our practical Christian witness.

The evidence of the importance of this biblical principle to Presbyterians has been illustrated greatly during challenging times. The Society was founded in 1866, when Belfast was a town growing in influence and affluence. It was, however, also a time when children faced many problems. Dr William Johnston of Townsend Street congregation reportedly discovered four orphan children in the area around the Church being made homeless. The founding of the Society was his response to the growing need. Generous throughout the generations, the Presbyterian community always rallied in support of children, young people and their families during the darkest of times, and when facing the most difficult challenges.

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However, in today’s harsh economic climate, life events like these can throw a family’s delicately balanced finances into crisis. Therefore, with living costs increasing sharply, and the likelihood of a lengthy economic recession almost certain, the work of the Society is even more important as this current crisis exposes the financial vulnerabilities of many families. We can do so much more together, than we could if working apart.

We can do so much more together, than we could if working apart.

C O S T OF L I V I N G We are currently helping approximately:

420 Families

830 Children

In Northern Ireland over 100,000 children are considered to be living in poverty.

200 Congregations in NI and ROI

Meeting need, together…

Helping children, together…

Providing pastoral care to people struggling in challenging circumstances is important. Making time to listen and to get alongside people is indicative of true biblical compassion, where the root of the word literally means ‘to suffer with’.

Whilst not diminishing the importance of congregational pastoral care and support, the Society, through its regular and exceptional grants, offers “a little chink of light” to families struggling with financial needs. By meeting need on a whole Church basis, the Society can respond in circumstances where a congregation may not have the resources to help, or where anonymity to preserve dignity is important in a small community.

The Society has consistently, for almost 160 years, focused its unique care and compassion towards children and young people. We believe in giving children a better future, regardless of their personal background or economic status.

Whilst for some, in previous generations, parental lifestyles did not always meet with approval, the plight of children has always evoked sympathy across the generations.

Our basis for helping has never been guided by the nature of someone’s character or their worthiness to receive help.

Our grants are not ‘charity’, reluctantly dispensed, but rather warm-hearted compassion, generously given.

As one family who benefited commented: “You’ve got that wider church family who don’t know us personally but who are generously helping people like us. We have been shown so much love, care and compassion and life is definitely looking so much better now than it did before.” This kind of care is illustrative of the support offered by the early Church to its members in Acts 2. It is as much of a challenge to us today as it was then.

At present in Northern Ireland, according to recent figures from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, over 100,000 children are considered to be living in poverty. Moreover, whilst the scourge of child poverty is periodically highlighted and its eradication pursued, this goal has to date proved elusive.

Children and families therefore continue to experience financial hardship, and it is this undeniable fact that perhaps helps to explain the Society’s continued relevance and ongoing popular appeal. The Society also enjoys widespread denominational support, which includes many Presbyterian Women Groups who, together with congregations across Ireland, lend their prayerful and financial support to us in helping many children. That support is greatly needed now more than ever before. The current crisis will require another season of generous giving from across the Church to help families meet the cost of living in or through a crisis.

So, as we approach the Christmas season, like the Magi who travelled to see the Christ child, we should consider our giving; not as begrudging but biblical, and not just as worthy but as worship.

For more information why not visit our website: www.presbyterianchildrenssociety.org or telephone 028 9032 3737.

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Starting the year off wisely in God’s Word

J

anuary can be a difficult month - after all the excitement and build up in December to Christmas, the lights are packed away and there seems little joy left as we start a new year.

With 31 chapters in the Book of Proverbs and 31 days in January, we are encouraging Wider World readers to start off the year with reading a chapter a day. Chapter one and verses one to four set the tone for, and outlines the purpose of, the whole book: “The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight; for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair.”

We’ve left you some space for noting verses that stand out for you during the month.

Follow our Presbyterian Women Facebook page and let us know how you get on with the challenge!

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Neil Harrison, PCI’s Congregational Witness Development Officer, gives some helpful tips on how to raise your profile in the community by planning events that can be opened to everyone.

How might your PW Group plan ahead to engage with more people in your town, city or countryside setting?

How can we introduce our church to more people after the pandemic?

E

ven though it isn’t a word we use every day, most of us have experience of preludes. They are the kind of actions or events that serve as an introduction to something fuller.

setter for the story that is about to be unfolded in chapter one. But in less formal usage, the idea of a prelude has come to be used more generally as a soft or gradual warm up to the main thing.

