Small churches thinking big!
Canon Rajkumar Sathyaraj has been Minister in Charge of Kilwarlin (Upper & Lower) for almost two years now. We hope you're encouraged by this report of two small congregations who are thinking big.
St. John's, Upper Kilwarlin
St John's is a lovely old church located in a quiet rural area near Hillsborough. We are blessed with a small but faithful congregation and we praise God that the numbers are increasing.
We have started a monthly prayer meeting, a Healing Service and a Service of Evening Praise once a month to encourage our young people. Alpha courses and regular Bible studies are helping us to grow together spiritually.
The Fellowship and Fundraising committee has been organising events to encourage members and neighbours to build relationships as well as raise funds for important projects. One of these was a good car park which we are delighted to say has been completed. Recently the Select Vestry invested in screens and a projector and the first service after lockdown on 5th July was done completely on PowerPoint.
The church does not have a hall but the Lord in a wonderful way has guided the Select Vestry to plan for one. It will be prefabricated, and we pray that it will be installed in the near future so that it can be a hub for outreach to the local community with activities and programmes for all ages.
Even though we were not able to gather for services for three and half months, members have been very supportive and generous, and our finances are in a healthy position. We praise God for His providence.
Our goal is to have a lively missional church which will be a blessing to our neighbours. We also pray that in future the church along with St James' church will be able to support a full-time Rector.
St. James', Lower Kilwarlin
A very small congregation worship in St. James' Church, a beautiful little building in lower Kilwarlin. However there has been some growth in the last two years. The Sunday school has restarted, and the monthly Family Service has become popular with a few younger families.
St. James' church has the advantage of having a hall, where we have run an Alpha course as well as cooking demonstrations, fund raising events for CMS and social events like BBQs.
As the potential for growth was limited a few members met and came up with a plan to refurbish the old hall and open it up as a community centre. Once the refurbishment is complete the hall will be available for charity events, birthday parties, fitness classes and so on.
It will also become a base for outreach and evangelism as we reach out in particular to the new development of 30 houses close to the church. Once they are occupied, we plan to visit the new residents with welcome packs including an invitation to church, a New Testament and Christian books for children.
As in so many other situations, the COVID pandemic has forced us to pause, however we will press ahead as soon as we can. We pray that in the days to come St. James' will be a lively, welcoming church with services and activities for all age groups.
Canon Raj
