VOX July 2015

ISSUE 27 / JULY - SEPTEMBER 2015

FREE

FF TOUR

HIDDEN TREASURE

Inspiring stories from the 2015 Finding Faith Tour

HOPE HOUSE God is real in the storm

JULY - SEP 2015 VOX

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EDITORIAL

Tara Byrne, our new Operations Coordinator!

Summer Quest ith a busy summer ahead of me, choosing which events to attend can be a problem.

But there’s one local event I’ve been looking forward to. “Ar Thóir Óir” is a bilingual family fun afternoon. Literally translated “questing for gold,” it’s a treasure hunt designed to help us practice our Irish as we set out to solve a riddle. And there is even a wee prize for the winner!

The truth is, like Rudyard Kipling’s “Elephant’s Child,” I suffer from insatiable curiosity. The idea of a treasure hunt always appeals - searching for clues, piecing together the evidence, and racing to find the prize.

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A QUEST FOR SOMETHING OF GREATER WORTH THAN GOLD That’s why I absolutely love our annual VOX magazine Finding Faith Tour. What better way to spend a week than travelling around this beautiful island on a quest for something of greater worth than gold?

Paul describes “this treasure in jars of clay.” And that was our experience. We drove over 1,279 miles (2058km) and travelled through 27 counties (plus one more a week later). Everywhere we went, we found ordinary people whose lives have been made extraordinary through the “treasure” of the Gospel (see My Story Miniatures page 24).

It was humbling to hear stories of faith in the face of suffering (see Hope House page 20). We were inspired by the passion and commitment of individuals who, with God’s help, are following their unique calling (see An Irish Chariot page 34 and Creation Care page 27).

And we were encouraged to discover that all over Ireland and Northern Ireland, so many different churches are growing and reaching out into their communities with passion, compassion, and creativity (see Church without walls page 12).

Enjoy this summer issue, packed full to bursting with stories of faith, life, and reality. And why not take an extra copy to give to a friend?

Ruth Garvey-Williams Editor (editor@vox.ie)

Would you like to see a VOX BOX in your church, shop or café?

! e w d l u o w So Just drop a line to tara@vox.ie or call 01 443 4789 and we’ll be glad to supply you with a bundle of each issue and a display box.

(There is no financial committment, just the option of a donation to cover costs - but no pressure whatsover.)

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CREATION CARE

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2015, ISSUE 27 ISSN: 2009-2253 P UBLISHE R The VOX Team EDI TOR Ruth Garvey-Williams editor@vox.ie LAYOUT & A DV E RT I S I N G Jonny Lindsay jonny@vox.ie OP ERATION S Tara Byrne tara@vox.ie LAYOUT Krista Burns P ROJEC T A DV I S OR Tom Slattery SUBSC RIP T I ON S Ireland & UK: Min. €8 for four issues Overseas: Min. €17 for four issues All cheques should be made payable to 'VOX Magazine'.

V OX Mag a z ine Ulysses House 22 - 24 Foley Street Dublin 1 Tel: 01 443 4789 | info@vox.ie | www.vox.ie DISC LA IME R

The views expressed in letters and articles are those of the respective authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the VOX Team or our partners. The acceptance of advertising does not indicate endorsement.

P RINT Castle Print, Galway VOX magazine is a quarterly publication, brought to you by a passionate team of volunteers.

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REBUILDING PATRICK’S CHARIOT

BEYOND THE VEIL

CONTENTS 22 20 12 15 17 18 22 24 27 28 32 34 36 41 06 08 10 16

COVER STORIES Hidden treasure - inspiring stories from the 2015 Finding Faith Tour Hope House - God is real in the storm

FEATURES AND INTERVIEWS FF Church without walls - how Christians are sharing and demonstrating good news in their communities.

FF An Irish church - how can church reflect our unique culture?

FF Kids… Kids… Kids… - engaging with children and young people.

FF Great expectations - Irish leaders are excited about what God is doing.

FF Active retirement - the inspiring story of Ed and Jean Ritchie.

FF My Story miniatures - stories of faith, life and reality from around the country.

FF Creation care - how fairly do we use the resources God has given us?

FF Building church - “It’s not about the building. It’s about the people in the building!”

FF I was a stranger… and you invited me in - welcoming new arrivals in Ireland.

FF Rebuilding Patrick’s Chariot - meet the man who created an exact replica of an ancient Irish chariot.

Beyond the veil - celebrating the stories of women in the Bible through a unique exhibition of wedding dresses!

When the Holy Spirit comes - Bishop Ferran Glenfield’s Pentecost message for the church.

REGULAR FEATURES VOX: Shorts

19 VOX: World News 43 Your VOX: Letters to the editor 44 The Soapboxer 46

Confessions of a Feint Saint Reviews Event Listing VOX: PS with Seán Mullan

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VOX JULY - SEP 2015

National Forum on Evangelism Saturday 21 November 2015 At Griffith College Conference Centre, Dublin For Church leaders, evangelists and all those interested in spreading the good news of Jesus Christ Exploring fresh ideas and new expressions of evangelism in Ireland

Featuring: • • •

Opening address by Canon J John Ten practical workshops exploring Irish evangelism projects Closing panel discussion for all delegates

Early booking cost per delegate (Including lunch): €35.00

Workshops: Title

Led By

Mobilising Church for Mission

PJ Booth

Prayer Evangelism

Clifford Sullivan

Healing on the Street

Paddy Heron

Creative Evangelism – The Jesus Example:

John Eniola

New Wine – New Wineskins

David McClay

Creative Church Planting

Phil Kingsley

Socretes Café

Roy Angle

The Spirit is on the Streets

Mitch McConnell

Mission Communities

Eoghan Heaslip

Syringe: Tour of Hope

Johnny Edwards

Register now at www.evangelical.ie JULY - SEP 2015 VOX

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VOX SHORTS

Investing in education

Barnardos is calling on the government to deliver free primary education for all children. “While our constitution pledges to deliver free primary education, we know from our annual School Costs Survey that in practice, this is far from the truth,” a spokesperson for the children’s charity said.

“Every year, we hear from parents forced to make impossible choices so they have enough money to pay for their child’s education. Low-income

families face the greatest challenge footing the bill, putting already-disadvantaged children at even greater risk of failing to fulfil their potential. This is grossly unfair and something we should be ashamed of as a nation.”

An investment of €185 per child could guarantee free primary education for all children covering all schoolbooks, transport and classroom resources.

Walking for Peace

Sharing our stories:

On Saturday 13 June, over 30 people left YWAM’s An Cuan Centre in Rostrevor, Co Down to start a 200-mile pilgrimage to Derry/Londonderry. The walk roughly traces the route of the Irish border. The crosscommunity walk attracts Protestants and Catholics from different parts of Ireland, along with participants from overseas.

Along the way, the walkers will visit Newry, Crossmaglen, Darkley, Monaghan, Fivemiletown, Lisnaskea, Derrylin, Kinawley, Belcoo, Belleek, Kesh, Castlederg, Strabane, and Derry/Londonderry. Every evening along the way, there will be gatherings for prayer and worship, which are open to people from both sides of the religious divide.

“The existence of an Irish border has been a core issue around which our conflict has revolved for this last century, a conflict involving religion, identity, and a tragic history of hurt,” the organisers explained. “‘The Border Walk’ is a pilgrimage of peace. Because of our legacy, we feel it is appropriate to see more and more public expressions of prayer and humility by religious communities in Ireland.”

Agapé has launched a new website called www.MyStory. me. “Everyone’s story is unique and your personal experience of God is important,” explained David Wilson from Agapé Ireland. The website aims to help people to share their story of faith with others.

Once you register (a simple process), you can write and edit your story online and upload a photo. The website allows you to share your story by posting your MyStory profile on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

MyStory even offers to print (at cost-price) a giveaway card for you with your MyStory. me link so you can tell your offline contacts too.

In search of Irish singer/ songwriters

UCB Radio Ireland is searching for Irish Christians who are singer/ songwriters or groups that have produced and recorded their own music. “We are keen to promote Irish Christian music,” said presenter Vincent Hughes. “If you would like to submit your music for consideration for the UCB Ireland playlist, please get in touch by email at vincent@ ucbirelandradio, tell us about yourself, and attach a sample mp3. Or send a CD to Vincent Hughes, UCB Ireland Radio, Unit A5 Riverview Business Park, Nangor Road, Dublin 12.”

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Celebrating Freedom

In partnership with Christian Aid, Ireland’s leading intercultural choir presented a series of concerts to celebrate the ending of slavery in the United States. Discovery Gospel Choir performed their “Juneteenth: 150 Years of Freedom” concert in Dublin, Belfast, Downpatrick and Waterford in June.

Echoing diverse aspects of the transatlantic slave trade through music, dance and storytelling, this new show inspired audiences to reflect on modern-day slavery and current systems of injustice happening around the world.

True to the choir’s motto, “Discover beauty in everyone,” Juneteenth: 150 Years of Freedom drew on the diverse skills within the Dublin-based choral group in consultation with Dr. William Mulligan, senior lecturer of history at UCD and co-editor of “A Global History of Anti-Slavery Politics in the Nineteenth Century.”

I’m 4 the Fatherless

On Father’s Day (Sunday 21 June), Christians from around Ireland united for a series of walks to pray and raise funds for children who have been made fatherless. “I’m 4 the Fatherless” was an initiative organised by Tearfund and Team Hope.

“Children who have lost their father or both parents to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, children fleeing from conflict in the Middle East, and children recovering from the trauma of the cyclone in the Philippines and more recently the earthquake in Nepal – all need our help,” organisers said.

“I’m 4 the Fatherless” walks took place in Dublin (in the centre, north, and west of the city), Cork city, Limerick city, Drogheda, Carlow, Mullingar, Redcross and Bray, Wexford and Tullamore and involved more than 50 churches around the country. Why not plan a similar walk in your area for Father’s Day 2016?

Not just for fun!

This year, at the Summer Madness (teenagers) and Catalyst (young adults) festivals, campers will have the opportunity to partner in solidarity with a refugee tent on the Syrian border in Lebanon. In a campaign entitled, “A tent is not just for a festival,” the participants will be asked to gather sponsorship to feed a family living in a tent in the refugee camps in the Bekaa Valley for a month or more. The campaign aims to highlight the desperate need of the Syrian refugees and inspire young people to help.

Filmmaker Greg Fromholz travelled to Lebanon with representatives from Tearfund NI, Summer Madness, and Catalyst. The team met with Lebanese charity “Heart for Lebanon.”

Traditionally, there has been animosity between the Lebanese and Syrians because of the previous occupation.

However, a group of Lebanese Christians started visiting the refugee camps and from that, “Heart for Lebanon” was born.

Every day, staff from the charity go into the Bekaa Valley, which is just seven kilometres from ISIS. They hand out clothes and blankets and feed 15,000 people a month.

“Personally, it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done – hearing these families’ stories,” Greg said. “But despite the hardship, these people invited us into their homes. They told us the most horrendous stories because they want others to hear what is happening.

“We met plumbers, doctors, lawyers, living in plastic tents. People were dying. The Christian churches were working alongside them – they were just there to help.”

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WORLD NEWS

UPDATE FROM NEPAL

Thanks to the generosity of Irish people, Team Hope responded immediately to the devastating Nepal earthquake in April. A longstanding Nepali partner organisation is based right at the epicentre of the earthquake. So when the tragedy struck, they didn’t have to struggle to reach remote mountain villages; they were already there. They knew the villages and the people, and they experienced the desolation first-hand.

Irish donations provided tents, food, water, cooking oil and shelter for many families. Now plans are being made to do more, particularly in training whole villages to rebuild their homes in a way that will be earthquake-proof.

