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Dear Friends
There is always a certain sadness as the end of the summer draws
on. returning from France we notice how soon it seems to be getting
dark in the evenings.
This year the sight of the tall ships leaving
Belfast Lough only added to the sense of melancholy, a foretaste of
the swallows who will shortly be leaving us to go to warmer
climates. And the summer weather, predicted to be so good, failed
to live up to expectations, our bar-b-q has only managed one outing
so far since we returned from holiday.
For all that there was little evidence of any
dampener on a busy summer season in church. Visitors continued to
come to see the Abbey from Britain and overseas and, as well as
enjoying the building and history, so often commented on how clean
and well cared for the church looks.
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The
ministry of polishing and hoovering is highly undervalued I fear, but
thank you to all who work so hard to maintain our place of worship. The
car boot sales are still the most popular thing to do in Bangor on a
Saturday morning and cars arrive from before 6.00am to reserve their
favoured spaces. As well as being a wonderful fundraiser its amazing
how many conversations occur about faith and church as you walk around
amongst the stalls. It was said that the early church spread, not
through planned mission but most often by traders ‘gossiping the Gospel’
as they went from place to place. Perhaps our car park is a modern
equivalent.
Without
doubt, however, one of the major highlights has been the Holiday Summer
Scheme. For the past number of years a team from Alliance Youth Works
has been coming to lead this. Each year the scheme has grown until this
time we had to put out a notice saying we were full to capacity! Its
wonderful to see such enthusiasm and fun being had by our young people
and in a very gentle and attractive way they are introduced to the joy
of faith and for many of them it is the beginning of a life long
commitment in discipleship.
So now
its back to a more usual routine.
So much
that is good in our community depends on getting involved, not waiting
on someone else to do something. How refreshing it is when someone
volunteers his or her services. Jesus often took the offering and using
of our ‘talents’ as a theme of his sermons. This applies in our civic
life as well. Our new Mayor, Tony Hill, has appointed Fr Henry McCann
and myself as his joint chaplains for the year. It makes me aware once
again of our responsibility to support and pray for those who put
themselves in the hot seat of politics, local and national. Politicians
have endured so much criticism of late that the good work that the
majority do, quietly and effectively, can be overlooked and
unappreciated.
Well,
here’s hoping for an Indian summer!
With
best wishes
Ronnie
Nesbitt
Rector of Bangor Abbey |
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