As a church, our desire is that we reach out to our local community in order to offer people the good news of Jesus. There are many different ways of doing that, and we are always looking for new and creative approaches.

One of the more exciting developments in this direction for us has been the establishment of the Crinken Community Gospel Choir. The Choir is an outreach music programme which seeks to connect with anyone wanting to develop their spiritual connection to God. They see themselves as messengers of the Gospel, singing words of life that they hope will bless those who listen, and also encourage them in their walk with the Lord.

The choir is coordinated by Sharon McKimm, Delwen Giles and Jonie Griffin. Marion Smith is the musical director. There are just over 20 people who have signed up at this stage. Membership is open to anyone who wants to praise the Lord in song, and they are interested in people who have technical skills and musical ability as well as people who can sing. The choir will be making their debut at a special Good Friday service that we are holding.

If you are interested in finding out more you can contact me (ed@crinken.com or 01-28 24 391) and I will point you in the right direction

Edward Vaughan

Crinken Kids
Crinken Kids have a busy programme every Sunday. Our pre-schoolers to 2nd class children have been learning about may different kings in the Bible since September. This Spring, the younger groups have started to look at the most important King of all: King Jesus. One of the children thought he was the most special king because ‘He’s magic!’ but in fact we are finding out that he is God’s son, which is what makes him a very special king.

The Thursday Clubs have been finishing up the Joshua Adventures and are getting set for our end of term party – to which parents are invited! It’s sure to be a fun event!

Sarah Keene

Young@Heart
Our Young@Heart group started off the New Year with a dinner party on Saturday 23rd January. 30 folk gathered in the hall to enjoy a sumptuous meal and an opportunity to catch up with one another after the Christmas break. February 28th will find us gathering in the hall again, this time after our morning service to enjoy lunch together. Our March event will be a movie night (yet to be decided!), again in the church hall.

We were able to set up a stall at the Shankill Christmas Festival. Our aim was to bless people in the local area, so we gave away over 400 Christmas decorations to passers-by. It was wonderful to see how such a simple thing brought people great joy. We also gave away fridge magnets and key-rings that had our church’s website address on them. As the festival was held close to Christmas we also gave out flyers with the times of the Christmas services in the three churches in Shankill.

One other thing that we did was ask people three simple questions. We wanted to know what they liked about living in this area, what they saw as the key issues or problems in our area, and what they thought a local church like ours could do about them.

Like many churches, we feel that there is more that we could do to connect with people in our area. However its not always clear what are the most appropriate ways of doing this. It would be very easy to make assumptions about what is needed and to start to do something which may not be what people actually need. So the reason we wanted to ask these questions is that we want to have some idea of what might be the significant local issues before we get involved in any action.

One of the really positive things that came through was just how much people like living in Shankill and surrounds. Clearly, many really value the amenities in this area. People did feel there could be more done to support and help youth in the community, and to prevent anti-social behaviour. The other issue that many people mentioned was the lack of shopping facilities, brought about by the closure of a local super-market a couple of years ago.

While it may not be immediately obvious how we should respond to this information, we do feel it gives us a place to start praying and thinking about what steps we might take next. The process of determining how we might engage with our local community is very significant, and we feel that it is right that we take plenty of time to get it right.

Crinken Kids
On Sundays in February we are looking at two very different characters from the Old Testament. The older groups are learning about Elijah and how God used him in powerful ways to bring His message. Our younger groups are continuing to learn about kings in the Bible and will be finding out about Solomon in this month.
The Thursday clubs are full of fun and excitement as usual. It’s been great to explore the story of Joshua and to learn how we too can trust that God is with us all the way, no matter how scary things around us may become.

Crinken Youth
Crinken Generation Youth Ministries are back in full swing for the year. On Friday evenings those in 6 class to 2nd year meet from 7-8:45pm at the Crinken church hall and those in 3-6th year meet from 8:45 to10:30pm.

Over the month of February the initial preparations have started for those in 3-6 year heading this August to Germany for ‘Teenstreet’.

Engage
By definition the church is a body of believers sent into the world. But many churches seem to have developed a more stationary identity, requiring the world to come to them to receive the healing, redemption, and salvation promised through Christ. We have issued the call of “come to us” and planted our feet rather than promising a “we’re coming to you” proven by moving our feet. From mid February we begin a 6 week SENT series at our Engage evening service with the challenge of getting out of the huddle and living the Missional Nature of the Church. All are welcome, Sunday’s, 7pm.