The Nepali people have been deeply appreciative of this practical expression of God’s love and as a result, many have also requested prayer.

CYCLING FOR COMPASSION

SILENCE ABOUT SYRIA

ELISABETH ELLIOT: 1926 - 2015

BIBLE BIDDING

A 21-year-old from Drimoleague, West Cork will set off to cycle around the world this August and, along the way, he’ll be visiting projects supported by child-sponsorship charity Compassion. Dan Ross became interested in the charity when he began sponsoring a child in Bolivia. A proud Corkman and member of Bantry Christian Fellowship, he will see for himself how Compassion is changing the lives of children when he stops off in Thailand, India and Bangladesh as part of his year out travelling the world. In total, he will cycle through over 20 countries. You can follow his progress on his blog at www.therebelcyclist.weebly.com. To find out more about Compassion, visit www.compassion.ie.

One of the most influential Christian women of the 20th century has died at the age of 88. Author and speaker Elisabeth Elliot will be best remembered for “Through Gates of Splendour,” the story of her husband, Jim, who was martyred during their short-lived missionary work among unreached tribes in Ecuador in the 1950s. “There is nothing worth living for unless it is worth dying for,” Elisabeth said.

As a well-known woman in Christian ministry, she also commented, “The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of Christian, but the fact that I am a Christian makes me a different kind of woman.”

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The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said that more than 320,000 people have died in the ongoing Syrian civil war since March 2011, which includes at least 11,493 children, while more than 1,500,000 people are believed to have been wounded. The group has slammed the international community for its continued silence on the issue.

Eight pages from a copy of the Gutenberg Bible were auctioned at Sotheby’s on June 19. The consecutive pages, including the entire Book of Esther, were sold in New York for a staggering $970,000.

The decorated pages were from one of 180 copies of the Latin Bible produced in the 15th century using the Gutenberg press. Some 49 copies of the book still exist in varying states of completeness.

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Directors: Rodney Croly QFA FLIA, Sylvia Croly QFA.

- The specialist for the Christian and charity community. JULY - SEP 2015 VOX

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YOUR VOX

Letters to the editor SEND YOUR LETTERS TO EDITOR@VOX.IE OR YOUR VOX, ULYSSES HOUSE, 22-24 FOLEY STREET, DUBLIN 1

Star Letter

of VOX we In each issue all of a €25 One4 ize pr a d ar aw r. tte le ite ur r favo voucher for ou u!

It could be yo

Don’t back away from the core gospel message I have enjoyed reading the last several issues of VOX. Your spring issue (Jan - Mar 2015) concerning the topic of evangelism has much to encourage and challenge the whole people of God in Ireland.

One article to which I would like to respond was The evidence no longer demands a verdict by Scott Evans. I recognise his concerns that we need to develop a new style of apologetic for today’s Ireland and also that we need much more than ‘logical answers’ in engaging with the contemporary world views. I agree greatly with him that we need to ‘live the Jesus life in beautiful and compelling ways.’

However, I don’t think that requires us to back away from setting out the core Gospel message of the resurrection of Jesus. The church of Acts did not simply engage in apologetics (perhaps Acts 17 is a major example of such) but in proclamation of the risen Lord Jesus. This I believe to be the solid ground from which we seek to engage people of all

backgrounds, new atheists included.

We cannot allow the thought systems of the world to set our agenda for engagement. We need to make others realise that while we are very happy to wrestle with their concerns and conclusions and to, in a sense, fight on their territory, they also must be challenged to face up to the big questions posed by the empty tomb, the resurrection appearances, the changed disciples, the existence of the church, alongside the voices and lifestyles of multitudes of ordinary, often-sane and intelligent people who claim a personal encounter with that same risen Jesus today.

This may not be ‘evidence that demands a verdict’ but evidence it is nonetheless. The Holy Spirit is the one who will bring the convictions in this case.

NORMAN JARDINE BELFAST

CONCERN FOR PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS

Christians in Ireland often lament the lack of understanding or sympathy among our government and parliament for “Christian values”. However, my own experience is that there is understanding and sympathy for Christians around the world who are suffering persecution. In recent months, 20 TDs and Senators signed a petition that Church in Chains circulated calling for the release of Christian prisoners in Iran and one of that number ( Joanna Tuffy TD) presented the petition to the Iranian ambassador.

In May, the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs committee devoted a meeting to the topic of “Persecution of Christians Worldwide” and heard evidence from Church in Chains, Open Doors, Trócaire and Roman Catholic Bishop John McAreavey. The TDs and Senators listened carefully and several (including Maureen O’Sullivan, Ruairí Quinn and Brendan Smith) responded with encouraging suggestions.

Church in Chains has regular opportunities to meet with human rights NGOs and government officials at the Department of Foreign Affairs NGO Standing Committee on Human Rights.

The keys that we have found to unlocking these doors are to learn how the system works, to do your homework and to present your case without jargon.

DAVID TURNER DIRECTOR, CHURCH IN CHAINS 10

VOX JULY - SEP 2015

YOUR VOICE In partnership with Innovista Ireland and Evangelical Alliance Ireland, VOX magazine is undertaking a significant piece of research into the faith experience, opinions, and priorities of young adults (18-35 years) in Ireland. Often called “Millennials,” this complex generation can easily be “boxed” or stereotyped by the media and by those of other generations.

But what do young adults really think about faith, life, and reality? If you are aged 18 to 35 and would like to take part in the online survey, please contact us - it is fairly easy to fill in (mainly tick boxes) and should take less than ten minutes to complete.

We’re also looking for churches and individuals who will encourage young adults to take part. We’re particularly keen to hear from people who no longer attend church, for whatever reason.

Email editor@vox.ie for your link to the online survey. Or see (and share!) the links on Facebook and Twitter.

“I’m

here for

you

”

FOUR SIMPLE WORDS THAT CAN CHANGE EVERYTHING. Children living in extreme poverty not only endure the pain of hunger and disease, but many have come to believe they are worthless, unloved and uncared for. Imagine what that must feel like.

Sponsoring a child through Compassion’s Child Development Programme, is a powerful and enduring way to tackle world poverty. Compassion supports the most vulnerable children and families, and through individual sponsors, helps them break the cycle of poverty they are trapped in – giving them hope of a better future.

We believe every child is precious and unique and our programmes are tailored to holistically meet the needs of each one. For just €1 a day, you can ensure a child in desperate need has access to education, healthcare, social care, food and clothing. Working exclusively with the local church in 26 countries across the developing world, Compassion also provides the opportunity for the children to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. You’ll be changing a child’s story from one of desperate need into one of incredible hope.

Please sponsor a child today by visiting www.compassion.ie, or contact Lisa Bottaro on 01 287 2618 or lisab@compassion.ie.

Thank you.

Compassion Ireland Suite 3, Eden Gate Centre, Delgany, Co. Wicklow. CHY19426 www.compassion.ie

JULY - SEP 2015 VOX

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FF TOUR

CHURCH WITHOUT WALLS

In the Bible, the “church” wasn’t a building… it was the people! On this year’s Finding Faith Tour, we discovered how Christians all over this island are sharing and demonstrating their faith beyond the walls of their church buildings.

Enjoy just a few of the great examples we heard!

In the pub - Ballinasloe, Co Galway In the marketplace - Wexford Pastor Jonathan Reid shares: “One initiative that excites me is our book table. We have the Bull Ring market in the centre of Wexford town. For the last four or five years, on Fridays and Saturdays, we have run a bookstall selling Christian books as well as a range of secondhand books for a euro each. We’ve found it is a great opportunity to engage with people in a really unthreatening way. Two hours might go by and you don’t get to talk to anyone.

And then there might be several! You find people coming back again and again. It is about slowly building relationship.

“We don’t have our own church building - we meet in a primary school - and so our bookstall is a regular presence in the town. People know where to find us.

We’ve been able to build positive relationships with other traders, and we invite all of them to our Christmas Carols Evening. Four of us in the church man the stall.

It is a “slow burner,” but through this we’ve have had a number of people coming to different church events.”

Angela and Kevin Janzen share, “A young woman from our church was invited to play music in the pub, but the only thing she knew how to play was worship songs!

Just being there, singing songs like Amazing Grace, and seeing people from our church mingling with people from the town in the pub was amazing. We’ve only done it once so far, but they want us to come back!

“During the annual Horse Fair in Ballinasloe, we rented an old disused pub building (the Black Pig) so we could have a presence in town. Then at Christmas, we used the pub again to set up a Live Nativity. People could wander through the streets of Bethlehem and meet different people from the nativity story like the Innkeeper. We have a heart to be in the community in Ballinasloe, and it seems to be happening.”

In the park Athlone, Co Westmeath Tim Montgomery shares: “We used to do kids’ clubs in local housing estates but we began to ask, ‘What would it look like if we were more centrally located?’ We ended up going into the town park, setting up tents, and running a programme there for the whole week. We had live music. The weather was good and people started to hang out with us down at the park. On the last day, we decided to run Church in the Park. That was cool! People who would never be willing to walk into our church building came and sat on the banks of the Shannon to join our service! We even had a baptism in the river!”

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Working together - Monaghan

Rev Ian Berry (Church of Ireland) and Rev Ronnie Agnew (Presbyterian) shared the many ways that the churches in Monaghan are working together in their town. Ian explains, “At Christmas, we get a table in the shopping centre, and we simply offer free present wrapping and distribute little flyers with information about the Christmas services in four of the local churches. People stop to chat, and now the shopping centre expects us every year. We also sing

carols on Christmas Eve just outside the church, and it has become part of the Christmas routine! It is so easy to have an “us and them” mentality. You’d love people to have a bigger picture of the kingdom of God.” Ronnie adds, “A few weeks ago, we had a coffee morning for Nepal here in Hope Café in the centre of town [Ed: Hope Café was set up by Ballyalbany Presbyterian Church but is used by other churches as well]. We raised €1700 for Tearfund. Everybody took part and this place was packed. There is no sense of competition. If we are running an event, we try our best not to overlap.”

Gayle Berry (Ian’s wife) told us, “We have a combined flyer listing all the mums and tots groups in the different churches with the contact details. At the St. Patrick’s Day parade there will be at least one church group taking part.”

Lizzie from the Elim church says, “We are so blessed here in Monaghan. I lived in the north for a while where there were five or six vibrant churches in a town but without a clue what the other churches were doing. Here there is a lot of prayer and care for one another. It takes work, but there is a lovely community atmosphere between Christians from different churches.”

In the workplace - Monaghan Johnston Reid is principal of Monaghan Collegiate School. He seeks to bring a Christian ethos into the school and to work out his faith in daily life.

Johnston shares, “The formal aspect would be services throughout the year (for example at Christmas and the end of year) and daily assemblies (usually a prayer and Bible reading). The informal aspect would be more about how you run the place. Regardless of who we are, we run

In the car park Enniscorthy, Co Wexford At Alive Church, we spotted little plastic bags containing a business card that says, “You’ve been blessed by someone from Alive Church.”

We wanted to know more, so church member Ayo explains, “We take the bags and every now and then we simply put a €2 coin in the bag and hang it on the parking meter or on someone’s car to pay for their parking. Or we might leave it at the local coffee shop so they can have a coffee on us.

It is a simple way of blessing people in our town!”

on the principle of forgiveness. If you have clowns and rapscallions in your classroom, you forgive them! It is about taking time with people and seeing the person behind the behaviour. I have two management qualifications and one counselling qualification, but it is the counselling qualification that I use the most. Our approached is person-centred.

“For me personally, I’m always aware that I have to live what I preach.

Very often when I have someone standing outside the door, I would have a prayer before they walk through the door or even when they are sitting here. Of course there are times I’ve roared at kids, but then I’ve called them back in and apologised. They appreciate that.

