Each Sunday morning we publish a prayer diary which is designed to help us pray more regularly throughout the week. We would be delighted for as many people as possible to join us in prayer.
Sunday 29th October
Our Kirk Session meeting last Tuesday was a joint meeting with Burnside as heard a presentation from an organisation called Safe Families. We heard about the need for churches to be a source of support and friendship to families who are finding life difficult for various reasons. Please pray for families in our community. Pray for unity and continued togetherness.
Monday 30th October
This evening Stuart is meeting a candidate for the ministry who will be taking part in a short placement within our congregation. Currently it is estimated that our church has a short fall of 70 ministers. Pray for ministry within our church, pray also for vacant congregations who endure long vacancies because of this shortfall.
Tuesday 31st October
Today is Halloween, a time when ghosts and ghouls are seen as harmless fun. Yet there is an evil reality that ought not to be meddled with. Pray especially for the protection of our children, ask that they would be filled by everything that is good, holy and righteous. That they would celebrate the work of the Holy Spirit and shun all that is evil.
Wednesday 1st November
There are many in our congregation who are unable to get to church as they once did. With this comes a sense of loneliness and isolation. Take time to pray for some of the people we no longer see Sunday by Sunday. Why not also take time to visit with them and remind them that they are still loved and part of our church family.
Thursday 2nd November
Tonight, we begin a new 5-week course on the life of Elijah. Pray that as we take time to study and think about God’s word that we would see more clearly just what Jesus Christ has done for us. Pray that our faith would be strengthened and so we would be better equipped to share the gospel with friends and neighbours.
Friday 3rd November
Schools have been on half term holidays. Pray that both teachers and children will have been refreshed. Pray especially for p7 children who will be making final preparations for the transfer tests. Ask that they will know God’s peace and presence as that day approaches.
Saturday 4th November
Pray for the local churches in Portstewart. Pray especially for the Baptist as they welcome a new outreach pastor onto their team. Pray that as he meets other ministers and church workers that there would be a sense of unity of spirit and purpose for the gospel being shared in our town.
I want to begin by saying thank you to everyone for your support over what has been another incredibly busy church year. Our church simply would not function without the time and commitment you give to the various programmes we run. I also want to pay tribute to Michelle and Heather for everything they do throughout the year. Please continue to pray for both Michelle and Heather as they try to find ways of building relationships, not only with our young people but their families as well.
Michelle Mullan & Heather Hamilton
We will begin the 2023 – 2024 church year by holding an election for up to four new elders. This is always an important moment in the life of any congregation. The role of the elder is very different to any other role in the church. The elder is responsible for the spiritual welfare of the congregation. An elder is often described as a shepherd leader. Someone who gently guides through leading by example, but one who serves by putting the welfare of the congregation first. I would encourage you to begin prayerfully considering who in the church might fit such a role. Who is faithful in prayer, who are the servants in our congregation?
On the subject of prayer and bible study, we will be changing the night of our bible study and prayer meetings. Over the last couple of years, we have been meeting on a Monday night, this will now change to a Thursday. We will use Thursdays as a time to study bible books and topics. The plan is to run a series of blocks of teaching with a gap between each block. The focus on Thursday nights will be bible study, we will then move our prayer time to every other Sunday evening which we will use as a time of Prayer & Praise. Our Sunday morning prayer time before the church service will continue as normal.
Please do give careful consideration to coming along, bible study and prayer are the basic building blocks of the Christian faith along with the opportunity they provide to build supportive Godly friendships within the church.
The new church year will bring something new as I take up the role of Convenor of the vacancy in BallywillanPresbyterian Church. This will mean I will be away from Portstewart once a month to preach in Ballywillan. Please pray for the congregation in Ballywillan as they come to terms with a vacancy and seek God’s will for the start of a new ministry and era.
2023 was a significant year in the life of our nation. After the death of her Majesty the Queen, King Charles III was officially crowned as King and Defender of the Faith. We marked this in church through the planting of a second tree in the church lawn. It was good to be able to bring the congregation together and take a photograph marking the occasion for posterity.
The big event of the last few months was the Festival of Crafts and Talents. It was wonderful to see the church filled with so many beautiful examples of art and craftwork. The presence of so much talent during worship on the Sunday added much to the service. The festival raised in excess of £2000 which was split evenly between PW mission funds and our own church finances.
