Representatives
from churches throughout the diocese of Down and Dromore
gathered in Willowfield Parish Church (East Belfast) last night
(Tuesday 26th August) for the opening evening of Bishop's Bible
week where they were welcomed by The Bishop of Down and Dromore,
The Rt Rev Harold Miller. Building on the success of last year's
event in St Saviour's Parish Church, Dollingstown, the second of
what is now an annual event, is being held from Tuesday 26th to
Friday 29th August.
This year's speaker is Bishop Derek Eaton, former Bishop of
Nelson in New Zealand; he held butterfly and medley records in
his late teens and is much in demand as a speaker at NZ Keswick
and NZ New Wine. Bishop Derek has spent many years doing
missionary work ' 10 years in Tunisia and 6 years in Egypt,
before returning to Bishop as Assistant Bishop. He 'bucked the
trend' with 47% growth in the Diocese of New Zealand during his
time at Bishop. His theme 'Keeping the Faith in Hard Times' has
never been more relevant than in today's society. Each evening
he will speak on 1 and 2 Timothy, looking at challenges to the
local church, challenges to the men and women of God, challenges
to keep going and challenges for the 'last days'. The four
evenings are designed to give encouragement as parishes prepare
for the busy year ahead. Bishop Miller feels that this is the
ideal time - at the end of the holiday season, before the
schools go back and a new year of church activities begin across
the Diocese - to focus on the Word of God.
At the opening service last night (Tuesday), John Little
presided at the organ and together with a group of musicians
from Willowfield Parish Church led the lively praise which
included 'Jesus calls us'. Scott Mackey, the newly appointed
Down & Dromore Diocesan Communications & Projects Officer, read
the Scripture lesson. Some local television personalities will
be reading lessons during the remainder of the week, including
Neil Brittain (UTV), Noreen Erskine and Mervyn Jess (both BBC).
Other musicians taking part during the week will include New
Dawn (St Patrick's Newry) who will be playing on Wednesday night
and Ballybeen Music Group (St Mary's, Ballybeen), including
soloist Susannah Manning, winner of the under 18's regional
final of Hope Academy, a competition to find a voice for the
Persecuted Church.
28/08/2008
|