Wider World Autumn 2022 by Presbyterian Church in Ireland

WIDER WORLD Autumn: September - November 2022

Voice of love PW Special Overseas Project 2022/23

Deeper together in hospitality An invitation to relationship

Devotional by Karen Fulton

Trusting in God’s timing

Mission in Ireland 2022 Deaconesses

Sonya Anderson

Paula Burrows

Rachel Cubitt

Louise Davidson

Eleanor Drysdale

Joanne Dunlop

Deaconess

Shore Street, Donagahadee

Ballygrainey

Whiteabbey

West Church, Bangor

Wellington, Ballymena

Craigavon Area Hospital and Antrim Area Hospital

Heidi England

Sharon Heron

Roberta Irvine

Heather McCracken

Tracey Nicholl

Michelle Purdy

Deaconess

Railway Street, Lisburn

International Meeting Point, Belfast

Elmwood Presbyterian, Lisburn

Belfast Health and Social Care Trust

St James’s, Ballymoney

Ballyclare

Hazel Reid

Sylvia Santos Bryce

Rosemary Spiers

Heather Healy

Cathy Smith

Deaconess

Student Deaconess

First Broughshane

West Church, Ballymena

Greenwell Street, Newtownards

Rebecca McConnell Editor

WELCOME TO OUR AUTUMN EDITION

For me, growing up on a farm, Saturdays in autumn were spent in a potato field with my father, sister, brothers and neighbours. Before the investment of a harvester, it was a back-breaking job gathering the crop by hand into baskets. A one tonne box took a long time to fill as the spinner whizzed around each drill. The conditions were often cold and damp. My favourite part though was when I saw my mum drive into the field as she would bring the supplies at lunchtime to warm us all up. Flasks of soup and tea, sandwiches and homemade buns tasted so good in the fresh air and were a welcome treat as well as the rest from the harvest. It fortified us for the afternoon’s hard graft and we felt more motivated to get the job done. Hospitality is important because it is about much more than just the food and the nutrition it provides. It is a time to bring people together, to share in conversation, and our times of celebration would be bland and boring without food. Renée Finnegan reminds us of the Christian calling to offer hospitality to others and her story is featured in a new PCI resource Expressions which we introduce in this edition. She explains how she feels hospitality is a way to go deeper together through sharing our lives and opening our homes beyond just friends and family. Our autumn devotional by Dr Karen Fulton is focused on hospitality too - the big party that the father threw for the prodigal son who returned to the farm after this wild foray causing his older brother to be jealous. This is a familiar story that we have read many times, however I hope you will find something fresh in it - this line in particular stood out for me: “Both sons focus on the wrong things, the things their father can give, rather than on the father himself.” Perhaps in our own overlooking of our Heavenly Father, we don’t fully embrace the impact of the Holy Spirit in the Trinity. When I asked Mary McKnight, a neighbour a few fields away, if she would like to be interviewed for our Harvest article, I was amazed at her readiness to share her story. She was honest and open with me and we shared a special evening together where she told me how the presence of the Holy Spirit has been with her in a new way since her husband died three years ago and this has led her to be bolder in her witness for Jesus. The PW theme of Deeper Together is a challenging one. May you find the courage to be bold this autumn for Jesus and may you go deeper in fellowship with others as you trust in our amazing God.

CONTENTS 04 08 10 12 14 16 18 20 24 27 28 30 32 34

Voice of love - PW Special Projects Meet the President - Esther Parker Stronger Together St Columba’s - PW Group Focus Devotional - An invitation to relationship Trusting in God’s timing - Deaconess A prayer to go Deeper Together A harvest point of view Prisons Week Recipes Deeper Together in hospitality Mary Ann McCracken - Tales of courage Grateful Heart 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: £6/€7 or £1.50/€1.75 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.

G L OBA L

P W SP E C IA L P ROJ E C T S 2 0 2 2 / 2 3

Voice of love

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PCI’s Mission Support Officer Pip Florit gives us an insight into the 2022/2023 PW Special Overseas Project supporting a Radio Station in Indonesia, Suara Kasih, which translates as ‘Voice of Love’.

ow did you first hear about God and his love? How do you hear his Word now? Chances are, your answer today might be different from a couple of years ago. One of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic was that people learned what it was to hear God’s Word in ways they weren’t used to. For many who had missed only a handful of Sunday services in their lives, it was a difficult transition, but most were grateful that the pandemic at least happened in an age when technology allowed us to continue to connect. Reaching out and sharing God’s love when circumstances create physical limitations is not a new problem for thousands of people throughout the world. When your church covers an area that encompasses hundreds of islands, many of them difficult to access, how do you reach the people who live out of reach? East Nusa Tenggara is the most southerly province in Indonesia and one of the least developed. It is home to around five million people, spread across more than 500 islands. Many people, particularly in rural areas, are living in poverty, with limited access to healthcare and education. For many, even electricity and water are scarce. This group of islands is the area covered by the Christian Evangelical Church in Timor/Gereja Masehi Injili di Timor (GMIT), the second largest Protestant Church in Indonesia. PCI has partnered with GMIT since 1972 and the relationship has developed over the last fifty years. GMIT has about 1.5 million members across 2,000 congregations in 46 presbyteries.

There are around 1,500 pastors and in 2015, the Church elected its first female Moderator, Rev Dr Mery Kolimon. Mery has a great heart for the Church, for its place in every part of society and its role in both preaching and becoming the Good News. GMIT and the society it is placed in face many challenges. In recent years, these have included navigating Covid-19 with a limited healthcare capacity, and climate-related natural disasters. In the midst of this, the Church faces the ongoing challenge of reaching people with the gospel and its practical outworking in an area where the geography and infrastructure of the region create another obstacle. While we rely on the internet as a source of information and communication, over 400 villages in East Nusa Tenggara have no internet access. In 2008, GMIT sought to overcome this challenge with the establishment of Suara Kasih Radio Station. Suara Kasih means ‘Voice of love’ in Indonesian and the station exists to be a voice to share the good news of God’s love with those who live in East Nusa Tenggara. The range of the station’s broadcasts is wide, with programmes that provide opportunities for learning, sharing information and for people to develop their spiritual lives. These programmes are interspersed with Indonesian and Western music, along with worship music. It broadcasts news and information on subjects like the economy, culture and the environment, alongside reflections, church services and Sunday School programmes for children.

Reaching out and sharing God’s love when circumstances create physical limitations is not a new problem for thousands of people throughout the world. Continues... 05

The station is a source of encouragement, entertainment and enlightenment for a variety of people, with 75% of its listeners between the ages of 15 and 39 and half of all listeners either students or housewives. “Radio can be listened to wherever you are, whenever you like, and while doing all kinds of activities, so it’s a really practical, easy way of reaching the greatest number of people from right across the community, especially those who live in remote areas”, says Deasy Ratuwalu, Radio Suara Kasih’s Coordinator. The station’s association with PCI goes back to its beginning, when congregations in Ballymena Presbytery raised around £25,000 to set the station up. This money allowed GMIT to create and equip a purpose-built studio beside the Synod office in Kupang, to produce quality programming for a wide audience. The station developed over the following years and became a popular source of information, entertainment and spiritual nourishment, particularly for those living in isolated places. One of Suara Kasih’s listeners, Yuli Maharani Buy says of the station, “In these days of social media, radio is still very important. Radio Suara Kasih provides a lot of insights and entertainment to those who listen to its programmes, which are both informative and creative.

