CHURCH FOCUS EARL STOREY WRITTEN BY Christ ChurchStrabane Along with an interesting history it has had many previ- ous clergy and church members who worked faithfully to main- tain a living Church of Ireland parish in Strabane. Building on the foundations of the past the parishioners, with its new Priest-in-Charge Camu-Juxta-Mourneisthean- cientnameforaChurchofIre- landparishthatrmlybelieves inthefuture. Rev Mark Lennox (Priest-in- Charge) and a very supportive congregation are working hard to live out the words of Abraham Lincoln, who said: The best way to predict the future is to create it. So, where is this beautiful- ly named parish? It is based in the west Co Tyrone town of Stra- bane and is a part of the diocese of Derry and Raphoe. With a population of 17,000, Strabane is the second-largest town in Tyrone, afer Omagh. It lies on the east bank of the Riv- er Foyle and is roughly equidis- tant from Omagh, Londonderry and Leterkenny. It is also on the main road between Londonder- ry and Dublin. For those not familiar with the local geography, the River Foyle marks the border be- tween Northern Ireland and the Republic. On the other side of the river from Strabane lies the smaller town of Lifford in Co Donegal. The River Mourne winds it way through the centre of the town, and meets the River Finn to form the Foyle. Christ Church, the parish church, is situated convenient- ly near to the town centre. Its address could have been writ- ten for a tourist brochure as it is Bowling Green, Strabane. One of the previous incum- bents wife was the famous hymn writer Cecil Frances Al- exander. Mrs Alexander wrote hymns such as There is a green hill far away and All things bright and beautiful, while her husband, William Alexander, later was consecrated Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, and then elevated to Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland. The parish has been going through an interesting period in its development in recent years. The backdrop to this is the economic challenges faced by towns such as Strabane, a demographically diminishing Church of Ireland population as well as the wounds of The Trou- bles on the town. FEATURE Shaped by the Word This week we visit Christ Church Strabane Parish Church of Ireland Rev Mark Lennox, were com- mited to the future. They are also commited to one of the values of the diocese of Derry and Raphoe a belief in growth. This will mean growth spiritually, numerically and - nancially. The diocese of Derry and Raphoe employs a parish devel- opment ocer, Rev Paul Hoey. One of his tasks is to help par- ishes to reect on their current situation and to imagine what their future could look like. Afer that it is about the par- ish taking action to move to- wards that future. Paul led members of the parish through a development process a number of years ago. Out of this process the pa- rishioners identified one of their priorities as active engage- ment with the local community in Strabane. Intriguingly the vision as MessyChurchactivitiesaboveandbelow new music. Up to 120 people at- tend the weekly Family Service, with normal worship services atracting up to 100. lMessy Church four times per year. The phenomenon of Messy Church has been grow- ing in churches of all types in re- cent years. Essentially it is using crafs, music and foods a way of being church for families involv- ing fun. It is grounded on the val- ues of being Christ-centred, for all ages, based on creativity, hos- pitality and celebration. l As Mark Lennox says: When adults see their children having fun and being engaged it encourages them. Originally from Castledaw- son, Mark completed a Business Management and Computing degree at the University of Ul- ster. He then went on to work in a school Computing Depart- ment before managing a train- described by Rev Lennox, is to make such a contribution to the community that if the church closed then their contribution would be keenly missed. One of the challenges for a new clergyperson in any par- ish is deciding what to do rst. When Mark Lennox began his ministry in Strabane in Sep- tember 2012 his first priority was simple to listen and talk to people as much as possible. It was about nding out what was important to his people. One of the things that be- came clear very quickly was that people wanted something for their children. That led to a number of important develop- ments: lThe use of some new wor- ship songs as part of normal Services. As Mark Lennox says: Our Services have everything that make us Anglican, but