Church Life
Congratulations and best wishes to Michael and Therese Hargraves on the birth of their daughter Lucy, on Sunday 20 December and to Joe and Jean O’Sullivan on the baptism of Nathan on Sunday 4 January.

This was the third time that the GLS was held in Dublin, and there was a record attendance of about 250 people. For those who haven’t experienced it, the GLS is physically held in Chicago each year in August, where it is recorded on video. Then in hundreds of sites around the world a GLS event is held. Even though it is watched on video, it is a powerful and compelling event. The aim is to train, equip and encourage Christian leaders.

There were many highlights on the two day programme this year – in fact, from my point of view it was perhaps the best I have attended. Tim Keller, the minister of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York, delivered an exceptional exposition of the so-called ‘Parable of the Lost Son’. Keller dealt with the role of the older son in the story, and unpacked the incredible difference between religion and grace. Bill Hybels’ opening talk, which was really about leading during the time of massive financial disaster, was thought provoking and challenging. In fact, each year I go thinking that surely Hybels will have nothing new to say, and his material will be a repeat of something that he has said in the past. This is never the case!

Of the many other excellent sessions, perhaps the other one that stood out was that of Harvey Carey’s. Carey is the pastor of a racially integrated church in down-town Detroit. The great achievement of this church is its ability to reach out and connect with its local community. I was particularly struck by this. Currently, one of my big questions is what it would look like for a Church of Ireland to be deeply connected to the broader community in an urban setting- to be, in effect, a community church. There are not many models of this, and Carey’s presentation has got a number of people in our church thinking about how our church might respond.

The GLS will be held again in Dublin in the autumn. I would recommend you have a look at the DVD of the 2009 material, and aim to invite some people from your church to attend.
Edward Vaughan

Crinken Kids
The big change for the children’s work was that Therese has gone on maternity leave and I am delighted to be filling her shoes for the time being. My name is Sarah Keene and I am very excited to be part of the team here at Crinken!

The Christmas party for the Thursday Clubs was a great event, with face painting, mince pies and plenty of chat with the many parents who came with their children. Clubs start back on January 14th and we will be finding out about Joshua and all the exciting things that happened during his life.

On Sunday mornings the older groups have been infiltrating the Roman Empire as spies to discover everything they can about the early Christians. Using our stealth equipment we have found out about the Holy Spirit and how Jesus sent him to give his friends power and comfort. We will continue to crack the codes and will report back soon…

Crinken Youth
A New Year for Crinken Generation Friday night clubs and Sunday morning community groups begins on January 15. Each Friday night we run a youth club at 7pm for those in 6th class to 2nd year and at 8:45 for those in 3rd year to 6th year, with about 40-50 coming along each Friday.
Why do we run these different activities each week? Well “Crinken Generation, with Jesus as King, is a youth ministry that exists to love, engage and grow young people, so in turn they may become a Generation that loves, engages and grows.” The first line is key in understanding what drives these activities. The love, engagement and growth is in relationship to the King, Creator and Saviour of all, Jesus Christ. The two elements that are basic to Friday nights then are the creating of a fun night where relationships can develop and secondly it is a place to introduce a new generation of young people to their loving eternal King and Creator, Jesus. All are welcome, hope to see you there.

It’s a good book because it approaches the issue of how we should be ‘doing church’ from a really well thought out theological view. Based on a careful reading of Scriptures, the authors argue that church is shaped by the Gospel word to be a Gospel community. The church is created by the ‘Gospel word’; that is the declaration of the Good News by Jesus that calls the Church into being. The church is that group of people who believe in the Good News and seek to live in obedience to the Lord Jesus.

But that Gospel word creates a group of people in relationship with each other. They become a Gospel community in the way that they live their lives with each other. By becoming a Christian, I belong to God and I belong to my brothers and sisters.

Now at one level, those statements hardly seem revolutionary. But it’s the way that the authors take these theological principles and work them out in the life of the church that is really impressive. To be honest, I liked the book more and more as I got further into it, because they are able to explain how an authentic Gospel church is shaped by both word and community.

The world in which we live is one of radical individualism and the Gospel word challenges us to live in a community with brothers and sisters. The reality is that most of our churches (of all denominations and churchmanship) are a far cry from that. Gospel community is largely an unknown experience for most of us. Because our experience of community is so stunted, it prevents us from genuinely engaging in mission, evangelism and social justice.

I especially liked the way they drew out the implications of Gospel community for pastoral care. Our culture, even in Christian churches, is largely therapeutic, and we engage in pastoral care in a way that is totally disengaged from the Scriptures. Yet the authors argue that at the heart of many of our emotional and psychological issues is a failure to really believe the truths about the Lordship of Jesus. The way they see pastoral care operating in the life of the church is at the same time both confronting and challenging.