Thank you to everyone who donated items to be displayed, those who set the display up and everyone who baked and served tea and coffee in the hall over the whole weekend. Your work was being talked about as far away as the General Assembly where people stopped me to say how much they had enjoyed the exhibition.
The events committee have been as busy as ever. The Northwest 200 breakfast another day of hard work, but one that was as successful as ever. This against the backdrop of the sad and sudden death of Betty Kennedy. Betty was a much loved and valued member of our congregation and of the events committee, she will be greatly missed.
Some of you may remember Bertie and Ann Hunter who were members of our congregation at one time. Bertie and Ann both emigrated to Canada in the early 60’s, Bertie from Coleraine and Ann from Ballywalter. It’s incredible to think two people from opposite ends of Northern Ireland would then meet and marry in Canada living a very happy life together there.
Eventually the call of home was too much to resist and so the pair returned home in 2005 and were valued members of our congregation for 10 years before returning to Canada because of Bertie’s poor health. Sadly, Bertie died in 2021 in Canada. It was wonderful then to be able to welcome Ann and other family members to Portstewart in May for a memorial service which allowed friends and family to pay their respects.
We had the joy of another two baptisms in our congregation. It was an honour to be able to baptise Hugo and Ottilie Stewart in June. Please continue to pray, not only for Hugo and Ottilie but for all the children and families within our congregation. As well as baptisms we also welcomed Jacob Morrow into full membership of our congregation.
Kirk Session and Committee have been extremely busy this last year. We have been grappling with understanding what our mission ought to be. Our mission is the reason we as a church exist. This might sound quite a straightforward task, but it was anything but. After much discussion and an incredibly honest look at what we have been doing this is what we have arrived at. Our mission is to be a people who worshipGod, serveour community and proclaimthe good news of Jesus Christ. We want this statement to be central to everything we do as a church. This will mean all our activities will have to incorporate some form of worship, service to the community and proclamation of the gospel. We are still working on our vision statement that will help us achieve this goal.
We held our annual Holiday Bible Club as an afterschool club at the end of June this year. This was another successful club on top of everything we’ve been doing throughout the year. Thanks, has to be given to Mrs Taylor and her staff who have made us welcome. It is a privilege, not a right, that we have the access to the school that we are allowed. The Holiday Bible club ended with a service on the Sunday, and it was such an encouragement to see children from the club along with their parents in the church.
As is the way with every church year the business of life is always marked by moments of sadness. Since my last letter we have mourned the loss of three valued family members and friends.
Betty Kennedy died on the 4th of May 2023
Alfie Ferguson died on the 4th of June 2023
Denise Sloan died on the 6th of June 2023
Please continue to pray for the life of our church and I pray that you find the summer months both relaxing and revitalising. Julia and I plan to enjoy our holidays this August and we look forward to seeing you all again in September.
It was a special St Patricks Day 2023 for one member of Portstewart Presbyterian Church. Nan Hayes was delighted to receive a 100th Birthday Card from the King.
Born on the 17th March 1923, Nan has been a Portstewart girl all her life. She was from good farming stock, learning from an early age what it meant to work hard on the family farm. Nan enjoyed those farming days.
It’s incredible to imagine the changes Nan has witnessed over her 100 years. Even this method of congratulating and celebrating her 100 years was unthinkable until recently.
One thing that hasn’t changed over Nan’s 100 years is her faith. She remains very much a woman of faith in Jesus Christ. One of the highlights of the year is the visit to celebrate home communion with her.
Nan, thank you for your wisdom, your laughter and your prayers and many happy returns on such an incredible birthday.
Commitment really is something that Noel Lyttle takes seriously. Not only is Noel one of the longest serving elders in Portstewart Presbyterian Church, but he has also been coaching junior football with Coleraine FC since 2007 and was honoured by the club on St Valentines night of all nights, marking his final season with the U14’s as he plans to retire at the end of the season aged 86.
Noel (Back row centre) with his U14 team
Noel was born on Christmas Day 1936 in the City Side of Londonderry. He attended Ebrington Public Elementary school and played on the school football team, but was only able to take part in friendly games as there was no football leagues. Noel’s footballing career was briefly interrupted when he moved to Foyle College. This was a rugby playing grammar school, football was not allowed.
