You are Invited
In the middle of the biggest humanitarian crisis of our time stands the Church.

Since the Syrian conflict began in 2011 more than 500,000 people have perished and over 12 million people have been displaced. Countless Syrian families have lost their homes and livelihoods, they have experienced the death or disappearance of a friend or relative, and now face a daily struggle to survive, dependant on the charity of others to meet even their most basic needs.

In their grief and despair, thousands of these Syrian families have turned to the Church for help.

Tearfund Ireland works with partners LSESD in Lebanon to support Syrians affected by the long-running Syrian conflict. Through a network of churches – Anglicans, Baptists, Presbyterians, Orthodox and other Christian communities – we are caring for war-affected Christian and Muslim households.

God is doing an incredible work through His Church in the Middle East. As churches express their faith through love – welcoming strangers, feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, protecting and educating children and comforting the grief stricken – they are witnessing lives transformed in remarkable ways. There is an amazing story taking place which you’ll never hear on the news.

We are delighted to invite you to a evening with Dr. Alia Abboud of LSESD where you will find out more about what God is doing through his church in such challenging circumstances.

Dr Abboud is an international speaker and regularly engages with Church and ministry leaders on how the Church can effectively live the gospel within their community.

Where: The Bush Hotel Carrick on Shannon

When: Friday 6th September @ 8pm

Please RSVP to Damian Shorten – [email protected] (for numbers for tea and coffee)

Please feel free to pass on this invitation to others who may be interested.

The Diocese of Kilmore, Elphin & Ardagh is pleased to host a series of two Global Justice in Youth Work training workshops. They are free, will take place in the Bush Hotel, Carrick-on-Shannon, and lunch will be provided on both days. These are two practical and relevant sessions, aimed at youth leaders, but open to anyone interested in justice issues. Places are limited to 15 participants so, if interested, please contact Damian as soon as possible. Places will be filled on a first come, first served basis.

Drumcliffe Church Tourism Development Committee are delighted to announce that they have been awarded €122,805.00 in funding from the Rural  Development LEADER Programme 2014-2020. The delivery of this funding will be facilitated by Sligo Local Community Development Committee as  the Local Action Group with responsibility for the delivery of the Programme within County Sligo.  The funding is being allocated under the theme: Rural Economic Development, Enterprise Development and Job Creation – Sub-theme: Rural Tourism.

This project will be 75% funded from the Leader Programme and 25% from Drumcliffe Church Tourism Development (DCTD) in partnership with Drumcliffe Church Select Vestry.

Ven. Capt. Isaac Hanna (Rector of Drumcliffe Church and Chairperson of DCTD) commenting upon the announcement said “This funding announcement has affirmed the hard work and dedication from the committee over the past three years, and will act as a catalyst for the development of tourism facilities at Drumcliffe church. We are all looking forward to this project coming to fruition.”

DCTD’s philosophy for this project is to sustain Drumcliffe as one of Ireland’s top visitor destinations and to bring that experience to a
wider global audience, while maintaining the existing peace and tranquillity of the site. This project will meet the needs of local,
national and international visitors and create a unique Drumcliffe Experience. Through this project we endeavour to create sustainable
jobs, as well as having an overall positive impact on tourism in County Sligo.

The funded elements of the project will include: Multi-lingual audio guides, a purpose-built kiosk, upgraded staff facilities as well as
smaller project elements to create this new experience for visitors to  Drumcliffe.

Drumcliffe Church Tourism Development Committee would like to express our gratitude to: Sligo Leader Partnership CLG, Sligo Local Community Development Committee as the Local Action Group, Department of Rural and Community Development and the European Union.”

On Saturday 8^th of June, representatives of parishes across the Diocese Of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh met for a day of missional training, worship and fellowship. This autumn, KEA is partnering with Through Faith Missions for a time of mission throughout the diocese. The theme is ‘Gathered In Mission 2019’ and is taking place during the harvest season running from 21st September to 6th October 2019. The day was a wonderful opportunity to join together to prayerfully consider how we might undertake mission during this time.

On Saturday 8th of June 2019,as part of the Gathered In Training day a Personal Beliefs Survey was carried out by volunteers in Cavan town between 3 and 4 pm. Up to 50 completed surveys were obtained from pedestrians on Main Street and homes in College Street, Wolfe Tone Street and Railway Road. The completed surveys were anonymous and there was no attempt to ascertain the religious affiliation of respondents. What did the survey tell us?

Question 1 asked what did you believe about God? Six out of ten respondents believed that God was personal. A quarter of those questioned were unclear about God .One out of ten thought God was a distant being and 3% of respondents did not believe that God existed.

Question 2 probed beliefs about the afterlife. Nearly four out of ten respondents believed that all went to heaven after death. Whereas a quarter held the belief that some went to heaven and others to hell. The remainder of those surveyed were equally made up of those who were unsure about the afterlife and those that thought that death was the end, there was nothing more.

Question 3 examined beliefs about Jesus. Six out of ten of those questions held the creedal belief that Jesus was the only Son of God. Just over a third replied that Jesus was a spokesperson for God, while about one in ten people thought that Jesus was an ordinary human being.

Question 4 asked people about their spirituality. Seven out of ten people admitted to praying about an issue; three out of ten had a definite spiritual experience. About four out of ten had experienced both prayer and a spiritual experience.

Question 5 enquired if people could know God personally would they be interested? Seven out of ten responded yes, two out of ten were unsure and the remainder were not interested in the possibility.

The survey was a limited exercise which gave a small snapshot of beliefs. Belief in a personal God, life after death, the divinity of Jesus, the reality of spiritual experiences, particularly prayer, and the desire for a relationship with God is strong. Deism and atheism are minority standpoints. Views on the afterlife were more mixed with less than 25% holding a traditional understanding of heaven and hell. The divinity of Jesus was questioned by almost 40% of the sample.
Most of those questioned were spiritual and were open to a personal relationship with God.