Quench at Killelagh Parish Church are hosting an open air concert at Davitts Park in Swatragh on Friday 13th August at 8pm, with special guest Hugo Duncan and his band. All proceeds are in aid of Killelagh Church roof fund.
The young people of Killelagh Parish Church have been inspired by their faith in God and love of their church to form a youth group. The youth group have already held a sponsored sleep over in the Church building which raised a magnificent sum of £1000.
The youth group will stand out from the crowd in their new Quench hoodies which were gratefully sponsored by RT Boyd & Co, Michael Davitts, Barry Turner and Boyd Commercials.
Killelagh Church is 150 years old and this is the first youth group associated with the Church, we would like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors for getting Quench up and running.
We look forward to seeing you on the 13th August, tickets can be purchased from the Post Office in Swatragh or you can also pay at the gate on arrival. For more details on this event or any in the future please contact Heather on 07759964550.
[Taken from the current issue of N:Vision, the Diocese of Derry & Raphoe’s magazine.]
To be the local Church living as Jesus intended…
The driving force of the Maghera Parish Caring Association is faith, faith to step out and take risks for God in our community. In the past three years as an organisation we have worked with young people sharing our faith and God’s love. We have built bridges towards peace; we have addressed social issues tackling drug and alcohol awareness, parenting skills, self-harm and suicide.
This year we are looking at the difficult issue of sexual health. The MPCA has shown how a faith biased organisation can work in partnership with secular organisations to do God’s work; IFI, local health, education boards, and the PSNI to name a few. We have shown faith can have a voice. Faith is about learning to listen to God and not the odds. Faith is about vision. Our vision is to share the gospel of Christ working together for all people i the community to build a better today.
Our children’s and family work has continued to go from strength to strength since coming under the umbrella of the MPCA. From the staple church diet of sunday school and youth club, through schools work to Parent & Toddler and after-school groups, our weekly remit has brought us into contact with hundreds of kids and their families.
The summer term has been a great example of this already. We have started two new after-school projects: Explorers, a group with a weekly Holiday Club-style programme, and Kwik Cricket coaching at Ampertaine Primary in Upperlands, where our church plant has been growing over the past three years.
We are incredibly blessed in Maghera, Swatragh and Upperlands to be backed by a church family that - literally - puts its money where its mouth is and seeks to keep bringing Christ into our communities. We keep remembering that our children are not the church of tomorrow - but a vital part of our church right now.
As some of our young people prepare for confirmation we teamed up with our neighbouring parish of Kilcronaghan for two youth events. The first was a Youth Service in Kilcronaghan Parish Church, where worship was led by Mr. JAG and the speaker was our own Rev. Mark Lennox. For the second, we took over the Church of Ireland Theological Institute for a youth weekend and a fun time was had by all. On Friday evening and on Saturday morning the sessions were led by Rebekah McLean who encouraged everyone to explore their faith and put it into action.
On Saturday afternoon the group found themselves in Dublin city centre completing a photo challenge, which concluded with a session on St. Stephen’s Green where Rev. Mark encouraged everyone to try and experience and listen to God in different ways. He outlined the importance of being able to hear God, even in the busiest place in the country. Saturday evening Peter Jones encouraged the group to rock the boat and think seriously about a personal relationship with God, particularly in regard to prayer life. The weekend concluded on Sunday morning, with Rev. Mark challenging everyone to do like Peter in Matthew 14 - get out of the boat and walk in faith towards Jesus.
Finally, a note from our JUMP worker Billy Fyffe, who recently concluded a year out scheme with us. ‘One of my favourite Bible verses is Colossians 2 verse 7: “…rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”
‘In Maghera, the Parish and the staff team have taught me to be rooted in my faith and to be built up solely on the Lord in all I do. Taking a year out to a new place can be hard but I was reminded to be strengthened in my faith as I was taught and to always, no matter what, be overflowing with thankfulness.’
Preparations are well underway for the annual Big Breakfast & Fun Day, which takes place this Saturday at St Lurach’s Hall, Maghera.