During those years Noel played for Boys Brigade but again this was limited to friendly matches with other BB Companies.
At 17 ½ he went to Stranmillis teacher training College and played for their team (Kings Scholar) In division 2 of the Northern Ireland Amateur League. Unfortunately this is where his footballing playing days ended as he suffered a foot injury which required surgery meaning he could never play in the league again.
He graduated and returned to Londonderry where he taught at 21 years old in Clondermott Secondary School, there at 21 years old he was given his first team to coach. In 1959 he became Secretary of Londonderry Schools Football Association and held that office for 14 years. They developed a league which started with 6 schools and ended up with 25/26 schools involving both primary and secondary level. He was nominated from Londonderry School FA to represent them at the Council of Northern Ireland Schools Football association. Travelled for over 40 years once a month to Belfast for meetings. During that time he was 1 year Chairman and 24 years treasurer of NISFA. He was one of three delegates from NISFA who represented Northern Ireland at British Schools Football Association. He did this for 23/24 years. During those years he did one year as Chairman of British Schools FA and one year as President of European Schools FA.
Also during this time was Principle of Primary Schools Carlisle Road Londonderry, then Broughshane and finally Portstewart Primary School. He coached school football teams in each school until he retired in June 1998.
He went back to coaching football when his grandson James was 5 in approximately 2007 at Coleraine FC (Irish League Club). They started football academy and he got his IFA Coaching certificate. Noel now is 86 years old and is one of four coaches for Coleraine`s Under 14s alongside Stevie McCann, James Watters and James Mulholland
Well done Noel on a life of commitment and service in your community and congratulations on becoming a life member of Coleraine Football Club.
BASIC is a new initiative from Coleraine and Limavady Presbytery aimed at helping young people from within the Presbytery come together in worship and fellowship. BASIC will strip back much of the hype around youth work and focus on the core principles of worshiping together and learning together.
Why not speak to your youth leader and ask to come along on Sunday 11th December in 1st Coleraine Presbyterian Church. Doors open at 6pm, event begins at 6:30 with food at the end before the doors close again at 8pm.
The World Development Appeal is an annual initiative of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland that focuses on helping people trapped in poverty. It endeavours to change lives and communities for the better by channeling resources in support of sustainable development projects in every continent. This work is taken forward through PCI’s development partners, Christian Aid and Tearfund.
The 2022 Appeal focuses on those who have been forced to flee their homes and on the communities they have ended up in. Almost 90 million people worldwide have fled their homes and journeyed elsewhere in search of safety or a better life. Many of the places they have arrived in are ill-equipped to host them. Yet, in those places, there are people and organisations who are dedicated to supporting these people on their journeys.
Lebanon is host to the highest number of refugees per capita in the world: 1.5 million refugees from neighbouring Syria are thought to live in Lebanon, having fled the civil war, which has been raging since 2011. Lebanon is facing its own political, economic and social difficulties, worsened by the effects of Covid-19 and the 2020 explosion in Beirut port. Inflation is soaring, food security is a growing issue and people are being forced into poverty.
The featured project this year is based in a suburb of Beirut that is home to Syrian and Palestinian refugees, living alongside undocumented Lebanese people. It is a bleak area, where life is difficult. Tearfund’s partner, the Lebanese Society for Educational and Social Development (LSESD) works with a centre situated in the midst of this suburb, shining a light into dark situations. The Centre supports whole families, providing education for children, healthcare, psychosocial support and income generating opportunities.
This year’s Appeal will support the Centre as it seeks to be a light, changing stories of flight into stories of flourishing.
South Sudan
The Appeal will also support projects in South Sudan, through Christian Aid’s partner, the South Sudan Council of Churches (SSCC).
Following the outbreak of violence in 2013, one in every three people in South Sudan is an Internally Displaced Person. The huge movement of people around the country, with already existing tribal tensions has led to conflict.
The Church’s ability to speak into these situations of conflict is unique and the SSCC is working at community level to bring reconciliation across South Sudan. SSCC provides displaced people with psychosocial support, space and accompaniment to achieve peaceful resolutions at local level.
The Appeal will also support similar projects in other areas of the world.