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Most importantly, they have a spiritual content helping us to be good neighbours showing the love of Christ to one another.” Another regular listener, Marthen Luther Bani says, “Radio Suara Kasih is simply the best station to listen to and is my constant companion, wherever I am.” When Covid-19 spread around the world, Suara Kasih’s income began to decline significantly as donations and advertising decreased rapidly. The station had received funding from the government, but when the government’s budget was adjusted to deal with the effects of Covid-19, Suara Kasih lost further income. The station was struggling to maintain its normal programming. Ministries around the world were in the same position, working out how to continue to function in the midst of a pandemic, but while the headlines around the rest of the world focussed on little other than Covid-19, another disaster was on its way to Indonesia. At the start of April 2021, Cyclone Seroja tore across southern Indonesia. A category three (severe tropical) cyclone, Seroja’s effects on East Nusa Tengarra and surrounding areas were devastating. Around 200 people were killed and tens of thousands of homes were destroyed.

The damage to Suara Kasih radio station was disastrous, putting it out of action and unable to continue the broadcasts that had been on the air for 14 years. The torrential rain, winds of up to 110 mph and lightning strikes caused huge damage. The station’s 60-metre tall transmitting tower collapsed, leaving only 15 metres still standing. In addition, lightning strikes and resultant short circuits caused damage to antennae, cables, the mixer, computer and air conditioning. There was little that wasn’t affected by the cyclone.

Radio Suara Kasih is simply the best station to listen to and is my constant companion, wherever I am.

G L OBA L The station has been silent since Cyclone Seroja hit, but GMIT’s goal is to get the broadcasts up and running again, sharing the voice of love with all in East Nusa Tenggara. This year, PCI will continue its association with the radio station through Presbyterian Women, who have adopted it as their Special Overseas Project. Presbyterian Women has committed to raising £15,000 to repair the extensive damage and replace the destroyed equipment so the church can begin again to reach the hard to reach areas. The aim is to, once again, be able to reach listeners like Matilda, who says, “Radio Suara Kasih brings great comfort to the people of East Nusa Tenggara Province. Keep going!” With special thanks to Elsye McCroskery for translating the quotations from listeners. The broadcasts have been sorely missed by the regular listeners. Yuli says, “my hope is that Radio Suara Kasih can get back on air soon all for the glory of God”, while another committed listener, Mery Dethan says, “I enjoy listening to music, especially Christian music and Suara Kasih’s spiritual broadcasts. Lately, I’ve really missed Suara Kasih Radio since storm damage forced it off air. I really hope for some good news that it can soon get going again.”

You can watch a video on this project that was shown at the Annual Conference on the PW website www.presbyterianireland.org/pw

Meet the President -

Esther P We sat down with the new Presbyterian Women President Esther Parker to ask some deep and meaningful questions.

Thanks for taking the time to talk with us Esther, we will start with some easy, let’s call them, shallow, questions: Tea or coffee? Right now, tea…specifically, a wee pot of Indian Spiced Chai to last until the end of the questions! I’d love to meet for coffee or tea with anyone who wants to talk about what the Lord is putting on her heart for the women of her congregation and beyond. Cats or dogs? Neither…enough said! E-book or a real book? Definitely a real book. The feel and the smell of the pages are part of the experience. Autumn or spring? Both are lovely, but spring edges it for the flowers. Walk on the beach or walk in the forest? The beach, no matter the season or the time of day, barefoot along the edge of the water. Spa break or city break? Am I allowed to dodge choosing on this one and have a spa break in a city?

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I N T E RV I E W

Parker Q

Now, to reflect the new PW theme, let’s go a little deeper… Who would you say is or has been a role model to you in your faith? Growing up, I’d have to say my parents and members of the wider family who have/had a quiet, unwavering faith and live/lived by God’s Word. For the past 37 years (35 of them married), my husband, Bill, whose life – as a man of integrity and openness, unafraid to ask hard questions and a diligent student of the Word of God – is a challenge to me and he has been my faith role model.

What is your favourite Bible verse/passage and why? The verses that keep coming up time after time, probably because I need to be reminded of them often, are Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (ESV) Perhaps you find, as I do, that it is very easy to lean on your own understanding rather than trusting in the Lord.

It is sometimes hard to trust the Lord with ALL my heart because I’m afraid he might ask me to do something difficult or put me somewhere I do not want to be. I need to be reminded to acknowledge him, to learn to know him, to recognise him, in every moment of every day and in every situation, because only as I walk in obedience to him will my paths be straight, level and smooth. The paths of my own understanding are crooked, steep, and full of bumps and potholes.

What experiences do you feel God has used in your life to shape you into who you are today and who you are becoming in Christ? Everything. We tend to look for big experiences – tragedies, great successes, lightbulb moments – but the older I become, the more I am convinced that we need to pay much greater attention to ordinary things, experiences that we consider small and unimportant, the day-to-day and moment-by-moment things. We need to grow more like Jesus in those small, everyday things, then, when confronted with something bigger, we are trained and ready to do what pleases God, as Jesus did. “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” (Philippians 2:13 NLT) God is always working in his children. He wastes nothing, even small things, bad things or wrong things.

What is your hope for Presbyterian Women as you take on the role of President in 2022? We are at one of those points in time when it is very appropriate to pause and to think about what we have been doing and why we have been doing it, to assess where we are and then to seek God’s way ahead. We have had to do things very differently, or not at all, over the past couple of years. What have we learned from that? I hope to encourage open, honest and gracious conversations in congregations about how ministry among women should move forward; conversations that are bathed in prayer and are part of a process of acknowledging God and

trusting in him rather than leaning on our own understanding and insisting that things should be done our way or no way. I hope to see Christian women finding ways to go deeper together in their relationship with the Lord, and in their relationships with one another; to see them encouraging and strengthening one another through God’s Word because they are devoted to one another in love (Romans 12:10); to see them reaching out to those who do not know Jesus as Saviour, and discovering that the Holy Spirit will work through them as he brings others to Jesus.

How can we prayerfully support you in the year ahead? Prayer would be very much appreciated. Pray that when I speak, my words will be wise, and that they will be given with kindness. Pray that I will trust the Lord with all my heart and not lean on my own understanding; that I will acknowledge him in all my ways and find that his paths are straight, level and smooth. Pray that I will influence others to do the same as we take courage and walk God’s paths together, going deeper with him and with each other (Proverbs 31:26 and 3:5&6).

I hope to see Christian women finding ways to go deeper together in their relationship with the Lord, and in their relationships with one another...

We will indeed be praying for you Esther. Thanks for sharing part of your story for our readers to get to know you better and God’s blessings to you in your year as PW President. 09

Stronger Together LET’S LEARN TO LEAD TOGETHER

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P W F ORUM The keynote speaker for the September Forum event, Donna Jennings, introduces herself and gives a preview of what she will be focusing on.

ven throughout the difficulties of the past few years, God was and is working among his people. So, I am delighted to be coming alongside so many PW Leaders to explore a timely, biblical vision for your PW leadership within your congregation. As we look and plan ahead, how might you create a space for each woman to flourish, grow and contribute to the life and witness of your shared congregation? How might you extend the role of PW to give and receive into every aspect of congregational life? What is your vision for women across age, vocation, family status, ability, maturity in faith and cultural background to come alongside one another and go deeper together? Born and bred in East Belfast, I am a member of Orangefield Presbyterian with my husband Nathaniel and children Micah (14) and Tabitha (11). I love theology, but a theology that is practical, and makes a difference to church and society. I spent several years church planting in Bangladesh, followed by a stint in OMF UK, and now work within the church and mission sector of Evangelical Alliance. I am an avid reader of books about Christian faith and theology, but the most formative journey of my following Jesus has been walking through our son Micah’s diagnosis of autism, severe learning disability and complex needs. This journey has led me to read Scripture, love the gospel, imagine the

church and be active in mission in a much deeper way. I love the church and am a firm believer that each local congregation in our life together is called and equipped to be the living storytellers of the good news of Jesus Christ. We are a new kind of community, for the good of our local communities – and I love to come alongside church families, bringing theological insights and practical explorations for how their unique community of faith, as the Body of Christ, might become an effective witness in that place. At the Presbyterian Women leadership forum on 10th September, together we will explore Presbyterian Women within 1 Corinthians 12. Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth discusses and models a new vision of leadership, that is counter-cultural and Christ-like. In chapter 12, he writes to the church in Corinth about a different way to be community, under a distinctive kind of leadership, to fulfil a divine-dynamic purpose. Paul’s vision of the church is likened to a body that functions best and most beautifully when each member is recognised, valued and enabled to play its vital role. I hope that, together, we can create time and space to hear from God and each other what your role as PW leaders might be within this body-like ministry to which you have been called. Bring with you your joys and challenges, experiences and ideas of PW leadership, as we mingle the biblical text with real life ministry.