Chester and Timmis are part of the Crowded House, a missional community that operates out of Sheffield in the UK, and has a growing ministry in some of the toughest and most challenging areas of the north of England. If you haven’t read a book recently about what the Church is and how it is to operate, let me recommend ‘Total Church’. I am sure it will be of benefit to you.

Edward Vaughan

Engage
Our evening Engage community just finished 40 Days of Purpose where we were challenged to Worship God – together – with all that we are. Church can become a place where we come solely to meet our own spiritual needs, but that is not what the Gospel about Jesus calls us to. We have been saved into a family and that family exists for a purpose, to bring Glory to God through living the life he purposed us to live. Over 40 days we explored that, together we are to worship Christ, together we are to encourage each other to become like Christ, together we are to proclaim the good news of Christ as we live in gospel community, week in week out, for Sunday is just 1/7 of our weekly call to worship. We come then, in November, to the book of Hebrews with the call throughout the book to live in community, so…you don’t drift from Jesus…and so you don’t become an ineffective follower of Jesus…“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:23-25)

Crinken Kids
All’s a go with Crinken Kids. We have been exploring who our “Father God” is on a Thursday afternoon, discovering all about what he is like, how much he loves us, and all the things we can talk to him about. He sure is someone we can trust. During November we will be spending time in workshops exploring who God is, through things such as Clowning, Puppets, art, sculpture and dance. It’s sure to be a load of fun.

Sunday Mornings, we have all been looking at Kingship and how all through the bible people have looked to a king to lead them. It’s been quite a journey starting with the book of Samuel and King Saul. We have learnt that even the very best of kings will make mistakes, we are looking forward to meeting the King that doesn’t make mistakes or let us down, and his arrival is just around the corner as Christmas approaches.

Oh What a Night!
Saturday 19th September seems quite a while ago but those who attended the Crinken Dinner will have much to remember from that splendid evening. The event took place to mark the beginning of the church year and the restoration of the tower clock and bell mechanism. The evening commenced as we sipped upon a tasty punch and with Alison Hall (a mere 99 years of age) pressing the button to set off the bell mechanism of the clock, ringing out to an enthusiastic round of applause. Thanks to Robert Thompson & Arthur Fortune for their technical expertise.

The standard of cuisine as prepared by Orla Wood & Joyce Sparkes regularly excels and this occasion was no exception with favourable comments emanating from all quarters. Consumed in surroundings decorated by Jane Vaughan, Barbara Douglas, Brenda Mercier & Rebecca Todd our happiness and contentment would have been complete.

Little did we realise the depth and breath of ability within our walls as we were treated to the undeniable and individual musical gifts of Dan Carollo, Helen Das, Jeeban Das & Scott Slate – if “music be the food of love” then we had enjoyed a sumptuous feast of talent!

Thanks must go to all those involved (including our sound engineers Ray Ekins, Richard Douglas & Dermot Cochrane) and of course the driving force behind the evening, Barbara Douglas & Geoff Scargill, who pulled it together with a calm and capable disposition.

At Crinken, Jean was known for her wisdom, prayerfulness, encouragement and inspiration. She prayed as someone who was very familiar with talking to God. Even though she was eighty-four years old, she had a remarkably modern outlook. Her unwavering trust in Jesus was combined with a very realistic view of people and how hard their struggles could be. Needless to say, Jean will be deeply missed by many in the congregation at Crinken.

At her thanksgiving service, Bishop Harold Miller preached from 2 Corinthians 4, the passage in which Paul writes about being ‘a jar of clay’. The apostle mentions how many challenges he has in his life, and recognizes that his physical body is wasting away. Yet he says that he ‘carries the death of Jesus in his body’- his experience of the risen Lord Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore Paul doesn’t lose heart. Even though he is physically ‘wasting away’, he is encouraged because he is being spiritually renewed every day by the Spirit.

It was a fine sermon, and a very appropriate passage. In the last two weeks of her life, cancer advanced in her body at an unbelievable rate. Her death caught many by surprise, yet she gave a powerful testimony to Jesus right up until the end. Jean provided us with a model of how to face the certainty of death with the certainty of eternal life.

Jean’s husband Raymond passed away at Christmas time. It is very hard to believe that both of them have left us in such a short space of time. Jean and Raymond were a great team in the years of ordained ministry that they shared in Cork.

