Aghavea Parish Church

The contractors are only two weeks into their work, but already they’re making great headway into the job.  The furniture is already away and lots of scaffolding has been erected to start the internal work.  The plaster is largely stripped and the false ceiling is down too.  The photos show the scale of the work already done, and give us an impression of how large the contract is! There’s still a long way to go - but we’ve made a great start!

It’s been a while coming, but we’re finally at the point of beginning our work at the gchurch building.  On 28th January 2019, the contractors moved in to the building to start taking it apart to renovate it.  At first it will seem that all we’re doing is making matters worse - but we’ll need to keep the faith (if you’ll pardon the pun)! As businesses would say in a situation like this, it’s still “Business as Usual”  The building may be closed for the best part of a year, but the ‘church’ is still there - we’ll simply be meeting in the Parish Hall on Sunday mornings at 11am.  We had our first in this series of meetings yesterday, and the atmosphere and worship was just as excellent as ever.  Please feel free to come along and join us as we continue to worship God. We will use this period as an opportunity to renew our faith, our worship, our church culture, our very reason to be God’s people in this Parish.  It is our desire to continue to welcome all ...

It's Harvest time in Aghavea - and the kids ad adults responded brilliantly to the challenge of making Veggie people and animals.  The church has been decorated superbly, and looks (and smells) fantastic. We give thanks to God for his eternal provision of our food, our clothing, our families - and most of all for his free gift of Salvation! Praise be to God!

One thing  I ask from the  Lord ,  this only do I seek:  that I may dwell in the house of the  Lord   all the days of my life,  to gaze on the beauty of the  Lord  and to seek him in his temple.   Psalm 27:4 We are now entering what I refer to as the second stage of settling in at the rectory.  We've moved in, and put our furniture in roughly the rooms where we thought they'd fit and suit - and now that we've been here for almost ten weeks, we've started to realise that our initial thoughts might need to be revisited.  In particular, we soon discovered that our snakes and lizards needed to be brought back out so that we could see them better, so we have had to rearrange our furniture to bring them out into the open.  I assume that this isn't the only change we will make - who knows where half of our furniture will end up! We all do this with all aspects of our lives.  We start out with a routine that seems to work...

"Back to school" - the words children dread!  It means a return to early mornings, packed lunches, and playgrounds - and the inevitable routine of study and homework!  To the parents, it means a return to the school runs, more traffic, and cleaning and ironing clothes, trying to remember how to spell certain words (is it i before e, or e before i?), and tricky maths problems again. For some of our young people it means a new chapter - starting in a new school, college or university.  It may signal a long year facing exams next year, or for some of our younger kids, it may even mean Transfer tests in November.  Children seem to be under more and more pressure to perform each year, and feel that they must succeed at all costs - and we need to assure them that they should just t=do their best, and expect nothing more of them. Even in our Church life, "Back to school" signals the end of the summer period.  For our own parish in Aghavea, it signals the re-start o...

We've had a busy few weeks throughout July.  While other parishes may take that time to "put their feet up", Aghavea parish has been hosting events to raise money towards the restoration of our church. We had a very successful time at the Twelfth Celebrations in Brookeborough, raising almost £4000, and then we had an extremely enjoyable sponsored walk, which has raised almost £1500.  We are looking forward to bag packing in Asda on 11th August from 10am to 6pm, and hope that we can raise another significant amount then too! Whilst it's important for us to raise these terrific amounts of money towards a very significant project that we will be undertaking soon, there's something much more important underlying everything we do.  Each event gives us the opportunity to fellowship together outside a traditional church setting, getting to know each other better. This is so important for any Christian community, and a fantastic chance for the new rector to get to kno...

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us My Verse for the Day this morning reminded me that we do not work in isolation, but rather as part of a team.  That team was very evident recently when a group of men and women gathered at the parish halt carefully pore over the plans for the renovation of the church building.  They carefully considered the individual plans, and the details in the small print, as well as the large plans - and they thought about the different ways it would affect the building. As we started, we reminded ourselves that we were simply the latest guardians of the building in the parish - and that we were preparing the way for the future.  We gave thanks for the many generations of worshippers that had gathered in the church throughout the years in the parish, and we pr...

