Aghavea Parish Church

Hi folks Please find attached the latest service sheets for our Holy Communion service for our next Sunday morning service.  Our service is Holy Communion - albeit with a twist!  This is our first service in our car park under the COVID19 restrictions.  We will be meeting under the same distancing regulations, following the service printed below.  Unfortunately we will not be able to share both elements of communion - with only the bread being distributed.  This won't make any difference to the blessings that will be received through the Holy Communion. As ever, it will be streamed via the rector's Facebook page - Sunday HC Service Please feel free to join us, and if you're about the area - you can always come along and join us there. Regards Johnny

Celebration of Wholeness and Healing Aghavea Parish Church A CELEBRATION OF WHOLENESS AND HEALING GREETING In the name of Christ, we welcome you. We have been called out of darkness into God's marvellous light. Grace and peace be with you   and also with you.  HYMN The love of God has been poured into our hearts, through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us: we dwell in him and he lives in us.  Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his name;  make known his deeds among the peoples.  Sing to God, sing praises to his name; and speak of all his marvellous works.  Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty;  who was and is and is to come.  THE COLLECT OF THE DAY (or the Collect of Healing may be used) Heavenly Father, you anointed your Son Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit and with power to bring to us the blessings of your kingdom.  Anoint your Church with the same Holy Spirit, that we who share in his suffering and victory may bear...

 Hi folks Bear with me folks, please read carefully. Most folks who know me by now know that I really enjoy Science Fiction (also known as sci-fi). Many of the things we now take for granted were originally envisioned as futuristic devices in early sci-fi - such as communicators being used by Star Trek to communicate with each other - now known as mobile phones. They also showed people commanding the “computer” by voice - now commonplace with devices such as Amazon Alexa, Google Hub, and many other smart device.  Digital tablets were first shown on Stanly Kubrick\s fantastic film “2001”, with HAL controlling the main operations of the space craft. Driverless cars, modern aviation, space race, planetary exploration, even summon devices such as ovens that heat food in seconds (microwave ovens anyone?) all have their roots in someone’s dreams. Apocalyptic books and films that depict a desperate future where humanity struggles against a common adversity such as aliens, nuclear hol...

 Hi folks The weeks are just flying in - and we're almost upon another weekend!  Our Drive-In services continue on Sunday 23rd August at 11am in the Parish Car Park. As ever, all are extremely welcome to join us - no matter the weather, David and myself will battle on to bring Morning Prayer to those congregated there!  I have pleasure in attaching the service sheet here - feel free to print it out for yourself to use on Sunday morning, whether you're attending or just following along at home. The service will be streamed live as usual on Facebook via my page at  http://www.facebook.com/johnny.mcloughlin   You don't need to have your own Facebook account, the video is Public, and all can view it anytime.  Feel free to scroll down the Facebook page to other videos (around 250) that are there. See you on Sunday Johnny

 Hi folks I'd like to thank all those who attended our recent Evening Walk, and also to those who forwarded a donation in lieu.  I would also like to thank Lord Brooke for his generous permission to walk past the beautiful grounds and house.  Almost 70 people attended, and we were delighted that everyone made it home safely! The weather didn't look great - we were just on the brink of encountering Storm Ellen - but God granted us a break in the rain, long enough for us to get around the grounds of Colebrooke Estate.  A few ran, a few walked dogs, a few dandered, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the walk! Two ladies decided to run the first lap, and walk a second lap! Fair play to them! We are delighted to announce that we have raised almost £800 towards to Aghavea Building Fund! Thanks to Yvonne, Helen and Rebecca for their organisational skills and handling the admin on the evening - and organising the prizes for the walkers.  Thanks to the gentlemen who shepher...

 Hi folks We'll be together in the Parish Car Park for our next Drive-in Church experience on Sunday 16th August. at our normal time of 11am.  We will be streaming live on Facebook as usual, but you are always very welcome to come along and join us for the occasion. I've attached the service sheet for the morning, using the Lectionary readings and following the structure for Morning Prayer Two, which works very well for such an occasion.  If you've any questions, comments or complaints, please let me know and we will address them immediately. Regards Johnny

Hi folks Thanks to those who joined me in church recently for the resumption of our Bible Fellowship.  Our lectionary has been re-telling the stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, so to learn more about the tribes of Israel, we have delved back into the Old Testament Book Genesis - looking at chapter 25.   Abraham had been promised by God that his ancestors would number like the stars, and in this chapter we start to see the fulfilment of the promise.  We admired his stamina in taking on another wife after Sarah had died, and having six more children to Keturah!  We saw that they each created their own tribes - and in preparation for his death, he gave a gift to each of his sons, sending them off to the east, away from Isaac.  This ensured that they would not contend his inheritance when Abraham died. At the "ripe old age" of 175, Abraham died and his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him with his wife. Ishmael fathered 12 tribes who would move to live i...

Please find the text of the service Late Evening Office from the Book of Common Prayer, p162 A LATE EVENING OFFICE   Blessed be our God for all time, now and for evermore. Amen . Glory to you, our God, glory be to you, Holy Spirit, Comforter, treasure of all goodness and giver of life, come and dwell in us, cleanse us from all sin, and in your love bring us to salvation. Holy God, holy and strong, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.   Psalm 134 (or another suitable psalm) 1   Come bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, „ you that by night stand in the house of the Lord. 2   Lift up your hands towards the holy place „ and bless the Lord. 3   May the Lord bless you from Zion, „ the Lord who made heaven and earth. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever. Amen.   A READING followed by a MEDITATION   NUNC DIMITTIS    The Song of...

Hi folks We have been granted permission to host a walk through the grounds of Colebrooke Estate to raise some funds towards our Building Fund.  We will therefore be hosting an Evening Walk through the estate (hopefully including past the front of the house) on Wednesday 19th August.  We will meet at the front of Colebrooke Parish Hall at 7pm for registration and moving off at around 715pm. We will be enforcing all social and physical distancing rules as required, and you can feel free to bring along you dog - as long as you are prepared to lift up any "accidents" during the walk.  As with everything else these days - we cannot supply refreshments, and everyone should bring along their own water for the walk.  Unfortunately, this also means that there will not be any toilets available either - so don't be drinking your water too quickly!! If you would like to come along, everyone will feel very welcome.  We are asking for a donation of £7 per adult, and £3 for t...

Hi folks It’s well known in the parish that Reuben and his “two babes” are the photographic team providing the high quality photos for the website and Facebook. Incidentally, for those that don’t know - his “two babes” are his cameras, nothing sinister going on!! However, we do have another very skilled photographer in our midst, who specialises in close up and find detailed work. Ronnie Graydon has been sending photos to me of insects and flowers, and his recent set are unbelievable! I thought you might like to see them.  We are so blessed to have the talent in Aghavea!

Hi folks Another month in this crazy year is over, and although things are slowly getting back towards normal, the world still isn't the way it should be!!  We are still in peril from the dreaded coronavirus, and it still poses a threat.  Please do not become complacent in your habits - keep washing your hands, wear masks if you can, keep distanced from each other, and be aware of those around you. We are still aware of the inherent dangers of coming together indoors, and as a result our Sunday services will continue as Drive-in Church throughout August.  We will make a decision later in the month regarding September - and inform everyone when we do. August sees the start of our Bible Fellowship - this time meeting in the church building under the appropriate distancing measures.  We won't have the pleasure of enjoying tea and coffee together as yet, but the craic will still be the same.  We will still meet to examine and learn from God's Holy Word, and find str...