Thanks to Dr Peter Marshall, of Rathmichael parish, who was a wonderful support to the family at such a vulnerable time. Peter cared for Jean with great skill and care.

For those of us who knew Jean, we realize that we have known one of the great ones of Jesus’ kingdom. We look forward with hope to that time when both Jean and we will be united with Christ.

(If you go to our teaching section – podcasts – you can hear the address that Bishop Miller gave at Jean’s thanksgiving service, and the sermon I preached in church on the following Sunday about Jean, entitled ‘Jars of Clay’.
Edward Vaughan

Voices of Life
On Saturday 29 August, Crinken Church was privileged to host the first concert of the Voices of Life Choir tour of Ireland. These young performers are a group of Ugandan secondary school youths who are currently studying at Fields of Life schools.

These students represent some 35,000 children in Uganda that people throughout Ireland have helped over the years, through the organisation Fields of Life. To this end, the choir wish to be a ‘Voice of Life’ for the many children in East Africa who have not had the opportunity of receiving an education. While in Ireland they are seeking to raise an awareness of the plight of children in Burundi.

Burundi is a very poor country, still suffering the impact of a long civil war that lasted about 30 years. There are not enough schools in the country and as a result, many children do not have the opportunity of an education because of the long distances they have to travel to school.

Fields of Life have built 15 schools in Burundi, and the choir wish to add one more to this number. At their request, all proceeds donated at the concerts are going towards a new school build in Burundi.

Despite having travelled overnight and arriving in Ireland at lunchtime on the Saturday, the choir (after only 2 hours rest!), ever eager to perform, wowed the audience with their singing and dancing.

If you missed the evening, it’s not too late to catch up with the choir. They will be performing in Kill o’ the Grange Church Wednesday 7 Oct 8pm and Athy Church of Ireland, Thursday 8 Oct 8pm. See http://www.fieldsoflife.com for further details.

Church Life
As we approach the darker days of winter we thank God for a summer which, while not being of a radiant disposition was filled with Christian endeavour and adventure for many of the Crinken family.

In late June a team of Scripture Union (Ireland) supporters including our very own Robert Thompson climbed Mount Toubkal – the highest mountain in North Africa, in aid of funds to refit the kitchen in Ovoca Manor – a short presentation of this can be viewed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyMRc7hSWhw. With the help of friends and family, Robert raised the incredible sum of €5000.

Not all of the summers’ achievements were geographically challenging but remained demanding in their own way – we were delighted to observe the maturity and focus of our younger members as they ploughed their own exciting furrows. Chloe McGovern worked during the summer in India with Tear Fund, Emma and Jim Wood visited South Africa to help our Mission Partners there (new parents Karen and Christiaan Snell!!) while a team of 14 young folk went to Offenburg in Southern Germany to Teenstreet (an annual international week-long conference presented by Operation Mobilisation for Christian teenagers).

It’s always a delight to welcome ‘one of our own’ Simon Donohoe (currently in Theological College in London) as our guest speaker at our August 2nd Morning Service while Neil Douglas preached most meaningfully at our service on July 19th. Neil’s brother, Jonathan, is also taking a big step as he moves to Cork to work with IFES, a student organisation whose aim is to inspire and equip students to follow Jesus.

It was great to welcome another of our Mission Partners Linda and Werner Holmes-Ulrich with their children Tatjana and Ciara. Werner is a pastor in Austria and the visit provided some respite from the challenges of that role. Plenty of hard work on the home front also and none more manifest than Bas and Glynis Goods now legendary SU Family week.
Just prior to school recommencing our Holiday Club was held in Crinken with many local children attending along with the Crinken ‘regulars’ – all had a safe and healthy time of fun and learning.

We thank God for keeping everyone safe during the summer and rejoice together as we watch his people grow in him.

In more recent times, however we have understood that welcoming is not the only thing you have to do to help new people find their place in the church. It can take some time for new people to find their feet in a church. Building relationships and working out how things operate in a new place can take some time and be a somewhat lonely experience.

In the last while, we have had quite a number of new people join our church. This is a delight, and brings us great joy. Yet we have realised that we needed to do something to help these people establish themselves and feel included.

So at the end of March, on Sunday 29th, we are holding a ‘Connect Lunch’ after church. The idea is really quite straightforward. We have invited those who have recently joined the church to meet some Crinken folk over a simple meal. We also want to give them some information which they might find hard to access in any other way. I will speak briefly about our church, our mission, and some of the key ministries of the church like our small groups and pastoral care system. We will provide a creche and children’s programme because quite a few of our newcomers are young families. We also want to let them know about the youth and children’s work in Crinken, and give people an opportunity to ask any questions they may have.

