connect



Your guide to what’s going
on in Waringstown

Jun ‘18 - Sep ‘18

Edition 9

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Welcome to the summer (fingers
crossed) and the ninth edition of our
Community Newsletter! Hopefully by the
time you are reading this the temperature
has picked up and we are all fully out of
hibernation with a few barbecues under the
belt - we all can hope.

In this edition of Connect you'll find lots of useful info and dates on upcoming
things to see and do; as well as some interesting features on a few of our local
Waringstown residents and associations in the village.

We all look forward to the school holidays! The summer holidays also
mean Shine and Glo will be in full swing with tons of fun. Find out about it all from
Suzie Taylor and Mark Hawthorne on page 4. Also on the subject of school, we
take a look at the recent Waringstown Primary P7 trip to London on page 12 and
find out how both the parents and children got on.

Neil Harrison gives us an insight into the great work local charity Reach is doing on
page 14. And Simon Fitzpatrick catches up with  Waringstown Cricket
Club  Captain Greg Thompson on building on the club's success & the hunt for
more silverware on page 18.

Colin Neill got behind the wheel of 'The Bus' when he

spoke to Tyrrell Ar nold about  New Line Bus
Ministries activities on page 8.

Finally Rebecca McNeill had a chat with Alyson

Soye on her recent work and forthcoming illustrations
& books on page 16, and Alyson drew a picture for
our readers to colour in for our competition in this
edition on page 19.
There’s plenty going on in Waringstown this summer to
interest everyone; it’s a great opportunity to try
something new and make new friends – we’d love to
welcome and see you there.

Gareth Morrow

…let your light shine before others, that they may see

your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven

2 Welcome
The View from the Pew
Just over a year ago I lost my job. Along with
uncertainty and a reduced income I was not as busy.
Losing my job allowed me the time and space to get
to know God better. This was something I had been
praying about for nearly eighteen months. "Please
Lord, help me to know you more," was a constant
prayer while I merrily continued living my life without
spending much time in God's presence.

How do we get to know someone? To do this

properly we have to spend quality time with them.
With God that means regular prayer and Bible study.

Devastated at losing my job I turned to God. It was

not with joyful anticipation that I cried out to Him, but
through gritted teeth, telling myself that I would praise and trust Him. And I did both.
Shortly after this a good friend gave me a book by Timothy Keller, My Rock My Refuge,
which is a year of daily devotions in the Psalms. In Psalm 55 verses 16 and 17 we read:

As for me, I call to God, and the LORD saves me. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in
distress, and He hears my voice.

I read this last April, but it has taken me a full year to realise that the Psalmist is calling out
to God, (praying), three times a day. Not just snatches of
prayers, but regular, meaningful communication.

Sometimes we need a pause in the busyness of our lives

to reconnect again with God. To hear His voice
speaking to us. Perhaps you will use a holiday period, a
time of illness or other incapacitation to do just that. I
humbly encourage all of us to do so.

Nicole Lappin

Nicole is wife to Fin and mum to Patrick, Rosie and Maggie.

When not working she enjoys reading.

3
 Shine


& GLO in Waringstown
How do I explain what ‘Shine’ is?
Well, actually, ‘Shine’ isn’t just the name of our
Holiday Bible Club, but it encapsulates what
we want children and families to see and
experience as they walk through the door. As
the children and young people enjoy games,
quizzes, warm-ups, crafts, songs and a lot of
laughter, we want to demonstrate to those we
come in contact with that the life of a
Christian isn’t dull and subdued, but is fun, full
of joy and filled with wonderful experiences
that you wouldn’t get anywhere else.

However, the most important thing we do is

meet with God. Through age appropriate
worship and Bible exploration, we want to
help the children and young people
understand more about who God is, His love
for them, and how they can have a
meaningful and lasting relationship with him.
As a wonderful children’s worship song puts it,
we want to ‘shine, from the inside out, so the
world can see, you (Jesus) live in me.’

What is Glo?
This question is one that has been discussed
about a lot over the past few months. Not
because we don’t know what it is but more as
way to make Glo bigger and better! The
answer that we normally respond with is “Glo
is a community initiative between Holy Trinity
C h u r c h o f I r e l a n d a n d Wa r i n g s t o w n
Presbyterian Church which seeks to show
God’s love in very practical ways in the
community.” This means, Glo gives young
people the opportunity to have a positive
impact in the village, through gardening,
painting, litter-picking, children’s work, sport
and community fun night.

4 Church Life
What does that look like?
This year, Glo will take place from Wednesday to
Sunday, to allow all ages, including those who work
during the week, to have an opportunity to be
involved and come along to some of the activities.
We can’t reveal too much at this stage but what I
can say is that there are a lot of BIG plans currently
coming together & you will not want to miss out.

Why do we do this?
John 10v10 “For I have come that they may have
LIFE and have it to the FULL” has been our key bible
verse for many years. It tells us that Jesus offers us so
much more than anything else ever could. As
people who love Jesus, we know of this life in all its
fullness and we want to make that known in the
community. We want to share the hope of Jesus
and be His hands and feet in Waringstown.

