St. Macartin's Cathedral
Enniskillen, Northern Ireland
Missions
and Charities
and Charities
The Church of Ireland - part of the Anglican Communion
Services & Meetings
Four Evangelists, One Gospel
I visited the opticians recently and as most of you will know, one of the tests you get there involves identifying which of two sets of circles is clearest. The optician adds a series of lenses and wants to know if you find the object sharper with them or without them. During the Sunday mornings in Lent we have been thinking about the distinctive features of each of the four Gospels. We are blessed to have four different yet similar views of the life and work of
Jesus providing us with different lenses with which to see more clearly why He came, what He did and what it means for us.
In all four accounts of His life we see that the ministry of Jesus has a purpose, He does not simply wander through Galilee teaching and healing, He has a destination in view, Jerusalem; He does not just randomly perform miracles or expel demons, He has a destiny to fulfil, giving his life as a ransom for many. Meeting with Him changes people’s lives – a widow’s sorrow is transformed, a greedy man becomes generous, a prostitute is given dignity, the lost are searched out, the hungry are given food, those who follow him find hope and a place in God’s kingdom.
Holy Week approaches when we would in heart and mind journey again to Jerusalem, make that journey so that as you see the providence and purpose of God in the life of Jesus you might see that providence and purpose worked out in the world of today and in your life today. Don’t waste this season, take the journey so that you might meet afresh with the Lord and know his grace amid your trials and sorrows, and know His forgiveness for your sins and His redeeming hope for your life.
Canon Reggie Twaddell is our guest preacher for Holy Week; the series of united services begin on Palm Sunday evening at seven o’clock in the Presbyterian Church, continuing at 8.00 pm in the Cathedral from Monday to Good
Friday and concluding with Easter evening praise at seven o’clock in the Methodist Church. Canon Twaddell worked as a teacher prior to being ordained and served in several parishes before retiring after a long and faithful
incumbency in the large parish of Portadown.
In a changing world where we no longer speak about things being as safe as the Bank of England it is good to have the built in reminder that Holy Week and Easter bring of the eternal and unchanging message of the Cross and Resurrection. Together let us take the opportunity this special season brings to look again to the One the Gospels focus on, Jesus Christ our Lord.
I visited the opticians recently and as most of you will know, one of the tests you get there involves identifying which of two sets of circles is clearest. The optician adds a series of lenses and wants to know if you find the object sharper with them or without them. During the Sunday mornings in Lent we have been thinking about the distinctive features of each of the four Gospels. We are blessed to have four different yet similar views of the life and work of
Jesus providing us with different lenses with which to see more clearly why He came, what He did and what it means for us.
In all four accounts of His life we see that the ministry of Jesus has a purpose, He does not simply wander through Galilee teaching and healing, He has a destination in view, Jerusalem; He does not just randomly perform miracles or expel demons, He has a destiny to fulfil, giving his life as a ransom for many. Meeting with Him changes people’s lives – a widow’s sorrow is transformed, a greedy man becomes generous, a prostitute is given dignity, the lost are searched out, the hungry are given food, those who follow him find hope and a place in God’s kingdom.
Holy Week approaches when we would in heart and mind journey again to Jerusalem, make that journey so that as you see the providence and purpose of God in the life of Jesus you might see that providence and purpose worked out in the world of today and in your life today. Don’t waste this season, take the journey so that you might meet afresh with the Lord and know his grace amid your trials and sorrows, and know His forgiveness for your sins and His redeeming hope for your life.
Canon Reggie Twaddell is our guest preacher for Holy Week; the series of united services begin on Palm Sunday evening at seven o’clock in the Presbyterian Church, continuing at 8.00 pm in the Cathedral from Monday to Good
Friday and concluding with Easter evening praise at seven o’clock in the Methodist Church. Canon Twaddell worked as a teacher prior to being ordained and served in several parishes before retiring after a long and faithful
incumbency in the large parish of Portadown.
In a changing world where we no longer speak about things being as safe as the Bank of England it is good to have the built in reminder that Holy Week and Easter bring of the eternal and unchanging message of the Cross and Resurrection. Together let us take the opportunity this special season brings to look again to the One the Gospels focus on, Jesus Christ our Lord.