In the musical world, preludes provide an introduction to an opera. They also appear in works of fiction as a scene

Preludes to church life Churches often have lots of people from the community attending organisations

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but find it challenging to transfer that to Sunday service attendance. We assume that this should be the natural next step for people from the community but maybe the gap between the weekly toddler group and the Sunday service is wider than we realise. For many people, practices such as corporate singing, praying and listening to a sermon, are

O U T R E AC H

very strange. Perhaps leaders need to think imaginatively about what a natural next step, that could serve as a prelude, might be for those engaging in groups or organisations around the edges of church life.

Individual Christians have a role to be a witness in this regard through being open and generous in friendship to those with whom they have relationships.

For many people, Christians have a weirdness factor about them, so creating social opportunities to introduce people to the wider church community will help to dial that down somewhat.

Little invitations to come for coffee, to share in a barbeque or to go for a walk with others – just to be around other Christians, will be helpful in warming people up to a fuller engagement with church.

Alongside encouraging the witness of individual members, maybe as congregations we need to think creatively about a few one-off events or activities dotted into the church programme. These could be another stepping stone that draws unreached people deeper into the community of the church and towards an experience of worship. Here are a few suggestions for different groups of people:

Women Many PCI congregations have well established women’s groups, but might there be ways to include one or two events each year that would be an easy invite to extend to the wider community or mothers from the toddler group?

Christmas wreath making workshop: Crafting has grown in popularity in recent years and a workshop like this might be well received. The Christmas theme would provide a natural backdrop to include an advent Bible reading, or a brief story from a member around ‘what Christmas means to me’.

A night out: A couple of times a year provide an evening creche and children’s programme whilst offering parents a night out together at a local restaurant or the cinema where they don’t have to watch something animated!

As you think about ‘Getting going again’ in your local witness, take time to explore ways of creating preludes that are environments in which those who are warming up to being around church activities can further experience Christian community and move towards further considering faith.

Walk in the park: During the spring or summer months schedule a few walks in your local park. Finish with refreshments in a coffee shop or in the church hall.

Parents Parenting is challenging, so any support the local church can organise can be appreciated by the community and may draw parents further into the life of the church. Some suggestions would be: Family time: Anything that encourages families to enjoy time together, such as a community fun day with simple fairground challenges, or a family games night.

...just to be around other Christians, will be helpful in warming people up to a fuller engagement with church.

For more ideas, visit www.presbyterianireland.org/ getting-going-again

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A Traveller Passing Through Reflections from the Holy Land

Ruth Patterson

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B O OK E X T R AC T

Rev Ruth Patterson has published a new book, A traveller passing through: Reflections from the Holy Land. We are grateful to Veritas for allowing us to publish an edited extract from chapter six as Ruth shares her journey to important sites in Bethlehem.

O

ne of the things that I love about this pilgrimage is that those who were always shadowy figures on the pages of Scripture are now ‘becoming’, for me, real people, even if there are few, if any, of their spoken words to be found in Scripture. It is as if they have a voice beyond sound, a song without words that resonates with hope even in the midst of darkness and despair. We are still in Bethlehem where, in one sense, it all began. Bethlehem, with its memories of Christmas, initially conjures up for most of us images of joy and comfort, memories of childhood when the whole world seemed magic. In reality, we know that this is not so. God’s plan, born out of his unchanging, unconditional love for the world, had been in his heart throughout aeons.

Advent, Lent and Easter are inextricably interlinked. Already, in the stable at Bethlehem, the shadow of the cross fell upon the manger. Joy and hope, pain and anguish, were woven together from the very beginning, combining to form a timeless song of hope, a melody both old and ever new. It tells of disturbing peace, outrageous hope and radical love.

And it seems that the two elements that enable us to hear the melody, and sometimes even to join in the song, are the experiences of great love and great suffering. It may even be that any deep prayer (which is really our love relationship with God) is not possible without our willingness to embrace both these elements.