Article by Suzie Taylor & Mark Hawthorne

5
Living Life Together
Small Groups have long been a part of church life in Waringstown Presbyterian
Church, and this month we want to give a glimpse of who’s in them, what they do,
and why they’re important.

What is a Small Group?

Essentially, a small group is just
a group of people who follow
Jesus. It might be three, it
might be ten, it might be
slightly more. But it is small –
small enough to fit into your
living room, say.

What are they for?

We think Small Groups are so
important because they
provide something that no
other kind of church gathering can provide. Of course we highly value our weekly
Sunday services as crucial occasions when we meet together as believers to sing to
God and hear what He has to say through His Word, the Bible. And we feel strongly
that calling ourselves Christians means that we should have a deeply personal
relationship with Jesus; one that means regular, personal prayer and study of the Bible.
But there is something unique about that in-
between space where a small group of people
meet regularly to share life together.

The Bible talks about the church – and that’s the

people, not the building – as being like a body,
made up of different parts. Each part has its
function, and each part is different. And there’s
no better way to appreciate our differences and
to understand our unique roles than by sharing
our experiences with others: our joys, successes,
disappointments, anxieties and hurts.

There are lots of words in the Bible that we don’t

use very often, but which have very specific, very
useful meanings. One such word is ‘edify’. It
comes from a Latin word which means ‘building’
or ‘construction’. That’s what Small Groups are
for. Believers in Jesus Christ building one another
up so that they can walk strong in their faith.

6 Church Life
What do they do?
Small Groups in Waringstown Presbyterian meet twice monthly between September
and June. A typical evening might see a group gather in the home of one of its
members and usually beginning with tea and buns. But the core activity of any
evening will be time spent together studying the Bible and praying. We usually use a
book to help us understand the Bible passage we are reading, using a series of
questions to guide our discussion.

But groups do more than that. A Small Group working as it should will provide a
network of prayerful and practical support to all its members; it offers what the Bible
calls ‘a friend who sticks closer than a brother.’ It should be the kind of group which
people look at and say ‘see how they love one another.’

Who can join a Small Group?

You. And you. And you. Many of our groups reflect a particular demographic of the
church community (young adults; those with young children; those at similar life
stages). We find that works well when it comes to applying what God is saying to the
nitty-gritty workings of our daily lives. But there are also groups for those who are still
tentatively investigating the Christian faith. Small Groups are not (just) for ‘super-ninja-
Christians’. If you are a follower of Jesus and hungry to learn about Him through the
Bible and through the way his Spirit works through other people, join a Small Group.
Article by Steve Bond

7
The Bus

 that goes where the need is
In his Great Commission at the end of Matthew’s Gospel,
before being taken back into Heaven, the resurrected
Jesus is explicitly clear in instructions to his followers:
they’re to “go and make disciples.” They’re to go: not sit;
not wait; not expect people to come to them; but
instead they’re to go.

That’s an instruction that Waringstown Presbyterian elder

and local farmer Tyrrell Arnold has taken literally with his
purchase of a former Translink bus that has been
adapted and transformed into a mobile mission project.
Tyrrell is supported by a team of up to 25 volunteers and
the project partners with Rodney Adamson and
Craigavon Evangelists Association.

A number of divine nudges wove together to convince

Tyrrell that God was clearly telling him: “you’re to buy a bus”, a message he heard
himself and that was reinforced by the leading of a number of trusted friends.

Tyrrell saw God’s hand at work at several stages in acquiring the vehicle. On the day he
visited Translink, he had a choice of around 40 buses to choose from and felt God
inexplicably drawing him to one particular vehicle - a few day’s later a Bible verse
corresponding exactly to that bus’s number spoke to him in a profound way.

The Bus - the ministry is officially called New Line Bus Ministries, but is simply & knowingly
referred to by many supporters as The Bus - is used around 30 days a year, and has
travelled as far north as annual visits to the North West 200, & as far south as County
Cork.

Tyrrell can tell countless stories of ordinary

people who have had extraordinary and
life changing conversations and
encounters on The Bus. He’s clear that the
ministry is not targeted at any particular
age or social group, but rather at everyday
people in everyday towns - ordinary five-
eighths folk and yet every one of them
loved and longed after by God to an
astonishing extent. It is Jesus’ Great
Commission given wheels and taken on the
road.

Article by Colin Neill

8 Church Life
9
 Monday Tuesday
9am-1pm 10am-1pm
Church Office Open 
 Church Office Open
Contact: Pamela 02838882654 Contact: Pamela 02838882654

11am-2pm (WPC Hall) 10am-12pm (WPC Hall)

Luncheon Club (Senior Citizens Lunch) * Retired Men’s Fellowship (Bowls & Coffee) *
Contact: Melvyn 07854 875170 Contact: Melvyn 07854 875170

6.45pm-7.45pm (WPC Hall) 6-7pm or 7-8pm (C of I Halls)