I love the church and am a firm believer that each local congregation in our life together is called and equipped to be the living storytellers of the good news of Jesus Christ. We will discuss the importance of - Knowing your own gifts and gaps, strengths and weaknesses that shape your leadership; - Cultivating relationships that identify, discern and enable the gifts and strengths of all women in your congregation; - How PW might weave into all aspects of congregational life and witness; - Some next steps for you to take in your leadership role.

A recording of the Forum will be available to watch again shortly after the event from the PW section of the website www.presbyterianireland.org/pw

G RO U P F O C U S

PRESBYTER IAN WOMEN IN ACTION

St Columba s

Presbyterian Women’s Home Vice President and member of St Columba’s Presbyterian Church Ellen Hillen shares with readers how their PW Group reacted to the pandemic.

t Columba’s PW Group in Lisburn is made up of 15 regular members with ages ranging from fifties to eighties - but don’t let the age profile fool you! We are an active and dynamic group who lead on many of the mission outreach projects and activities within the church and the wider community. Shirley Harrison is our current Group Leader serving her third, two year term in office. As with many groups, our members are reluctant to take on the leadership role so what works for us at present is having two willing volunteers to rotate the leadership role and I am 12 | Wider World Autumn 22

delighted to share that responsibility with Shirley. Of course it is important to have a supportive committee and group to encourage the leadership team and we are blessed that we have that at St Columba’s. Our Mission & Purpose We subscribe to the aims of Presbyterian Women in providing an opportunity for women to have fellowship with one another and to seek to win women for Jesus Christ. We encourage Christian discipleship and foster support for local and global mission. We strive to bring women of all ages together to grow in their faith through regular fellowship

meetings, Bible study, prayer, teaching, social engagement and active outreach in our local community. COVID-19 - when life changed and churches closed In March 2020, the unthinkable happened, the government imposed the ‘Stay at Home’ rule. Churches closed and we could no longer meet with others outside our household and even going outside our homes was restricted. We didn’t know when we would be able to meet with each other again. A devastating blow for many of us, especially those who live alone - what were we to do?

Psalm A Day Challenge During the first Covid-19 lockdown, the ladies were encouraged to read a Psalm a day. A short reflection of the Psalm was sent each day via WhatsApp and thoughts on the passage were exchanged. This engagement led to prayer requests and we were greatly encouraged by the deeper relationships that were developed between members. The daily readings and messages brought great comfort, joy and encouragement to all who participated. When we were able to meet together again we offered a six-week Bible study (Sister Act) for PW women and it was encouraging that many of those who engaged were first time Bible study attendees. Sunday Morning Park Walks When we were permitted to meet in small groups outdoors, members of PW and the minister, Rev Rodney Cameron, and his family, met in Wallace Park each Sunday morning for a walk which finished with a group prayer. This was a very successful short-term evangelistic initiative which encouraged and strengthened us during a difficult time. The outdoor prayer in a public space challenged us to step outside our comfort zone! Doorstep Ministry It was vital to maintain contact with the congregation and continue to show God’s love in a practical way. A Covid-19 pastoral support group was assembled for doorstep ministry and this small team was made up of mainly PW members and Rev Cameron. We visited all members of the congregation and some members of the local community and distributed door-drop packs which included a spiritual message in the form of a ‘reflection’; a small gift that was seasonal, for instance a plant at spring time; sweets; shortbread; newsletter etc. People looked forward to a visit – even though it was just a word on the doorstep it brought hope and joy during a very difficult time. We continue with this ministry as we see its value.

Getting back to normality It has been wonderful to be able to meet up again for our monthly PW meetings and re engage in many wider Church and community activities. At St Columba’s, we meet on the second Tuesday of each month from September to May. Our programme is varied and when we can, we enjoy inviting guest speakers and ladies from the local PW Groups. We enjoy socialising and we plan several social events every year including Christmas Dinner at a local restaurant; at least two theatre outings and of course our annual Spring day trip in May. We are hopeful that these events and more can all be enjoyed in the coming year!

Community Outreach As women of faith, we feel that reaching out into our local community and the wider world is an important element of our discipleship and as a group we lead on a number of local outreach initiatives: Christmas Lunch – Homeless (Simon Community) In 2021, we extended an invitation to the residents and staff of the local Simon Community hostel for a Christmas lunch at St Columba’s and gift boxes were given to all residents. One participant contacted the Minister to offer thanks for the lunch and for the Christmas gift box confirming that it ‘lifted him’ during a difficult period. Christmas Shoebox Appeal We continue to support the Blythswood Shoebox appeal for distribution throughout Eastern Europe.

Jubilee Garden party for congregation and local community: Left to Right: Rev Rodney Cameron: Doreen Johnston, Myrtle Ferguson, Valerie Nettleship, Shirley Harrison (PW Leader), Florence Smith and Ellen Hillen.

Worship An important element of our PW ministry is worship. The Mothering Sunday Service is led every year by members of PW. The congregation is encouraged to bring along a family member, friend or neighbour. Every woman that attends is given a scripture card along with a flower. We also host a PW Community Carol Service on the second Tuesday in December and welcome Church members, people within the community, and local Presbyterian Church members. Everyone receives a Christmas gift that reflects the theme of the service.

Hospitality 1 Peter 4: 8–9 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Never underestimate the power of hospitality. As in most churches, our PW Group is responsible for providing refreshments at funerals and church events. It is an ideal opportunity to draw side by side with someone and have a deep and meaningful conversation. A word of encouragement The past few years have been challenging to say the least! However, these unprecedented circumstances have also afforded us the opportunity to grow in our faith and embrace new ways of sharing God’s love and demonstrating our faith as never before. I would encourage you to continue to work together, pray together, and don’t be afraid of change. Embrace change and see the amazing things God can do through your group to encourage men and women within your church family and the wider community to come to faith. Potential leaders, be encouraged by the Inspirations book that is available to help you plan your programme. Lend your support to the Home and Overseas PW projects and remember, God will equip you for the task ahead! 13

G RO U P F O C U S

READ

Luke 15: 25-32

Deeper Together An invitation to relationship

Dr Karen Fulton lectures in New Testament Studies at Belfast Bible College. Prior to joining the College in 2000, Karen taught Biblical Studies at Berea Theological College in Kenya and served there as Academic Dean and Vice-Principal. We are delighted that Karen is once again sharing some reflections on the New Testament, this time from the familiar prodigal son story found in Luke’s gospel.