Our coach takes us next to the outskirts of modern Bethlehem. This is assumed to be close to Boaz’s field, while nearby is a restaurant that bears the name of Ruth. This area or little village is known as Beit Sahour, ‘the village of the watching’. I have always wanted to visit the Shepherds’ Field Chapel, so evocative of my favourite season of the year, Advent, the four-week period before Christmas, a time of watching and waiting. We enter the large cave below the chapel and find that we are the only group currently visiting this site. We know that this will change quickly, so while we have it to ourselves we sit down. We are told that it would have been just such a place that the shepherds used for shelter while looking after their flocks in the countryside around Bethlehem. That part of the Christmas narrative beginning ‘Now there were shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night’ is so well loved and so much part of the mystery of eternity breaking into time that we never tire of hearing it. When we hear the familiar words, we are, in a timeless moment, transported back to that night when the heavens blazed with stars and the night was filled with a song of hope that reverberates down the centuries and awakens hardened hearts or minds imprisoned by scepticism to the thought that maybe, it actually happened. Maybe, this world is more than we know.

Maybe, in a spiritual dimension there are armies of heaven’s angels under the command of a God whose nature is always love.

Before the next coachload of pilgrims arrives, there is a little time for quiet reflection. I think of the shepherds. They were at the margins of society, hardly noticed by those who mattered in the world of their day. But woven into the very fabric of their everyday, humdrum lives was the admonition to keep watch. It is thought that these shepherds were hired to look after sheep that would be used as sacrifices in the Temple worship. Their livelihood, the safety of their flocks and sometimes their very lives depended upon their vigilance. On this particular night, to them just like any other, they were on the job. Their vigil was a practical one, of being alert to prowlers, man or beast, who sought to rob or kill under cover of darkness. For this they were well prepared, but not for the angel, not for the radiance of God’s glory, not for a night sky lit up by the hosts of heaven and certainly not for the amazing message they brought.

The shepherds’ reaction was one of terror, wonder and awe. Strong men who had faced wild beasts now shook with fear in the presence of these messengers of God who brought to them, the song of hope, the good news of great joy that a Saviour had been born. They who had been faithful over little, that is, were now made faithful over much. They were moved up into the realm of mystery, to that spiritual dimension, entrusted with the greatest message of hope the world would ever receive. They had seen the invisible and touched the untouchable. The spiritual dimension became as real as the ordinary drudgery that filled their days, and life would never be the same. Throughout all the ages, these shepherds are remembered as ‘vigil people’ – people who kept watch and became bearers of a song of hope.

Continues...

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During Advent, the unseen world is breathtakingly, tantalisingly, close. Here in this cave now, for me, it is Advent.

Many of us will, at least once, have experienced an ordinary day turned into an extraordinary one when we’ve been permitted to see beyond, to catch a glimpse of the something more, to hear a melody that causes our spirit to soar. I realised in this cave, that I and we are not alone, abandoned or forgotten. I can see us surrounded by the great crowd of witnesses from every age and race who, empowered by the Spirit, were brave enough to dream, to listen to a melody other than the mournful dirge of self-interest, oppression and despair, and to sing out their song of hope.

It flashes into my mind that God deliberately chose the peripheries of humanity for the birthplace of his Son. The first to announce the message of his birth brought by angels were these humble shepherds who carved out a meagre existence on the edge of society. Their journey led them from the humdrum and hardship of their marginalised, daily existence to a fleeting glimpse of glory, whose afterglow did not eliminate the drudgery but kept hope alive for all those who survive at the edges of life. I remember Bishop Trevor Huddleston, who worked in South Africa during the hard, cruel time of apartheid, asking why it was that the shepherds were the first at the stable. His answer to his own question came swiftly: because they were not afraid to bend and kneel. He meant this both literally and metaphorically, as the entrance to the cave or stable would have been low. Jesus, on his earthly journey, felt most at home with those on the margins of society. It is among such as these, who had nothing to lose and who could therefore be open to receiving in humility and with joy, that real community is most in evidence. It was on the margins that Jesus died, crucified between two thieves outside the walls of the Holy City, outside of all that seemed to matter in the eyes of the world.

I reflect that God, who is, in essence, the beloved community of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, delights in a diversity that constantly surprises us. I reflect that outsiders in such a kingdom become insiders. I reflect that these shepherds were numbered among the ‘meek who shall inherit the earth’. I reflect that so much that I was not even aware of depends on us keeping watch. I reflect that the peace that God gives runs from the heart of the beloved through Bethlehem, Nazareth and the Via Dolorosa, and back to the heart where it all began. I hear the first faint notes of an outrageous song of hope.

