Up and in the kitchen by 8:30 to help get things ready for the Ulster Fry for the Men’s Breakfast. Women are not invited but Deirdre cooked up the soda bread and bacon and eggs and the rest of it. It was all carried from the kitchen to the Training Block to be served and enjoyed by the men. We heard it was a good turnout but not sure how many attended. Following the breakfast, Corky taught.
The women, (Deirdre, Sarah, Jenn {all from MH}, Jennifer and Michelle {from the CSI team} and Bebe and I, went out for our own Girls’ Breakfast at a tea room in Dundrum. We had pancakes and coffee before our trip into Newcastle to the Wool Shop! I bought more yarn, Bebe bought more and Jennifer and Michelle bought knitting needles and yarn. They liked the scarves Bebe and I are making and wanted to learn!
Then we joined the men at Castlewellan at the Peace Maze. It is the largest hedge maze in the world, I think. The team did the maze and Jenn brought Deirdre, Bebe and me back to MH. Bebe and I had done it last year and it was very windy today. We were hoping that the wind would die so that the fireworks would go as planned later tonight. Back at MH, we rested a bit, and then began preparations for lunch and some things for tomorrow’s lunch.
A late lunch was served at 3 pm; then at 5 we went back to Newcastle for the Halloween Parade. Some of the kids from Cross Point joined us. As we walked from the minibus to the main street, I commented, “I wonder if we’ll see Leonard?” One of the teens turned around and said, “You mean the hobo??” She seemed surprised that I knew about him. The parade was even better than last year with a band of bagpipes, a band of accordions and drummers, several primary schools, floats and the “Druids” on stilts. There was a Harry Potter float. There were bird costumes. The “birds” had a wingspan of 12-15 feet and were flapping them…very interesting costuming. Again, like last year, the event was mostly families and there were lots of strollers on the promenade. The prizes were given for the various costume categories, a couple of quizzes were done and finally at 7:30 the fireworks began. It was a 25 minute program of great fireworks! The DJ said the crowd was even bigger than last year. Afterward there was a 20 minute walk back to the minibuses. Foot traffic brought the vehicle traffic to a standstill on the main street and several side streets as the promenade emptied. As we drove out of town, we stopped at Kairos to pick up 8 teens. More are waiting for a second vehicle. They’ll be joining us at the BBQ and bonfire.
Alas, there was no “Leonard sighting”.
On the drive home Deirdre mentioned that a whole generation of folks from North Ireland grew up never seeing such a show. During the Troubles, fireworks were banned so from 1974 until about 2000, there were displays. Now adults are as enthralled as the children. When you read about things in the news such as the Troubles in Ireland…..it just cannot give the whole picture. News accounts cannot possibly show how every aspect of life is affected. That was a sobering moment for me. Those twenty five or so years have changed this culture for many decades to come.
Richie’s BBQ included the kids from Cross Point and the youth from Kairos. A few community people were also invited. The turnout was very good….about 50 youth plus another 20 adults plus team and staff. They grilled burgers and sausages and served them in baps (buns are sweet rolls). People stood around the grills and ate outside at 10pm. Then we gathered inside for music and a short sermon. Luis played the guitar and sang. Jennifer sang. Aidan (a teen from Cross Point) played the bodhran (Irish drum). http://youtu.be/oyPBtExE4W0 The link is to the song, not the drum. Then Corky preached about the man at the Beautiful Gate. It was beautiful how the music and message came together. Jennifer told us later that they had not coordinated it….but that’s just how God works.
Over the course of the evening I had some significant conversations with a leader from the Jesus Army, a young man whose family felt led to NI by the Holy Spirit, and was able to encourage a young woman concerned about the youth in her church.
It has been a long day that began and ended with big meals. But then didn’t Jesus often minister at the table? Tomorrow will include worship at three churches but it will start one hour later as N. Ireland “falls back” tonight. Yep, we get an extra hour of sleep after this long day. Woo hoo!!