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DE VOT IONA L

Galilee, 30AD It was late afternoon, hot with a heat haze on the horizon. The young man walking over the family farm is tired. He has spent the day in the fields supervising the family slaves as they worked and now he is heading back to the family house in the village. The slaves are following behind with the tools. They are all glad to be heading back to shade and rest and food. As he reaches the top of the ridge above the village the young man stops. He can hear music. A drumbeat sounds across the fields. The rhythm is one of joy, not warning, not mourning. Someone is having a party. Who is it? What are they celebrating? Is he invited? The music seems to be coming from his father’s house. What can be happening? What is there to celebrate? Quickening his pace, he heads back to the village. His hunch is right, the music is from his father’s house. He can smell meat roasting. This party is a big party. All around the property are the signs: music, slaves carrying food and drink, the smells of cooking, people gathering. Those too young to be invited to the indoor celebration are milling around in the courtyard enjoying the atmosphere, picking up some of the food, dancing to the music, chatting about the big news of the day. The party is warming up nicely but why is there one at all? When he headed out to the fields this morning there was no talk of a party or of killing one of the calves. What is going on? He calls over one of the boys from the village hanging about in the courtyard and asks why there is a party. The answer, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the prime calf because he has received him with peace,” floors him. His father’s son is back and welcomed despite all he did, shaming the family by asking for his share of the property while their father was still alive, selling off the parts of the farm he was given and splitting up the land, then heading off abroad with the money and now returning with nothing. After all that he is welcomed and gets a big party! Whereas he, he has stayed, he has slaved and he has got nothing. What is he expected to do now? Go into the party and take his place as the elder son serving the guests, including that man who came today, his father’s son? He just can’t stomach it. He is not joining in.

Press Pause What you have just read is a retelling of part of one of Jesus’ most famous parables. 1. Do you think the young man in the story has a point? 2. Why? Do you think he is missing something? What might that be? 3. Read Luke 15:25-32. Who is he in Jesus’s story recorded in Luke 15? The words of both the son and the father recorded in verses 29-32 reveal something of their hearts. It is quite clear the son is up for a party and a party with roast meat (v29) just like the one going on. The party he wants, however, is not a party with his father or brother but a party with his friends.

Like his brother (v12), he wants to enjoy his share of the property without the father who gives it. The first words of the father’s response, “Son, you are always with me”(v31), are instructive. The invitation is first of all to relationship and everything else flows from that. Both sons focus on the wrong things, the things their father can give, rather than on the father himself. The father, however, is focused on his relationship with his son, seen in his leaving the party and his honoured guests, to go out and entreat his son. In the culture of the time, fathers do not entreat sons, they command. This father entreats because he wants a child who loves him, not a slave who obeys him. The words of the father (v32) also invite the elder son to relate to his brother as a brother. In his speech the elder brother disowns his brother calling him, ‘this son of yours,’ (v30) but the father refers to him as ‘your brother’ (v32). He is invited into the family. In the circumstances, this is very challenging and doubtless the last thing the elder son wants to do. His response to the invitation into a relationship with father and brother isn’t recorded in the story. It is left open because it is a challenge Jesus is issuing to the members of his audience who were complaining about his eating with sinners (v2). Will they join the party or stay outside? Jesus’s story of the two lost sons (Luke 15:11-32) highlights our tendency as human beings to get the focus wrong. Both sons focus on the property and their share rather than the relationship with their father. The story invites us into a relationship with God, a God who loves his children and is willing to sacrifice his own dignity to create a healthy loving relationship which can grow and endure. The story also invites us into a relationship with others in the family, despite the challenges. Accept the invitation and you are at the biggest party ever!

Further Refelction 1. What would help the elder son to join the party? 2. Consider your own life and reflect on whether your focus is on your relationship with God (being with him) or the gifts he gives. Ponder the image of the father leaving his guests to entreat his son to join the party. What does it show of God’s desire for a deeper relationship with you? 3. What challenges are there for you in relating to others around you? Is there a specific person you need to engage with more deeply, a relationship you need to develop further? 15

Trusting in God s timing Rachel Cubitt gives an update on her work as a deaconess based in Whiteabbey Presbyterian on the shores of Belfast lough.

ince I came to Whiteabbey nearly five years ago, I’ve had the pleasure of learning many new praise songs on Sunday mornings. One of my favourites that we’ve been singing regularly is called How Great by Sovereign Grace Music, based on Psalm 145. It joyfully proclaims the beautiful truths in the psalm of who God is, and one line that particularly stands out to me is “your mercy runs to find the helpless and the weak”.

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There have been plenty of times over the past few years when I’ve felt helpless and weak, especially in the midst of a Covid-19 pandemic. It has been hard to not be physically present with people, but this year I’ve been so glad to return to a more regular pattern of pastoral visitation to the elderly, the ill, and those in nursing homes and hospitals. It can often be so difficult to know how to support people in their suffering,

and there are many different kinds of suffering in our broken, sinful world. What I have been learning, more and more, is that I can’t ‘fix’ people’s situations right away – as much as I’d like to! Instead, God is showing that I HAVE to trust him and his timing, to ask for his wisdom in what to say (and not to say), and to keep bringing people to him in prayer and encouraging them to pray,

DE AC ON E S S

even when things seem so bleak. I keep thinking of the parable of the persistent widow that Jesus used to show us the importance of praying and not giving up (Luke 18:1-8). The wonderful thing is that God changes us through prayer – he deepens our trust and dependence on him and makes us more resilient as he gives us strength to wait on him (Psalm 27:14) and the ability to rest in him (Matthew 11:28). Our ultimate hope is in Jesus – not in ourselves or our circumstances!

Although it felt strange at first to take on this mentoring role, (I’m often mindful of being the youngest of the deaconesses at 33), Cathy and I quickly bonded as friends and sisters in Christ. I have learned so much from her - her love for Jesus, her wisdom gleaned from all her experiences and how she understands people and her ability to get alongside them. I’ll really miss her but know she will be as much of a blessing to Islandmagee Presbyterian and wherever God takes her after as she has been to us.

It has been lovely to have Cathy Smith, one of the trainee deaconesses, with me on her first placement this year. She has been such a blessing to me and to the whole congregation as she has joined me in many aspects of my work - attending staff meetings, going on pastoral visitations, serving alongside me on the leadership teams in Girls’ Association (similar to Girls’ Brigade), Friendship Hour (our older ladies group) and Kids & Co (mums and tots), while also broadening her experience of leading from the front – taking the prayer meeting, giving a children’s talk and reading the Bible during Sunday worship.

It has also been a joy to be involved in several Bible study groups in Whiteabbey, taking on leadership of one this year and attending two other groups. The group I lead is one I’ve been a part of for a few years, made up of those around my age, and we have built up good friendships as we have gone through different books of the Bible together, most recently Romans. Of the other groups, one is currently reading through Exodus and the other is using Immerse, an easy to read full version of the Bible divided into six volumes. These are more intergenerational and I love the relaxed

I keep thinking of the parable of the persistent widow that Jesus used to show us the importance of praying and not giving up.

atmosphere of chatting about what we are reading with no particular set questions. It’s so good to listen and glean wisdom from others at all stages of life and different backgrounds! The real challenge is that we don’t just leave it at an enjoyable discussion, but that we would go deeper and respond to God’s living Word in how we live and grow as disciples together. We’re very thankful to be able to reconnect with the community in Whiteabbey and share the Gospel with them through our Village outreach week in August – made up of the holiday Bible club for children in the mornings, events for the teenagers in the afternoons and evenings, and speakers in the later evening for the young adults. It is always a brilliant week for giving our teens and young adults the opportunity to serve in leadership and develop their gifts – often stepping out of their comfort zone! I also organise an event for our senior adults during the week – our theme this year is Kingdom Seekers, based on the sermon on the mount in Matthew chapters 5 to 7, so our event includes a tea and treasure hunt to tie in with an epilogue on “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). These are just a few snapshots of life this year in Whiteabbey, and I praise God for how he continues to lead us after settling back into more ‘normal’ routines post pandemic (whatever normal is). I’ll sign off with the chorus of my favourite children’s praise song that I’ve learnt in Whiteabbey, called All Through History. It talks about how God has been so faithful to many people in the Bible like Moses and David, and that he is just as faithful to us today – what an amazing encouragement! Oh thank you, oh thank you That all through history you were faithful. Thank you, oh thank you That you are just the same when it comes to me When it comes to me!