It is hard to leave this place and return to the bustle of Bethlehem. But such is our schedule that it is not possible to linger long anywhere. Our next port of call is the Church of the Nativity, just around the corner from our hotel.

Our group of pilgrims walks together to see the spot where it is believed that Jesus was born. We should have been prepared for the crowds and enormous queues, but they still take us by surprise. This is a far cry from the experience of the shepherds! We shuffle forward a few paces and then stop. On one side, hiding some of the ongoing restoration, is a wall of canvas material. As people have waited their turn to go down to the grotto, they have signed the canvas and it is covered with signatures from all around the world. Reading the canvas, listening to the babble of voices, I am reminded of the prophet Micah who said that, although Bethlehem was only a small village in Judah, from it there would come a ruler who would be the source of our peace. And he added, ‘He will be highly honoured around the world.’ I cannot help but think that this Scripture is fulfilled today, and every day, in this place.

At last we reach the entrance to the grotto. There is a sudden surge of people, all trying to get in first – no sense of community or humility here! I feel as though, if I paused at all, I would be trampled underfoot. Somehow this reinforces for me what I have read of the disputes between the different Christian groups, jealous of each other’s rights and claims upon various parts of this site. It smacks of power and control, almost a lusting after the biggest portion. It seems to me that these modern quarrels or long-ago battles present an image to a watching world of faith that is more about external control and authority than the inner transformation that is the goal of any spiritual journey, leading as it should to a more just and compassionate world.

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B O OK E X T R AC T The very spot where we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace appears to be a place of unease and argument, of claiming rights and privileges. I don’t know how it happens, but I find myself at the bottom of the steps and moving towards the special moment of placing my hand on the fourteen-pointed, silver star that marks the spot. I don’t know what I expected to experience, but I am definitely not touched in my spirit or my emotions and move off to one side. I feel disappointed and like an anonymous spectator, someone who is on the periphery of what is happening.

Looking around at the crowds of people still pushing to get to this spot, I reflect that one of the questions plaguing me at times centres around awareness or awakening. Why do we close down on the unseen world that is all about us, that is waiting to break in at the point of awareness? Perhaps part of the problem is that I think I need to be in a special place, both physically and spiritually, that I have to be feeling especially ‘holy’ – whatever that feels like. And yet, here I am in this special place and I feel nothing! But when I look to the Bible, I find that all the people called by God were not perfect, nor were they doing anything special when their moment of awakening came. They were just caught up in their everyday routine, like the shepherds.

But when I look to the Bible, I find that all the people called by God were not perfect, nor were they doing anything special when their moment of awakening came.

It takes practice as well as desire to step back a little and simply be aware. It is a choice to let go of the dualistic mindset that dominates so much of our thinking, seeing and doing. After we do step back, the call is to wait, not passively but passionately, for the sign or the whisper or the song.

This is difficult to convey because the sense of what I’m haltingly trying to express goes beyond even the loveliest of words; at best they can only approximate the meaning. For many years now I’ve had this sense of something more and it’s still with me, perhaps beating more strongly in this phase of old age. It’s not simply a yearning for the next life, but rather an ever-deepening awareness of the present moment, of the God who is always the ‘I Am’. One of the truths I’ve been alerted to, is that this God created and continues to create from a heart of loving diversity rather than of uniformity. We who have come from God and are returning to God are given this wonderful calling to explore, to experience, to embrace, to know again (which is the real meaning of ‘recognise’) that which we have ‘forgotten’ as we have grown older and become worldly-wise and have, perhaps, lost some of our trust and faith.

It is trust-filled waiting that we find so difficult, daring to hear the intriguing and alluring melody that is always present even though we don’t usually recognise it, the breath of the Spirit that whispers to us of something more. We can talk quite readily about humankind pushing out the frontiers of knowledge in science and technology, or in space exploration, as we come to grips with some of the myriad wonders of the universe, but what about the frontiers of the Spirit? What about the endless possibilities and wonders, at the moment lying dormant within me and within you, that have never been explored? Can we really believe, really trust, that there is more to you, to me, even at this age and after all we have lived to date, than we have yet allowed ourselves to discover? Do we still have a song of hope?

Back in the grotto, our group finds a space a short distance from the scene of all the activity. We begin to sing carols in June! Others not of our number are joining in. At last I have a sense of holy awe. I thank God for all the faithful throughout two millennia, who have come to Bethlehem, either in person or in spirit, and who know that what unites them is greater than all that would divide. ‘O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.’