The aim is to make these new folk feel welcome, and to provide them with information about the church that will help them get connected. We hope that the Connect Lunch will enable us to keep on being a welcoming church into the future.
Edward Vaughan

Engage
Crinken’s evening service Engage began a series on Isaiah at the end of last month entitled “Life Wars: a new hope” which will reach its climax on Easter Sunday when we see the foundation for this new hope clearly expressed as we look at Isaiah 53. If you like contemporary service, based on vibrant and modern music style and a commitment to Biblical preaching, then join us at Engage this Easter Sunday, 7pm and meet the Lord Jesus.

Generation
Crinken Generation, which is the name of our youth ministry here, launched its youth website last month. Check it out in the Youth section.

Crinken Kids
It has been a busy term with our EXTREME program, we finished March off with a visit from pro skateboarder Gerrad Evans and our ministry team workshops, which included candle making, cooking, gardening, glass works and lessons in Safety and CPR. We finish our term with a celebration activity on Thursday April 2, 6.30 – 8.00 all are welcome, it’s sure to be a great way to see what we have been learning about Jesus and his extreme statements.

Clubs will go back for Summer term Thursday April 23rd, and we will start a new unit, Living Legend, powerful friend!! yep it’s Jesus. It’s sure to be as high energy and action packed as last term.

On Sunday Mornings it’s all go, once booted out of church we sing, investigate the bible and have a laugh. This term we unleashed our new and VERY groovy kids band, the verdict is not yet in, but they have worked hard so well done to the Crinken Kids band.

Young@Heart
A heady mix of comedy, a high tea, chat, laughter and a genuine bone-fide usherette combined to make for an enjoyable afternoon on St. Valentines Day for the Young@Heart members. Hearty chuckles were heard emitting from the most reserved of souls as together we enjoyed the movie ‘Waking Ned’. The ‘High Tea’ was engineered as usual by Orla and Joyce (ably assisted by an efficient Jenny Scargill) who cannot but help produce a sumptuous feast seemingly at the drop of a hat.

More than a touch of nostalgia was evident in the form of usherette Joni Griffin who ‘reeled in the years’ for us by donning the appropriate outfit complete with a flashlight and the obligatory tray of goodies. An afternoon brimming with fun was had by all and we departed in hearty spirit looking forward to our get-together in March when we join for some hymn singing, a short thought and a light tea in the Church Hall. Our get-together in April (25th) consists of a trip to Mount Usher where thoughts of the recession will be banished in favour of what we enjoy at every Young@Heart gathering. Good humour, excellent food and that rarest of commodities in the modern world, fellowship.
Crinken InterNational
Crinken InterNational was realaunched on the 7th Feb with a Travelling Supper. The aim of the evening was to introduce new people to our mission partners abroad and for everyone to get a chance to visit our new home mission partner – “The Factory” YFC drop in centre in Bray. About 70 turned up for soup in a couple of houses. From there they were directed to the “The Factory” for a delicious main course. Everyone enjoyed wandering around the drop in centre, looking at the pool tables, computers, fuzeball, table tennis table and graffitti done by a local artist. Crinken are now partnering with YFC to run a teenage mums and tots group there and the hope is that drop in sessions, homework clubs, music evenings etc will begin there soon. Of course, the whole idea is to reach out to our community in a safe and comfortable place and show them, however we can, God’s love. Finally, people travelled down to the church hall for dessert. At the door, they were greeted by a life size papier mache Lorretta – our mission partner in Chad! Over coffee, they browsed stands from our mission partners: Church in Chains, Fields of Life, Karen & Christiaan in South Africa, Linda & Werner in Austria, Lorretta and YFC Bray, before taking part in a fun quiz to see how much we really know about those representing us abroad. The evening closed with a challenge to be involved in mission through prayer, partnership or even going – home or away. The following day, we had Suzie Evans and Lisa Fitzsimons from YFC share with us in our services about their work and challenging us to realise the extent of God’s glory and the implications of that in our daily lives. It was an inspiring weekend, enjoyed by all. Now the real work begins as we, as a church family, engage fully in mission and our mission partners.

Crinken’s Christmas celebrations begin with our Carols by Candlelight on Sunday December 7th at 6.30pm. This year our service is a few weeks earlier than usual so I could be there. This will be our usual service of bible readings and carols, with some special items added in as well. We have our Kids Carols on Christmas Eve, December 24th at 4pm. And on Christmas Day we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper at 9.30am and have a Family Service at 10.30am. Rev Trevor Stevenson is preaching and presiding.