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On this page we feature missions and charities which we support, whether regularly or from time to time. Parishioners and friends who wish to make donations may do so by contacting Beth in the office. Anyone who is a UK tax payer can substantially increase the value of their donation without extra outlay on their part by signing a Gift Aid declaration, although the need to do so is apparently in time going to be phased out. Spring is the time of year when a "Lenten Project" is in operation in the Church of Ireland. Our own church traditionally donates very generously to any given year's chosen mission and we hope that despite difficult economic times that this will continue. As was the case last year, there won't be just one Lenten project, but two - the Parisioners' one which is devoted to Anglicans in World Mission and the Sunday School one for the benefit SD Church in Nepal.
Full details are as follows:
Full details are as follows:
"Smiles" is a Christian charity which is devoted to helping needy people in Romania in a thoroughly practical way. Its activities include construction and maintenance work, medical and nursing care, family support including provision of food parcels, and children's work. Volunteers going on mission trips with this charity are told "Use your hands, head and heart by sharing the Love of Christ in a practical and meaningful way with the people of Romania. Whatever your gifts or interests, a Smiles Mission Trip will challenge you in service, sharing and sacrifice for others." Teams from St Macartin's who have gone out to Romania with "Smiles" on several occasions have been very richly blessed. Further details can be had from George and Myrtle Irvine who can be contacted through the office. The charity's website is at:
http://www.thesmilesfoundation.org/
http://www.thesmilesfoundation.org/
Col. Philip Holmes BDS
founder of the
Esther Benjamins Trust
founder of the
Esther Benjamins Trust
Many of our parishioners will be aware that Philip is Willie Holmes's brother. After the tragic death of his wife, Esther, Philip resigned from his promising career as an army dentist and has devoted his life to running this registered charity based in Nepal. Initially it rescued innocent children from prisons where their parents were confined and gave them a home and education. Nowadays it frees Nepalese children who have been trafficked or displaced into India - including many who were sold into Indian circuses and forced to work as performers. It offers refuge and rehabilitation to rescued children and young people who cannot be returned to their families for fear of being re-trafficked. Its refuges offer access to a full education and a range of vocational training opportunities. There are currently 131 vulnerable children in the Trust's full-time care.
Much more about its exciting activities can be found at its website:
http://www.ebtrust.org.uk/
Much more about its exciting activities can be found at its website:
http://www.ebtrust.org.uk/
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(last updated 31st January 2012)
PARISHIONERS’ LENTEN PROJECT:
(Lenten boxes available in the
pews or in the porch)
Parish Lenten Project 2012 - Sunday 12th February at 11.00am - Morning Prayer
Preacher: Linda Chambers (National Director of USPG)
USPG: Anglicans in World Mission work in direct partnership with Anglican Churches in over 50 countries, helping to support vital church work, including healthcare, education, leadership training and action for social justice.
(Lenten boxes available in the
pews or in the porch)
Parish Lenten Project 2012 - Sunday 12th February at 11.00am - Morning Prayer
Preacher: Linda Chambers (National Director of USPG)
USPG: Anglicans in World Mission work in direct partnership with Anglican Churches in over 50 countries, helping to support vital church work, including healthcare, education, leadership training and action for social justice.
Acts 3 tells the story of Peter and John, who were going to the temple to pray. At the temple gate, the one called The Beautiful Gate, we read that they met a lame man who was begging. Peter and John did not have money, but they gave the man something even more valuable. They healed him in the name of Jesus.
SUNDAY SCHOOL PROJECT:
CMS Ireland’s Annual Project gives children and young people the opportunity to engage with what God is doing in another part of the world.
Beautiful Gate: CMSI Annual Project 2012 - Cathedral Hall, Thursday 2nd February at 8.00pm - all welcome!
CMS Ireland’s Annual Project gives children and young people the opportunity to engage with what God is doing in another part of the world.
Beautiful Gate: CMSI Annual Project 2012 - Cathedral Hall, Thursday 2nd February at 8.00pm - all welcome!
On that day at the Beautiful Gate, the temple was a place where Jesus’ disciples went to worship, but they also saw an opportunity to offer healing and transformation. Their love of God and their love of someone in need came together. SD Church, one of CMS Ireland’s Global Partners in Nepal, is a place of worship and transformation. The 2012 Annual Project will share something of the ministry of the church as it reaches out in love.
Crosslinks is an international mission society with its roots in the Bible, working largely within the worldwide Anglican Communion.