A traveller passing through is available via Christian bookshops and www.veritas.ie for £12 or €12.99

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A C H R I ST M A S R E F L E C T ION

Amid the moonlight walks, angel wings, and snowstorm deliverance, the overarching message of It’s a Wonderful Life is clear - George Bailey’s life mattered - very much as it turns out. So what constitutes a life that matters? Of course, we’d all like to save lives or deliver a town from financial ruin.

But in nearly every scene of this film, we discover that a Christian’s purpose is found each day in how we affect the people and situations we encounter.

Strengthen your faith in God’s master plan and remember that the world is immeasurably better because you were born.

Bob Welch, author of 52 Little Lessons from It’s a Wonderful Life

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G RO U P F O C U S

F

First Dromara

irst Dromara Presbyterian Church is situated on a hill with spectacular views of Slieve Croob and the Lagan Valley. Our PW Group is called Inspire as we want our ladies to be inspired to follow Jesus, as Presbyterian Women encourages women to become disciples of Christ. We are very blessed by having a wide age range of women from 20s to 80s.

Our committee met via Zoom (which we hadn’t even heard of!) at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic to decide how we could connect with our women. Like most groups, we had to adapt and become more technologically equipped.

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We are so grateful that Lorna Moore, our technical expert on the committee, set up our Zoom meeting. Firstly, we decided to set up a WhatsApp Group for our women where we were able to post encouraging verses, praise pieces, podcasts etc. We then decided to produce a newsletter, where we kept our women up to date with what was happening regarding the PW Office Bearers, PW Mission Fund, Special Projects, book reviews and reading suggestions, and any other information we felt was appropriate, including dates for proposed meetings on Zoom. I’m delighted that we have Rose McCullagh

as Deputy Leader who took the role of editor of our newsletters in her stride.

We had prayed as a committee that God would equip us to meet with our women via Zoom. This brought us many amusing moments as we tried to navigate our way through, but we were blessed when we saw daughters/sons/ husbands help to connect our women to our meetings. It was also really encouraging to see our younger generations helping those of us who perhaps weren’t as “technology savvy”!

The Zoom meetings also enabled our committee to show their God-given talents as both Ruth Copes and Karen Keown produced baking videos, while Karen Walker recorded book reviews.

It was also so encouraging to see the committee members step out of our comfort zone to produce a Christmas video! This took a lot of patience as we worked out how to record the videos, each in our own homes, to then combine them and make it flow. But we had such fun making it (I’ll not say how many takes it took me to get it right) and were so encouraged at how God was present and everything came together.

For our December meeting via Zoom, we asked all the women to wear Christmas jumpers, had an opening game of Fetch, and followed that by presenting our video, sharing different aspects of the Christmas story. The previous year at our Christmas dinner we divided into groups and gave each group wrapping paper and sellotape. Their task was to make an item of clothing on one of the ladies with the wrapping paper. This was great fun, and the ladies took on the challenge with great enthusiasm (see photo of the winner below).

We were delighted when Covid-19 restrictions eased and we could meet up again in person, while strictly adhering to distancing regulations still in place. It was such a pleasure to welcome a number of younger women who had recently married and moved to the area. This was a perfect opportunity to get alongside these new ladies using the conversation starter resources from the Side by Side Inspirations, finishing off the evening with a selection of puddings.

First Dromara Presbyterian Church decided to hold an afternoon tea on Friday 3rd June 2022 to celebrate our late Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. The Inspire ladies (along with a bit of help from a few men) took on the task of organising this. It was great to get everyone involved; from making sandwiches and setting up and decorating the hall, to making tea, baking buns, and making trifles. With fine china and cake stands, it was all very sophisticated! This was the first time some of our church members had been back since the pandemic and everyone enjoyed the food and fellowship very much. What an encouragement to see the hall full, with lots of chatter, laughing and happy faces.

To commence our Deeper Together theme for 2022/23, the committee decided we would meet on Monday nights in September and Walk & Chat around Hillsborough Forest Park, finishing with a cup of tea at the picnic tables. We wanted to encourage those who wouldn’t normally come to Inspire to join us for a very informal evening and just to help get to know one another better. We were delighted to have 20 ladies on our first night. Due to extremely bad wet and windy weather one night, followed by the death of our Queen, we didn’t get the opportunity to walk again, but we will revisit this after Easter 2023 when the weather will be better - we hope!