Sunday
Our two morning services were planned at Church of Ireland, Maghera, and Newcastle Baptist Church. However, flexibility is the key. We arrived at the Maghera church for the 10 am service. It was communion Sunday. The pastor asked for two from the team to give a short testimony and for someone to share music during the communion time. Jennifer did the music and it was incredible. Her voice is rich, the words were edifying and the acoustics in the 18th century stone church with 40 foot ceilings was outstanding! It was such a blessing that the pastor asked if we could go to the 11:30 service at Kilmegan Church of Ireland. He also has a circuit of churches. Richie modified our plan, notified Newcastle Baptist and we were on our way.
The church at Maghera has the ruins of a tower built in the 12th century. The church itself was built in the 18th century. On a wall is a granite plaque with ten or twelve names of men who were killed in WWI. There were several with the same surname. These churches are about 3-4 miles apart and a similar plaque was at Kilmegan although it had nearly thirty names. What a great sacrifice this area made for the sake of freedom.
A stained glass window at the front of the Kilmegan church was installed in 1887 for the Jubilee Year of Queen Victoria. I would guess that the church is even older than that.
Todd, on the team, was greeted by a woman who said she is 67. He thanked her for the hospitality and she shared that she only learned two years ago that her father had been a Yank. Apparently he was stationed here in 1943-44 and had a girlfriend. It’s interesting that her mother kept that from her. This woman said she has learned that she has half brothers and sisters in the US. Since she found that she has an American heritage, she makes an effort to be kind to American teams and tourists who come. I wonder how much of that is also our heritage throughout the world….
The church building at Kilmegan is a bit larger than Maghera and the congregation also a bit bigger. The Maghera folk numbered ten or twelve and the Kilmegan group was about thirty. A gentleman at Maghera had shared that the church is getting smaller as people die. I could see no evidence of a concern for evangelism. I asked if they had considered uniting with another congregation. True to form of folks in dying churches in all countries and cultures, his answer was “we can’t close the church!” The sad thing is that it already is, he just doesn’t know it.
The services at the two churches were identical, same hymns, same liturgy which was from the 1662 Common Book of Prayer (!), same sermon, same pastor. The Dundrum/Newcastle/rural area churches combine for Sunday evening services when there is a fifth Sunday in the month. This pastor also serves the Church of Ireland, Dundrum. He will not close that service to join in the community. And he did not announce Fifth Sunday in either of the morning services. Isolation will not help any of his parishes to grow or attract new people.
We came back to Murlough to have a sumptuous 2 pm Sunday dinner. Roast, potatoes, peas, carrots, and an assortment of desserts. That was followed by cleanup…the whole team pitches in with each meal. Jenn took a few to see the Shilladay home, some napped, and I helped Michelle learn to knit! It was a relaxing afternoon.
By 6:15 we were back on the minibuses to go to Newcastle for Fifth Sunday. The Newcastle Centre filled up with about 200 people. There was a great cross section of ages. Luis and Jennifer joined the worship team and led in some powerful music. Corky preached about “Be the Church”.”We need to be known for our love, not our address”, “the church has left the building and is out in the streets sharing Christ”, and “what would the church look like if everyone were as committed as you are in these four areas: attendance, service, prayer and tithing?” It was great to be in a multi-church meeting although it was mostly the Baptists and Presbyterians. Most of the Methodists are very old and the Church of Ireland is not participating at this time…..prayer needed here!
Tea, coffee, biscuits and trays of desserts were served. Then we walked down to a pizza place. They had seating for 12 and there were 16 or 18 of us so Richie ordered “take away”. When the boxes started coming, Corky prayed over the food and we just stayed and ate. A few more of “our party” came in so we had quite the time for an hour or so. Everyone else who came in HAD to take away their pizza! The first load was back to Murlough House by ten pm. Another run was made and everyone was home before 10:30. Whew….what a day!!
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