1 Timothy 4:12   "Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity." Dear Mom and Dad,    Our leader, Mr. Cobb, told us all to write an email to our parents in case you saw the flood on TV and worried about us. We are OK.  Only 1 of our tents and 2 sleeping bags got washed away. Luckily, none of us got drowned because we were all up on the mountain looking for Chad when it happened. Oh yes, please call Chad's mother and tell her he is OK. He can't write because of the cast. I got to ride in one of the search and rescue jeeps. It was neat. We never would have found him in the dark if it hadn't been for all the lightning.    Our leader Mr. Cobb got mad at Chad for going on a hike alone without telling anyone. Chad said he did tell him but it was during all the shouting at the fire, so he probably didn't hear him. Did you know that if you put gas on a fire, the gas can will blow up? ...

Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” Matthew 14:16 We've just experienced the Twelfth celebrations in Brookeborough.  It was a day of  colour, noise, and people from all over our little corner of the Province.  It was a very good-natured and peaceful event, which was enjoyed by folks from every part of the village.  In short - this is everything that is good and true about our society, in that we can come together in peace, and share our culture.  There was a distinct absence of the violence that dogged the celebrations in other parts of the country. It was also a day of burgers, hotdogs, salads and queues!  The weather was almost perfect for the day, which brought large amounts of supporters along to our beautiful village.  They needed to be fed, and many of the local churches took the opportunity to extend a hand of friendship, fellowship and food in the attempt to raise some much needed funds for the diff...

Lamentations 3:22 “ The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness ” I wonder if you've ever experienced a moment when you found yourself wishing that you could stay there forever.  Possibly seeing your children being born; a fantastic experience that you've had on holiday; holding a loved one's hand as they are ill or dying; a time when you thought you could live in that instance forever. Unfortunately that is not possible for us in our human terms.  Time moves on inexorably.  There's nothing we can do to stop it.  Each of us gets older at the same pace, although I've spoken to a few that would try to debate that fact!  Each day brings its own challenges and opportunities; some we take, so we leave, so we try to deal with - and each day we move on to the next. In our lives, we allow some days to pass just like the last one, but with a different outfit.  We think...

Last night was Good Friday, the final night of our Scripture Fulfilled series for Holy Week. We focused on what is perhaps the clearest prophecy of the cross in the whole of the Old Testament - Isaiah 53. Scripture Fulfilled - The Suffering Servant (Isaiah 52:13-53:12)

Last night we gathered around the Lord's Table to rejoice in the Lord's provision for us - his body broken and blood shed for us . Rev Colin preached from Genesis 22, the offering of Isaac, to show how the Lord provides the substitute for us. Scripture Fulfilled - The Substitute (Genesis 22)

Throughout this week we're seeing how the crucifixion of Jesus was promised, predicted and prophesied in the Old Testament. Last night in Brookeborough Methodist Church we heard from the suffering Saviour, in the words of Psalm 22. Scripture Fulfilled - The Suffering Saviour (Psalm 22).

This Holy Week we're seeing how the Old Testament scriptures point us to the cross of the Lord Jesus. Last night, Rev Colin preached from Exodus 12 on Christ our Passover. Scripture Fulfilled - The Passover (Exodus 12)

Our special series for Holy Week began last night in Brookeborough Methodist Church. In Scripture Fulfilled we are seeing how the Old Testament scriptures are fulfilled in the cross of Christ. Here's the first sermon, if you would like to listen again, or catch up on what you've missed: Scripture Fulfilled - The Serpent Crusher (Genesis 3:15)

Today: 11am Morning Prayer & Sunday School 7pm REVIVE Cafe Church hosted by SNATCH - speaker: Mr Simon Henry (CIYD) Next Sunday: 16th April 2017 6.30am Easter Dawn Service followed by breakfast 11am Easter Family Celebration This Week: Monday 10th 8pm Scripture Fulfilled - Genesis 3 - Brookeborough Methodist Tuesday 11th 8pm Scripture Fulfilled - Exodus 12 - Aghavea Church Wednesday 12th 8pm Scripture Fulfilled - Psalm 22 - Brookeborough Methodist Thursday 13th 8pm Scripture Fulfilled - Genesis 22 - Aghavea Church Good Friday 14th 8pm Scripture Fulfilled - Isaiah 53 - Brookeborough Methodist Coming Up: Wednesday 19th 8pm Easter General Vestry - Church Hall Saturday 29th Clay Pigeon Shoot in aid of the Building Fund - Deerpark Friday 5th May GFS Diocesan Service Friday 12th May MU Diocesan Service - Enniskillen Cathedral Scripture Fulfilled How does the crucifixion of Jesus fulfil the promises and prophecies of the Old Testament? Mon 10th Ap...