“There is no place for ego as a headmaster. It is one of the great liberating things in teaching. I have taught kids who are a lot brighter and better than me. That is fine. Ego is destructive.”

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WALLS F F CHURCH CWITHOUT ONTINUED TOUR

In homes - Ballina, Co Mayo Pastor Roddy Gallagher shares: “In the past year, we’ve seen an opening in the Traveller community together with Stephen, a friend from Dublin. A young traveller woman was in hospital with her child in Dublin. The baby was given up for dead, and in desperation, she rang Stephen to come and pray for the baby. The next day the babe was still alive. That was three years ago, and even though this little boy has been at death’s door several times since, through prayer he is still doing well today.

“Folks invited the ‘healing man of God’ to come here to pray for a family in Ballina. Since then, we’ve had a service in their home every Saturday night. Our daughter runs ‘Sunday School’ with the children. This family is so on fire for God; they love the Lord and they are reading their Bibles. They are spreading the word within their own community. From this springboard, we’ve had the opportunity to minister in different Traveller homes as we are invited to pray for the sick.”

At celebrations and festivals - Millstreet, Co Cork Mags, Clare, and Eileen told us how they run programmes in the community to tie in with Christmas and other special occasions during the year.

“We did a carol service for the patients, family, and staff at Millstreet Community Hospital. People keep asking, ‘Are you coming back up again?’

“And on St. Patrick’s Day, we had a right laugh!

We put tables outside (that door is a barrier even if we have it open) and we all bought loads of chocolate and lollies and made gallons tea and coffee to hand out to the people waiting for the parade.”

In schools - Tullamore, Co Offaly Rev. William Hayes shares: “For the last nine years, we’ve been able to do the Youth Alpha course for all the 5th years in one of the local secondary schools, and for the last three years, we’ve been running Alpha in all three secondary schools! I launched this together with Fr John Nulty [Ed: We met Fr. John in Mullingar during last year’s Finding Faith tour!) and continued with the current parish priest. Every secondary school student in Tullamore (in 5th year or Leaving Cert. year depending on the school) is now completing the Alpha course.”

In the city - Derry Pastor Brian Somerville shares: “‘I Heart Derry’ is our festival of faith. We come together and work with communities and schools to show God’s love to as many people as possible. We run a cross-community football tournament. We have Mobile Medics - doctors and nurses volunteering on the street to do blood pressure checks and so on. We have on-street prayer. And we’ll be running five holiday Bible clubs, including one for children with special needs.

“We are running an environmental improvement scheme with traders near our new church premises. We wanted to find a way to bless our neighbours, and we are organising a “face lift” for the street. In previous years, we have built four playgrounds for communities around the city.

“Our relationship with the city authorities grew out of Street Pastors, which started as a four-week initiative ten years ago and has been going ever since. It is important that the church is seen as an asset to the city.

“Jesus stepped into our world in order to bring us into His world. Here in Derry, the city is open, warm, and approachable. We seek to help the city fulfil its potential.

We go to the city authorities and ask, ‘What is your vision, and how can we help?’

During the Derry City of Culture year, instead of putting on our own events, we offered volunteers for the various city events - a total of 12,000 volunteer hours during the year!”

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VOX MAGAZINE

FF TOUR

AN IRISH CHURCH

BY PASTOR TOM BURKE

uring the Finding Faith Tour, we history and Irish culture. At our first service can be anxious coming into a new church. visited Pastor Tom Burke at Grace in this building, I spoke about St. Finbarr, We have welcome teams whose job is to Church in Cork City. With a quote who founded the city of Cork. Countries reduce anxiety. We also made sure that the from the Irish constitution up on around the world have national treasures, street frontage was all glass so people can the wall (in Irish and English) and a Celtic like the Crown Jewels in England. Here in look inside. That sense of transparency is so cross as its logo, Grace Church has important (there are become known for the way it reflects no secrets). and celebrates Irish culture. We People feel asked Tom what makes an “Irish” HERE IN IRELAND, WE HAVE THE GOSPELS AS OUR NATIONAL TREASURE. disillusioned and let church, and here’s what he had to down. Church should say: be a place where We really feel that if you there are no masks don’t have a church that is Irish-friendly, Ireland, we have the Gospels as our national and you can be yourself. You are valued and you won’t reach Irish people. At Grace, we treasure, so I love to talk about the Book of accepted for who you are. are first and foremost an Irish church, even Kells! though we welcome and include people Church has to reflect culture. The Gospel Pastor Tom Burke leads Grace Church in from different backgrounds (the “new” must be translated into the local context.

Cork City. A proud Cork man and fluent Irish Irish).

When I’m using a sporting analogy, I refer speaker, Tom is passionate about seeing an Irish A lot of our African families (who make to the hurling. And I’ll talk about how every church for Irish people! up about 15% of our congregation) came Wednesday at home, my mother would boil to us and said, “We want to go to a church a ham and serve it with colcannon. that is Irish. This is our home and our future, We have to knock down the walls and and we want our kids to integrate with Irish barriers that get in people’s way. People culture.”

Think about it: Why do people go to an Irish pub? From Boston to Berlin to Beijing, an Irish pub creates a unique atmosphere. What can we learn from that? Can an Irish church have a similar atmosphere minus the alcohol?

Our churches should be warm and welcoming. And there should always be craic! We take God seriously but we don’t take ourselves too seriously.

Spontaneity is huge. We are not precious about ourselves, and our culture is fun-loving. We don’t mind our small kids jumping around during the worship. There is that sense of being a bit more relaxed.

I speak the Irish language a lot. We have a baptism coming up, and one of the guys comes from the Gaeltacht in West Cork. He will be baptised in Irish.

We try to incorporate the language into services and even into worship songs.

We also have great respect for Irish

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BY DR KEN BAKER

CREATING LIVING SPACE: RE-ENVISAGING CHURCH

ow do strangers become guests? It is a difficult die of loneliness. Jesus found a place where even nature’s journey “from hostility to hospitality” (to use Henri gone bad. Where babies are born with little shriveled-up Nouwen’s phrase). arms and young men with their whole life ahead of them get The reason for that difficulty is a default setting cancer, and there’s droughts and floods, and peaches are of defensiveness. There’s a familiar verse in Matthew 6 that piled up along the road going rotten to keep the price up Eugene Peterson paraphrases, “If you open your eyes wide when there’s people who don’t have the price of a peach… in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live “Jesus came down to a place where every last man, squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. woman, and child is living on death row. You’d think the least If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you thing we could do was draw close and comfort each other, will have!” but no. Except for a few loved Our experiences tend to ones, we close the doors of our make us suspicious. “Once hearts and bolt them tight.”

WE BUILD WALLS AGAINST POSSIBLE ATTACK. bitten, twice shy” refers to far Have you met any boltedmore than snappy dogs. We tight people? Are you one build walls against possible yourself? The process of attack; we put up blinds against unlocking is a slow journey. the incursion of the outside light. Our very survival instinct Otherwise, the world is full of strangers who grow stranger – throwing up our hands — can prevent future relationship by the day. That word “displaced” describes so many: that is symbolised in shaking hands. And don’t miss that immigrants, of course, but also misfits, special needs, broken, word “greed”: We become defensive about our property, our lost, confused, Alzheimer sufferers, the elderly, depressed, possessions, our money, our “stuff.” and isolated.

I called at a house one day and dutifully wiped my muddy So many of us feel out of step. The task of our faith feet on the “Welcome” mat. The dirt I left on the mat so communities is to create living spaces where strangers can antagonised its occupant that I was not allowed in! I guess I become less strange! Hospitality is not about changing wore out my welcome. people, but offering them space where change may take So how do I allow strangers to become guests? place. The Dutch word for “hospitality” literally translates as In a powerful passage, a character in a Fred Buechner “the freedom of guests.” People are free to be themselves. short story described a journey that is only made possible Creating space for the other is not an easy task. Hosts feel through the journey of Christ. that they have to entertain their guests. But such hospitality “He came down out of the heavenly place to this place. quickly becomes tiring. It’s when all the busyness stops that Down, down He come, and what did He find? He found a the living space can open. Ultimately, it’s not that relationship place where there’s not enough food to stretch round. He is more important than doctrine, but that relationship IS the found a place where every single night little children go to doctrine. bed crying because that day it wasn’t their turn to eat. He found a place where people are scared stiff of each other Dr Ken Baker is an author and pastor, most of the time and hide from each other and sometimes based in Longford. Contact him on come out of their hiding places to do hateful things to each kenbaker255@gmail.com or feel free to other. heckle on Facebook or Twitter. “… a nine-year-old girl found beaten up and raped in the park. … an old woman shipped off to some nursing home to

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KIDS..KIDS...KIDS

Churches all over the country are working with children and young people throughout the year and through holiday clubs and summer camps. Here are just a few examples we heard about on our tour.

Building stepping stones Enniscorthy, Co Wexford

“When is your summer camp?” Enniscorthy, Co Wexford

Andrew Burt from Enniscorthy Christian Fellowship told us about their regular children’s clubs and youth Bible study.

“The idea is to build stepping stones and make connections with people in our community,” Andrew explained. “It is always amazing to see these young folks, who have no family connection with the church, coming along on a Sunday. That takes courage! Step by step, people are drawing closer to God. “One day, a woman walked into church who had been to our kids’ clubs years before. As a children’s worker, you sow many seeds and wonder if anyone is listening. This woman became a Christian and recently got baptised. She shared how the clubs had been a significant part of her life and her journey towards God.”

That’s what children keep asking the folks from Alive Church in Enniscorthy. The annual camp attracted 370 children last year, and this year, the church is expecting 400! “The kids love it,” explained church member and camp volunteer Ayo. “I work in Lidl and the children come in asking when the camp will be starting. At the end of the week, they will be crying and asking us to run for a second week!”

The camp runs from Monday to Friday (9am to 3pm) and includes sports, silly games, Bible stories, drama, and much more. Volunteers come from America and from churches around Ireland to help out! Through the camp, several people have started coming to church.

The Big Red Bus Rahara, Co Roscommon OM Ireland’s Big Red Bus visits schools across Ireland sharing the real meaning of Christmas and Easter, and running creative programmes based on Bible stories. The double-decker bus has been adapted to provide a craft area and performance space (where the team puts on puppet shows) as well as a kitchen area and plenty of storage space for supplies.

In June this year, the bus visited 16 schools across Roscommon, Cavan, Leitrim, and Galway with a pirate-themed presentation - “Love your neighbour”.

Throughout the summer, the bus will be working in partnership with local churches to run children’s holiday clubs.

Find out more about OM Ireland at www.ie.om.org.

“Everyone is buzzing” - Fermoy, Co Cork The small Presbyterian church in Fermoy, Co Cork, runs a holiday Bible club for 120 children each summer with an evening teen programme that attracts 25 young people. Volunteers from around Ireland support the church for the week-long club.

Lee, 15, told us, “The teen programme is a lot of fun because everyone is still buzzing from the morning programme with the kids. It is infectious. A few from my class at school come along.”

The work continues all year round with a kids’ club and teens programme every Saturday. After last year’s teen camp, six young people joined the church youth group.

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GREAT EXPECTATIONS

One of the most noticeable “themes” of this year’s Finding Faith Tour was the sense of expectation and anticipation. Leaders all over the country and from all different church backgrounds believe that God is working in new ways and is calling His church to be more confident, not in ourselves, but in Him.

Tim Montgomery, Athlone, Co Westmeath

Roddy Gallagher, Foxford/ Ballina, Co Mayo

Andrew Burt, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford

Brian Somerville, Derry

For so long, everything in Ireland was such a “plod,” but now there is a sense that something is stirring underneath.

