• 14 May 2020

Appointment to Newry and new Centre of Mission announced

The Rt Revd David McClay, Bishop of Down and Dromore is delighted to announce the appointment of Revd Capt Scott McDonald as Incumbent of the Grouped Parishes of St Patrick and St Mary, Newry. The appointment of a rector fell to the bishop after a long vacancy.

The bishop is also delighted to announce that the Diocese of Down and Dromore has entered into a partnership with Church Army to establish a Centre of Mission in Newry which Revd McDonald will lead. Another worker will be appointed to work under him as soon as possible.

Bishop David said, “This is great news for the Grouped Parishes of St Patrick and St Mary and for the City of Newry as Scott’s work in the parish develops and as he leads the Centre of Mission forward in the years ahead.”

A spokesperson for Church Army said: “We are delighted about the creation of this latest Centre of Mission, which brings to four the number of centres on the island. Scott will bring to his new post a wealth of knowledge and experience of evangelism, as well as a massive heart for seeing God at work in people’s lives.” 

Scott is currently a team Vicar in Lecale Area Mission Partnership (LAMP). As an ordained Church Army Evangelist, he has served the parishioners of Down Parish and Hollymount for a little over three and a half years. During this time Scott was also tasked with stimulating LAMP’s thinking around evangelism and mission.

He says, “This has been an enriching and rewarding experience and I am very thankful to everyone for their friendship and support throughout this time. I am especially thankful to those who were willing to try out new outreach initiatives outside of the normal parochial activities.

“I am also thankful to Dean Henry Hull, for inviting me to join LAMP and his leadership and guidance throughout my time here.”

Anticipating the next chapter of their life and ministry, Scott said:

“Pauline and I are looking forward to meeting the people of the grouped parishes of St Patrick and St Mary. We will leave Downpatrick with many happy memories but look ahead to Newry with a sense of God’s call on us and with faith in Him and with expectation in what will unfold to His glory.

“Alongside getting to know those who we will lead in our new church families, we will also travel to Newry with excitement at the prospect of establishing a Church Army Centre of Mission in the City. In this I want to thank our Bishop, David, for his vision and for his trust in me to lead this venture. I also want to thank the Reverend Captain Isaac Hanna for his outstanding work with Church Army regarding the plans for the Centre of Mission itself.”

Revd McDonald will be instituted as incumbent and introduced as leader of the Centre of Mission at a date to be announced. It is hoped that this will be in late August or early September as government guidelines around Covid–19 allow.

Centre of Mission

A Centre of Mission is a Church Army initiative which involves two evangelists working in a geographical area to pioneer culturally relevant expressions of church. They do this by fulfilling Church Army’s DARE strategy:  Doing – Advocating – Resourcing – Enabling evangelism.