Following on from a very successful Retreat morning in September 2019 to commence the Restore theme, we had planned a similar event for September 2022 on the theme Deeper Together, but

It was such a pleasure to welcome a number of younger women who had recently married and moved to the area. again, sadly, due to Her Majesty’s death, this had to be postponed. We had our retreat in a marquee in the garden of one of our members, starting with tea/ coffee and croissants before exploring our theme with Valerie Murphy from Precept Ministries NI as our speaker.

A time of reflection followed, either with folk going for a walk or sitting quietly in the garden or in a room in the house, ending with joining together for a soup lunch. This was a great morning of fellowship and introduction to the PW theme for the year. At the time of writing, we have re-scheduled this year’s retreat morning to November but changing the venue to our Church Meeting House and halls. We again look forward to Valerie Murphy sharing with us.

We have a varied programme planned for the year ahead including having Sarah-Jayne McClatchey from Care NI to update us on our Special Home Project.

We are also planning a visit to Sandra Shaw, a local art and craft expert, to do a festive craft activity for Christmas. Other speakers include Sarah McKane, Bethany Harper, and Rev William Harkness. We try to have a varied programme in the hope that many more women will be inspired to join with us as we reach out with the Good News of the Gospel.

I feel so blessed to be the group Leader as, while I love to help and chat, I often don’t feel equipped to lead the meetings.

However, that is where God steps in and I’m so thankful that he has surrounded me with a talented committee who support and guide me. The verse that really inspires me is Philippians 4:13 I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.

We look forward to all that God has in store for us as a group in the year ahead as we seek to grow Deeper Together.

Andrea Wilson, Leader

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Finding Faith IN LATER LIFE

A

ll the days of my life is a resource produced particularly for ministry among those in later life. Its goal is to bring to light an awareness of God’s presence throughout life as those who use it look back and facilitate a response of faith.

For some with whom you will use the resource, that awareness of God will have been acknowledged and greatly appreciated down through the years.

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For those who have not yet come to faith but who have some previous background in church and knowledge of Christian faith, something of those seeds planted many years before may at last begin to sprout.

For others, a previously unacknowledged sense of God at work in life’s ups and downs will hopefully become clear for the first time. The idea behind the resource All the days of my life is a six-session,

light-touch, evangelistic tool walking participants through Psalm 23, offering the opportunity for a response of faith.

It may be used individually, one to one, or in a range of small group settings in a church, residential facility or private home. It’s simple, short structured content is based around an assumption of some familiarity with Psalm 23, but not dependent on prior knowledge.

The content leans heavily on the use of imagery, both in the text and visual

P C I R E S O U RC E

Adopting a prayerful, gentle, conversational approach will create space for the Holy Spirit to work in his way and in his time. to open up conversations about real lived experience. The flow of the resource moves deftly from a backward look at life in sessions 1–4, to reflect on the present through the lens of Christian hope in session five, then the future and eternity in session six. Throughout, the use of repetition in format and wording of questions and prayers is intended as an aid to recall and reinforce the basics of what it means to put trust in God through Jesus.

The format of each session Each session follows the same format.

• Beginning with a verse(s) from Psalm 23 • The introduction of a strong visual image to start conversation and bridge the gap between text and life • The offer of a question to open up various aspects of the participant’s life story • A short piece of text which can be read with participants to raise awareness of some aspect of God’s presence in different seasons of life with the aim of increasing recognition of him in retrospect, in the present or future • The introduction of Jesus as the Good Shepherd from a selection of sections in the New Testament • Concluding with a short prayer that can also act as personal response in the moment and/or build towards a full appreciation of what it means to profess faith in Christ.

Facilitating the conversation All the days of my life is not a Bible study with the answers in the back of the book for either those leading discussion or those participating in it. Rather, it offers a framework to carry a conversation in which real-life experience can be brought into parallel with what, for some, will be a familiar passage of Scripture.

Adopting a prayerful, gentle, conversational approach will create space for the Holy Spirit to work in his way and in his time.

It will mean that those facilitating conversation will need to be comfortable with an approach which ensures a balance between creating time for listening, allowing for a range of responses to emerge and yet keeping the general theme of the session on track.