One of the things that is really exciting me is that churches are coming together to help each other out. There is more of an understanding that we have our flavours but the Gospel is something that unites us. In the past, our divisions were detrimental to God being able to move.

Now the barriers are starting to come down and we are starting to see more and more unity.

I really do believe that God works through the local church. He loves the church. Sometimes you wonder why. It’s not about the name across the door, whatever that is! In this county, it has been so exciting to see new churches established. We go back to Scotland and see churches closing. Here, there is a sense of something new and fresh.

In the past year or so, we’ve had a sense that “something is about to happen.” We need to allow God to work through us and step up to the plate.

We want to spend time with God and then move. Not thinking, “This is a good thing to do,” but asking, “Is it a God thing?” If things get too busy, we won’t have time to spend with God. I feel that God is saying to us, “I’m more interested in you as an individual than in anything you can ever do for me.”

We have a strong feeling here that there is a greater revelation of God coming. We feel an increasing call to greater holiness. We also feel that once again Ireland will be the land of saints and scholars - a missionary sending nation. At the same time, we’re getting more old-fashioned with a focus on worship, the Word, and works in the community. The millennial generation is not interested in smoke machines. They are interested in what is authentic.

Ven. Craig McCauley, Virginia, Co Cavan

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When I came here at the end of 2004, people said to me, “Don’t expect much of us; we’re just country folk.” It was perceived that only big churches did big things. I’m glad to say in all the time I’ve been here, that has been proved wrong again and again. I want to encourage us all that when we step out in faith, we can do great things!

CONFESSIONS OF A FEINT SAINT

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On His Majesty’s Service

By Annmarie Miles have a terrible sense of direction. I spend a lot of time pointing in the opposite direction of the intended destination, saying, “I thought it was this way. We’re going that way? Aren’t we facing the wrong way?”

So, I don’t know why I’m surprised to find myself working in a job that I wasn’t looking for.

Me: Dear God, now that we’re in the UK, I’d love to get a part-time job in something creative and spend the rest of the time writing.

God: Here’s a full-time job in government administration.

Me: Eh… what’s that now? (points the other way) “I thought it was this way. We’re going that way?

Aren’t we…?”

As I write, I’m in training with the Civil Service.

Having worked for Christian charities for about 15 years, I’m now in constant culture-shock mode. Apart from the fact that my brain is being stretched with facts and figures that I’m struggling to make room for, I am working in a fast-paced, multi-faith, multi-ideal setting. In my team of ten, there are five nationalities.

We share a large area with four other teams. And that’s just our little corner of a big building. (A building in which, as you can imagine, I keep getting lost!)

It’s the strangest feeling: being where I’m supposed to be even though it’s not where I planned.

I am doing some soul searching at the moment, trying to figure out who I am and how I fit into this new setting. It’s a challenge and (I hope) an opportunity for growth and maturity.

When thinking about working in the big bad world, I lamented the fact that my years of working for God were over. It was a thought that was washed away as quickly as it came. Everything we do, every office we type in, every loo we clean, every truck we drive, every shirt we iron… if we are His, then it is done in His service.

On paper, I work for Her Majesty’s Government (when I manage to get the right lift to the right floor…) but I love that, no matter what I do, it’ll always be in HIS Service.

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“It’s the strangest feeling: being where I’m supposed to be even though it’s not where I planned.”

Annmarie Miles is originally from Tallaght, now living in her husband Richard’s homeland, Wales. If you’d like to read more between VOX Magazines, her blog is called Just Another Christian Woman Talking Through Her Hat.The Long & the Short of it, her first collection of short stories, can be found at www.annmariemiles.com/ books, or you can pick it up in Footprints bookshops in Dublin.

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Dawn McConnell is one of the founders of Hope House Ireland - a beautiful seaside apartment in Whitehead, Co Antrim, created as a place of rest for adult cancer sufferers and those who care for them. Inspired to set up Hope House following her husband’s battle with cancer, Dawn is currently undergoing chemotherapy herself! Amazingly, she found the strength to see us during our Finding Faith Tour and we heard her amazing story.

Hope HOUSE FINDING FAITH IN THE STORM

y husband, Roy, was first diagnosed “whys” and “what ifs” started then I would pray, with cancer 25 years ago. At the time, “What now?” This is “NOW” faith - trusting he was given a 30% chance to live. I God for today! had no Christian background and I At that time, I kept thinking I would love had no interest in God. But when Roy took the to be able to get a break away, but we didn’t cancer, I came to God looking for healing, and have the money. Roy and I used to take walks through all that, in Whitehead, He changed my just up the road whole life. from our home in I’M JUST A HAIRDRESSER FROM THE SHANKILL AND Carrickfergus. We At one point, they told me that love being by the I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT SETTING UP A CHARITY. the disease was sea and this is our in Roy’s brain. I favourite place to remember coming walk. out of the doctor’s office feeling devastated! I One day, I was looking at the apartments on met the Church of Ireland minister in Belfast the seafront. I suddenly felt such a burden for all City Hospital and asked him to pray for Roy. I the people who need a place to rest. I looked at knew God had touched Roy there and then. Roy those exact buildings where Hope House is now recovered fully and went back to work. and I said to God, “Give me one room. If I had one room, we could make a place for people like THROUGH THE STORM us to come and be by the sea.” That was where Three years ago, after 22 years, Roy’s cancer the vision for “Hope House” was born. came back. Even his consultant said, “This is not My sister had given me a toy boat when the possible.” I could not understand it. I remember cancer first came back. She knew how much the feeling frustrated and trying to cope, weeping story of Paul’s shipwreck in Acts 27 meant to until I could weep no more. But somehow I me. My sister said, “Roy is in that boat and he is knew God was speaking to me through this. going to cross over to the other side, no matter I once heard about a man whose son had what storms there are.” I used to pick up that died. He kept asking God, “Why?” But then boat every day and pray. the Holy Spirit told him to change his prayer: Roy is a big Glen Hansard fan, and I bought not “Why?” but “What now?” Every day, if the him the new CD. On it was “The Song of Good

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front at Whitehead, in the very houses I’d been looking at when I first thought about opening Hope House. (Find out more at www.hopehouseireland.org or check out Hope House Ireland on Facebook.)

Hope”. The words were amazing - they even talked about reaching the other side! I later found out that Glen Hansard wrote that song for a friend who had cancer. We used to play that song going to the hospital for Roy’s treatment.

Finally, when Roy was cancer free, we opened up a bank account and decided that once we had enough for six months’ rent, we would open Hope House as a place for adult cancer patients and those who care for them to come for a rest, free of charge.

I’m just a hairdresser from the Shankill and I know nothing about setting up charities, but there were so many confirmations that God wanted me to do this. Glen Hansard even dedicated his song to us when he was live in concert in Belfast!

When the final 300 pounds came in, an apartment became available on the sea

to do that, a new strength came over me.

I was diagnosed with stage-three breast cancer.

It hit me then that people had been following my Facebook page. I needed to let them know that God is real in the STAGE THREE CANCER midst of the storm. There are treasures I was diagnosed with breast cancer in the darkness. My friends were angry: in February this year. I’d been for the “How could God do this to you?” But my mammogram the week before and I question was, “Why not me?” truthfully felt everything was fine. When I Truthfully, when my friend and I received a letter saying I needed to go back went in for my last chemo, I had a sense in, I thought, “What are the chances?” of joy that I could not put into words. We At first, they mentioned the words were actually sitting in the waiting room “pre-cancerous” and I felt really stressed laughing. (And believe me, chemo is not and anxious. fun!)

The doctor For every sent me woman, losing I NEEDED TO LET THEM KNOW THAT GOD IS REAL IN your hair is for an THE MIDST OF THE STORM. ultrasound, the biggy. My and the hair was long, radiographer but when the found first few hairs four lumps that had not shown up on started coming out, I decided that I would the mammogram. I knew by their faces shave off my hair so I was in control. I something was wrong. I remember this didn’t want it to be a sad thing. wave coming over me. I sat in the waiting People are being told every minute of room and I lifted my hands and prayed, the day that they have cancer. The fact that “Holy Lord God Almighty - ransomed, it happened to me meant God was really healed, restored, forgiven. In everything, going to use it. Through this people will I will give you praise.” As soon as I started see “Christ in me the HOPE of glory”.

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ACTIVE RETIREMENT

A NEW LEASE OF LIFE IN COUNTY KERRY

When Ed and Jean Ritchie reached retirement age, they both faced life-threatening illnesses.

Ed suffered a heart attack and Jean almost died from a bowel obstruction. For most people, this might be a sign to take it easy - to sit back, relax and let the world go by. But Ed and Jean considered it a gift from God and a chance to enter a new season of ministry! During the Finding Faith Tour, VOX editor Ruth Garvey-Williams visited this inspiring couple to hear their story.

n 2001, we did not know if I heart attack just when I was coming up to That’s when I became a Christian.” was going to survive or not,” retirement. There is a sense, not that we are Jean was born Jean Kingston in explains Jean (who is now 78). “I on borrowed time, but that God has allowed Drimoleague, West Cork. “I was brought remember lying in bed critically us to have these extra years.” up in a Christian home, and my parents ill. I had two operations in Tralee and I was Ed was born in Tralee, the son of a emphasised that just being in a Christian going rapidly downhill. Ed stepped in and Methodist minister. “I had come to the stage home did not make you a Christian. I was had me transferred to Cork, quite young and I remember otherwise I don’t think I putting it off, but we were on GOD IS A SURPRISING GOD; YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT IS would have survived. It holiday and I thought, ‘I can’t put AROUND THE CORNER, BUT HE IS SO FAITHFUL. makes me appreciate that this off any longer.’ I remember I’m on extended time. God kneeling beside a chair in the was so gracious. He must have had some at boarding school thinking there was no bedroom and praying, ‘Right, Lord; this is purpose for me. It is just such a privilege and God, but while I was on holiday in Kilkee, I it!’ joy.” was impressed by young people my own age “He is my Saviour. The more I think Ed (who is now 83) adds, “I had a for whom the Christian faith was relevant. about it over the years, I can never

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appreciate enough God’s amazing love!”

Ed studied medicine at Trinity and became an obstetrician, while Jean trained as a nurse. In the ‘60s, they both went to Nigeria as medical missionaries, and that is where the couple met.

They were married in 1966, and the following year, civil war broke out. Their first child arrived in the middle of a war zone!

“When our Joy was born, the local people named her Ngosa (which means blessing and joy),” Jean shares. “I wasn’t well after the delivery, so after three months I had to come home. We were blockaded, so I had to bring our three-month-old baby on an open boat along one of the ammunition routes. It was a traumatic journey!”

Jean stayed in Belfast with an aunt, receiving treatment for her illness while Ed continued to work in Nigeria. The hospital became the centre for the World Council of Churches relief operation, and through that time, the Irish aid charity Concern was started. Every six months, Ed would come

home for a month to see Jean and baby international congregation. Just like Ed and Joy. That went on for two years. Eventually Jean - the church had received a new lease he returned to Ireland in 1969 and was of life! “There was great excitement in those appointed as a consultant obstetrician in early days as the church began to grow and Cork. flourish. Eventually, it grew so much that a “God is a surprising God; you never minister had to be appointed.” know what is around the corner, but He is so And with their work completed in faithful,” Jean says. As active members of the Killarney, Ed and Jean “retired” to start a Methodist Church new ministry in the in Cork, the couple town of Kenmare! brought up their “Our prayer is three children and THESE YEARS HAVE BEEN VERY PRECIOUS. always that God will eventually became do what He wants proud grandparents through us,” Jean (they have seven smiles. “We don’t grandchildren). want to go off in our own steam. We feel He But after their brush with death and with has placed us here. These years have been retirement ahead, they began to seek God very precious. For the first time, we’ve both for a new direction. been doing the same thing with the same “We wondered what we could do,” Jean vision. It is wonderful.” explains. “At that time, Killarney Methodist The couple started a midweek Bible Church was only open in the summer, when study in Kenmare with the blessing and a minister would travel down to run Sunday support of the local Church of Ireland and services for tourists. The previous minister Catholic churches. Eventually, they moved had a great vision to see the church open all to running a Sunday-morning service in an year round. The roof needed replacing, and old ESB building called the “Gateway.” there was no point in doing that just for a “Ireland was once known as the island of few summer services. Eventually our church saints and scholars,” Jean says. “Sadly, there commissioned us to come to Killarney are huge pressures on young people. The and run services throughout the year. We challenge for the church is to be counterthought, ‘We can’t do much harm. You can’t cultural. This is a time of opportunity!” destroy something that is not there!’”