A Prayer t go deeper together by Amy Summerfield

Photograph credit Priscilla du Preez

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to r

Lord, Let our hearts be fully engaged, though they be trembling! Let our ears be open and listening for the cry of the oppressed and suffering. Let our hands be ready for battle and willing to engage the task that is waiting for us. Let our mouths be open, speaking truth and praying for those who need us to intercede on their behalf. Let our hands go up for whatever assignment God calls us to and our hands go out to travel deeper together. Let us never settle for a comfortable place when there are lives that need us to rise up on their behalf Lord, Challenge the spirit of apathy and indifference in me, Help me to confront what’s wrong and turn this world right-side-up for Jesus. AMEN

A HARVE S T

Point of view

Harvest is a special time of year in PCI’s rural congregations as people gather especially to give thanks for the harvest of the land. We take time to hear from some women who live on farms as they tell us how their faith helps them through the challenges their families face.

Mary McKnight is a retired teacher living on the family farm in Rathfriland, Co Down and is a member of Clonduff Presbyterian.

am the eldest of five children and whilst I did not grow up on a farm, my Grandfather and my uncle were farmers. The long hours of farming held no appeal for me! I met Junior during my school days at Rathfriland High. We often took part in drama productions as Junior loved acting and singing. Junior went home to work on the family farm when he left school at 16. We started dating when we were both 17 and we were married at 23.

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RU R A L F E AT U R E

Our joy was not dependent on a good crop of birds, or on a bountiful harvest, or on savings in the bank, but on our salvation. I believe that God brought Junior and I together and although I always said I didn’t want to marry a farmer, none of that mattered. Our first child Richard was born when we were 29 and our daughter Sarah when we were 39. We attended Clonduff Presbyterian Church. We heard the good news of the gospel preached and God sent a Christian neighbour to our home a few times to minister to us. His message was John 3:16. I grew up with a low opinion of myself and had low self worth. I found it difficult to grasp that God loved me and he wanted me to come to him just as I was. Junior and I both gave our lives to the Lord at the age of 28 within a few days of each other. Junior was now my soulmate and I was his. God was so full of grace and mercy and love to us in that he saved us both together. Whilst Junior loved farming, I struggled with the lack of financial security available from a 60 acre mixed farm but my teaching salary kept our heads above water. When Junior and I were in our early 30s we built our first chicken house contracted to Moy Park and then a few years later, our second. It was a huge financial commitment and we took out a large loan from the bank paid back over many years. This always seems strange to other people but all my married life I never had my own bank account. We needed every penny to go into the farm account and we had no such thing as savings. So we really had to trust in our Father. I was born a worrier but as the years went on, God delivered me from that affliction. I wasn’t a hands-on farmer’s wife because I taught Geography full time in Dromore High School for 33 years. But one thing I could do was listen to Junior and pray when things were difficult on the farm and they often were.

God’s love for us meant we could rejoice in all circumstances. Our joy was not dependent on a good crop of birds, or on a bountiful harvest, or on savings in the bank, but on our salvation. Junior, in lots of ways, was not a typical farmer and that made me proud. He enjoyed many interests outside of farming, especially golf and bowls. His flexible timetable meant he could take the kids to primary school, be there for them when I was working and I often came home from work to dinner on the table. We didn’t holiday abroad but we had a static caravan near Cranfield and Junior enjoyed time with us when the farm allowed. We made a good team. Life was good but of course over the years, life presented us with many challenges almost all related to the farm. The River Bann flows through the farm and regularly floods. We have lost significant numbers of sheep on occasions. We have lost hay and bales of straw and every year our barley and wheat yields were reduced by floods. But our biggest losses were with the chickens. Yes we had good crops of chickens but disease and the other problems, which I won’t go into, can turn profit into loss and all the bills still need to be paid. To avoid Moy Park decommissioning our houses, we renovated them a few years ago and that was costly. I will not say too much about the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) which we invested in during these renovations other than this scheme was very poorly managed and poorly policed by the powers that be. Genuine users like Junior and Richard paid a dear price when the contract they had signed was annulled. We are still embroiled in the struggle for some compensation and meanwhile small farmers like my son have had to sell land to keep afloat.

At the age of 64 Junior took a stroke on the 8th August 2019 and lived only for a further 12 days. As soon as I heard Junior had taken a stroke, like David, I called out to my Lord and he heard my cry for help. God was true to the promise in Isaiah 41:13 and he is my refuge and strength always. I experienced God’s peace by his Spirit in a way that was way beyond my understanding. His peace guarded and continues to guard my heart and mind as I live in Christ Jesus. When we give our lives to Jesus, the Bible tells us we are born again of the spirit. God by his Holy Spirit lives in us as our enabler, or advocate, our comforter and so much more. In Matthew 3:13-17 we read that Jesus asked to be baptised by John the Baptist in the River Jordan. John tried to change his mind but in verse 15, Jesus said “Let it be so now, it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness.” His baptism marked the beginning of his messianic ministry. We read in verse 16 that the Holy Spirit of God came upon Jesus to equip him for his work as the divine human messiah. Looking back over my years as a Christian, I know I didn’t realise the full power of the Holy Spirit. I called out to him when Junior took the stroke in a way that I will never forget. The Holy Spirit changed my walk with the Lord. Whatever gifts he gives me, I will use them to bring honour and glory for he alone is worthy. I now use my Facebook account to post devotional bitesize videos where I share some thoughts on Bible truths and also about my faith journey. Anyone who knows me will know that this is way beyond my comfort zone and I used to be more timid about my faith but I can do it because I am not afraid to share Jesus. Junior loved harvest time on the farm, he loved driving his own combine, he loved decorating the church and singing harvest anthems. Harvests on our farm were often poor due mainly to the weather but my prayer this harvest time is that many souls will be harvested for God.

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Wider World’s former editor Charlotte Stevenson shares her farming story. Charlotte attends Mourne Presbyterian in the Co Down town of Kilkeel.

entered the world of farming on 3rd February 1979 when I married my husband Jim. I had absolutely no perception of what this would involve. Very quickly I learned the importance of the weather and to be honest this is probably the only thing I would change about farming! A long with our son, James, we run a dairy herd of approximately 100 cows and 150 young stock, which would be considered small by today’s standards. Nevertheless, the work is still demanding, all the animals require daily attention and the cows are milked twice a day.

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We live in the south east corner of Co Down and the soil likes a very controlled amount of rain, too much and the fields are too wet, too little and the grass quickly starts to burn up. So, from April until October, we become weather watchers and there is always a certain amount of stress if the weather forecast is ‘wrong’. This is especially true at silage time as wet silage fed to cows over the winter can cause health problems. The thing I enjoy the most is that my husband is usually about the farm for a chat. Over the years I have carried out many tasks, always trying to be careful that the daily jobs didn’t become exclusively mine, as I wanted the freedom to pursue other interests. Currently I keep farm records etc and when required I care for the calves. Farming has faced many difficult periods where the profit margins have been very low and difficulties have seemed overwhelming. There have also been times when family members have had periods of ill health. As I look back God has always been with us helping and guiding, even if I didn’t trust him at the time. The verse which has repeatedly sustained me is Romans 8:28: “And we know that

in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” I have slowly learned it’s not necessary for me to work everything out, I just need to trust God as he can see the full picture. Upon reflection, it is important to ponder on the love that God has for the world. Jesus teaches us of God’s love in John 3:16, “For God so loved the whole world that he gave his only son.” We need to simply believe in the sacrifice of Jesus and trust him as our Saviour. He saves us entirely as a gift of his grace and then the Holy Spirit commences the work of transforming our character to be like him. We often stumble and fall, and don’t even live up to our own expectations, but thankfully God continues to patiently forgive and restore us. Jesus came to earth to be the ultimate sacrifice as recorded in 1 Peter 1:19-20 “…the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.” Jesus loves you and cares for you, he wants all to surrender their lives to him and he will give comfort, hope and assurance in this world, and also in eternity.