Some advice for running the sessions with older people: • Keep it friendly: Tea and biscuits and a comfortable chair are very important. Reassure people that there is no expectation of ‘right answers’, just a chance to talk.

• Keep moving: Planning to deliver the material in half an hour may be long enough with the option of time to continue discussion afterwards for those who want to do so. Set a steady pace and don’t rush the content. Give participants time to take it in, process it, reflect and respond. People may wish to take the materials home to consider further during the week.

• Keep it visual: The resource uses pictures, because they warm up conversation in a different way than lots of text and questions. They also help with remembering.

• Keep it open: Encourage people to spread the word. We have a life-giving message to offer. Encourage older people to invite their friends to come along with them to consider and discover Jesus. Our Shepherd before.

His goodness and mercy following.

As you use All the days of my life with others, pray that they might come to find the comfort and strength of God as their shepherd in later life and the assurance of the goodness and mercy of Jesus ever with them, offering forgiveness for the past, peace in the present and hope for the future.

A psalm of David The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.

He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Copies are available at £1.50 each with a free downloadable user guide. Order via the PCI website www.presbyterianireland.org/ allthedaysofmylife

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T HA N K S G I V I N G

Grateful heart Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Elmwood welcomes new Deaconess Roberta Irvine was inducted as the new Deaconess in Elmwood Presbyterian Church in Lisburn in September. Photographs show members of the Presbytery commission, Rev Andrew Thompson with Roberta Irvine, and Roberta with previous Deaconesses Elizabeth Matthews and Margaret Robertson. Donna Thompson also presented flowers and all the attending past and serving Deaconesses were photographed together at the service.

Have you a good-news story to tell us about your PW Group or women’s ministry project? Is there something you are grateful for that you would like to express to our readers? Please email up to 150 words and attach to the email any relevant photographs to pw@presbyterianireland.org 32 | Wider World Winter 22/23

Leadership Forum Stronger together Ballywalter Ballywalter Presbyterian Women celebrated their 90th anniversary earlier this year. They were delighted that the then PW President, Heather Clements, was the speaker at the anniversary service.

When Covid-19 restrictions were relaxed, past and present members enjoyed getting together for a meal and of course a piece of the anniversary cake!

Guest Speaker Donna Jennings Unfortunately, due to the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, we had to postpone the September Forum. We have now rescheduled this to take place at the February Forum on Saturday 11th February 2023. Donna Jennings, from Evangelical Alliance, has again agreed to be our speaker. For those of you who had already booked for September, you will have received an email to say your ticket is valid for February. Capacity is full but the event will be recorded and available on the PW website a few weeks later.

Legacurry Legacurry Every Woman recently celebrated 70 years of women’s ministry. Everyone enjoyed a meal together and a walk down memory lane, looking back over the 70 years. The cake was cut by Ann Liddle, current leader and Bertha Kennedy, a past president.

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G L OBA L

Global Mission Mission Department, Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Assembly Buildings, 2-10 Fisherwick Place, Belfast, BT1 6DW Tel: +44 (0)28 9041 7263 Email: global@presbyterianireland.org Website: www.presbyterianireland.org/mission

Information included in Global Mission News is supplied by the PCI Mission Department. While it is correct at the time of writing, which is normally some weeks before publication, readers should be aware that some details may subsequently change.

Up-to-date news and information are available online at: www.presbyterianireland.org/mission.

Prayer Diary

Diane Cusick

Csaba & Ilona Veres

Lusaka, Zambia Mission: Early Childhood Education

Cluj-Napoca, Romania / Mission: Outreach ministry and children’s ministry and training

‘Yes, my soul, find rest in God: my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.’

Psalm 62:5-6

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Give thanks for the Diakonia children’s ministry in Salaj and Cluj counties.

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Pray especially for the Friday good news clubs, pray that children would encounter Jesus and follow him.

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Pray for Roma families we work with living on the margins. There is great fear about the continuing energy price rises, and the ability to pay for food, heating and electricity bills this coming winter.

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Pray for the Tokoz church and other Churches and missions in Cluj working to meet the needs of Ukrainian refugees. Pray for Christian ministries to be steadfast in witness in word and deed, bringing hope of Christ to those who have settled or have just arrived to the city.

