Aghavea Parish Church

 Hi folks Please see the following pages for the process of getting our AccessNI accreditation for our Sunday School and GFS leaders and helpers. You will need to print out the pages and keep a special note of the long number provided to you by email and let me know as soon as possible. We require an Enhanced check for everyone - and use the PIN number 918066 as detailed on the first page. The second page details the forms of identification you will need to provide - one from the first group, and two from the second group. The quicker we can all get the checks completed, the sooner we can get everything back to normal and put this whole process behind us for another three years! If you can photograph yourself (by smartphone or tablet) and email (revdjohnny@gmail.com) or WhatsApp (07488371680) them to me, that'd be great. I will also be available at the Parish Hall on Monday evening from 7pm to 8pm to help you with anything you would like assistance with! If you need any help at all...

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.” Matthew 5:9   The Holy Land, the place sanctified by the presence of prophets, poets, and priests, crying out for justice, urging on towards hope, and seeking after peace, has been, and continues to be a place sacred to millions of people around the world. We have watched with horror the appalling violence that has been unleashed over the last few days around this sacred place. We have seen families devastated, communities shattered, and countless lives lost.   We, as followers of Jesus are called in this time to pray.    Pray for the end of hostilities, pray for the protection of the most vulnerable on both sides in Israel and Gaza, and pray for a recommitment to a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. We also pray that God might grant comfort to the afflicted, healing to the broken, strength to the weak, and courage to those in authority to lay down the instruments of violence and d...

Hi folks I was thinking about the passages for next Sunday, and it brought me to considering the current press coverage regarding the This Morning presenters.  This might be a little controversial - but please, hear me out.  I have no great opinion on what's happening in the media regarding the "This Morning" saga. It seems mistakes have been made, and certainly people misled - but the frenzy and hounding of Phillip Schofield is both unnecessary and unwarranted. I'm very uncomfortable that some members the press and celebrities have made it their lives mission to destroy everything  Mr Schofield has ever done!  It cannot be easy to listen and read so much vitriol being used against him! There's certainly no Christian love being shown to him on the media these days. I remember the words of Jesus when he told us to love one another, and that whoever has not sinned should cast the first stone. I'm certainly not perfect in any way, and don't believe that anyon...

Hi folks It’s been a long time since the  pandemic  started and the lockdowns - and Covid hasn’t really gone away! I had the dubious honour of getting Covid for the second time just before Holy Week, giving me the chance to think about ministry direction, both my own and in the parish. One of the original responses to the pandemic was to limit our use of the hymn books and our Prayer Books. At the beginning I produced a service sheet with all the relevant liturgy - which we used in the car park and when we returned to the church. Our “temporary measure” lasted almost three years - and it’s time to move on! Our Book of Common Prayer contains our unique identity - in fact the word “Common” doesn’t mean ordinary but that it shows our unity - the liturgy we hold in “common”. We will be returning to our BCPs from this weekend, the Second Sunday of Easter. We will be using Morning Prayer Two - and we will guide us through the service.  We look forward to seeing you in church or...

Hi folks It seems like no time at all since Christmas, then we had Lent, then Holy Week - and we're just through Easter Weekend! It has certainly been a busy start to the new year - which is already three months old!! Anyway...  Much as we've been busy so far - there is a lot more to come in the coming weeks. On Tuesday 18th April, our Annual Easter Vestry will be meeting in the Parish Hall at 8pm - and all can come to support our outgoing Select Vestry, and encourage the incoming members for the coming year. On Saturday 22nd April, we will be hosting a Parish Auction with bidding starting at 12pm noon. We will need helpers for the auction, some folks to help out with the catering (possibly burgers too!), and to handle the sales and collection of the items. On Wednesday 26th April, our parish will be hosting a Crosslinks Conference at 730pm, and you are all invited to join us to hear about the excellent work the charity does supporting hundreds of missionaries and ministries ar...

Hi folks This weekend sees us continue our journey through Jesus' encounters in the Gospel according to John - this time considering the wonderful story of Jesus meeting the Samaritan lady outside a village, and the possible scandal he risked in talking to her! How will it work out? Read John chapter 4. How does it affect us in today's world? Join us as we explore the ramifications! Our service starts at 11am on Sunday 12th March, and all are welcome either online via our Fb page - or, even better, in Super HD, 3D, in person! Blessings Johnny

Hi folks Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Another week has flown by, and we find ourselves at the mid-week worship again. This weekend we look at the third and fourth Beatitudes that Jesus shared with his followers at the Sermon on the Mount. Our short service of reflection and worship starts at 8pm, both in-person and online via our Fb page. All are welcome to join us. Blessings Johnny

Hi folks Another week has literally flown by - and we've already started the new month!  This Sunday's readings include the best known passage in the Bible, John 3 - the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. In this passage, Jesus sums up the whole Gospel message of love, salvation and eternal life in one verse, known to us all as John 3:16. Is this the most important verse in our Holy Scriptures? Possibly, but join us on Sunday to discuss the passage, and how it fits into the Christian life as we know it. Our service is Holy Communion Two, and our readings and passages are listed on our service sheets attached. Our service will be streamed on Facebook (all being well) and shared afterwards on our page if you can't join us live. Blessings Johnny

Well folks Happy St David's Day, and of course, the second Wednesday in Lent. Our service this evening considers the second and third Beatitudes as recorded in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5. We consider what Jesus meant by those who mourn, and those who are meek. In our worship we will gather to reflect on the blessings God has granted to us, and hold in our prayers all those who are in need at this time. Our service starts at 8pm, and all are welcome to join us. May God richly bless you. Johnny

Hi folks I hope you've eaten all your pancakes, decided what you're doing for Lent - we have officially started! Kim suggested that I should stop driving cars for Lent, but I started that last week anyway!! You'll be seeing lots of my motorbike in the wake of the accident with the car last Monday! As part of my Lenten observance, I'll be making a concerted effort to make more time for prayer and meditation, and part of that will be in sharing more thoughts both on this blog, and through short services online. I hope you might find them beneficial to your own observance of Lent. Today, as we start, let's consider why we "give something up". Most of us will consider giving up chocolate, sugar, coffee, or something that's bad for us. We might use it as the core of a diet, perhaps in preparation for all the chocolate we'll eat on Easter Day. We will see this as a period of being healthy, of perhaps treating our bodies better than we normally would. We ...

Hi folks It's been a while since we've been on the blog - having taken to Facebook for most of the news and messages. With Lent almost upon us, I'm going to resort to the "old fashioned" means do getting our news and views out. Lent is a special period of preparation for Holy Week and Easter. Originally a period of preparation for Baptism in to the Christian Faith, these days this is a period of denial and accountability to God. Some will give up something they enjoy - alcohol, chocolate, cake, biscuits - some will take on something else - reading their Bible, spending more in prayer, working for a charity, trying to be more "Christian" in a sense.  Personally, I believe that there are great merits to both sides - giving up and taking on more - but that is a personal choice. What I do ask is that you consider your own hearts and do what is right for you. Each Wednesday, starting on Ash Wednesday 22nd February at 8pm, there will be a short reflective serv...