Today: 11am Holy Communion & Sunday School 7pm SNATCH - Aghavea Hall Next Sunday: Sunday 9th April 2017 11am Morning Prayer & Sunday School 7pm REVIVE Cafe Church hosted by SNATCH. Speaker: Mr Simon Henry (CIYD) This Week: Wednesday 5th 6.30pm GFS 8pm Life Explored (7) Thursday 6th 9pm Football - Maguiresbridge Coming Up: Monday 10th 8pm Scripture Fulfilled begins, meeting each night in Holy Week Sunday 16th 6.30am Easter Dawn Service followed by breakfast 11am Easter Family Celebration Wednesday 19th 8pm Easter General Vestry Arrow Leadership Development Course Please pray for the Rector and the other participants attending the Arrow Leadership Course. The purpose of Arrow is ‘to be led more by Jesus; to lead more like Jesus; to lead more to Jesus.’ Wednesday Club Coffee Morning & Sale of Work Wednesday 5th April from 10am - 12noon in Brookeborough Methodist Church. Brookeborough War Memorial Project Brookeborough Development Association...

Today: 11am Morning Prayer & Sunday School Next Sunday: 2nd April 2017 11am Holy Communion & Sunday School 7pm SNATCH This Week: Monday 27th 7.45pm Bowling Club closing night, including AGM Tuesday 28th Football match v Kilskeery at Bawnacre, Irvinestown Wednesday 29th 6.30pm GFS 8pm Life Explored (6) Thursday 30th 9pm Football - Maguiresbridge Saturday 1st 8pm CDYC Xplore youth event Coming Up: Sunday 9th 7pm REVIVE Cafe Church - speaker: Mr Simon Henry Monday 10th 8pm Holy Week series ‘Scripture Fulfilled’ begins Sunday 16th 6.30am Easter Dawn Service followed by breakfast Wednesday 19th 8pm Easter General Vestry Arrow Leadership Development Course Please pray for the Rector and the other participants attending the Arrow Leadership Course in April. The purpose of Arrow is ‘to be led more by Jesus; to lead more like Jesus; to lead more to Jesus.’ Wednesday Club Coffee Morning & Sale of Work Wednesday 5th April from 10am - 12noo...

Today: 11am Confirmation with Bishop John McDowell 7pm Revive Cafe Church - Aghavea Hall Next Sunday: Sunday 26th March 2017 11am Morning Prayer & Sunday School - Mothering Sunday This Week: Monday 20th 8pm Bowling Club Tuesday 21st 8pm Select Vestry Wednesday 22nd 6.30pm GFS 8pm Life Explored (5) Thursday 23rd 9pm Football - Maguiresbridge Coming Up: Monday 27th 8pm Bowling Club AGM Thursday 30th 8pm Bible Study - Rectory April Saturday 1st 8pm CDYC Xplore youth event Sunday 2nd 7pm SNATCH - Aghavea Hall Sunday 9th 7pm REVIVE Cafe Church - speaker: Mr Simon Henry Monday 10th 8pm Scripture Fulfilled begins - services each night during Holy Week, shared between Brookeborough Methodist Church and Aghavea Church. Wednesday 19th 8pm Easter General Vestry REVIVE Cafe Church Tonight at 7pm in the Church Hall. We’ll be thinking about St Patrick, and what brought him to Ireland. Invite your friends to come along! Mothers’ Union News Friday ...

Today: 11am Morning Prayer & Sunday School 7pm SNATCH - Aghavea Hall Next Sunday: 19th March 2017 11am Confirmation Service with Bishop John McDowell 7pm REVIVE Cafe Church This Week: Monday 13th 7pm Confirmation Group meets in the Parish Church 8pm Bowling Club Tuesday 14th 8pm Mothers’ Union - speaker: Ruth Keys Wednesday 15th 6.30pm GFS 8pm Life Explored (4) Thursday 16th 7.30pm Bible Study - Rectory 9pm Football match v Kilskeery Coming Up: Tuesday 21st 8pm Select Vestry meeting Sunday 26th 11am Mothering Sunday Monday 27th 8pm Bowling Club AGM Saturday 1st April 8pm CDYC Xplore youth event Sunday 9th April 7pm REVIVE Cafe Church - speaker: Mr Simon Henry Wednesday 19th April 8pm Easter General Vestry REVIVE Cafe Church Next Sunday 19th at 7pm in the Church Hall. We’ll be thinking about St Patrick, and what brought him to Ireland. Invite your friends to come along! Aghavea Bowling Club Congratulations to Aghavea Bowling Club! At ...