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Please ask God to protect families living in areas of conflict in Ukraine. For husbands, brothers and ageing parents left behind. Pray that even in this crisis, hearts would be open for the gospel message.

I am so thankful to be able to write a prayer bulletin again. As most of you are aware, I suddenly became very ill shortly after I came back to Ireland for deputation. I spent nine weeks in hospital and another nine weeks with my brother and his family on the home farm near Armoy. I only managed to do one of my deputation appointments before I became ill.

This made me sad as I was looking forward to sharing about the developments in Early Childhood in Zambia in the CCAP. I pray that God will give me another opportunity in the future to do this.

I want to say a very big THANK YOU to all of you and many others around the world for praying for me since I became ill. I have no doubt that God answered your prayers and I am deeply grateful to each and every one of you. Thank you for the get well cards, for the gifts and for the visits – all are deeply appreciated.

This has been a humbling experience, realising that so many people around the globe have been praying for me. I still have to have an operation in the next couple of months and would value prayer for that. As I am gaining strength, I am enjoying taking short walks and using my camera again too. Thank you for your continued support.

34 | Wider World Winter 22/23

Overseas News Personnel News Volker Glissmann, PCI global mission worker in Southern Africa has now returned to Blantyre, Malawi, and is settling in again to his work in TEE programme development.

Final home assignments Chris and Rachel Humphries, PCI global mission workers in Portugal, are currently on final home assignment, having returned from Portugal at the end of the summer.

Gary and Mary Reid, PCI global mission workers, have returned to their work amongst the Maasai community in Ol Kinyei, Kenya after a period of home assignment.

Peter and Jayne Fleming, PCI global mission workers in Nepal, have returned on final home assignment and were involved in deputation up to the end of November.

Naomi Keefe, PCI global mission worker, has returned to her work in Olinda, Brazil following a period of home assignment up to the end of September.

Change for Candidates for global mission service Nigel and Antónia Craig, were due to be commissioned in September as global mission workers in Hungary but regrettably, due to changes in personal circumstances their commissioning did not proceed and they will now not be going to serve in Hungary for the foreseeable future.

Diane Cusick, PCI global mission worker in Zambia, has been making steady progress in her recovery following serious illness.

Pray that this progress would continue with a view to Diane returning to work as Early Childhood Development Co-ordinator for the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian, Synod of Zambia in the early part of 2023.

Stephen and Angelina Cowan, PCI global mission workers in Kenya, were on home assignment until early November.

Steve Kennedy, PCI global mission worker in Romania, was in Northern Ireland for a period of deputation until 8 November.

Global Mission Workers Derek & Jane French Calle Lekueder 9, 4A 48940 Leioa Spain

Naomi Keefe Da Caixa Postal 73 Codigo da agencia 32300018 AC Central Recife Avenida Guararapes 250 CEP 50010970 Brazil

Peter & Jayne Fleming c/o Assembly Buildings

Stephen & Angelina Cowan c/o Assembly Buildings

James & Heather Cochrane Rua Monte da Mina, 4466 3 Dto. Leça do Balio 4465-693 Matosinhos Portugal

Diane Cusick c/o Assembly Buildings

Chris & Rachel Humphries c/o Assembly Buildings

Edwin & Anne Kibathi Partner Church Mission Workers 167 Wickhay Basildon Essex SS15 5AQ

BRAZIL

KENYA Naomi & Thomas Leremore PO Box 23450-00100 Nairobi (GPO) Kenya

KENYA Gary & Mary Reid PO Box 846-20500 Narok Kenya

KENYA Volker & JinHyeog Glissmann PO Box 30048 Chichiri Blantyre 3 Malawi

MALAWI

NEPAL

PORTUGAL

PORTUGAL Steve and Rosie Kennedy Str. Sanatoriului 29 Cluj-Napoca 400000 Jud Cluj Romania

ROMANIA Csaba & Ilona Veres Str Intre Lacuri 43 Cluj Napoca Jud Cluj Romania

ROMANIA

SPAIN

ZAMBIA

ENGLAND

Rekindling hope From flight to flourishing

World Development Appeal 2022

Support the World Development Appeal to help communities in places like Lebanon and South Sudan continue to rebuild and restore lives previously torn apart by displacement, conflict and Covid.

Changing stories of flight to stories of flourishing.

Working together, serving our neighbours and glorifying God. www.presbyterianireland.org/world-development