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Open Air Concert & BBQ - 13th August

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.

Building Faith…

[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.’

The Basement - Wednesday 10th February

The Basement, our “young” adults small group, meets this week at Oscar’s house.  Come at 8pm on Wednesday, for the chance for some laid-back discussion and a catch-up.

Please remember change of day to a Wednesday fortnightly.

The Basement is open to all young (and not so young) adults aged 17+.  For more information, contact the MPCA office (details here.)

Somme Centre Outing A Success

Saturday 6th March saw the MPCA cross-community intergenerational outing to the Somme Heritage Centre, Newtownards.

Following on the previous success of our World War II night last year (run in conjunction with Mullagh Court) our group had an enjoyable afternoon travelling back in time to wartime 1916.  Starting in Moneymore at the outbreak of war, the group were led through recruitment, training, and finally shipped off to the recreated trenches of the Somme.

If you would like to find out more about future MPCA events and outings, you can e-mail info@magheraparish.co.uk or contact the MPCA office - contact details here.  You can also read more about the work of Maghera Parish Caring Association in the MPCA section of our website.

Reminder - Let’s Talk About Drugs March 8th and 15th

Just a quick reminder that the last two sessions of our ‘Let’s Talk About Drugs’ course, led by TIPSA and facilitated by the MPCA, are on tonight (Monday 8th) and next week (Monday 15th) in the Minor Hall in Maghera.

If you’d like to know more, you can read the recent Derry Post article about the course’s success here.

MPCA and ACET-NI short courses - Spring/Summer 2010

MPCA have teamed up with ACET-NI to offer THREE intensive short courses, all angled towards issues around Sexual Health.  Each of the courses is only two days long, but is accredited to full OCN (Open College Network) Level 2 - that’s comparable to GCSE grades A*-C.  (If you don’t believe us, read more about it here.)

Following on from the success of past courses, we’re very proud to be able to facilitate these days - and here’s the clincher: they’re completely free!

The three courses on offer are as follows:

1] Men’s & Women’s Sexual Health - Wed 24th and Wed 31st March 2010

2] HIV, STI’s & Contraception - Wed 14th and Wed 21st April 2010

3] Parent/Teen Communication Skills - Tues 27th April and Tues 4th May 2010


Each session will last from 10am to 4pm, and will take place in St Lurach’s Parish Hall, Maghera.

E-mail MPCA Youth Worker, Oscar Spence, at youth@magheraparish.co.uk, contact the Parish office on 028 79 549 290, or visit our website at http://www.magheraparish.co.uk for more information or application forms.

Somme Centre Outing THIS SATURDAY (6th) - Senior Youth Club Off

Our trip to the Somme Heritage Centre (see here for more information - two spaces left!) is taking place this saturday.  As a result, we have decided to call off Senior Youth Club this week as many of the young people will be away with the group.  Junior Youth Club will (provisionally) be on as usual.

SYC will return next week, as normal.

JUMP - CIYD Update

CIYD have recently published an update on the progress of all their JUMP scheme interns, including our own Billy Fyffe.  As well as uncovering what the interns do week-by-week, the article also gives an overview of the vital role the program can play in the long-term development of these young people.

To find out more and read the entire article, click to the CIYD website here.

JUMP - Prayer Letter/Update

Our CIYD JUMP Intern, Billy Fyffe has recently passed the half-way mark in his year with us.  Billy has been assisting the staff team in all areas of parish and MPCA work, and has collected some of his reflections, thoughts and hopes into a prayer letter, which is available to everyone in the parish and beyond.

If you would like to receive the letter you can request it directly from jump@magheraparish.co.uk.

‘Let’s Talk About Drugs’ Hits The Headlines

Local Parish Centre Hosts Information Sessions - Derry Post, 16th Feb. 2010

TIPSA Staff Eugene O’Goan (left) and Martin McCann (right) display some of their free resources at Monday’s launch of the ‘Let’s Talk About Drugs’ programme in Maghera Church of Ireland.

A Maghera-based church group has launched a series of information evenings designed to warn people of the dangers associated with drugs and alcohol.

Representatives from TIPSA, local community groups, the PSNI and Maghera Parish Caring Association, who are hosting and facilitating the five-night series, came together for the launch last week.

The information course for all local parents and adults seeks to educate and inform the community about local drug and alcohol issues.

Delivered in a professional, balanced way, TIPSA are seeking to give local people all the information they need to make informed choices themselves, and to be able to speak to children and young people authoritatively.

The course, which will take place every Monday until March 8th, and starts at 8pm each night in St Lurach’s Parish Centre (in the Minor Hall), is also backed by Magherafelt District Council.

Speaking after the launch, Maghera Parish Caring Association’s Youth Worker, Oscar Spence, urged people to attend the events.

He said, “This is a great opportunity for the local community to explore their perceptions around the impact of drugs and drug-related crime in our local society.  And with the quality of the work that TIPSA put in, the sessions are not only easy to participate in, but really unmissable for anyone who might be interested.”