Aghavea Parish Church

  Aghavea Parish Church MORNING PRAYER  –  Second   Sunday In Lent The Lord be with you              and also with you.   SENTENCES OF SCRIPTURE A hymn may be sung.   Beloved in Christ, we come together to offer to Almighty God our worship and praise and thanksgiving, to confess our sins and to receive God's forgiveness, to hear his holy word proclaimed, to bring before him our needs and the needs of the world, and to pray that in the power of his Spirit we may serve him and know the greatness of his love.   The minister says Let us confess our sins to God our Father. Kneel. Silence is kept.   Heavenly Father, we have sinned against you and against our neighbour in thought and word and deed, through negligence, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault; by what we have done and by what we have failed to do. We are truly sorry and repent of all our sins. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ who died for us, forgive us all that is past; and grant that we may serve you in ne

 Hi folks Please find below a statement from the bishops in Northern Ireland in regards to the return to in-church worship.  I'm afraid it was the news we were expecting - the earliest date that we might be able to gather for worship is Good Friday, 2nd April 2021. In respect to this decision, we are going to make alternative arrangements - and from the start of March I intend to return to car park church - meeting in the Parish Hall car park at 11am.  I am delighted that my church and glebe wardens have agreed to support the decision, and that my greatly trusted colleague, David, has agreed to join me! For a week or two, we might need to wear our coats rather than our formal cassocks and surplices - but I'm sure you'll forgive us under the circumstances! More news closer to the date! Regards Johnny Bishops’ statement in relation to public worship     A statement from the Church of Ireland Bishops in Northern Ireland in relation to Public Worship. Following the Northern Ire

Hi folks We are flying through the year - we are already in the second half of February 2021!  Scary or what? As we approach Easter, we enter the gates of Lent - the 40 days of preparation for the joint most important event in history - Good Friday and Easter Sunday.  Without these days, Christmas doesn't make sense - just as Christmas doesn't make sense without Holy Week and Easter. Lent starts wirh Ash Wednesday, the day on which we burn the old palm crosses - signifying the end of last year's event, and that we are preparing for a whole new season of remembrance.  As we start, we use the sombre service in our Prayer Book - a normally quiet service that allows us to be introspective and signifies the seriousness of the day. Although this service is normally read in a dulled church, we cannot join together in the building, but we will join online and allow the service, readings, prayers and quiet to speak for themselves.  I hope that you will be able to join me on Wednesda

Hi folks Sunday 14th February is the last Sunday before Lent - which starts on Ash Wednesday, 17th February.  This year, St Valentine's day is also on the same day - a day we traditionally connect with love.  Whereas Valentine cards are meant to be sent anonymously, there is nothing anonymous about the reason we celebrate the Transfiguration on the Sunday before Lent.  We remind ourselves of the true nature of Jesus as we start the liturgical journey through Lent to Easter. Please find the service sheet attached, and I look forward to joining you at 11am. Blessings Johnny

Hi folks While we had originally hoped to be back to church this weekend, unfortunately the world events overtook us, and we are facing another month of online only services.  This week sees our Holy Communion service, and we will be joining each other online safe in the knowledge that the Holy Spirit will be with each of us - wherever we are! To shake things up a little, we are going to use Holy Communion One - the traditional language service that has been in use in virtually the same format since 1620! As we join in the biddings and responses of the service, imagine yourself joining with the thousands (or millions) of people in the Anglican church that have used this format throughout the generations of worshippers. There are more sheets - but some of those include our monthly notes from the magazine - which is not available this month in physical form. Join us at 11am, Sunday 7th February - all are welcome! Blessings Johnny    

Hi folks     Today's passage for our February Challenge is two very important verses to me personally.  On the night of the interviews for selection for training for ordination, I was deeply troubled.  Not that I didn't want to be ordained - quite the opposite!   I had travelled to Dublin for a series of interviews, held over a long weekend, to be selected for training for the Non-Stipendary Ministry, which would allow me to continue the work I had as a Computer Consultant, and be ordained to help out in parishes within the Diocese of Connor.  I had a very successful business in Lisburn/Belfast and the surrounding areas - and could afford to actually turn work down to suit my schedule. During the process, I was more and more convicted in my spirit that God was directing me to train for full-time ministry - which would mean having to sacrifice my business and income, and put a tremendous pressure on my wife and very young family (Naomi was 9, Ben was 3).  I would have to live in

Hi folks  I hope that some of you have been inspired to write out your second verse of our February challenge, today writing out Ecclesiastes 7:9. I’m not going to quote it - look it up yourself! I’d like to also mention the next few verses, which also spoke to me, Ecc 7:10-12  “Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is not wise to ask such questions. Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun. Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves those who have it.” In these days of pandemic, all our hopes are tied up in getting back to some form of the old normal - but these verses both warn us not to look back to the past. We need to use our past experiences and present situation to make our future better. In our Christian lives, that should be our plan. Don’t wish for yesterday, pray for a better today. Keep writing your verses! Blessings Johnny

Hi folks It's hard to believe that we're through another month of "lockdown" - not able to meet in church, bowls, Bible Fellowship, choir, MU, GFS, Sunday School or anything else!! I hope that you are all keeping well and safe - and managing to keep up to date with the services online.  If you can't (or know someone who cannot see them online), please let me know and we will see if we can get an alternative method of keeping in touch. I have continued to upload the services to YouTube, so they'll be there for the foreseeable future if you ever want to look back at them. Over the next few weeks in February we start a new phase of the Liturgical year as we approach Lent.  This penitential period gives us space to prepare our hearts and minds for Holy Week and Easter - and I've decided to mark this period with a special series of exercises that I'd very much like you to join with me.  You have probably all gotten a diary for 2021, or have a notebook in wh