Happy Christmas to all from us here at Crinken. May the blessings of our God who sent his Son to earth for us be upon you!
Edward Vaughan

Generation & Crinken Kid’s

What is going on in December….
Sunday mornings are all a-go in both Children’s and Youth ministry. In our Sunday Morning Children’s programmes we are closing in on Christmas and looking back in the Old Testament to see how Jesus was promised right at the very beginning and how his arrival really is worth CELEBRATING. So celebrate it we will! Especially on Christmas Eve at our Kids’ Carols service (4pm) it’s sure to be a ripper with guest appearances from the “Christmas rap trio”, as well as “big band” style Christmas carols. How we hold the two genres together is sure to be a treat and in itself worth coming along for.

Our Sunday Morning Generation groups continue to meet, the 6th class to 2nd year meeting in the youth room over hot chocolates and marshmallows, games and a good bit of bible action as they work through the Good News about Jesus through the eyes of a man named John – a real live eye witness to the man himself. Meanwhile the older guys have been busy at work getting together a few classy looking DVD’s for our ENGAGE service on Sunday evenings at 7pm. They hit the park and interviewed a variety of people on what God thinks about religion and what God thinks about sex – educational and amusing. They have also put together a spin on the good old MAC Vs PC advert.

Of course that is just Sundays. Our week night groups for Children on Thursday nights (2nd and 3rd Class 4.30 – 6pm) and (4th and 5th class 6.30 – 8 pm) have been working at high speed to get an overview of what the bible is about. We started at Genesis and have been closing in rapidly on the promised Saviour. We saw through the Old Testament again and again how people needed God to help them out, and then skipping through to the New Testament how he sent Jesus and we are now waiting for that restored Kingdom “Heaven”. Of course it’s not Thursday night without a wild fast and furious game with Denis and the gang. Our last night together before the Christmas break will be Thursday the 18th, where we will watch a movie and relax with popcorn and other goodies. Parents will be welcome to join us for minced pies and a few Christmas goodies.

Friday night Generation has been racing along also. The new meeting times are winners with a good crowd coming along, of course the high energy activities and discussions have made the nights really worth while. The recent weekend away where a group of about 30 headed down to Glendalough was fantastic – lots of laughs … and sleepless nights! We will be sad to say our last night before Christmas break will be Friday the 19th, where we will PARTY and celebrate Christmas and the arrival of Jesus, who we seek to follow.

Christmas Services
Sunday 7th December at 6.30pm – Carols by Candlelight
Wednesday 24th December at 4pm – Kids Carols
Christmas Day at 9.30am – Lord’s Supper
and at 10.30am – Family Praise

A very blessed Christmas and a happy new year to all our readers!

This month the second Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit will take place at UCD on Friday November 7 and Saturday November 8. Willow Creek is well known as one of the largest churches in the United States, and the pastor of the church, Bill Hybels, has a world wide reputation as a great leader and communicator. Hybels is undoubtedly one of the most influential figures in the American church, and his influence has spread worldwide.
Some years ago Willow Creek decided to take a bold step. They were holding an annual leadership conference for leaders at their church in Chicago, but saw the opportunity to expand the audience. They started televising the conference to remote sites around the US and then subsequently around the world.

Since then the Global Leadership has spread to many sites around the world. In 2007 it was held for the first time in Dublin. Around 100 people attended and in 2008 it is expected that about 150 church leaders will attend.

Why would so many people gather together to hear about leadership? It really is because many of us who are charged with pastoring congregations know that we need to be challenged and developed in the area of leadership skills. Few of us were helped in this area in our theological formation, and yet we are now keenly aware that our churches are desperately in need of good leadership.

This year there is a fantastic range of speakers. Many work in not for profit organisations that are doing extraordinary work amongst the poor and needy. One woman has developed an organisation that provides employment opportunities and life skills for male prisoners in Texas. The story of her faith and courage is deeply impressive. Another man has created a world wide Christian organisation that aims to liberate those trapped in sex slavery around the world, a goal which is achieved by developing indigenous leadership in countries throughout Asia and South America. Hybels himself delivers a fascinating session on decision making, exploring how we go about making decisions in our leadership.