We finish this feature article with a focus on a service available to those that live in rural areas in Northern Ireland. As farmers work long hours carrying out physically demanding jobs, a service set up in 2012 aims to bring professional health checks closer to those living in rural areas. I’ve worked on the service for five and half years. I grew up on a beef and potato farm so I know in depth the challenges farmers face in their work on a daily basis. I can relate to them as I still live in a rural community myself with my husband who is a vet.

Christina Faulkner is the Family Farm Health Checks Programme Co-ordinator and a member of Finvoy Presbyterian Church in County Antrim.

he Family Farm Health Checks Programme is a free of charge programme delivered by the Northern Health and Social Care Trust, funded by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs and the Public Health Agency with the aim of providing an easily accessible health check programme specifically to farmers and members of the rural community. During the checks, blood pressure is taken, a test for cholesterol levels, and height and weight are measured to determine the client’s BMI. Questions are also asked to determine risk of diabetes and we encourage clients to make use of other screenings available to them. We can also signpost for those needing some mental health support.

I take the van to many rural events and agricultural shows and markets bringing the medical checks to many that can live in isolated areas. The service can also be booked by congregations in rural areas of Northern Ireland. We are more than happy to come out to churches to run checks, so do get in touch if you want us to be a part of future events. I am well used to manoeuvring the van across our wee country roads by now!

I grew up on a beef and potato farm so I know in depth the challenges farmers face in their work on a daily basis. If you would like the Farm Families Health Check van to visit your rural congregation, contact Christina via farm.families6@northerntrust.hscni.net or call 028 2563 5573

Rev Kenny Hanna is PCI’s Rural Chaplain based in the Presbyteries of Armagh, Down, Iveagh and Newry. He is available to farming families in those areas to provide pastoral care. He can be contacted by email ruralchaplain@presbyterianireland.org or call 07938 488 372

Prisons Week 2022

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P R AY E R

Following a period of time as a minister serving in various Presbyterian congregations, Rev Dr Lesley Carroll was appointed Northern Ireland’s Prisoner Ombudsman on 1st March 2019. Here she shares about her role and asks readers for prayer during Prisons Week which takes place from Sunday 9th to Saturday 15th October.

am delighted to contribute to this issue of Wider World which comes during Prisons Week. I suspect many of you have never heard of Prisons Week. If not then it is a good indicator of the level of knowledge and understanding about prisons within society. By and large prisons are a place apart, coming to public attention when something goes wrong or when public opinion becomes outraged. For many families prisons are familiar: for some as places of work and for many individuals in custody as places of safety. For me, prisons are a pleasure to visit, places of hope, challenge, inspiration and sometimes of despair when lives are devastated and rehabilitation seems impossible. I first visited a prison when I was a student in Plymouth, many years ago. From time to time, our Christian Fellowship led worship in Dartmoor Prison on Sunday evenings. Dartmoor on a dark, wet, windy evening is bleak to say the least, and my memory of the prison is also of a bleak and desolate place. We had a debrief conversation with the College Chaplain after our first visit. I remember the overriding theme of that conversation, in some ways naive: prisoners don’t look any different from the rest of us. What that meant was that prisoners are human beings like you and me, they should be treated with common decency and respect, and that we can never fully judge someone by the place they are in at any particular moment.

My next adventure into prison was as minister of Macrory Memorial Presbyterian Church. I had been preparing a couple for marriage and as the time for the wedding came near I couldn’t get hold of them. I went to the bride’s mother’s house where the conversation was unforgettable. The bride’s mother said to me: ‘Have you not heard?’ ‘Heard what?’ ‘He’s in prison.’ ‘What? Why did you not tell me?’ ‘We didn’t think you’d want to know.’ That pulled me up short. Someone thought that I, as a minister, wouldn’t want to know. I arranged a visit to the old Crumlin Road Prison and discovered that another member of the congregation was also in custody. The two of them moved to the Maze Prison where I visited them regularly over many years. I became increasingly interested in how prisons work, how they’re experienced by those in custody, and what can be done to offer real opportunities for rehabilitation. In 2010, I, with others and at the request of the then Justice Minister, began to visit in one wing at Maghaberry Prison. Over the following years a series of connections brought me into close contact with the prison establishment at both Maghaberry Prison and Hydebank Wood College and our outreach projects at Fortwilliam and Macrory Congregation brought me into contact with vulnerable young men who had

For me, prisons are a pleasure to visit, places of hope, challenge, inspiration and sometimes of despair when lives are devastated and rehabilitation seems impossible.

been through the prison system and were engaged in rebuilding their lives. From then on, I felt a more urgent desire to be among those in custody, to understand sometimes complicated lives and to be human with and among those separated from society. The urgency was, I believe, from God. Feeling burnt out from congregational life I stepped aside and eventually went into the Prisoner Ombudsman’s role in March 2019. My office is staffed by 14 civil servants. I am an independent public appointment which means I am not a civil servant and that my independence is critical to the independence of the office. What does an Ombudsman do, I hear you ask? Ombudsman roles came into increased usage from the 1950s onwards as a mechanism for providing alternative dispute resolution. Ombudsman’s offices should be less costly than, for example, judicial reviews, but just as robust in offering satisfaction, remedy and a sense of justice. Standards and procedures are, therefore, extremely important. As Prisoner Ombudsman my office investigates: - complaints from those in custody, those previously in custody, families of and visitors to, those in custody, and - deaths in custody, including post-release deaths and serious adverse incidents which could have resulted in a death.

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We are not criminal investigators. Should we stumble across something that is potentially criminal in nature then we will refer it to the PSNI. Our task, as is the focus of any Ombudsman, is to develop a rounded narrative of events, the context around what was happening when an incident occurred and to consider the impact of that context on the outcomes. We look to provide answers, giving information to complainants and families who have lost a loved one. Our investigations focus on learning to improve things for the future and where possible we offer the opportunity for remedy to be made. All of my work depends on good relationships –with Prison Officers, Staff from the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust who provide healthcare in prisons, solicitors and others. Most importantly, building good relationships with those in custody (including complainants) and families of those who have died, is critical. From the perspective of a congregational minister, my most familiar work is with those in custody and with families. Some families feel deeply how they are cut off from their loved ones. Often they worry about their mental wellbeing, their living conditions, their access to support and the basic daily routines which become so important in prison. Other families are deeply grieving a loss, which they sometimes cannot understand or explain, and their greatest desire is to see a system change in the hope that what happened to their loved one won’t happen to someone else. The most frustrating part of my work is the speed at which things get done. To say things happen too slowly is not to put too fine a point on it. I have to face that challenge daily and explain it to people in custody and their families.

From the perspective of someone whose life is guided by the Bible, the privilege and opportunity to day and daily seek justice and show mercy to those who have themselves harmed others is, for me, beyond words of gratitude. It is also a learning, a daily shaping of faith which finds God in all sorts of strange places just as Jesus was found in all sorts of places, with all kinds of people, mostly those who were frowned upon by the establishment. My daily learning grows deeper every time I meet a man, woman, young or older, in custody and listen to their story. Some have lives that are chaotic, others do not. Many have addictions, personality disorder and many more have unmet health and educational needs which, had they been addressed earlier in their lives might have kept them out of prison. Some are more classical in their approach to offending and reoffending. All are children of God. All should be treated with respect and given the opportunity to reconstruct their lives. All should live in conditions that give them dignity, within a system that does not infringe their human rights. For me, this is the gospel. I work among many inspirational people including Prison Officers, healthcare staff and others within the justice system who are committed to improvement and go the extra mile on a daily basis. They, like the prisons they work in, are too often overlooked. From my perspective as Ombudsman, their critical work is extraordinary and our society is all the better for them. Please remember all those various people mentioned in your prayers. I will finish by leaving you with some pointers to help you do that. Thank you for your prayerful support.

