mullavilly newsletter - dec 2010

8/8/2019 Mullavilly Newsletter - Dec 2010

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www.mullavilly.armagh.anglican.org

It has been a wonderful year in Mullavilly in

our celebration of 200 years. It has been my

honour to host so many guest preachers and

to hear their sermons. It has been good to

explore the past and listen to the memories of

parishioners. The year had an exciting start

with the combined worship in Kilmore Parish

and the walk from there back to Mullavilly. We

had the thrill of lighting the beacon on New

Year’s Eve, which we will hopefully replicate

again at the end of the year and, of course, in

September, the celebration weekend,

including the renovation of the clock, was a

great blessing to those who were involved.

Alongside all of that, the regular activities of

the parish have continued and have beenwell-supported. The hard-working volunteer

leaders have been conscientious in

preparation and this this is reflected in the

enjoyment and popularity of their

organizations. Sunday attendance has been

maintained, with new faces settling in.

Individuals will reflect on the year with joy and

with sorrow. We have witnessed baptisms and

marriages and funerals. Pastorally, there has

been illness, stress, financial hardship and

family issues.

At the rectory, Jonathan spent 5 months in

South Africa and Elizabeth continued her

Nursing studies in Liverpool, with Ryanair

providing several opportunities for Heather

and me to hop across. Samuel completed his

GCSE exams and entered 6th form. I

completed 25 years of ordained ministry and

entered my 50th year! So far, as “things to

achieve before I’m 50”. I’ve climbed Slieve

Donard and have been paint-balling! During

the summer we hosted a teenager from

Indiana as part of the Operation Friendship

programme. Heather travelled to Holland as

part of the same project. We also caravanned

in England. Parishioners on Facebook will

already have all the details and photos!

There are plans developing for 2011. I’m

looking forward to the big 50, Jonathan will be

graduating, Elizabeth will be entering her final

year and Samuel will continue with

examinations.

In the parish, weddings are being planned and

people enter the year with all the usual hopes

and fears. The rolling out of the government’s

austerity measures will have an impact on

some more than others, and we can’t predict

who will take the biggest hits or bear thegreatest stress.

Together, I am hoping that we will focus our

attention on the outreach of the church –

things that we do, not for ourselves, but for

others. Our mission partners, Aart and Geesha

Den Breejen will be visiting us in the spring-

time and a parish group are planning to visit

them, in Arua, Uganda, in the autumn. This

will be an exciting time for those involved and

I hope that we will all catch some of that

excitement.

Through all our experiences, past and present,

pleasurable, exciting, challenging or difficult,

we have the assurance of the presence of God.

This is the abiding Christmas message – that

God became man to be a light to the world.

He rejoices with us, He bears us up in oursorrows. His presence inspires us to be

thankful, to be humble, to be strong. His love

challenges us to show love and kindness and

to walk beside others in their times of joy and

need.

May this Christmas and New Year remind you

of the presence of Christ in your life both now

and in what lies ahead.

A Very Happy and Blessed Christmas and

New Year from all at the Rectory.

December 2010 / January 2011

December

Saturday 4th Pantomime “SleepingBeauty”

Thursday 9th Wedding of DanielleReaney & Daniel Pearson

Sunday 12th NOT family serviceTuesday 14th 8pm Mothers’ Union

Movie Night

Wednesday 15th 7:30pm Primary SchoolCarol Service in Church

Thursday 16th Seniors’ Christmas lunch

Sunday 19th YF Christmas ChineseSupper

Sunday 19th see Christmas Dates

24/25/26 see Christmas Dates

JanuarySaturday 1st 10am walk from Knock

Bridges to Whitecote(and back)

Tuesday 18th Mothers’ Union Dinner

Thursday 20th 10:30am Ramblin Rose

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY CHRISTMAS GIFTSThe NSPCC gift cards for children in the

Craigavon area will be available on

Sunday 5th December. These gifts and

those for the Salvation Army Appeal

should be brought to church on

December 12th. These

appeals have been very

successful and muchappreciated in years past so

please continue with your

generosity. Please do not

wrap the Salvation Army

presents. Thanks.



Mullavilly News | December 2010/January 2011

After months of hard work on the part of Brett Hannam and his

team, the history of the parish has now been published and is

available. It was successfully launched on November 15th by formerparishioner the Rt Revd James Mehaffey.

In the preface to the book, I write

“As I read the manuscript for this enthralling and moving story of

Mullavilly, I became acutely aware of what history is about. It is, in this

instance, about placing

ourselves in the a long

sequence of events

from time immemorial

to the present and

appreciating that today,

in 2010, we continue

the story – we are the

history makers.

In this book, the author

takes us back to the

inhabitants of

Mullavilly at the

beginning of the first

millennium – the same

time when the people of God in Israel were witnessing the coming of

the Messiah, God’s great intervention in the history of the world.

Our presence as a Christian Church in Mullavilly is a result of these two

stories coming together.

Both stories contain

tales of national conflictand hardship, politics,

courage and

perseverance. The

stories contain accounts

of saints and sinners.

Some are named and

recorded in the source

documents, but many

are not. The un-named

are the mothers and

fathers and sons and

daughters who laboured

and tilled and cared for one another from generation to generation,

bringing us to the community which we enjoy today.

