An unusual event will take place in Bunclody on September 15th. In the 18th century John Wesley visited the town three times, preaching there twice. For many years a small congregation worshipped in the Methodist church that stood on one corner of the square.
However, with the passing of time, the members either died or moved away, and the church was closed. It is now a restaurant known as The Chantry. These things are still remembered in the town.
On September 15th the address at the evening Mass in the Catholic church will be given by the president of the church, the Rev Harold Good. The parish priest, Father Aidan Jones, will then lead the congregation to the square for the unveiling of a plaque commemorating the visits of Mr Wesley, and honouring the memory of the Methodist people who made a contribution to the business life of the town over more than two centuries. The ceremony will be a unique ecumenical gesture.
More recently, another Methodist church was closed because of population movement, this time in Belfast. It stood on the Crumlin Road. The North Belfast Mission Housing Society, a Methodist foundation, is at present processing plans for the redevelopment of the site.
The intention is that within 12 months there will be 10 flats and bungalows there to accommodate elderly people. The housing of the elderly has been a major concern of the church in recent years, and this will be a valuable addition to a growing list of such enterprises by the church.
For some time the number of candidates offering for the ministry of the church in Ireland and the number of ministers transferring here from other Methodist churches in England, South Africa, the US and Sierra Leone has been sufficient to staff our circuits. There are signs, however, that this may not be so in the near future.
In the current issue of the Methodist Newsletter the principal of Edgehill College, where ministers are trained, has written an article concerning vocation. Reflecting on his own vocation, he not only invites people to give serious thought to the possibility of their call to ordination, but urges others to give some encouragement to them.
Within the next few weeks universities and third-level colleges will be reopening and new students will be finding their way through the exciting variety of extracurricular activities as well as their courses.
Ministers and others are reminded that if young people from their circuits are going away to university or college it would be of great assistance to the chaplains if they could be sent the names of those who are going to their particular college. This would enable them to extend a personal welcome to the young people concerned.
Tomorrow the Rev Harold Good will be visiting the churches at Glengormley in the morning and Craigy Hill, Larne, in the evening. On the morning of September 9th he will preach at St Columba's Church, Knock. That evening he will lead a service of welcome for the new chaplain in Methodist College, Belfast.
The new chaplain is the Rev David Neilands, who for the last nine years had been general secretary of the church's Department of Youth and Children's Work.