Some are more classical in their approach to offending and reoffending. All are children of God. All should be treated with respect and given the opportunity to reconstruct their lives.

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Pray For those in prison whose rehabilitation is challenged by addiction, mental ill health or lack of social support. For those working to support those in prison, particularly Prison Officers and healthcare providers. For families who have lost loved ones while they were in custody. For families whose loved one is in custody and the separation becomes overwhelming. “May God give peace to those in despair, hope to those who feel like giving up, courage to those who need to make brave decisions, compassion to those who look after people in custody and tenacity to those who are committed to taking the opportunity prisons offer to turn their lives in a different direction.”

RECIPES

Pumpkin Puree Ingredients 750g pumpkin or butternut squash Method 1.To steam the pumpkin, peel and seed it, then cut into evenly sized cubes. Put the cubes in a steamer or colander set over a pan of simmering water and cook for 10 minutes. Test with the point of a knife and cook for a further 5 minutes if not cooked through. 2. Mash and leave to cool. Alternatively, to microwave the pumpkin, cut it in half (no need to peel it or cut out the seeds) and sit cut-side up in the microwave. Cook for 20 minutes, then check the flesh is soft by poking it with a fork. Keep cooking if you’d like it softer. Scoop the flesh into a bowl, then mash and leave to cool.

Pumpkin Muffins Ingredients 225g plain flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 tbsp ground cinnamon (or 2 tsp pumpkin spice) 100g caster sugar 50g soft light brown sugar 200g pumpkin purée 2 large eggs 125g slightly salted butter, melted Method 1. Heat the oven to 2000C/180oC fan/gas 6. Line a muffin tin with 12 muffin cases. Mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and both sugars together in a large bowl. Break up any lumps of brown sugar by rubbing them between your fingers. 2. Whisk the purée and eggs together in a jug, then add to the dry ingredients with the melted butter. Whisk for 1-2 minutes with an electric hand whisk until just combined. 3. Bake for 15 minutes until golden and risen and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Lift onto a wire rack to cool completely. Will keep for three days in an airtight container. 27

P C I R E S O U RC E

DEEPER TOGETHER

in hospitality Renée Finnegan is one of eight people featured in a new PCI Resource Expressions. In this extract, she explains her thoughts on hospitality and why it is important to extend and practice hospitality as Christians. Renée is married to Tom, and they have two children, Trinity and Levi and they live in Lisburn.

’ve had the blessing of being able to learn, through my childhood growing up in South Africa, the importance of extending hospitality, and it’s an age old saying that people go where they feel welcomed but they stay where they feel valued. I have lived in Northern Ireland now for 15 years, it’s home.

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I think hospitality for me is key in helping people feel valued. In Jesus’ day, eating with people would’ve been an absolute sign of inclusivity and acceptance, and it tends to transcend barriers and it challenges people opening up. So we frequently have people over for meals. Whether it’s friends from church on a

Sunday or throughout the week, or our neighbours, we regularly invite them over for meals. Culturally for me, hospitality centres around a home rather than meeting people outside of home, in coffee shops or in restaurants.

For us as a family, it is about coming in and being one of us. Typically, we would have anybody who comes to our home more than once. They just muck in, grab their own mug from the cupboard, put the kettle on. It’s about helping people feel comfortable, feel at home within our home and be a part of our family rather than be treated as a guest. My experience with that has been that it’s enabled people to reciprocate the hospitality that we offer, simply because there’s no airs and graces. And I think that’s key again to relationship building because we do want to get beneath the surface. We do want to get to know each other more intimately, more personally. Over the past five years, we have had the privilege of getting to know a Syrian family who are our neighbours. And this evening we will be on the receiving end of hospitality at their home together with their family. The contact with them came around because of their children going to the same school as our children. And it was from seeing them walk with their children a mile to school every day that made me realise I could actually do something to reach out to them. And really that was a starting point of establishing a friendship with them.

Language was quite a challenge for both them and us. We didn’t know any Arabic and English was very limited for the mom. What astonished us the most is the simple act of extending hospitality to them, asking them over to our home. The turning point was incredible to see how hospitality transcends barriers. We now do life together, we are involved in each other’s lives on a practical level and on a celebratory level. We share birthday gifts with each other. It’s been incredible to see the impact of something as simple as asking them over to our home, including them in our space, making the time for them, making them feel welcome, letting them know that yes, they are so far away from their own family and their own familiar setting and lives. But we are here for them as friends and to be able to have shown them God’s love, just everyday, everyday elements of life.

The new PCI resource Expressions focuses around the general theme of helping disciples of Jesus express their faith within every-day life. It involves an eight session film series that seeks to help those meeting in a variety of church settings to connect themes from different passages of Scripture and open up conversations on how their faith expresses itself in everyday life and witness. The resource also features a mix of downloadable on-screen Bible teaching, and stories from members of PCI, along with questions for discussion provided in this booklet.

When we are engaged and intentional with God in that intimacy of relationship with him, this is what it’s about for us. It’s important also to reflect on this with the knowledge of them being practising Muslims and us being committed Jesus followers. All the same, we’ve been able to find common ground together and live as a family, just simply on the basis of hospitality. For us, it’s automatic. When we are engaged and intentional with God in that intimacy of relationship with him, this is what it’s about for us. Showing God’s love out of the overflow of what we experience ourselves with God on an everyday existence of being Jesus followers.

It is available now to order from the CCLW Office. For more information visit the webpage: www.presbyterianireland.org/ expressions

TA L E S O F C O U R AG E

Mary Ann McCracken 30 | Wider World Autumn 22

E N C OU R AG E M E N T

Continuing a series of encouraging biographies, in this edition Rebecca McConnell examines in greater detail the life of Mary Ann McCracken, who devoted herself to working for the poor children of Belfast as well as warning those leaving the city’s shores to be aware of the slavery market.

ary Ann McCracken was born on 8th July 1770 in Belfast to Captain John McCracken, a Presbyterian of Scottish descent and a prominent shipowner, and Ann Joy. The Joy family came from a French Protestant Huguenot descent, which made its money in the linen trade and founded the Belfast News Letter. Mary Ann was given an education the same as her brother, not something every young girl was afforded in those days and she is said to have excelled in maths. This access to education was something Mary Ann valued and sought to aspire for other girls growing up in Belfast. From her earliest childhood she had worked to raise funds and provide clothes for the children of the Belfast Poorhouse, now known as Clifton House, Belfast. Henry and Robert Joy, her uncles, were founding members of the Belfast Charitable Society. She established her own muslin business with her sister Margaret. She perhaps has been known more by being the sister of Henry Joy McCracken who was a leading member of the United Irishmen. In 1798, he led combined forces in Antrim against the British Crown. Following the defeat and dispersal of the rebels under his command, McCracken was court-martialed and executed in Belfast. Mary Ann had walked with her brother hand-in-hand to the gallows. General Nugent allowed the body to be cut down quickly and entrusted it to Mary Ann. She arranged for a surgeon to resuscitate her brother but their efforts proved unavailing. She cared for Henry Joy’s illegitimate daughter Maria after he died - this would have been highly taboo at the time but the caring, no nonsense nature of Mary Ann shines through.

Her tenacity brewed at an early age, based on this extract from a letter she wrote at the age of 27: “I hope the present era will provide some women of sufficient talents to inspire the rest with a genuine love of liberty and a just sense of her value without which their efforts will be impotent and unavailing, their enthusiasm momentary as a glittering bubble which bursts, while it rises, and as every discarded affection leaves a damp and melancholy void in the mind where it once has been entertained, so those who are flaming for liberty today without understanding it may perhaps tomorrow endeavour to damp the ardour and cool the courage of others when they begin to reflect on the danger which they incur and the little advantage they derive from it.” She helped establish a ladies committee at the Poorhouse, making a series of recommendations with a particular emphasis on hygiene. For example, in a list of points to the men’s committee, dormitories were to be enlarged with no more than two children to a bed, bedding was to be regularly washed and personal hygiene to be examined daily and sound footwear to be provided in winter. At that time, many children would have been walking barefoot in Belfast. Sea bathing was also championed three times a week in the summer months. At a time decades before women were given the right to vote, she encouraged other women to speak up and have an active role in decision making such as at the Poorhouse, understanding they see things that men would not. Her commitment to public service was based on her strong Christian convictions. Her family were Presbyterian and attended the Rosemary Street Presbyterian Church in the city, not far from their home in Rosemary Lane.