The author and his team have painstakingly researched the documents

at our disposal and have produced this excellent account of life in the

parish of Mullavilly. Our little parish is set on a world stage with paupers

and kings playing their part. We travel through scenes of famine, war

and hope. This book is informative and fascinating and it will challenge

the reader to ask about their own contribution, however small, to the

present and future history of Mullavilly. I hope it will engender

comment and

conversation, that readers

will be inspired to sharetheir own stories with

one another and,

perhaps, uncover other

treasures of information

to add to our archive

and for inclusion in the

history produced in

2060!

This publication is a

most fitting and

appropriate tome to

mark the bicentennial

celebration of our little

parish church in such a

big world. I am

grateful to all those

involved in bringing

this project to fruition

and I commend it to

you, the reader, with God’s

blessings.”

The book can be ordered in time for Christmas before 8th December

and orders can be placed at any church function, by email to

[email protected] or by ringing Tom Atkinson on 028 38840590. Orders should be paid in advance. Paperback £10, Hardback £15.

MULLAVILLY - A HISTORY OF AN ULSTER PARISH

Bishop James Mehaffey, Mrs Thelma

Mehaffey, Brett Hannam, Brian Harper

Brett and Brian celebrate the final signing for

Jean McClelland.

The walkers and their dogs reach Whitecote on New Year’s Day



DATE FLOWERS CHURCH 11am NOTESMICE SCRIPTURE

December 5th Margaret Neill Jonathan/Mark Michael King 11am HolyCommunion

December 12th Carol Overend Linda Gillian KingDecember 19th Ann Rafferty 11am Nativity

7pm CarolService

December 26th 11am United

ServiceNo eveningservice

January 2nd Evelyn Shortt Helen 11am HolyMcClenaghan Communion

January 9th Geraldine Carolyn Mayes 11am FamilyThompson Service

January 16th Carol Christine Jean McClelland 11am HolyThompson Communion

January 23rd Doreen Carolyn Leslie Stewart 7pm HolyTrimble Communion

January 30th Caroline Ann Elaine BleakleyWhitten

Rota TableBaptismOn 26th September, Molly Margaret, thedaughter of Jonny and Jane Wylie (nee English)and sister of Allia , was baptized.

WeddingsWe had three autumn weddings in Mullavilly. Jonathan Stanley and Rachel Grant weremarried on September 18th, Peter Holmes andPhilippa Mason on October 7th, Paul Hollywoodand Jane Halliday on October 22nd and finallyWayne Fletcher and Dona Kearney on October23rd. We promise to support all these coupleswith our love and prayers.

BurialThe funeral took place on 22nd October ofFrances Elizabeth Redpath in St Mark’s,

Portadown, followed by interment in Mullavilly.Baptism Ann iversary cards w ill be presented as follows: De cember (at Nativity Service): Laura Neill,

James Shortt, Tim Hamilton, Tom Mcintyre(3rd); James Rafferty, Samantha Milligan (4th) January (at family service): Neve Stothers,Nathan Corbett, Charlie Thompson, ZackMilligan, Anthony Garner, Miles Burnett (2nd); Jamie Rafferty (4th)

Home 028 3884 0221Mobile & Text 07989 743545Office & Centre 028 3884 1918Sam Black 028 3834 3267email [email protected] 89 Mullavilly Road

Tandragee BT62 2LXAlso on Facebook

CONTACTING THE CLERGY

Christmas WorshipSunday 19th 9:30am Holy Communion

11:00am NATIVITY SERVICE7:00pm 9 Lessons and Carols

Friday 24th 11:15pm Holy CommunionCHRISTMAS DAY 8:30am Holy Communion

10am Holy Communion including children with their gifts

BOXING DAY 9:30am Holy Communion11:00am United Service in Mullavilly with Kilmore and St Saviour’sNB no evening service

Friday 31st 11:30pm Watchnight Service concluding at midnightSunday January 2nd Back to normal!

We began 2010 with a united service in Kilmore Parish Church, marking our origins within

that community. We are delighted to conclude the year by inviting the people of Kilmoreand St Saviour’s, Dobbin, to join with us in Mullavilly. The Revd Malcolm Kingston andmyself will share the sermon once again and we look forward to an excellent morning –even though it’s Boxing Day, do make a special effort to come out to church again!

Mothers’ UnionThe Mothers Union have two special dates over the ChristmasPeriod.On Tuesday December 14th, they will be showing the Christmashit movie “Nativity” starring Martin Freedman, Ricky Tomlinsonand Alan Carr. The story revolves two schools in Coventry whohear that Holywood producers are coming to see their Nativity

plays … with hilarious consequences. Behind this story ofrivalry lies a deeper message about the true meaning ofChristmas. This will be a great night out at the movies inMullavilly!

The Mothers’ Union dinner will take place on Tuesday January 18th in Brownlow House,Lurgan. This an absolutely beautiful setting with catering to match by chef Robert Odgers.

S i s t e r s W e n d y a n d J u d i t h a t t h e M o t h e r s ’ U n i o n C h r i s t m a s p a r t y

mullavilly newsletter - dec 2010

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