Presbyterian Herald October 2024

Page 16

CONGREGATIONAL STORY

Being present in the

local community

As we celebrate Harvest in this autumn season, Johnny Stewart gives an insight into what mission looks like for a congregation in the farming community. An important annual event for Ballywalter Presbyterian Church is its annual tractor run. 16

Herald October 2024

O

ur congregation in Ballywalter has a long and rich history in the local community. The current building was built 135 years ago and we will soon celebrate the congregation’s 400th anniversary in 2026. Over the intervening years there have been many changes on the Ards Peninsula. Farms have become larger and more efficient, factories have closed, local industry has been outsourced offshore, and in some instances new businesses have sprung up in their place. The livelihoods and lifestyles in the village and surrounding areas have changed drastically with the arrival of the motorcar and the reducing need for farmhands as more modern and efficient technology has been introduced. In a history of our local congregation, Settlers by the Sea (available on our church website for anyone interested), written by a former clerk of session, we learn that our congregation had a very broad range of occupations when the building was constructed in 1889. These largely included redundant jobs such as coal merchant, lime burner, woollen draper and haberdasher, but by far the most common occupation was farmer and landowner. There was even a stable on site to store the horses for those travelling to church services from the surrounding countryside. How times have changed! Our village also has a thriving Young Farmers’ Club which will soon celebrate its 95th anniversary – they regularly use our halls for the monthly meetings and annual parents’ night. Despite all the changes that new technology has brought, food production and processing still remains a very vibrant part of the fabric of our local community and congregation. Even for those who aren’t farming in our congregation, there are strong family ties to the land and many still work in the wider agri-food supply chain. For rural congregations, the idea of running a tractor run will be nothing new. That being said, connecting with the local farming and vehicle enthusiast community ties in well with the new three-year PCI initiative ‘Present’,


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