Rector’s Letter February 2015

The joyful Christmas celebrations at the Parish do seem quite a while ago! Thank you to all who made Christmas worship so special, it was a thrill to see so many people at worship at the great variety of Advent and Christmas services. It is always great to see so many family members return home for Christmas and who make coming to worship a part of their return home to see their friends and families.

Our Mission 2015 banners are now up and we enter with the other parishes in the Diocese of Down and Dromore, a year of outreach. It was Archbishop William Temple who said that the Church exists not for itself but the world! We are no cozy club or society but rather the Body of Christ in the world; as our prayer book reminds us at morning prayer, “The gathering of God’s people”.

My prayer for 2015 is that we would gather as many people as possible into the hurch family at DPC – all are welcome!

During the year we will be having a great variety of special services and events and with this months In Focus is a Mission Programme. Please keep it and mark in your diary the calendar events that you could support, perhaps bringing along a friend, neighbour or family member who has loss contact with Church; even as you read this are you prompted to think, “I really should go!”. Please join us! Who are we in Donaghadee Parish? – we are a bunch of sinners who come week by week to experience the grace of a loving God.

As we go to print we have witnessed the terrible terrorist events in Paris and we remember those murdered.

We, who have endured terrorism can empathise with the people of France.

Civil liberty and the right to criticise those in power is a great democratic freedom. We may find satire a strange form of civil expression, however, in France, it is a well established means of freedom of speech. The staff of Charlie Ebdo paid for this right with their lives.

Your friend and Rector
IAN R GAMBLE