Deeply thankful, Ed adds, “I keep Suddenly asylum seekers began arriving thinking of that hymn, ‘Loved with everlasting in Killarney. Some were Nigerian, so for Ed love, led by grace that love to know.’ Looking and Jean there was an instant connection. back, I know it is all by the grace of God that Others arrived, creating a vibrant we are here.”

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MY STORY FF Miniatures TOUR

One of the most exciting and inspiring things about the Finding Faith tours is the chance to hear ordinary people sharing their stories of faith. All over this island, we met people who love Jesus and are living out their faith in real life. These are just a few of those stories. Check out www.vox.ie for more.

I want to spend my life worshipping God Adam, Derry I grew up in church. My dad is a Presbyterian minister in Bangor. God dragged me to this part of the country when I fell in love with a Derry girl, and I fell in love with this city too! I played in bands through university, but there was a point in my life when I switched from being a lover of music to wanting to spend my life worshipping God. When you have a connection with the living God, your perspective of everything changes. There is a lot of great stuff that we can enjoy, but ultimately there is no greater fulfilment than living life in line with God’s will.

Jesus is hope to me! Anna, Derry I’m 20 years old and from Nebraska in America. I came here to Derry to do an internship in Cornerstone City Church. I have Christian family and growing up I was being told what I was supposed to believe, but I didn’t really believe it for myself. I went from being homeschooled to being at public school.

It was a really big change. I didn’t have any friends and I became pretty depressed. I experienced a lot of sadness and did not have any hope.

Finally, I thought, “I will check out this God thing.” I started reading up on what Jesus did.

It brought me hope to know that Jesus cared about the broken and lost. He didn’t just go to those who were healthy and perfect but He went to those who were confused and hurting - like me!

We don’t serve a finger-wagging God Stephen, Trim, Co Meath My wife, Valarie, and I are from Florida. We are serving with a missionary organisation called Serge [formerly World Harvest]. Serge is a term taken from sewing that describes how frayed edges are made smooth. The Gospel does that in our lives! God is all about taking the frayed edges of our lives and making them smooth, bringing them together.

I struggled for a long time feeling that I was not competent and adequate to do any-thing and trying to please people. Jesus has really helped me to see that I have His approval by God’s grace.

Just knowing that the Lord is not frowning at me is such a relief.

We don’t serve a finger-wagging God. He is actually smiling and He is FOR me in every part of life. As a parent, I love my children no matter what they do. They are no less my children when they make mistakes! That helps me to understand how God loves me!

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I had a terrible tongue! Thomas, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford When I accepted the Lord as my Saviour, I had a terrible tongue. The Lord changed my life. That’s how I knew He had done something different.

I cleaned up my language. I have the odd lapse, but I hope there is enough evidence to prove that I’m a Christian!

Focused on Jesus - Paul, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford I’m 52 years of age. My wife, Aine, and I have three girls and our youngest son is Padraig. Jesus has transformed me. He got me to read Scripture! From a man who left school without being able to read and write and is always struggling with the reading, Jesus has me picking up my Bible each morning! I keep focused on Jesus and He looks after the rest. I have a new awareness of His great love and of His outstretched arms the whole time.

I’m a different person Tom, Cork City Jesus Christ changed my life deeply and profoundly.

I will never forget the night I walked into a Catholic charismatic group. A friend from school invited me there when I was 19. I went in a hard young fella and I wept my heart out. The atmosphere of the Holy Spirit in that place was so powerful.

I can remember walking out the door and saying, “I’m a different person!”

I had connected with God. That was over 40 years ago!

Today Jesus calms me down and inspires me. He gives me a richness and a depth to everyday life. You can hand over your issues to Him. Even now, it’s like He’s in the chair right here with us. Who wouldn’t want that sense of His presence? He helps my marriage. I can’t imagine marriage if Jesus wasn’t in the middle of it. And I couldn’t imagine raising my two children without the Lord! Our arguments as a family are about Scripture and what God is doing and what is the best way to reach the lost!

It’s like diving into fresh water - Jana, Trim, Co Meath I come from the Czech Republic. I came to Ireland in October 2007 with my husband. I come from a traditional family. I really wanted faith in my life.

Czech culture is very atheistic. We had communism for 40 years. When I came here, I thought this was a religious country. I thought that people would all believe and live according to the Bible. I was rather disappointed.

What hit me hard was that we wanted a family and it just wasn’t happening. My whole identity became my desire for children.

I studied bioethics in London, and I was writing my thesis about the right to life of the disabled unborn child. That’s when I met Ciaran. My friend told me about the Bible study he was running.

I have studied theology, but I had no knowledge of the Bible, so when I went along to the Bible study, everything was completely new. People were talking about Jesus. It seemed a completely different approach.

I was very curious and critical at the same time.

I was still desperate for a baby. I think I was trying to manipulate God to give me the baby by behaving well.

I didn’t cop on. I always felt there was something I was missing, something that I didn’t understand.

One summer, we had a ladies’ Bible study.

Suddenly the coin dropped. I couldn’t see God because of my great desire for a child. It was not about me pursuing a baby but about pursuing God Himself.

I finally understood that Jesus died for me. I can’t earn anything. I can’t please God by doing things and get a baby as a reward.

I had never said “No” to God, but I had never said “Yes” to Jesus. Now I’m in the process of getting to know Jesus. It is like diving into fresh water. My prayer is to know God more. I struggle with myself at times but not with God! Today, I have two kids and I try to apply all that I learn when I’m at home caring for them!

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He brought me through - Tracey, Monaghan I have been in Monaghan six years. My husband is a Presbyterian minister. We have had three children: our twins are now six and a half, and we also had a wee boy who died at the age of six. People look at you differently when you are the ministers, but we are just normal people. This morning, our Jacob was climbing over the communion table and the whole congregation was looking at me!

My faith in God has been strengthened by the difficulties He has brought me through.

Our friends were angry with God after Tim died. I was never angry. I felt that God knew what was best. It was shaky for a while.

I struggled to pray. I just didn’t know what to say. But there were great folk around us who were praying when we could not pray ourselves!

He knew ahead of time!

- Sue, Fermoy, Co Cork I remember one day God said to me, “I’ll be with you wherever your home is.” A few days later, my husband got the offer of a job over here in Ireland. God knew ahead of time that Mark was going to get that job. When I first became a Christian, I thought I was brilliant; over the years, I’ve come to realise that I’m not. The closer I get to God, the more I realise that I’m making a mess of most things, but He loves me still.

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He answered my prayer! Christine, Fermoy, Co Cork I’m growing in my realisation of what it means to have a true relationship with Jesus rather than just going to church and doing the best you can. I’ve moved to loads of places in my life and at one point, after we’d been here about three years, it looked like we needed to move again. I cried and walked the fields pleading with God that we wouldn’t have to move, and He answered my prayer!

I want to love as Jesus loves - Alastair, Roscommon I’m struck by Jesus’ compassion for people, for the lost, for the outcast, for the poor. I am really challenged in this area. So often, I don’t have that heart of compassion. We can do our programmes [Alastair is director of OM Ireland] but not really care for people.

Too often I’ve avoided getting involved in people’s lives, but I want to learn to love as Jesus loves. I’ve an awfully long way to go! It involves so much sacrifice, and sometimes we are not prepared to make the sacrifice.

The more I look, the more I realise how many people are broken, even if they look like they are sorted.

VOX MAGAZINE

FF TOUR

Creation CARE

At Ballylagan Organic Farm near Ballyclare in Co Antrim, we caught up with Jonny Hanson. A previous contributor to VOX, Jonny is an environmentalist who is currently completing his PhD. We enjoyed a lovely cup of tea and then a walk around the farm as we heard about Jonny’s desire to launch a “Creation Care” charity in Northern Ireland.

“If you go back to the Celtic Church, creation care was one of the core values of the early Irish missionaries,” Jonny told us.

“It is really a long-held vision of mine, which I now share with my wife and brother, to start a creation care charity.”

One of the challenges Jonny encounters is that people feel he is trying to make them feel guilty. “This is not eco-Pharisee-ism. It is about conviction, not guilt. God convicts us because there is a better way to live.”

The charity will seek to inspire change

planet” and “avoiding catastrophic climate change.”

“Community supported agriculture (CSA) is about taking out the middle men and connecting consumers with the farms,” Jonny explained. “In a CSA, people pay a monthly or annual subscription and then receive a share of the harvest or whatever is produced. It reconnects people with the land and with how their food is produced.”

“We are also interested in care farming or social farming - using farm-based activities as therapy for vulnerable groups within society.”

Conservation will be an important focus, with farming methods that seek to work with nature rather than against it. “It is important to look at native breeds and indigenous crops,” Jonny said. “Conservation not only includes wildlife but also the conservation of food culture and skills. Even THIS IS NOT ECO-PHARISEE-ISM. IT IS ABOUT CONVICTION, NOT GUILT. things like blackberry picking are dying out!” by setting up a community farm that will Jonny is convinced that creation care is encapsulate the values of conservation and one of the hallmarks of mission. “You can’t sustainability. Jonny hopes to educate people preach a sermon without food and water. about the environment and to advocate for Tackling poverty or injustice on a global change by being a prophetic voice on issues scale comes down to how fairly we use the like “feeding the world without trashing the resources God has given us. This should not

be about food snobs. Good food should be a right for everyone, not just for the elite.

“Too often, we have a human-centred view of the world and the Bible. I’m advocating a God-centred worldview. When you look at the world through heaven’s eyes, you start to realise that these things are on God’s heart. There are species that no human being will ever see, yet God created them!”

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BUILDING CHURCH

One of the discoveries of this year’s Finding Faith Tour was a number of churches that are moving into new “homes.” Large and small, there was one thing each of these churches had in common - they were not so much concerned about buildings as about building God’s kingdom in their towns and cities!

Cornerstone City Church, Derry In the city of Derry, we visited Cornerstone City Church’s new premises - a one-time nightclub and TV studio on the banks of the River Foyle. In a room overlooking the city, we chatted with Pastor Brian Somerville about the new adventure Cornerstone is facing.

At present, Cornerstone rents a local theatre (the Millennium Forum) on Sunday mornings. “As a church, we have always been looking for our own building,” Brian shared. “And when we viewed this

Alive Church, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford

WE DON’T REALLY WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE BUILDING BUT ABOUT WHAT THE BUILDING CAN ACHIEVE. building on 29 June 2010, we knew it was the one. We offered £1.7 million, but [thankfully] that offer was turned down. Eventually, we completed the sale for £350,000 on 29 June 2014 - four years to the day after we had first seen it.”

While the offices are slowly taking shape, there is still a long way to go before the church can move in to the auditorium and use the facilities, which will include a large youth room, Sunday School rooms, and much more.