If you would like to be encouraged as a leader, and be inspired to lead courageously, I would heartily recommend the GLS to you. More details at http://www.willowcreek.org.uk
Edward Vaughan

Generation & Crinken Kid’s
Generation kicked off at the end September and has been high paced ever since. 6th class to 2nd year meet each Friday night at 7 pm. The highlight in October was definitely our Fear Factor night where wits and nerves were tested in a manner only suitable for those of a strong heart. That night we looked at the world’s deadliest snake, casting our minds back to the Garden of Eden. But a night about the deadliest snake would not be complete without a visit from the master Steve Irwin, a true modern day miracle aided by technology. Have a look on the youth website if you are keen to see more.

Upcoming in November is our Youth Weekend away where both groups (Generation 6th to 2nd year and 3rd through to 6th year) are heading down to Glendalough youth hostel. It’s sure to be a great weekend of adventure, lack of sleep, friendship and of course studying Gods word.

Generation also meets on a Sunday morning. 6th to 2nd meet upstairs in our recently refurbished youth room during the morning service. They enjoy food and friendship and are lead in the study of Gods work by Neil Douglas – it’s always a great morning. 3rd to 6th are meeting off site with Michael for breakfast and throughout October have been working on video material for the Engage series entitled “Why God hates religion but loves sex” perhaps you were caught in the park or in the village and interviewed by our friendly crew.

What about Crinken Kids you ask???

Crinken kids have been meeting each Sunday morning whilst church is on. Apparently our singing and dramas can be heard in church to the amusement of many. At the moment a hit song is “Super Saviour” by Colin Buchannan, and yes even adults have been bopping along to the sin smashing, death crushing acts of the Super Saviour J-E-S-U-S.

Our Thursday afternoon kids clubs, meet at 4 pm for 2nd and 3rd class and 6.30 pm for 4th and 5th class and have been steadily working through an overview of the bible starting with Genesis and we are quickly heading through the OT and into the NT in time for the arrival of Jesus and the promise of heaven for Christmas. Our seven awesome leaders are there every Thursday afternoon, filled with games and fun ideas. So feel more than welcome to pop on in.

Young@Heart
The Young@Heart had a great afternoon in the home of Stephen & Lindsey Gardiner on Sunday 21st September. A gourmet dinner was enjoyed by the gathering all the more memorable for the Sticky Toffee Pudding! It was a wonderful afternoon to meet together and enjoy the opportunity of good conversation and catching up. A big thank you to Stephen & Lindsey for their hospitality and kindness.

Bertie Stevenson Memorial School
On Saturday 13th September, Crinken church was filled with many friends, family and neighbours of the late Bertie Stevenson. The evening was an opportunity to hear plans for the building of a primary school in Uganda through Fields of Life in the memory of a man who inspired so many. Following the initiative by a member of the local farming community, the project was launched in early May to raise €80,000 and with great thanks to God for his generosity and provision we were able to announce that the target had been reached that very day. For those wanting to know more details about the work of Fields of Life, check out their new website http://www.fieldsoflife.com

It is widely assumed in our media that Christianity has nothing to offer thoughtful and intelligent people as they debate issues of public and social policy. Atheist writers like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens would urge people to ‘grow up’ and leave religion behind.

But strangely in the ‘upper echelons’ of intellectual debate there is something of a re-evaluation of the role of Christianity. Some serious thinkers, by no means Christian in their convictions, have begun to suggest that the Christian faith has had a major role in shaping some of the key values that we hold dear. Perhaps we need to reconsider the importance of Christianity in bringing us to where we are, and for the health of society in the future. These thinkers are wondering what would be lost if Ireland did abandon Christian ideas that shaped many of its institutions and values.

My interest in the CS Lewis lecture is, in part, that it is being delivered by an Australian friend of mine, by the name of Dr Greg Clarke. Greg has this to say: “If there is anything ‘new’ about the new atheism, it is the claim that human society would be better off without religion – that belief in God is holding us back from our true civil destiny. In my CS Lewis Lecture, I want to test that claim in western societies: are we really growing out of religion? Would we want to? I’ll be looking at recent discussions of religion from an Western context, particularly focusing on Christianity, and then examining whether there are parts of the Christian view of the world that we would really never want to give up, whether we are Christians or not, particularly the Christian understanding of human nature. I’ll finish with an appeal to secularists to consider whether they might ‘outgrow secularism’, as they consider the benefits of a Christian understanding of the world.”

Greg is interested in the connections between the Christian faith and modern intellectual and cultural issues. Previously a theological editor, Greg is now the Founding Director of the Centre for Public Christianity and Director of the Macquarie Christian Studies Institute at Macquarie University, both in Sydney, Australia.

The recent Lambeth Conference showed that Christian belief is increasingly under pressure to compromise with secular humanist ideas. I anticipate the CS Lewis lecture will provide a stimulating and thought provoking alternative, that actually treasures and promotes the historic faith. If you are interested in ideas and debates about the future of Irish society I am sure you will find it worthwhile.

