"THERE is a lot of anxiety in the area but I still believe we must be calm and restrained and we must be very hopeful and we must pray that there will be a peaceful outcome of this whole matter," said the Rev John Pickering, the rector of the Church of Ireland church to which the Orangemen march.
"We don't want to see any trouble of any kind anywhere in the country. What happened in 1995 and 1996 was after the church service out on the road and separate and distinct from the church.
"This whole matter concerns the Portadown Orangemen, the Garvaghy Road residents and the police and some facilitators. I think if it was left to those people to get on with it, we would have very high hopes and I think it should be confined to those people."
One parishioner, Mr Dean Woods, a member of Portadown District Lodge, said: "My hope would certainly be that the parade takes place next week and is peaceful. We also hope that it will be resolved on the first day and not have this protracted business whereby the Orangemen will be encamped here on the hill for a week until the authorities give way.
"We would really like to see the communities agreeing that the parade will take place. But I think, inevitably, people will come here next Sunday and expect to parade and complete their normal route.
"The difficulty arose last year in that the people were here for so long. The frustrations in the community took over. There was very little trouble in and around Drumcree hill. The trouble was in outlying areas. This year, if there is a decision to ban the parade, I think there will be serious problems in Northern Ireland. We need cool heads but I think we also need an early decision.
"I think people are wondering what on earth is in Mo Mowlam's mind at the moment, one week before Drumcree. I would hope that the people on the Garvaghy Road, for the overall peace in the community, would say `let it go through quickly and get it over with'."
Another Orangeman, also a parishioner, said: "I hope it is resolved in a dignified fashion. It's not a case of one part of the community getting one up on the other. The Orangemen feel they have given all they can give. They have given up a number of parades over the years and they can't give any more. I don't think they are out to do anything in a triumphalist manner. They just simply want to walk back.
"No one wants any violence to take place, that's one sure thing. Our feeling is that the parade is lawful. They seek permission from the RUC. If they do not give permission, I honestly don't think the Orangemen will move until they do get walking their traditional route. But the most important thing is that they come to church. At the end of the day, that's what it is all about."
Father Eamon Stack celebrated Mass at St John's Catholic church yesterday morning. He spoke to the congregation about dignity, saying that people's dignity was at three levels - human dignity, moral dignity and spiritual dignity through the love of God.
"It's a free gift. No matter what happens to us, we can choose to love the Orangemen. That's what we should do.
"We are aware of the Orange parade, we are aware of its destructive effect on our community. We are aware of the violence that has come to our community, the murders of Robert Hamill and the two RUC men in Lurgan. Morally, we know it's wrong. What the RUC did on the Garvaghy Road was wrong. Forcing parades down the Garvaghy Road is wrong.
"It represents a dysfunctional relationship that needs to change. On one level we can say an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth and everyone ends up toothless and blind. But on a spiritual level, we can say we demand respect, not out of hate but out of love for the Orangemen.
"So rather than our faith telling us to go home and close the curtains and leave this dysfunctional relationship as it is and leave our young people becoming embittered, let's go out and communicate in an absolutely committed and peaceful way.
"The message is that this is not right. The world's media will be here and what we want to show is our dignity. There is an onus on the Christians to make sure there is no violence. To make sure that to anyone trying to use the thing for political reasons, say, `I'm sorry, our dignity is at stake and you are not going to use our dignity for your political ends'"
Father Stack said whether the Orangemen got down the road was not the biggest thing in the world; the residents' dignity was. "So often the Catholic people feel they have to sit down and take it. That's not the full Gospel."
One Massgoer said: "I would hope that everyone's dignity is respected on both sides and hoping beyond hope for a peaceful agreement and that some accommodation can be reached. I don't think that's possible when both sides don't even talk together. I think it's time that some people came down from high horses and looked at other ways and means."
He said no one could afford a situation like last year. "If there were to be a repeat it would shatter the hopes of the greater majority of people.
Another parishioner, Mr Joe Mulholland, said: "I would agree with what the committee on the Garvaghy Road is doing. It reflects the interests of all people in Northern Ireland who are oppressed in any way. They are standing up for all of us in a peaceful way."