This is a church that has never been limited by its lack of a building, and they are keen to make sure that the building enhances rather than limits their impact in the city.

“We don’t really want to talk about the building but about what the building can achieve. Too often, a necklace can become the noose. I feel more called to Derry than I am to this church,” Brian said. “God has asked me to mobilise Cornerstone to be His answer to the city. When I see the skyline, something lifts me.

“I’m not smart enough or equipped enough to do this without knowing that the Lord loves me. He has called me. What I do here is just an overflow of my relationship with Him. Honestly, without Him, it is just not possible!”

FF TOUR

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At the opposite end of the island, we visited Enniscorthy in Co Wexford, where a shop building has been transformed into a home for Alive Church.

Pastor Enda Long told us, “We are a communitybased church, and we were blessed that because of the recession this building became available to us.”

Right in the heart of the town, this church is passionate about reaching out to the local community. “My vision would be too big to put on paper,” Enda shares. “But in a nutshell, we want to make Jesus big in Enniscorthy. We want to be able to touch every family in our town in some way.”

Grace Church, Cork City

On Easter Sunday, Grace Church in Cork celebrated their first service in their new home right in the centre of what Pastor Tom Burke describes as Ireland’s “real capital city!” The space has been leased from another church network, and Grace Church invested 20 years of savings into a complete refurbishment of the building.

With everything finished to the highest possible

standards of health and safety and building regulations, there was also loving attention to detail (extra baby changing areas to help parents with young children and lovely artwork and interior design throughout).

Amazingly, they were able to move into the building debt-free!

The Lighthouse, Millstreet, North Co. Cork From one of Ireland’s largest churches, and less than an hour’s drive away, we visited one of the smallest in the rural town of Millstreet: population 1,500. The Lighthouse opened about 18 months ago.

Methodist Minister Laurence Graham began meetings in the town in response to a request from some of the asylum seekers living nearby.

After three years, people had come and gone but there were very few locals, and Laurence began to wonder whether to call it a day.

“I went on holiday that August, and when I came back a few weeks later, everything had changed,” Laurence said. “I’m glad I was away because we knew it was all God’s doing! Suddenly we had a core of people for whom this was their church. Quite rapidly we moved to meeting every Sunday, and we really wanted a place in town. That’s when the idea came for a ‘shop window.’”

WE’D LOVE IT IF THE COMMUNITY THOUGHT OF US AS THE FIRST PLACE THEY COULD COME IN A TIME OF NEED

“We’ve never been into buildings,” Pastor Tom explains. “This is just a means to an end. It has to be about the people in the building. Our strapline is ‘Real People, Real Church.’ What we mean by that is authenticity! We have loads of plans for this space, but it is all about people.”

An empty shop became home to the church on Sundays, a Bible study on Tuesday evenings, and a Christian bookshop, gift shop, and drop-in centre on Thursday mornings. Named “The Lighthouse,” this is a small church with a big heart. A few days before we visited, they had raised over €800 for Christian Aid’s Nepal earthquake appeal with a cake sale.

Church member Clare explained, “We’d love it if the community thought of us as the first place they could come in a time of need, a place where they can come and have a coffee and ask us to pray for them!”

With 25 people attending on a Sunday morning, the little shop is already getting crowded. “Another dozen people and we wouldn’t have enough space for chairs,” Laurence smiles.

Shannon Christian Church, Shannon, Co. Clare On the outskirts of Shannon, Co Clare, we met Elton Good, one of the leaders of the multicultural Shannon Christian Church. Around 20 nationalities make up this vibrant congregation, which has just taken the exciting step of purchasing a building at the edge of town.

During our short visit, Elton showed us around what was once a warehouse, painting a beautiful picture of what the finished building will be like - a place of welcome, worship, and interaction, where people can meet each other and meet with God. And the dreams are rapidly becoming a reality! In the short time since our visit, the warehouse has been transformed from a building site into a bright, modern space. The church has moved into their new home and will hold an official opening in October!

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FF TOUR

I WAS A STRANGER AND YOU INVITED ME “SOMETIMES WHEN PEOPLE COME HERE, THEY FEEL LIKE A FISH OUT OF WATER.”

Embrace

In Belfast, we met Aneta Dabek from Embrace, a Christian organisation set up in response to rising numbers of immigrants in Northern Ireland.

Embrace began as a group of Christians from different denominations working together to provide a positive response to people seeking asylum, refugees, migrant workers and people from minority ethnic backgrounds in Northern Ireland. The organisation seeks to equip the church to welcome “strangers” by providing information, training and resource materials, and acting as a channel for practical help for those in need.

“Migration is a relatively new thing for Northern Ireland,” Aneta explained. “Now, because transportation is so cheap [and since the Good Friday agreement], people are moving here to find asylum or a better life.”

Aneta, who is originally from Poland, explained. “Sometimes when people come here, they feel like a fish out of water. I always wanted to travel and I was curious to see new places. I learnt English at school, but when I came here I just couldn’t speak, even though I could read and write English. When people were speaking and I was supposed to reply, I couldn’t understand or respond. If you don’t speak English you feel really ashamed and you end up withdrawing.

“I think being far from family and friends is one of the hardest things about coming to a new country. When I came here, church was the place where I found security and safety. I knew that if I was in trouble that people from church would help me. Church is like a new family.”

Churches can do so much to help newcomers to their community.

“Just saying hello and inviting people to church activities is a start,” Aneta said.

Many churches start English classes or tea or coffee clubs with English conversation, which helps people with the language barrier.

Having Bibles or other materials in different languages is also a big help.

Something as simple as serving refreshments after your church service can provide a lifeline of friendship and fellowship for someone who is a long way from home.

“There is amazing work going on. We can see so many churches opening their doors,” Aneta added.

Embrace provides excellent resources for churches. Check out their website at www.embraceni.org.

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Welcome!

In many places around the country, we discovered churches that are reaching out and providing care and support for refugees and immigrant workers.  In Millstreet, Co Cork, the church is running a children’s club in the local centre for asylum seekers.  In Athlone, Co Westmeath, a young man from Mexico met members of the local Baptist church when they were giving out Gospel tracts at the shopping centre. He came to a Christianity Explored course and became a Christian. When he first arrived in Ireland, this young man was struggling to find any sort of community. The welcome he received in church was so important - he felt it was like a family so far from home!  In Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, Ayo from Nigeria shared, “In 2001, I was new in Ireland and I was looking for a place to worship. I went to the post office and a guy handed me a tract. I was so excited. It is wonderful what the church is doing here. I have been so blessed to be part of it. It has not been easy, but it has been beautiful!”

Be careful what you pray for… …because it might get answered. That’s what Rev. William and Rhona Hayes from Tullamore Presbyterian Church in Co Offaly discovered. When their son James watched a children’s news programme about the crisis in Syria, he was upset and determined to do something about it.

William told us what happened next: I was cutting the grass when James came to tell me about it. I said, “We’ll pray about this,” not thinking that we’d be able to do anything. It all seemed a million miles away.

Just one week later, one of the local councillors asked us to come to a county council meeting about a group of Syrian refugees who were coming into the town. These folks were originally from Afghanistan but living in Syria.

The council asked if we would head up a welcoming committee to help integrate them into the community.

This whole thing has really encouraged my faith because it was just such a straightforward answer to prayer. It has made me wise up a bit - God really does answer prayer!!

When they first arrived, we supplied a food basket and toys for each family.

We opened up the church on Thursday and Friday mornings. The council provided a translator so we could help them fill out forms and work out practical details.

It was also a social occasion, so we invited people who lived in the same area to come and meet them. We discovered that one lady had worked in Saudi Arabia as a nurse, so she came in and started speaking Arabic!

It was wonderful to see them comfortable and happy coming into a church after being persecuted [they are Shia Muslims and had fled persecution from the Sunni majority]. They have come from a terrible situation, and God brought them to us. We have an opportunity to show love. We must be one of the few churches in Ireland where we check to see if our biscuits are halal!

Eventually, they discovered that I was the equivalent of a “mullah” (the preacher). They have been very open and friendly, but we’ve also discovered the reality for them as refugees living in Ireland. I took one girl to Argos and people were looking at her so strangely.

When they were coming, we bought Persian and Arabic Bibles. One of them was asking about Biblical names and so we got out the Arabic Bible. I got quite emotional when I heard them reading the Bible for the first time!

VA C A N C Y

VOX MAGAZINE

THE LEPROSY MISSION IRELAND

has a vacancy for the role of:

Corporate Fundraising Executive For more information:

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JULY - SEP 2015 VOX

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FF TOUR

RE-BUILDING

PATRICK'S CHARIOT

In Clarinbridge, Co Galway, we met Dave O’Reilly, who has created and now drives a working reproduction of an ancient Irish chariot. Based on drawings that appear on Ireland’s High Crosses, the project has given Dave a unique insight into our culture and heritage. Dave has trained his ponies to drive “Patrick’s Chariot,” which has featured on RTE documentaries. During the 2015 Finding Faith tour, Dave welcomed VOX editor Ruth Garvey-Williams into his home and shared some of his fascinating story.

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ELL US ABOUT YOURSELF.

design. Everything then had to be built (hand crafted) and then rebuilt if it did not work.

I’m from an Irish emigrant family and was born in The Irish chariot has so much to say Scotland in the ‘50s. My about the Irish culture. The design was grandfather was a communist highly sophisticated and technically working with the trade unions in Manchester. My father was a military THE IRISH CHARIOT HAS SO MUCH TO SAY ABOUT advanced. It speaks of the heroic selfimage of the Gael. It is a cultural icon: man who climbed the social ladder in THE IRISH CULTURE. THE DESIGN WAS HIGHLY What the longship was to the Viking, the the British air force. I went to a private chariot was to the Gael. school from the age of seven, but I felt an SOPHISTICATED AND TECHNICALLY ADVANCED. In the Irish chariot, the warrior stands enormous sense of dissatisfaction and I up high and the charioteer sits close to the rejected those values. horses with his legs on the horses’ backs.

I was living in Britain at the time of the Troubles. I identified more with the Irish culture, and that meant a lot It is very different from a Roman chariot, which is more like a bucket on wheels. Irish chariots have far greater manoeuvrability. of political conflict during Maggie Thatcher’s era. I became a sort of These chariots carried through into the Christian era. We know new age/hippy traveller. There was a massive amount of freedom, and that Patrick had a chariot, and his charioteer was called Odran [Ed: I loved it! sometimes referred to as Odhran]. Odran was the first martyr of St. I spent a lot of time with the Irish Travellers. I absolutely loved Patrick’s era, and you can still go to his graveside close to Croagh that life, and I learnt so much from being part of it. That’s actually Patrick [Ed: some sources attribute this grave to a second charioteer]. how I ended up here in Galway and how I learnt to drive ponies.

The chariot brings you into Patrick’s everyday life. Suddenly he is not a “leprechaun” figure. For me, it has given me a platform to talk YOU DON’T FIT THE STEREOTYPE OF A “CHRISTIAN.” TELL US ABOUT about who Patrick really was.

HOW YOU FOUND FAITH IN JESUS. In the end, I made two chariots. One is on display in Dartfield I became a Christian during my travels. I needed to get out of Horse Museum in Loughrea, and the other I use in demonstrations.

London at that time because of all the political conflict. I followed From start to finish, the first one took seven years while the second a girlfriend to Australia, but by the time I arrived, she was with was finished in a year! someone else!

