Belfast: Ballymacarrett
St. Patrick, Newtownards Road, Belfast
St. Christopher, Mersey Street, Belfast
St. Martin, Kenilworth Place, Belfast
Directions to the church:
1). Easily accessible from Belfast City Centre and any part of East Belfast.
2). Newtownards Road is the principle route the East of the City towards Dundonald, Newtownards and the Ards Pensinula.
Service times:
Sundays
10.30am : Main Morning Service (St. Martin)
1st & 3rd Sundays : Holy Communion
4th Sunday : Family Service
11.30am : Main Morning Service
1st Sunday : Holy Communion (St Christopher)
2nd Sunday : Holy Communion (St Patrick)
3rd Sunday : Holy Communion (St Christopher)
4th Sunday : Family Services (St Patrick & St. Christopher)
7pm : Evening Service
2nd & 4th Sundays : Holy Communion (St. Martin, St. Christopher)
3rd Sunday : Holy Communion (St. Patrick)
Other Services
Evening Worship : takes place on a 3 monthly rotation around the 3 churches
3rd Sunday : Evening Healing Service
5th Sunday : United Group of Churches worship in St Patrick's at 11am
Contact us:
Rector (Vacant)
The Revd Paul Hooper (NSM Curate)
(028) 9081 5607
Captain Gary Roberts (Church Army Evangelist)
(028) 9267 5966
Mrs Anne Allan (Parish Administrator)
(028) 9073 8396
Chris Lyttle (Pastoral Assistant)
A bit about us:
St. Patrick�s (Newtownards Road), St. Christopher�s (Mersey Street), St. Martin�s (Kenilworth Place) have recently been grouped in order to share their resources and unite their witness to and care for the local community. St. Christopher�s and St. Martin�s, built in the early 1930�s, grew out of the expansion of the original Church of Ireland Church in Ballymacarrett, St. Patrick�s (consecrated in 1893), in the latter part of the 19th century and early part of the 20th century when the area burgeoned due to the growth of Harland and Wolff Shipyard and other new industries. All three were steeped in the history and the Christian witness within the area throughout the 20th century, and have grouped together in an area undergoing enormous transition to modernise the Church�s approach to �doing Church� in the 21st Century.Ballymacarett Parish originally centred around St Patrick's Church which can accomodate 1500 people. During the Second World War, two stained glass windows were removed for safe keeping. St Patrick's suffered very considerable bomb damage during the air raids of 1941 - much of the roof and one transept including the agllery were destroyed and all remaining stained glass was lost. After the war, the church was totally rebuilt and rededicated in 1952.
St Christopher's was consecrated in 1932 and until 1960 it was a daughter church of Ballymacarrett, serving the needs of the Mersey Street area. A new pulpit, lectern and credence table were dedicated in 1962. In 1965 the parish received full parochial status, but reverted to a Bishop's Curacy in 1994, being re-grouped with St Patrick's and St Martin's in recent years.
When first separated from Ballymacarrett in 1930, a hall in Memel Street was used as a place of worship. St Martin's was then built with considerable financial assistance from Southern Church Mission. It was independent of Ballymacarrett parish, despite being situated within parish boundaries. This area was once quite populous, but now has little or no resident population. For many years the incumbent was known as the Head of Mission and was appointed by the Bishop of Meath. St Martin's was also known as Southern Church Mission to Ballymacarrett. The church has recently been grouped with St Patrick's and St Christophers under the one single ministry team. It celebrated 75 years in November 2008.
Mission Statement:
To grow in the knowledge and the love of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit and to serve him through the gifts of God�s people in outreach to the local community.
Due to the extensive redevelopment and the �Troubles�, the demography of the area has changed enormously in recent years and is still grappling with regeneration. This is a congregation steeped in the area with a warm sense of fellowship. Despite small numbers there is an active programme of ministry to children, to parishioners and the wider community Traditional and Family worship take place in all three Churches.
Evening worship rotates monthly around the three Churches.
We hold a United Service on the 5th Sunday of the month in which it occurs�We are a warm and vibrant people of God struggling to envision a new way forward in a deprived, oppressed and heavily unchurched community.
The Future:
We hope and pray for renewal of Church life and the Kingdom of God in the community of Ballymacarrett. More and more we are playing our part in the spiritual and social regeneration of this deprived community despite our small numbers and age profile. Our vision is to see God�s church take central place in the life of the people and community of the area. To this end we expect God, through his risen Son and the power of the Holy Spirit to renew the Church of Ireland witness, and are prepared to work with Churches of other denominations to enhance God�s Kingdom in East Belfast.
Organisations in the parish:
Sunday Schools
Prayer meetings
Mothers' Union
Ladies' Guild
Weekly lunch Club/Friendship Hour
Friendship Club
Bowling Club
Choir
Inter-church group