“The world seems in a bad state of wickedness just now… the diabolical system of slavery is increasing and progressing, and the worst of it is that so many professing to be most pious Christians uphold and apologise for the system and won’t allow a line to be published in their religious tracts reflecting on slavery. Surely that is quite inconsistent with all the teachings of him whose followers they profess to be, but perhaps a crisis is near and it may be sooner than we expect that the eyes of the oppressors may be opened.” She died at her home, aged 96, on Donegall Pass on 26 July 1866 after contracting bronchitis in autumn of 1865. She is buried in Clifton Street Cemetery within the shadow of the Poorhouse that formed so much of her life’s work. Mary Ann was a woman of courage at a time when women weren’t allowed to play big roles in society. She didn’t let that stop her and her quest for poor children to have access to an education and opportunities was admirable, knowing how much they would help them escape a life of poverty. She is an example for those of us with a Christian faith to fight for justice issues and the greater wellbeing of others.

Her commitment to public service was based on her strong Christian convictions. This article first appeared on the website, www.talesofcourage.com

Mary Ann supported the anti slavery movement and in protest, never took sugar in her tea, a product of the slave trade and the West Indies plantations. Even at the age of 89 she could be seen handing out leaflets at Belfast’s ship yard warning people to be aware of the evils of slavery in America. 31

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

Mourne PW It was decided that, instead of the usual outing, members of Mourne PW Group would stay local and visit Hanna’s Close Holiday Cottages in Kilkeel. We enjoyed a leisurely walk along the river and then a delicious ‘Afternoon Tea’ in Tilly’s Tea Room. Charlotte Stevenson

Deaconess Move Cilla Dodd, Greystone Road Presbyterian Church Secretary, presented gifts to Roberta Irvine, Deaconess, as she left the Antrim church to serve in Elmwood Presbyterian Church in Lisburn. Also in the photo is James Warwick, Clerk of Session.

32 | Wider World Autumn 22

Celebrating a Centenary at Gilnahirk Mollie Mark from Gilnahirk Presbyterian Church recently celebrated her 100th birthday. For nine decades, Mollie has had a dedicated interest in mission, starting as a member of the Junior Girls’ Auxiliary (GA) and later to become a leader, then graduating to Senior GA, Women’s Missionary Association (WMA), Presbyterian Women’s Association (PWA) and is still an active member of Presbyterian Women. This momentous milestone was marked with a visit from PCI Moderator, Rt Rev Dr David Bruce. Mollie is pictured with the committee members of Gilnahirk PW - Anne Morrow, Carol Anderson, Clara McLaughlin, Patricia Gowdy, Daphne Rutledge, Hilary Gowdy, Judith Reid and Valerie Gamble (absent are Edna Caldwell and June Strain).

Carnmoney PW 78 Carnmoney PW ladies celebrated Her Majesty the Queen’s Jubilee in style with music by The Pipes and Drums of The Royal Irish Regiment. The children from the nursery joined in and had great fun entertaining the ladies with their enthusiastic playing of the drums. After Carolyn Arnold gave a reflection on her Army service and her meetings with HM the Queen, the soldiers joined in a quiz and then lunch. Sheila Wilson and Peggy Lusty were delighted to cut the cake which was later enjoyed by all.

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

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

Edwin & Anne Kibathi

Overseas Partners News

Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) London

Prayer Points

•

Give thanks for the vital and growing ministry of PCEA UK Outreach among Kenyans and other East African expatriates in London, Luton, Reading and in other parts of the UK.

•

Pray for daily wisdom and strength for Edwin and Anne and those working with them, as they seek to reach out and share the love of Jesus Christ with the many who have practical needs or are facing hardship or difficulties of one kind or another.

Give thanks for the Presbyterian Church of Myanmar two-day Partners’ Meeting held in Singapore at the beginning of August. PCI was represented by Rev Uel Marrs, Global Mission Secretary. Sadly, ongoing violence in Myanmar continues, as does the military dictatorship, and it was a good opportunity for the Church in Myanmar to be able to tell their partners about the huge difficulties they are facing at present.

•

Pray especially for the ministry to children and young people, that they will grow in their understanding of the Christian faith and find spiritual guidance and encouragement, as they attend the various meetings arranged for them.

•

Give thanks for the return of the Seaside BBQ after three years - it was a special day for members of PCEA UK Outreach, their families and friends as they celebrated being together again.

Pray for the Eukumindo’s annual conference which will be held in the Netherlands in September. PCI will be represented by Rev Uel Marrs, Global Mission Secretary. PCI is a member of Eukumindo an organisation which brings together European churches and mission organisations actively engaged in Indonesia, together with leaders from the Council of Churches in Indonesia.

•

Pray for Rev David McCullagh who will be representing PCI at Scripture Union Malawi’s 50th anniversary celebrations in September. David formerly served with Scripture Union Malawi as a PCI global mission worker and is currently Convener of the Council for Global Mission, Mission Partnerships Panel.

34 | Wider World Autumn 22

Overseas News Personnel News Diane Cusick, PCI global mission worker in Zambia, remains on home assignment following serious illness. Pray for Diane’s continued recovery from illness and that in the coming months, she would continue to recover and be well enough to return to her work as Early Childhood Development Co-ordinator for the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian, Synod of Zambia. Gary and Mary Reid, PCI global mission workers in Kenya are on home assignment and involved in deputation. They are due to return to their work amongst the Maasai community in Kenya at the end of September. Volker Glissmann, PCI global mission worker in Southern Africa is on home assignment and involved in deputation in September. He is due to return to his home in Blantyre, Malawi at the end of the month. Naomi Keefe, PCI global mission worker in Brazil is also on home assignment and will be involved in deputation during September, after which she will return to her work in Olinda.

Stephen and Angelina Cowan, PCI global mission workers in Kenya, will be involved in deputation in October and early November. Angelina is currently in Northern Ireland and Stephen will return at the beginning of October. Nigel and Antónia Craig are to be commissioned in September to go to serve as global mission workers in Hungary. They have been invited by the Bishop of the Transtibiscan Church District of the Reformed Church in Hungary to serve in a church planting and pastoring role amongst the 7,000 or so international students in the University of Debrecen, some of whom come from countries not easily reached with the gospel. Antónia will encourage and support the church plant through translation and hospitality. Peter and Jayne Fleming, PCI global mission workers in Nepal are due to return on final home assignment in early October and will be involved in deputation until the end of November. Steve and Rosie Kennedy, PCI global mission workers in Romania are due to return at the end of October for a short home assignment including deputation.

Chris and Rachel Humphries, PCI global mission workers in Portugal returned to Northern Ireland on final home assignment at the end of the summer.

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

Volker & JinHyeog Glissmann PO Box 30048 Chichiri Blantyre 3 Malawi

Rev Nigel & Mrs Antónia Craig c/o Assembly Buildings

Peter & Jayne Fleming c/o Assembly Buildings

BRAZIL

HUNGARY Stephen & Angelina Cowan c/o Assembly Buildings

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

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

KENYA

MALAWI

NEPAL

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

ROMANIA Derek & Jane French Calle Lekueder 9, 4A 48940 Leioa Spain

SPAIN

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

PORTUGAL

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

ROMANIA

ZAMBIA

ENGLAND

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