While I was there, I met some Aboriginal Christians. I was WHAT FASCINATES YOU ABOUT IRELAND’S CELTIC CHRISTIAN working in a fruit-picking camp, and in the “drill” (row) next to me HERITAGE? was a 65-year-old Aboriginal woman who worked so fast, I could The roots of the church here are often overlooked. In many ways, not keep up with her! One of the girls told me straight, “You need I’m frustrated with the way Ireland is today. We’ve had two imperial Jesus!” The way they talked about the world really made sense to me. influences fighting each other in Ireland for control over whose It helped me understand God’s justice and made the world seem safe version of Christianity we follow (Roman Catholicism and the and fair. That was really important to me. I’ve Protestantism of the Elizabethan Plantations). been a Christian for 27 years now and it has Even today, the country is still not free. And given me a purposeful life. yet we have a perfectly good native church that Back in Ireland, I found a church, and I both sides can own. met my wife at a Christian camp in 1995.

People tend to polarise in Ireland. There I really enjoyed coming to terms with have been so many different versions of Irish normal society through the church, living in identity. I think it is important to tease out the a house again and earning a living on my own Irish Christian identity and how that has been terms as a self-employed person. We have two affected by politics. It helps us understand who daughters and three sons (including one foster we actually are and not an idealised version of child). what we think we should be.

I did find that I was an outsider in the We are many different things. We are a church. My perspective was not always people made up of different tribes. In order understood, but that’s why we all have our to build the Ireland of the future, we need to own characters and personal responsibilities. create a culture where all those tribes can feel Church programmes are grand and it is good comfortable. For me, I’m an O’Reilly who to be part of them, but if you have a dream or a strongly identifies with my Gaelic heritage. But I’m also the son of a calling, you should feel free to fulfil it!

British officer. Identity is affected by the choices we make.

I’m someone who is politically radical but socially conservative.

We can become people who become too comfortable with Freedom is important, but so is self-control and discipline.

“Christian imperialism,” whether Catholic, Protestant, or AngloAmerican. Sometimes we need to take a stand and say “no,” but in TELL US HOW YOU CAME TO BUILD AN ANCIENT IRISH CHARIOT. saying no, we have to demonstrate an alternative.

For me, creating the chariot is an expression of my faith. There were probably only a handful of people who could reproduce the WHAT COMES NEXT FOR THE IRISH CHARIOT? “Chariot of St Patrick” - people with the passion and knowledge and The chariot has given me a door into the media. I’m just back horse skills as well. from filming a movie with Richard Armitage, who played the king I started by using the education I got in posh English schools to of the dwarves in The Hobbit. For me, the modern media is as write to the national museum and to the local historians to let them important today as the Book of Kells or later the printing press. There know what I was intending to do. With the help of an archaeologist, I are opportunities to talk about Patrick around St Patrick’s Day, and put together a design based on the six chariots depicted on the High we are also doing chariot demonstrations at various festivals and Crosses of Ireland. reenactments!

I researched all the ancient texts from the University of Cork, Visit Irish Chariot on Facebook to find out more. everything to do with chariots. It took five years to develop the

T

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FAITH

BEYOND THE VEIL

CELEBRATING THE STORIES OF WOMEN IN THE BIBLE A stunning display of art and fashion, seamlessly woven together with stories of faith, provided an inspirational journey when we visited the “Beyond the Veil” exhibition at Magheralin Parish Church near Craigavon, Co Armagh, in June. The publicity described a “wedding dress exhibition,” but the reality far exceeded expectations. From Eve to Mary Magdalene’s discovery of the empty tomb, a different “dress” represented 24 different women from the Bible.

The organisers had poured an enormous amount of

creativity and imagination into sourcing beautiful dresses from fashion designers, well-known public figures, and local artists to symbolise the characters and trace the story of Scripture to its climax at the Resurrection. The final destination was a display in the chancel, which points forward to the “Wedding Banquet” that awaits God’s people in heaven.

Here we’ve picked out just a few of the stories to show you, but watch out for more images at www.vox.ie.

EVE

Made out of flowers, symbolising both life and death, Eve’s dress reminds us of the beauty of Creation that was marred by sin (Genesis 2-3).

HAGAR

Vibrant colours and peacock feathers (like eyes) are features of Hagar’s dress created by artist Suzanne Smith, which point us to “the God who sees” (Genesis 16).

MIRIAM

Artist Danielle Cooper symbolised Miriam’s song of praise with embroidered tambourines and musical motifs (Exodus 15).

RAHAB

With its scarlet bodice and the skirt belonging to well-known worship leader Kristyn Getty, Rahab’s wedding dress and ceramic shoes (by artist Annabell Spence) speak of her redemption (Joshua 2).

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VOX MAGAZINE

RUTH

Bishop Pat Storey’s lovely wedding dress is used to tell the story of Ruth, a young widow who was to become the grandmother of Israel’s King David (Ruth).

ESTHER

A young girl elevated to royalty, Esther’s position as queen enabled her to rescue the Jewish people from a deadly enemy - “for such a time as this.”

(Esther).

GOMER

Fashioned out of evergreen leaves, Gomer’s dress speaks of God’s everlasting love for His people even in the face of blatant unfaithfulness (Hosea 1-3).

JAIRUS’ DAUGHTER

The simple blue bridesmaid’s dress chosen for the story of Jairus’ daughter had its own poignant story to tell. This dress was once worn by Marie Wilson, the young nurse killed in the Enniskillen bombing in 1987 (Luke 8).

MARTHA

Created entirely out of pottery cups and saucers, Martha’s dress tells the story of a woman who was so anxious about so many things that she didn’t take time to sit at Jesus’ feet (Luke 10).

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THE SINFUL WOMAN

Probably the most stunningly beautiful dress of the collection, it is made out of scraps of cloth patchworked together. When the sinful woman came to wash Jesus’ feet, she brought her brokenness and shame and instead found healing and forgiveness (Luke 7).

MARY MAGDALENE

The first person to witness the risen Lord Jesus was a woman. Mary Magdalene’s dress was made out of paper by artist and librarian Valerie Stretton (John 20).

THE CHANCEL DRESSES

MARY THE MOTHER OF JESUS

Artist Christine Weathrup created Mary’s dress entirely out of wood shavings, which points to the cross where Mary’s heart was pierced as she watched her son die.

(Luke 2 and John 19).

Fifteen dresses made up the display in the chancel. The central dress, made out of 365 white napkins woven with the words “Behold I come,” talks of the Bride of Christ and the wedding banquet that awaits God’s people in heaven. The other 14 dresses are from members of the congregation at Magheralin - ordinary women of faith who have all been married in this church.

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C E F ® o f I r e l a n d AU T U M N C O N F E R E N C E

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LIVE - SHARE - SERVE JULY - SEP 2015 VOX

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GORDON: Business as Usual

JOHN 3: 6

Gordon believed himself to be a businessman. He once strode Dublin’s streets, suited and carrying briefcase, umbrella and a copy of The Irish Times.

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Gordon was a regular, well-known and loved passenger on public transport, where the staff were his friends.

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FAITH

VOX MAGAZINE

WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT COMES! WHY THE MESSAGE AND MEANING OF PENTECOST IS CRITICAL FOR OUR CHURCHES

BY BISHOP FERRAN GLENFIELD

n the birthday of the Church (Pentecost), over 800 people from across the Church of Ireland Diocese of Kilmore, Elphin, and Ardagh met in the Slieve Russel Hotel in Ballyconnell, Co Cavan, to celebrate Pentecost Sunday. Speaking from Acts 2, Bishop Ferran Glenfield shared his vision for churches that are living and active in their local communities. His message has relevance across denominational divides! Here VOX magazine brings a summary of what Bishop Ferran had to say.

O

have an image of a church that is always asking for things? Do they see it as a threat to their way of life instead of the fulfilment of their identity? Is the Christianity we present a pale attempt to do good rather than an experience of the dynamic love of Jesus? On the day of Pentecost, 3000 people accepted the invitation, and they were added to the church.

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF PENTECOST?

We too come alive in Christ when we When the Apostle Peter stood up on receive the life-giver, the Holy Spirit. We can the Day of Pentecost, he was able to explain do nothing without Him, as individuals or as what was going on to the gathered crowds. A a church. Through Him, we are new people, promised day had come. a new creation. Many of us have seen people Think of a watering can watering a pot whose lives have been changed. The message plant. In former days, the Holy Spirit was and meaning of Pentecost is critical for the poured out on a few souls. Like a sprinkler church. soaking a lawn, at Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured out on all people. A new age had ALIVE CHURCHES SHOULD BE SPIRIT-FILLED begun.

Our prayer should always precede our The Peter of the Gospels made so many action. Praying people depend upon God misjudgements. Only a few weeks before, and not on themselves. Our prayer life needs he had slipped into the shadows at the trial to be deepened and strengthened. of his Lord and Master. Now he stands up a We are an old church with a rich changed man, and the theme of his sermon heritage, but we needed to be prepared to is simply this: All of history points to one change. Our services on Sunday need to be man - Jesus of Nazareth is both Lord and enlivened, creative, and flexible in the rich Christ! tapestry of our liturgy. We need to be flexible People often think that Christianity and led by the Spirit. is something backwardlooking. Is it our fault that IS THE CHRISTIANITY WE PRESENT A PALE ATTEMPT TO DO GOOD they have RATHER THAN AN EXPERIENCE OF THE DYNAMIC LOVE OF JESUS? got that false impression?

Jesus is the fulfilment of the past, but He is also our hope for the future.

We can get so focused on our lovely Most religions tell us what we must do. buildings. But people must come first Christianity tells us what God has done because people matter to God. What are through Christ on the cross. God offers gifts we doing with our children and our young to people. He offers us the gift of forgiveness. people? How do we integrate, accommodate, What unimaginable mercy! Grace is entirely and use their energy and abilities? Who has free for us, but it cost God everything. God been forgotten? Who has been misplaced? also offers us the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Are there any visitors in our churches?

I wonder if most people inside or outside Do we welcome visitors or tell them, “You the church see Christianity as a gift. Do they are sitting in my seat”? Sadly, people can go

in and out of churches and find that no one has said a word to them!

ALIVE CHURCHES SHOULD BE CHRIST-CENTRED

All our prayers, all our praises, all our worship must glorify the risen Lord Jesus. It is all about Him. There are times when we get the impression that He is conspicuous by His absence. He should be the centre. He is the chief attraction, the head of the church.

Alive churches need to grow in Him. That requires us to engage with the Scriptures on Sundays and during the week so we might be presented as mature believers and not just those in junior infants.

Alive churches “go” for Him. The gospel must be constantly forwarded to new addresses because people are constantly changing houses. We need to be witnesses in the garage, in the farm, in the mart, in the school, in the college, wherever we may be.

We need to serve Him where He has called us.

ALIVE CHURCHES REACH OUT

We need to have conviction. Why are we here? What is our purpose? A lifeboat, a lighthouse, an oasis in the desert - those pictures identify what we are about. We are not simply for ourselves; we exist for Him and for others. With that conviction, we must reach out to our wider communities and to the world beyond our horizon.

We need creativity and commitment.

All of this is costly. It will take us out of our comfort zones. It will demand resources of time and money. These are investments, seed capital in the kingdom. It will challenge what is really of value to us.

What sort of churches we should be?

It is my prayer that we will be Spirit-filled, Christ-centred, and community-focused. I believe God has a plan and purpose for each one of our church communities!

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CHURCH IN CHAINS CONFERENCE A day to focus on the Persecuted Church around the world

is looking for a

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Sam Yeghnazar

This is a new senior position responsible for both the planning and the delivery of growth strategies in line with Team Hope’s Strategic Plan.

Applicants must have • A Christian concern for suffering children around the world

Sam will speak about the persecution of Christians in Iran, but also about the growth of the church and the new Persian Bible.

•

(Elam Ministries)

Experience in delivery of strategic business development, preferably (but not essentially) in the charity sector

Saturday 12 September 11am – 4pm

Interested ?

