A Word from The Rector

	Parish of
	Bangor Abbey
		OFFICIAL WEBSITE

A Word from The Rector . . .

March 2011

Dear Friends The first thing that you will have noticed, or rather, not noticed, is that work on the Parish Centre has yet to begin. When the tenders were opened at the end of January they proved to be significantly higher than expected and since then we have been in consultation about how to bring the costs down, closer to the budget we have set. This is taking some time but it is important at this stage to be absolutely sure about costs and what we are getting for our investment. We will keep you informed of developments through our weekly notice sheet or you can get the latest news online on the website: . I appreciate that the news is not what our organizations were hoping for but I believe the wait will be well worth it. Than you to all of you for vacating the premises so promptly, messages left on the walls of the old hall gave an indication of the fondness in which they have been held and the happy memories they contain. I trust by now you are settled in your temporary accommodation. I would hope to visit you over the coming weeks to catch up on what you have been doing and how you are faring. St Columba's has provided a warm welcome to many of our groups and thanks are due to the congregation for being so flexible in their arrangements.		Spring Flowers
	The parish office will shortly be relocated to St Columba's and contact details made available. A significant number of you have made financial a commitment to the scheme by way of regular giving or one off gifts. I am particularly conscious of those who have been supporting the scheme for the past five years and who have decided to continue in that support. Gifts have also come in from beyond the church family. An elderly lady sent a cheque from her home in Larne. She left the Parish in 1945 but said that it still had a hold of her affection and its influence in her life was enormous. She hoped the new centre would have the same impact on the life of a new generation. At the risk of being repetitive can I ask those who have not given anything yet to consider doing so? This shouldn't be a task for a few but for anyone and, of course, you can give as and when you are able.
Part of the preparation for the work has been throwing out an amazing amount of stuff accumulated over the years. In St Columba's we even found seven record players and several antique records! Our premises have been going through the same process we undergo in our domestic lives. We decide it's time for some renovations which may require getting rid of things that have been hanging around too long. When we are younger most of us focus our energies on acquisition. We then move to a bigger space to accommodate the children, the cars, the animals. Later in life we try and downsize, to divest and we ask, 'Why are we keeping this stuff?' In our spiritual lives too we take stock at particular times to consider the clutter. Ash Wednesday, leading into Lent, is one of those times. During the forty days we take time before God to examine our lives in the light of the priorities indicated by him in the Bible. There may be habits and attitudes to be got rid of; without doubt there is a host of stuff that is taking up room that should be set aside for worship, prayer or fellowship. It's an opportunity to create enough space in which our relationship to God can grow. I hope that the services provided over the course of Lent will allow you to do that. With best wishes, *Ronnie*