with the sensitive use of some ing company in Belfast. When in his early 20s he describes a growing call to or- dained ministry. Shortly afer his ordination he began work in Maghera and Killelagh, also in Derry and Raphoe diocese. During his time there he was signicantly involved with a thriving ministry that worked to meet needs in the local com- munity. From there he moved to Strabane in September 2012. He combines his part time ministry as Priest-in-Charge in Strabane with being Warden for the Ministry of Healing in the di- ocese of Derry and Raphoe. He has just taken up this role, which involves promoting healing ministry in the diocese. He practises what he preaches in that the parish runs regular Healing Services. It also oers prayer for heal- ing at all of its Holy Communion Services. RevMarkLennox 25 Saturday, March22, 2014 www.newsleter.co.uk NEWSLETTER WINABRAND NEWiPADAIR CelebrateSpringwithabrandnewiPadAir. Enter for achanceto winyour owntablet andhavetheperfect excusetohavesomefun whilst youwait for thesunthisSpring! Your brandnewiPadAir holds32GBof your needsfor workor playandweighsonly1 pound. 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UK entrants, 18 and over only: Bill payers permission must be obtained before entering. This is a Johnston Press Group competition. Model provided is a silver iPad Air Wi-Fi32GB. NOCASHALTERNATIVE. For full t&cs go to htp://www.johnstonpress.co.uk/competition. LAST CHANCE TO iPAD AIR READER COMPETITION AUTHENTIC CHRISTIAN FAITH MarkLennoxandBishopKenGoodon eveninghebecamePriest-in-Charge Keys to growth in Strabane parish So what are some of the keys to life in this ancient parish of Ca- mus-Juxta-Mourne? lThe parish exists today be- cause of the faithfulness of pre- vious generations and ministry of preceding clergy; lA parish that prefers the words of Abraham Lincoln The best way to predict the future is to create it to any of the alter- native ways of looking towards the future. It is one thing to say we believe this. It is another to be willing to sometimes move out of our comfort zone to act on this belief; lA parish that wants to look outward and to engage with the community it lives amongst; lA parish that is willing to live fruitfully in the world it nds itself in; lAn ability to see an op- portunity and the willingness to do something about it. This was very well illustrated by an event shortly to be held In Christ Church featuring world- renown Christian song writer Graham Kendick; Kendrick as played all over the world and featured in pro- grammes such as BBC Songs of Praise. The parish, along with the parish of Maghera and Kil- lelagh heard that he was con- sidering a visit to Northern Ireland. Both parishes joined together and organised a three-event tour for him. As well as playing in Ban- bridge and Magherafelt High School he will be performing in Christ Church (Church of Ireland) in Strabane at 7.30 p.m tonight. Tickets have been going so well that they are almost sold out. Perhaps the greatest as- set Camus-Juxta-Mourne has in the town is a willing- ness to keep the main thing the main thing. The par- ish has a motto to preach the Word and to be shaped by the Word. Mark Lennox describes it like this. It is letting Jesus shape us into the church community He wants us to be and to live out authentic Christian faith in the world we nd ourselves in. An informal space for all Christ Church quite literally now has a window on the high street, with the development of The Lighthouse Centre. Unfor- tunately Strabane shops have faced the same ravages as many others across Northern Ireland. Recently the parish became aware of a vacant shop in Aber- corn Square. Thinking about their commitment to engage with their local community they began to think of how they THE LIGHTHOUSE might use a shop in an imagina- tive way. So began their latest in- itiative The Lighthouse Centre. The Lighthouse Centre is now situated in the vacant shop, providing direct access for members of the local com- munity. Now redecorated and furnished it is, or will be used in many creative ways such as: lAs a venue for caf church essentially an informal space for people to meet. lAs a venue for a now bi- weekly senior citizens drop-in centre. lAs a youth drop-in centre. Rev Lennox describes how it is going to be used during this years Holy Week. He says, During that week it will be turned into a Prayer Room, with different spaces created to help people reflect on the last week of Christs life before His crucixion. Membersof theparishoutsidetheLighthouseCentre