Athlone Springs Hotel,

Contact Niall Barry for further details and an application form, e-mail: nbarry@teamhope.ie Tel: (01) 294 0222 or write to: Team Hope, 5 Leopardstown Business Centre, Ballyogan Avenue, Dublin 18.

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATION Friday July 31st. www.teamhope.ie

Tuam Road, Athlone All Welcome, Admission Free Supervised Children’s Programme Info: www.churchinchains.ie or 01-282 5393 !

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Trillium Financial Services will help you find out which pension is best for you and provide appropriate pension advice to suit each client’s financial plan.

As a client meets with us, we will go through an assessment and a review of their current pension and expected retirement objectives together. Once we have a clear picture of our client’s retirement fund and tax liability, we can analise which type of pension will meet the client’s objectives. The desired outcome is to have a financial plan that outlines the next steps for the client and serves to guide them toward their financial goals.

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Mention this advert to avail of a free one-hour pension consultation with James Garza, QFA. Contact James Garza by email at james@trillium.ie or ring on 086 073 9902 or 01 444 7759.

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James Garza T/A Trillium Financial Services is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

REVIEWS

VOX MAGAZINE

Matt Redman Unbroken Praise

White Goose Posse

Jenn Bostic

White Goose Posse is a Northern Irish band that is causing quite a stir with their unique brand of music steeped in the Celtic Christian tradition. Called after the white goose, which symbolised the Holy Spirit in Celtic Christian times, their first album is Anam Cara, which comes from the Irish, meaning “soul friend.”

While this debut album continues to create waves both here and across the Irish Sea, their latest venture has the airwaves buzzing. Belfast Nights deals quite bravely with the sectarianism and hatred that has divided Northern Irish society for decades and that still exists in the hearts and minds of many people.

The song release comes at the start of the loyalist marching season, when tensions are mounting. The song ends with an impassioned plea that says, “Enough is enough” and calls for an end to hatred, bigotry, sectarianism, fighting, and war.

The song was written to unite the people of Ireland both North and South. White Goose Posse is currently in talks about touring Ireland, but you can view the video of Belfast Nights on YouTube and download the song for free from NoiseTrade.

Jenn Bostic’s Jealous of the Angels, written as a tribute to her father, who was tragically killed in a car crash when she was just ten, won critical acclaim. To watch her perform this song is to witness grief in its rawest form, and yet the lyrics hold out such hope and comfort for anyone who has lost a loved one. The album, Jealousy, was one of the most honest, touching, and uplifting albums I listened to last year.

So, could she match this honesty and cutting-edge songwriting in her followup album, Faithful? Yes, she could! Unlike Jealousy, this collection reflects an artist who is in a better place emotionally and is brimming with self-confidence. Faithful is country, pop, folk, and swing, and there are even subtle jazz undertones.

For some real, honest, and exciting music, Faithful is a must-buy album.

Anam Cara and Belfast Nights Recorded in front of an audience of 300 praise and worship leaders, a string section, and a band of top-class musicians at the Abbey Road Studios in London, Unbroken Praise is everything I have come to expect from Matt Redman: honesty, reverence, holiness, and some of the finest praise and worship songs of recent years. There are 12 new songs on this recording that are destined to become part of Sunday worship in churches all over Ireland. His version of It Is Well with My Soul gave me goosebumps. This wonderful album will uplift and inspire you. Now, Matt, please come back to Ireland and let us experience it live!

Francesca Battistelli If We’re Honest

GRAMMY-nominated artist and Dove Awards’ Artist of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year Francesca Battistelli is enjoying unparalleled success as her version of Holy Spirit, taken from her album If We’re Honest, is riding high. She has had massive hits with the album tracks He Knows My Name and Write Your Story. The album is heading towards being the most successful Christian album of 2015. The highlight for me is We Are the Kingdom. When this anthem gets into your head, you’ll be singing it for days!

Faithful

Music Review by Vincent Hughes from UCB Radio, an Irish Christian radio station that broadcasts 24/7. You can listen on DAB Radio in Dublin and Cork, on SKY Channel 0214, UPC (TV) Channel 918, and online at www.ucb.ie. Contact UCB Ireland at ucbireland@gmail.com, 01 4299899, or find them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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EVENTS

VOX MAGAZINE

Events Calendar What’s happening where and when

July Sligo 15 12 – 17 July www.newwineireland.org

A Life Well Spent (CEF Conference) Sunday, 27 September Dundrum Methodist Church Stan Beamish: 023 8844130

Amazing Kids Leadership Conference 14 – 15 August Newbridge, Co. Kildare

Pulse Camp 27 – 31 July Gurteen, Co. Tipperary www.agireland.org/pulse-camp

Leading for Life 27 – 29 August Berlin, Germany www.leadingforlife.org

August New Horizon 1 – 7 August University of Ulster, Colraine www.newhorizon.co.uk

September Church in Chains Conference Saturday, 12 September Athlone Springs Hotel www.churchinchains.ie

November Evangelical Alliance Ireland National Forum on Evangelism Saturday, 21 November Griffith College, Dublin 8 www.evangelical.ie Visit www.vox.ie/events for a more up-to-date event listing.

(You can also inform us about your upcoming event there.)

A Date for your Diary

Barn Meeting “Songs of Praise” the last Sunday of every Month at 7:30pm Tel: +353 (0) 61 395376 | Mobile: +353 (0) 87 279 1525 dohertycampingadare@eircom.net www.adarecamping.com

“There are no strong people” IACC BIANNUAL CONFERENCE March 12th 2016 Crowne Plaza Hotel, Blanchardstown, Dublin 9.30 am – 4.30 pm A day conference with best selling author Jeff Lucas exploring some vital life questions, based on the story of Samson, the famous “bad boy” of the Old Testament.

go dtaga do ríocht . . . your kingdom come

Compassion Projects 2015 DIY & Gardening Projects Welcome Packs for Women’s Refuge Want to get involved? liffeyvalleyvineyard.ie

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Volunteers welcome.

mob: 086 3034178

Like us on Facebook

On the day we will consider:  How we maintain faith for the long haul  How our strengths contribute to our weaknesses  What strategies we can develop to keep us from falling short of all that we have been designed to be.

The conference will be a warm, authentic, humorous and practical experience. Suitable for counsellors, pastors and anyone involved in pastoral care.

Book here: www.iacc.ie

REVIEWS

VOX MAGAZINE

JESUS STORY BOOK BIBLE

BY SALLY LLOYD JONES REVIEWED BY JUNE LOUGHRAN, TRIM, CO MEATH

ating is a multiple-times-a-day event! Breakfast, coffee, lunch, snacks, dinner, supper, the inevitable drink of water just before bed (a delaying tactic practiced by the very young but used by the Lord to teach parents long-suffering patience!). The ever-present, continuous need for food is nothing if not constant. Our bodies thrive with nourishment and shrivel if left unfed.

From birth to death, we eat. The same continuous need exists in our own souls and the souls of our children. When my children are very young, I feed them with milk and pureed food. And how do I feed them spiritually? - with milk and pureed food!

The Jesus Story Book Bible by Sally Lloyd Jones feeds children spiritual truth by telling the story beneath all the stories in the Bible. At the centre is a baby, a child upon whom everything will depend. Every story whispers His name. From Noah to Moses to the great King David – every story points to Him. He is like the missing piece in a puzzle – the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together. From the Old Testament through the New Testament, as the story unfolds, our children

E

pick up the clues and piece together the puzzle. This is a children’s Bible that invites children to explore the greatest of all adventures, to discover for themselves that Jesus is at the centre of God’s great story of salvation – and at the centre of their own personal story too.

Written for the five- to eight-year-old age group, it is a must-read for every pastor, priest, or parent! Why? Because it gets a number of great truths into easily digestible “puree” form. It teaches that from the beginning, you have been loved.

That because of the fall, a terrible lie came into the world: “God doesn’t love me.” It’s a lie that we as parents fall prey to ourselves, let alone our kids.

God loves us so much that He always had a rescue plan in place to save us. The first time I read the Jesus Story Book Bible, tears welled up in my eyes as I read the cost of divine love though the story of Abraham and his son Issac. The tears fell freely by the time I got to Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane.

The book is not perfect, but that is not what it is aiming for. It is healthy, wholesome “puree” spiritual food for young children (and adults too). It answers some of life’s biggest questions in bite-size pieces. Am I loved? Does God care about me? Does God know what I have done? The last page of the book says “ to be continued…”

My hope is that as you read it to your children, it will stir you to read your own Bible even more and that as your children read it, it will give them the desire to know more about the God who loves them.

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VOX PS

MIND YOUR LANGUAGE!

BY SEÁN MULLAN

hat’s in a word? Sometimes quite a lot. I was in a meeting understanding and experience.” I know it doesn’t quite slip off the once where a group of religious leaders and city council tongue, but think it through. officials were discussing the role of “churches” in the I get up in the morning, sit in my car, put the key in the ignition community life of the city. Halfway through the meeting, and turn it. At that moment, I am relying on what I know to be someone realised the city officials were talking about church true based on my understanding and experience. I may not fully buildings and the religious leaders were talking about church understand how an internal combustion engine works, but I know congregations. People or property - what’s in a word? enough to rely upon them. I plan and shape my day on the basis that Then there’s the word “God.” Well, where do you start? this engine will deliver what I am relying upon it to deliver.

And take that word “faith,” as in “finding faith.” For With a change of language comes a change of many people, faith is something you have or you understanding. A conversation about “faith” becomes don’t have, a bit like good looks or a talent for a discussion about what you rely upon in your drawing. “I wish I had your faith,” someone daily life and what’s the basis for that reliance. will say.

With this understanding, even Richard For others, faith is a bizarre Dawkins is a “believer” of some form. phenomenon. “I despise faith,” I’ve Like the rest of us, I am sure he regularly heard Richard Dawkins say. And just relies on what he knows to be true. to be sure I’m not misrepresenting With this understanding of “faith” his thinking, I looked up his online comes the opportunity to deal with pronouncements on faith: “Faith is questions of reality rather than the great cop-out, the great excuse to opinion - “What do you believe?” evade the need to think and evaluate becomes “What do you rely upon evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, because you know it to be true?” even perhaps because of, the lack of Then faith moves back into the wider evidence.” Now that reads suspiciously world and becomes a topic of everyday like the answer of the child in school (or conversation and opinions; it’s discussed was it church?) who said faith is “believing in the university as well as the theological what you know isn’t true.” college, in the marketplace as well as the It’s that understanding of faith, now church seminar. It leaves behind the religious widely accepted, that has put “faith” and “people language of the initiated and enters the vocabulary of faith” into a little world of their own, of the everyday. disconnected from the real world. Then And there’s nothing new in any of this. the only place that faith and reality Confronted by the religious vocabulary are connected is on the cover of VOX WITH THIS UNDERSTANDING OF “FAITH” COMES of his day, Jesus of Nazareth suggested magazine! people start thinking and talking THE OPPORTUNITY TO DEAL WITH QUESTIONS that In such a world, faith becomes about birds and fishermen, farmers and something like an opinion - it’s okay to have OF REALITY RATHER THAN OPINION. flowers, seasons and food. Faith and reality one, but don’t go forcing it on anyone else. connected by life - it reads like a good Faith becomes a topic for the initiated. You strapline for a magazine! only discuss it in certain places, at certain times, or in certain magazines. You won’t expect to find a piece on “faith issues” on the front page of a normal newspaper or a “faculty Seán Mullan has been working in church of faith” in a normal university. That would have Professor Dawkins leadership for many years. He has on the verge of apoplexy. developed a new project in Dublin City But imagine for a moment replacing the word “faith” Centre called “Third Space”. with “relying upon what you know to be true based on your

W

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