Celebrating milestones reached in Dundrum
Colin Morris, the Community Pastor of St Donard’s Community Church in Dundrum, celebrates the milestones reached in their first year together.
With any new endeavour timelines are usually produced. In 3 months, we want to achieve this; in 6 months we want that in place and so on. Life experience (especially in the middle of a pandemic) tells us that sticking to our man–made timelines does not always go to plan. We do not always hit our targets in our time. That’s okay. For what we really want to focus on is not our timelines but instead God’s milestones, the things he wants us to achieve for His glory and our good within the time frame he has set for us. So, let’s forget our timelines and celebrate God’s milestones instead.
This has very much been the story at St Donard’s Community Church in Dundrum. We held our first gathering just over a year ago on 20 September 2020. The vision and hope was to create a community where people would come together, connect with one another and ultimately connect in Jesus.
Plans and timelines were put in place, but things never really happened in the time frame we had hoped for. A worship leader and praise team by Christmas; an all–age family service by the New Year, a Kid’s Club for Easter. It would have been easy to become discouraged when these things did not happen but in the midst of the apparent slowness a study in the book of Ruth reminded us that God is control, working out His extraordinary plan, in the lives of ordinary people like us.
During the various lockdowns we produced online resources in place of Sunday gatherings and shared children’s stories about God and the Bible on YouTube. We created a Christmas Nativity Trail which allowed passersby to take part as well as those who had booked online. We distributed family packs to those struggling with the burden of lockdown, home school and being stuck in the house. These packs helped families to connect with one another through games, music and movies as well as helping them to connect with God. A prayer time was set up on Zoom to pray for the work, the church, and the village because of a growing love for God and for the people of Dundrum. None of these things were on the original timeline but were significant milestones that God used to share the Good News about His Son Jesus and to let people know that His church was there for them.
The Community Church is now twelve months old, a significant milestone you would agree. Other milestones have also been greeted with joy.
Cherith Johnston joined the church family just in time for reopening at Easter to lead praise at our gatherings. Since then, she has been able to raise up a praise team full of singers, pianists and guitarists as the church seeks to worship not only in song but in all of life. We gained a “big brother” and a partner in our work in the form of Drumbeg Parish who have been a constant support and encouragement. Another milestone.
Over the summer St Donard’s held its Family Sundaes one morning in the month. These were great opportunities for people to come together, especially young families, so we decided to begin holding morning gatherings from September. The first of these took place just last week (26 September). Another key milestone. A core team has been created to drive the work forward in the village, which is headed up by me whose role as Community Pastor has recently become full–time alongside my training for ordination. Another milestone. Added to that we have an autumn Christianity Explored course and plans are well underway to launch an exciting new Kids Club in the coming month.
In the Old Testament Samuel erected a stone which he called “Ebenezer” (1 Samuel 7.12). The milestones in Dundrum are a constant reminder of our “Ebenezer” for we know that we are “Here by Thy great help”. Please continue to uphold St Donard’s Community Church and Dundrum in prayer as they seek to connect people in Jesus, reaching new milestones in God’s timing.
Colin Morris