Over 160 young people take part in Street Reach Lisburn 08
Over 160 young people from 31 local churches took part in Street
Reach Lisburn 08 on Thursday 27th to Saturday 29th March. Each
morning they met at First Lisburn Presbyterian Church for
prayer, worship and teaching before dividing into five teams for
community work in Knockmore and Tonagh; Hillhall and Low Road;
Lambeg; Ballymacash and Lisburn City Centre. Organised by
Lisburn's Christian youth leaders, they were involved in
painting fences, tidying gardens, litter picking, graffiti
removal and all the usual Street Reach activities including
street parties, children's clubs, games and creative arts.
Some of the City Centre team offered free tea/coffee and
balloons to shoppers in Bow Street; some did face fainting etc
in Bow Street Mall; and some visited Residential Homes
entertaining residents to a selection of well-known items of
praise.
The Mayor, Councillor James Tinsley called in with the leaders
and volunteers last Thursday morning to see at first hand the
work being done by them as they demonstrated a practical display
of Christian love throughout our City.
The 31 churches represented were: First Lisburn, Railway Street,
Kilmakee, Carryduff, Harmony Hill and Elmwood Presbyterian
churches; Balliemills Reformed Presbyterian Church; Lisburn
Cathedral, St Paul's, Derryvolgie, Moira and Glenavy Church of
Ireland; Seymour Street, Broomhedge, Ballynahinch, Finaghy and Glengormly Methodist; Lambeg, Carr, Ballynahinch, Finaghy and
Strandtown Baptist; Lisburn, Hillsborough and Lurgan Elim,
Lisburn Congregational; Wallace Avenue Gospel Hall; Base Youth
Club; Sanctuary; CFC Strandtown; and Church of the Epiphany
Finaghy.
After a hard day's work they met in Railway Street Presbyterian
Church at about 5.00pm for a scrumptious meal prepared by a team
from Railway Street on Thursday night and a team from Lisburn
Elim on Friday night. Led by guitarists Dave Watt and Stephen
Woods, some of the young people entertained shoppers in Lisburn
City Centre on Saturday afternoon. A barbeque and concert in
Railway Street Presbyterian Church on Saturday evening (6.00pm
to 8.00pm) was followed by a Street Reach Celebration in
Brownlee Primary School with Focus 24, bringing to a conclusion
a great week of Christian outreach.
The organisers wish to thank all of the local churches for their
support and to the many people who generously donated goods and
money to the project. They also extend a special thanks to
Lisburn City Council, Lisburn Community Safety Partnership and
to the local businesses who supported Street Reach, including
B&Q and Smyth Patterson Ltd.