The CS Lewis Lecture will be held on Monday evening 29th September in the Chester Beatty Library.

Edward Vaughan

Children’ Work
September, September, it has come around so quickly. We had a great summer in our kids club which ran at the end of August we looked at living Gods word. We studied what the bible is and how it is Gods word written down for us. We also looked at what it meant to be a follower of Jesus. We had a great time also in our workshops, using our gifts to please God, we cooked, danced, played sport, made music , painted and even knitted…all for Gods glory.

September sees the commencement of our regular programmes on a Sunday morning and mid week. Signposts and On route. As always everyone is welcome. Contact us at Crinken or check out our website http://www.crinken.com for more details if you are interested in our Children’s programmes.

Why Home Groups?
Home Groups help to nurture an environment where we can grow spiritually – a place to develop friendships and gain spiritual insight. We meet because we have a love for each other and for Jesus Christ but also to have fun. It’s just like meeting with a group of friends on a regular basis…in fact that’s exactly what it is!

Sunday is great for us as a Church to praise and worship God together. What is harder to do on a Sunday is to make long lasting relationships and develop as a Christian. Smaller groups can help on both accounts. It’s great to be involved so please consider joining one of the Home groups starting in early September. For more information, contact Ed on 01 2824391 or email: ed@crinken.com

Exam Results
Congratulations to all those who did so well in their recent Leaving Certificate exams. This is an exciting time for our young folk as they contemplate the direction of their careers and our thoughts and prayers are with them as they embark on this journey.

Since last month we have been working away at organising the course. A number of people have volunteered to help supply the meals for these evenings, and others have agreed to lead a small discussion group on the nights. The structure of the evenings is that we will start with a meal, then I will do a brief presentation about what is contained in Luke’s account of Jesus life and then we will break into some discussion groups to allow people a chance to ask questions and to respond.

Simply Christianity comes with a booklet which contains background information to Luke’s gospel, and the actual text of the gospel itself, so that people have the opportunity to read through Luke over the five weeks.

As the course title implies, it doesn’t come with any denominational emphasis, but simply looks at who Jesus is and how he calls us to respond.

May has been a month which has focused on mission for us – Tim Silk, the director of Crosslinks Ireland, preached on God’s Transforming Mission challenging us to see that the mission field that we are called to work in is the one that God has placed us in right at the moment.

These are exciting and challenging times for those who are keen to see the Kingdom of God grow in Ireland. There has been so much change in religious thought and practice, and much work needs to be done to develop effective mission strategies that respond to these changes. I recently heard someone argue (a pastor in one of the so-called ‘new- churches’) that the Church of Ireland is uniquely placed to respond to these challenges. We have historically been a church of orthodox believers who have a recognised place in Irish society. There is a Church of Ireland presence through-out this land, so we have the opportunity to be a light for the gospel in many places. Our challenge is to find compelling and attractive ways of presenting the gospel of Jesus to a people who are increasingly remote from historic Christianity.

If you are praying for us, please pray that our Simply Christianity course would be effective in reaching people with Jesus, and that we might have the privilege of seeing people come to know him for the first time.

Edward Vaughan

The vision statement for our church says that we want to ‘Love, Engage and Grow’. We are a loving church, and by the grace of God the church is growing both in numbers and in people’s personal spirituality. By far the hardest task we have is to engage with people so that they might hear the good news of Jesus.

In May we are running a course which is called Simply Christianity. As the name implies, it doesn’t come with any denominational emphasis. Over five weeks it provides people with an opportunity to explore who Jesus is and what are the implications of following him.

The course was written by Dr John Dickson, a noted apologist for the Christian faith and New Testament scholar. John has done some really interesting work in how the first century church went about sharing the Gospel with people. This kind of thinking is increasingly important, because in a strange way the world that we find ourselves in now is increasingly like that of the time of the Apostle Paul. Instead of Christians being in the majority, and having a faith, which is shared and even assumed in the whole community, we are now one group amongst many, who proclaim a faith that is often ignored or poorly understood.

The Simply Christianity course allows people to read through Luke’s Gospel, and to discuss various aspects of it, in the context of a meal. The relational nature of the course is very important because it allows people at least a small taste of the experience of Christian fellowship.

If you are praying for us, please pray that over the weeks to come we would be prayerful about inviting friends along to the Simply Christianity course, and that we would be good at getting the message of Jesus out to people.

Edward Vaughan