Its business is making Christ known through the teaching of God's word in the power of the Holy Spirit. It does this by organising gospel partnerships across cultural boundaries.
Its website can be reached by clicking on the following link:
http://www.crosslinks.org/
Its business is making Christ known through the teaching of God's word in the power of the Holy Spirit. It does this by organising gospel partnerships across cultural boundaries.
Its website can be reached by clicking on the following link:
http://www.crosslinks.org/
Church Army is an evangelistic Church of England organisation operating in many parts of the Anglican Communion.
It was founded in England in 1882 by the Rev. Wilson Carlile who banded together an orderly army of soldiers, officers, and a few working men and women, whom he and others trained to act as Church of England evangelists among the outcasts and criminals of the Westminster slums.
During the First World War, the Church Army was very active among the troops in France, and ran two thousand or so social clubs across France.
The Church Army is now a member of The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS)[4] by virtue of its work towards the personal and social development of young people.
Today, the legacy of Wilson Carlile continues as Church Army evangelists work hard to make a difference in people’s lives; taking the gospel into the community and sharing in the things that matter to people. Church Army has over 300 evangelists devoted to a wide range of services in Anglican churches, projects and teams throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. Church Army’s focus is on reaching out and making the church effective by meeting people where they are; they start from here and discover ways of creating fresh and relevant expressions of Christian community.
There is a wealth of information on its website - click on http://www.churcharmy.org.uk
It was founded in England in 1882 by the Rev. Wilson Carlile who banded together an orderly army of soldiers, officers, and a few working men and women, whom he and others trained to act as Church of England evangelists among the outcasts and criminals of the Westminster slums.
During the First World War, the Church Army was very active among the troops in France, and ran two thousand or so social clubs across France.
The Church Army is now a member of The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS)[4] by virtue of its work towards the personal and social development of young people.
Today, the legacy of Wilson Carlile continues as Church Army evangelists work hard to make a difference in people’s lives; taking the gospel into the community and sharing in the things that matter to people. Church Army has over 300 evangelists devoted to a wide range of services in Anglican churches, projects and teams throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. Church Army’s focus is on reaching out and making the church effective by meeting people where they are; they start from here and discover ways of creating fresh and relevant expressions of Christian community.
There is a wealth of information on its website - click on http://www.churcharmy.org.uk
Bishops' Appeal
Bishops' Appeal is the Church of Ireland World Aid and Development Programme. Its concerns fall into a number of categories:
1. to educate the Church at home about the needs and concerns of people in the less developed world and the causes of poverty;
2. to encourage Church members to examine the reasons for the problems facing the less fortunate in the world and to consider what we can do to change conditions;
3. to reach out in God's name to those who need our help;
4. to encourage informed prayer and prayerful action aimed at strengthening the poor;
5. to raise the funds needed to allow Bishops' Appeal to support development projects and alleviate the suffering caused by disasters, both natural and man-made.
Bishops' Appeal does not engage directly in development work itself, but channels funds through development agencies and partner churches who are already in place in areas of need.
Bishops' Appeal contributes to relief of suffering in time of emergencies whether natural or man-made. However, its main concern is to support ongoing development in the fields of sustainable agriculture, health, including HIV/AIDS, and education in many parts of the world. The aim is to enable people to have more control over their own lives and futures so that they are less dependent on others than they are today.
You can visit its website by clicking on: http://www.bishopsappeal.ireland.anglican.org/
1. to educate the Church at home about the needs and concerns of people in the less developed world and the causes of poverty;
2. to encourage Church members to examine the reasons for the problems facing the less fortunate in the world and to consider what we can do to change conditions;
3. to reach out in God's name to those who need our help;
4. to encourage informed prayer and prayerful action aimed at strengthening the poor;
5. to raise the funds needed to allow Bishops' Appeal to support development projects and alleviate the suffering caused by disasters, both natural and man-made.
Bishops' Appeal does not engage directly in development work itself, but channels funds through development agencies and partner churches who are already in place in areas of need.
Bishops' Appeal contributes to relief of suffering in time of emergencies whether natural or man-made. However, its main concern is to support ongoing development in the fields of sustainable agriculture, health, including HIV/AIDS, and education in many parts of the world. The aim is to enable people to have more control over their own lives and futures so that they are less dependent on others than they are today.
You can visit its website by clicking on: http://www.bishopsappeal.ireland.anglican.org/