The famous Breakfast will be available from 8am, with fun and games for young and old outside starting at 10am. With face painting, races and big games, fun events like the lucky dip, and of course the giant bouncy slide the whole family are guaranteed a great morning’s fun.
If you would like to find out more, contact us at the office (where we’ll all be concentrating hard on counting the number of sweets in a jar…)
Bishop Ken Good has ordained two new Priests in the diocese of Derry and Raphoe. The ordination service took place on Sunday 20 June in Donemana Parish Church. Rev Judi McGaffin and our own curate Rev Mark Lennox were ordained as Priests. Both Judi and Mark will continue to minister in their respective parishes.
A diocesan spokesperson said “It is a great asset to the diocesan ministry team when people have significant gifts and expertise in their everyday work. Both Mark and Judi have a wealth of experience and will make a significant addition to the life of the diocese as priests.”
At the reception afterwards the Rev Mark thanked all who had travelled from South Derry to Donemana to support him in this service. He also thanked in particular his home parish Rector, Archdeacon McLean for his words in the church and his current Rector, Rev. Isaac Hanna, for encouragement that he has given. Rev Mark finished by publicly acknowledging the role that his late father Edwin had played in his life and concluded by thanking his mother Heather, for all the sacrifices made and support given this far. Rev Mark prayed his first priestly blessing upon his mother.
A large congregation along with diocesan clergy and lay-readers attended the ordination. The preacher was Archdeacon Donald McLean. The service was led by Bishop Ken Good and Canon David Ferry.
The Parishes of Maghera & Killelagh came together last Thursday (27th May) to celebrate as the Reverend Isaac Hanna was instituted as our new Rector in a service at St Lurach’s Maghera. Parishioners joined with local community representatives to welcome Isaac in a service led by the Bishop of Derry & Raphoe Diocese, the Right Reverend Ken Good.
Back row, l-r: Canon David McClay, Rev. David Morrow, Rev. Mark Lennox
Front row, l-r: Canon Raymond Stewart, Rev. Isaac Hanna, Bishop Ken Good, Archdeacon Donald McLean, Canon David Crooks (Diocesan Registrar).
The address on the night was given by Canon David McClay, rector of Willowfield Parish in Belfast, who opened up the Bible to offer encouragement. He looks at specific examples given to us from Old and New Testament of personalities and characters, and puts forward that these characters are needed within our church in order to build and move forward.
This challenging sermon is available now as a podcast from To listen to this or any of our podcasts from the last eight weeks click on the Sermon Podcast link on our main homepage.
More photos from the Institution, and details of a DVD recording of the service, will be coming over the next few weeks. For any more information, please contact us.
This Thursday night (27th May) sees the Institution of the Reverend Isaac Hanna as the new Rector of the Parishes of Maghera & Killelagh, by the Right Reverend Ken Good, Bishop of Derry and Raphoe.
With the preparations nearly complete, the joint Parishes are looking forward to welcoming so many guests to join us in celebrating this latest milestone. 
Therefore the Churchwardens and Select Vestry invite all Parishioners and guests to the service at 8pm, at St Lurach’s Parish Church in Maghera.
As we begin this latest chapter in the ongoing growth of our Parishes, we hope that everyone can come together to welcome the Hanna family to ministry in our community. If you would like directions to the church, you can find them on our “How To Find Us” page. For any other questions or concerns, please contact the Curate or MPCA office.
The select vestries of Maghera and Killelagh have both recently elected their officers and Select Vestries for the incoming term.
The Select Vestry for each Parish in the Church of Ireland is elected at the annual Easter Vestry meeting, which the whole church community is invited to attend and hear reports on the churches finances and affairs. When elected, the Select Vestry is responsible for management of the 3 ‘F’s - Finance, Fabric and Furnishings within the Parish.
A full and updated list for each vestry, along with all other Parish officers, can be found on our “Who’s Who” page of the main website.
Please note the update to the main website homepage, where you can find a list of all the special services this week in Maghera and Killelagh Parishes. Each day this week, Rev. Mark will be leading special services to mark each stage of Holy Week, as we journey with Christ towards Good Friday and beyond.
Click here for more information.
