Aghavea Parish Church

Well folks, the First Minister recently announced that from 29th June, churches can reopen to allow Sunday worship.  This is the next step in the inevitable return towards some form of normality.  Many parishes have welcomed this news with enthusiasm and have announced the steps and precautions that they will employ to facilitate the reopening of their churches. We fall into the other camp - we will take a while to consider our options and announce our next step in time.  We are in the extremely fortunate position in that we can easily operate a drive-in church in our parish carpark.  I am certainly enjoying the outdoor experience, and in these difficult times, it has been a blessing to have had so many of our parishioners join us in their cars or online via our streaming option. There is a lot of extra work involved in bringing a congregation back into the church building again, and as I write this blog, the "2 metre rule" is still in effect - so we would only be allow

Hi folks It seems that although the lockdown is progressing slowly everywhere else, church assemblies inside the buildings is still off limit!  That make no matter at all - we'll keep on keeping on with our original plans and gather in the car park at the Parish Hall!  The church building is still looking fantastic - and a special mention to the team that cleaned it again recently, thank you - but the church can meet anywhere, and we will continue to make the best of the present circumstances. The First Sunday after Trinity marks the start of "Ordinary Time" until the weeks before Advent - but there's nothing ordinary about the Gospel - it's still absolutely extraordinary!  God still loves, Jesus still saves, the Holy Spirit still lives within us - and there's still work to be done. Hopefully see you all on Sunday 14th June at 11am in Aghavea!  Let's hope the weather continues to hold up! Blessings Johnny

Hi folks. We need to pray hard for Sunday morning! This Sunday marks Trinity Sunday in the liturgical calendar. It is an important day in our church year in which we mark the true importance of the godhead. We will do so by having our third Drive-through church service in Aghavea at 11am. It will be a service of Holy Communion, although only the rector and our parish reader will receive the elements. We will however all receive the benefit of the blessing from the actions. We need prayer, because the weekend weather isn’t looking overly favourable at the moment! I’m sure it won’t stop anyone coming along, and I know that our online congregation will still be with us, but pray hard, nonetheless!! Keep safe, and I hope to see you on Sunday. Johnny Rector