April 2010 Church Review
From the Rector
Last month a number of people from Crinken attended a day conference organised by the New Wine network called ‘Good News for the Poor’. It was held on the north side of Belfast, and the speakers were Duncan McLea and Craig Stewart from Christ Church Kenilworth in Capetown, South Africa.
Kenilworth is a middle class suburb in Capetown, and their church reflects their location, but they have developed a ministry of outreach to areas in need around them. Capetown is apparently a city which has a vast disparity between rich and poor, which continues to reflect the racial history of South Africa.
It was a very helpful and encouraging day. Of course, the particular circumstances that this church finds itself in are unique, and it would be a mistake to think that a church in Ireland should respond in exactly the same way. Yet I found the story of how this church sought to reach outside itself and make contact with people in need to be very challenging and thought provoking.
At Crinken we are praying that the Lord would show us which way he would like us to move forward. Much of what we heard on this day encouraged us to move slowly and thoughtfully, to be prayerful and to wait upon his guidance. In particular I was struck by Craig’s teaching from Luke 10 where Jesus sends out the 72 disciples. Jesus instructs the disciples to enter a house and look out for ‘the man of peace’. The man of peace is the one who welcomes you in, who is pleased with your coming and wants to receive your ministry into the community. Craig spoke of waiting for a long time until they were welcomed into some of the townships of Capetown. At first they were treated with suspicion and fear. But after much perseverance and by demonstrating a desire to be a blessing to the community, a key gate-keeper, a ‘person of peace’, accepted and welcomed them in. This opened the way for their ministry to go forward.
If you are praying for us, pray that we will wait upon the Lord as he shows us his way forward, and pray that he will show us the ‘people of peace’ in our local community.
Edward Vaughan
Crinken Kids
It’s been an especially exciting time at Crinken Kids Thursday Clubs! We have produced all kinds of amazing things in the final weeks of this term in small groups. One group painted big canvases with scenes from Joshua’s adventures. Another group became journalists and filmed several interviews to record ‘faith stories’. The theatrical among us produced a piece about one of Joshua’s battles, where God intervened spectacularly. And finally, the group called ‘Gotcha’ dazzled us with tricks, puzzles and illusions. All of this was performed and showcased at the end of term party, which was a great success! Pictures hopefully to follow next month!
Youth Work
‘prodigal’-adjective: 1. recklessly extravagant 2. having spent everything. The story of Luke 15 ‘The Prodigal Son’ often focuses on the younger brother but as we look closer we will see that it is a story about two sons and a father who gives everything to see that the two sons enter the feast. The story ends with us not knowing the state of the older brother, if he entered the feast of the Father. It turns out that this story is a picture of two ways to reject God: by being really really bad, or by being really really good. It is a story of two sons who seek to get the Father’s stuff but not the Father, via the path of self discovery or via the path of religion. It is a story about a Prodigal God, who through his recklessly extravagant love, gives up everything through the sending of his Son, to bring us to himself (1 Peter 3:18a). On April 25th a number of youth from Crinken seek to be confirmed at Kill O’The Grange Parish at 10am. As part of this preparatory journey we will be following a course based on the book ‘The Prodigal God’ by Tim Keller. This course seeks to prepare us to make a confession at our confirmation as neither a younger or elder brother but as one who truly seeks out the Father through the true elder brother, Jesus Christ. For more details on this course go to: http://www.theprodigalgod.com.
Church Life
Congratulations and best wishes to Nicolas and Sylvie Reitsch on the birth of their baby boy, Alexander, February 24th.
On a sadder note, we lost a good friend in Norma Heatley who passed away March 2nd. Despite the huge challenge of advanced MS, Norma made it a priority to attend the Morning Praise Service each Sunday in Crinken as well as socialising cheerfully at the Y@H events with her many friends. We will miss Norma but her Christian example of determination will not fade with the years. Our thoughts and prayers are with Howard, Karen and Mervyn and their families at this sad time.
Our condolences also go to Matthew Hickmott and family on the recent death of his mother.
Crinken InterNational
Crinken InterNational is the group within Crinken whose role is to support our mission partners and communicate their news to the congregation.
Two important events are coming up involving some of our mission partners.
‘Around The World in Prayer’ is a day to pray for persecuted Christians in 10 countries around the world – China, Egypt, Eritrea, India, Iran, Mexico, North Korea, Pakistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan.
Around The World in Prayer will be held at Crinken Church Hall, Shankill, Co. Dublin from 11am – 3pm Saturday 10 April (bring packed lunch – tea/coffee provided)
Visit the colourful prayer stations around the hall (one for each country), learn about the needs of the church in that country and join others in united prayer.
Contact David Turner 01-282 5393 or http://www.churchinchains.ie
April 17th is the WEC Conference in Carlow at the Dolmen Hotel, Kilkenny Road, Carlow. 12.30pm – 4.30pm. Lorretta Carroll who is home for a short visit will be speaking. This promises to be a great day with missionaries reporting from Afghanistan as well as Africa and closer to home.
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