#Unveiled christ ministries windows

We are to lead people to be brides of Christ. May we likewise help unveil Jesus - by teaching His Word, by healing, exhorting, by adoring and worshipping Jesus and letting our light shine and thus illuminating the way (Mt 5:14-16). In a wedding, the father traditionally lifts the veil from the bride, and then the husband can clearly see her. We are to be like those who lift the veil.

First, the Magi saw clearly, then, through them, all nations can see. In an unveiling, the veil is lifted, for all to see clearly. Christmas was a revelation to the few Epiphany is a revelation to the nations. From then on, the church will be open from 10.30am to 4pm, seven days a week.One of the prayers of the faithful for today’s Epiphany Mass reads: “That the Church, like the Star of Bethlehem, will draw the world to worship Jesus Christ.” Epiphany is a great feast of unveiling. The ‘Open Door’ initiative goes public on Monday 27th June. So, the whole area now is raising its profile and we’ll just see what comes of it.” I’ve spoken to Bishop Andrew to Bishop Donal across the road both of them said, ‘Great, go for it.’ Long Tower does it. The Select Vestry were enthusiastic and said, ‘Yes’. So did Jim detect any hint of trepidation among his fellow Select Vestry members? “Not at all.

#Unveiled christ ministries windows

Only five years ago, Christ Church was violated in a break-in, during which one of the stained-glass windows was smashed and extensive damage was caused to the church organ. The ‘Open Door’ project is itself, in a sense, an act of faith. If you need an act of faith in some way this is a place that you can use.” “To be perfectly frank, what we’re actually talking about is saying that we’ve been a sort of closed door, exclusive thing – because of circumstances, nobody’s fault, it’s been one of those things – and what we’re now saying is we’re a Christian community, and you can use it for community use, but you can also use it for religious purposes. So, it’s brilliant from that point of view.’ Barry Douglas comes to play the piano in here. We’re just opening the doors and saying, ‘This can be used. The Imperial War Museum is making grants available for that so we’re following that one up. “We’ve got an idea for some drama stuff, as well,” Jim says, “with the First World War. The Vestry also intends to create an exhibition area in an under-used part of the church and to digitise parish records so they will be more easily available to historians and visitors – including from overseas.

I was never fond of history at school, but the people’s stories fascinate me.”Ĭhrist Church is already established as a venue for musical performances, but the Select Vestry has ambitious plans to reinstate the first Thursday recitals which were once a feature of life in the parish. “Fifty people from this church died in the First World War,” he said, “out of the one hundred who left to fight in it, so half of them never came back. Irwin delighted in sharing the stories behind the famous windows and pointed out some of the well-known names on a plaque commemorating local victims of the two World Wars. ‘I don’t suppose my mum would be in here?’ We found her baptism – there were tears rolling down her face.” We had a lady in last weekend, knew that her grandparents were married here. But it’s also interesting from an historical point of view: from the First World War material we have the windows are of national significance we’ve got records here – we never sent them to Dublin, so they weren’t destroyed in the big fire in the 1920s – we’ve got all our records going back to 1801. “Ordinary people can come in and sit and meditate if they want,” Jim said, “it’s available for that purpose. “We want the building to be not just a congregational thing for the churchgoers, but for community use. Under the ‘Open Door’ initiative, the church will be open daily – “except, perhaps, on Christmas Day,” Jim suggested. During their visit, they heard about Christ Church’s 200-year-old history, the stories behind its famous stained-glass windows and the background to the ornate carvings on the altar quite a few of the children also took the opportunity to climb into the pulpit and experience what it felt like to be a preacher. The pupils got a chance to test their learning skills by answering questions about the church as they made their way round the building. Small groups of pupils were given short ‘guided tours’ of the building on Infirmary Road by the Rector, Archdeacon Robert Miller the CCCMSP Group’s Pastoral Director, Rev Canon Katie McAteer and Select Vestry members Jim Kelley and Irwin Thompson. The initiative was unveiled informally, this week, when dozens of children from the Model Primary School visited the church along with their teachers. Christ Church Londonderry will be opened to the public on a daily basis from next week under its new ‘Open Door’ ministry.