Rainbows (Girl Guiding for Ages 4-7) * Anchor Boys (BB for p2-p4, places limited) *
Contact Joanne: 07709 393200
7-8.30pm (C of I Halls)
6.30pm-8pm (C of I Halls) Junior Section (BB for p5-p7) *
Brownies ((Girl Guiding for Ages 7-10) *
Contact Trudy: 07769 977343 7.30-9.30pm (WPC Hall & C of I Halls)
Company & Senior Sections (BB for yr8+) *
8pm-9pm (WPC Hall) Contact: Jack 07546 549526
Guides (Girl Guiding for Ages 10-14) *
or jackpatterson7@yahoo.com
Contact: Lynn 07761 902767
or ‘Waringstown BB’ Facebook Page
8pm-9pm (WPC Hall)
Senior Section (Girl Guiding Ages 14-26) *
Contact Joanne: 07709 393200

8-10pm (WPC Hall)

Banner Making *
Contact: Barbara 07525 265665

Friday Saturday
9am-1pm 8.30-11am (Polypipe Factory, Dromore Rd.)
Church Office Open WPC Wheelers (Men’s Cycling Club)
Contact: Pamela 02838882654 Contact: Richard 07878 327196
or richardpatterson101@tiscali.co.uk
7-9pm (WPC Hall) *weather dependent.
Friday Fun Club (Youth Club for p5-p7’s) *
Fortnightly. Contact: Suzie 07706 797647

7.30-9.30pm *
Harbour Nights (Youth Fellowship for Ages 11-17)
Fortnightly in WPC Hall
Anchor Groups (Small Groups for Ages 11-17)
Fortnightly in various local homes
Contact: Mark 07903 614370

10 Weekly Diary
 Wednesday Thursday
9am-1pm 9am-1pm
Church Office Open Church Office Open
Contact: Pamela 02838882654 Contact: Pamela 02838882654

6.30pm-7.30pm (C of I Halls) 10.30am-12pm (WPC Hall)

Rainbows (Girl Guiding for Ages 4-7) *
Contact Judith: 07548 526339
6.45pm-8.15pm (C of I Halls)
Brownies ((Girl Guiding for Ages 7-10) *
Contact Zoe: 07715 346853
7.45pm-9.30pm (C of I Halls)
Guides (Girl Guiding for Ages 10-14) *
Contact Jill: 07730 952238
8-9.30pm (WPC Hall)
First Wednesday (Mid-week Bible study) *
First Wednesday each month
8.30-9.30pm (WPC Hall)
Open Door for Prayer (Weekly June-August))
Little Lambs (Baby & Toddler group) *
Contact: Ruth 07879 665308
Facebook: ‘Little Lambs Parent & Toddler
Group’
7pm-10pm (WPC Church)
Music Practice (For Sunday worship)
Contact: Sam 07976 369668
7.30-10pm (The Basement, Connect 61)
The Basement Youth Centre *
Youth centre for ages 11-18 offering a range of
programmes and projects during the year.
Come along and see what you think!
Contact: Neil 07745 534886

Sunday
June/July/August
10.30-11.45am (WPC Church)
Morning Worship
Coffee Time after the service
6.30-7.30pm (WPC Church)
Evening Worship *
From 19th August
normal services resume
9.30 & 11.30am Morning Worship
6.30pm Evening Worship

* These do not meet during July and August but will

resume in September. 11
 WPS


P7 London Trip 2018
Olivia Cuthbert, P7

I was looking forward to the London trip for so long. The night before, I could
hardly sleep I was so excited! I had packed and
repacked my bag all week and I was ready to go.
Mum and Dad got me up very early and left me off to
school, we got onto the bus and couldn’t wait to get
away. The journey was good – we got to sit in the
cockpit before take-off, there were so many buttons!

When we arrived, we went straight to the Windsor Castle

tour before heading to our hotel to have our tea. Before
bedtime, we went on a floodlit tour of London which was
cool. Over the rest of the week we packed in so much
and it was fantastic - we went to lots of places I have
seen on tv like the Houses of Parliament, The Tower of ady to go…
London, the London Eye, Wembley Stadium and St Paul’s Getting re
Cathedral. Some of
my favourite things were going to
the theatre to see the ‘Lion King’ and
‘Matilda’, a visit to Hamley’s toy shop, and
most of all, a day out at Lego Land (the rides
were really cool)!

By Friday, I was pretty tired… my step tracker

said I had walked 48km over 5 days, and
London is very noisy (I could hear the
underground trains in our hotel bedroom!). It
was time to go home which was sad, but this
meant we had a really good time. It was good
to see everyone at home again (and show off all my photos!). Thank you to Mr
McCambley and all our teachers for a great trip and lots of memories!

The view from home – Mum, Dad and Beth (P4) and Archie (the dog).

It is fair to say there had been an early sense of looking forward to the ‘the London
trip’ ever since Olivia joined Waringstown PS, back in Primary 1! However, on
entering Primary 7, and particularly over the past few months, the excitement had
definitely been growing.

Preparations began with trips to the shops, ticking off the school’s suggested list of
items, including an adequate supply of sweets and bank of England £5 notes, and
of course a posh frock for the trip to the theatre! There was also last minute panic

12 Community News
when we realised our ‘camera’ battery wouldn’t recharge (the smartphone
camera has taken over in our house!)

Finally, Monday 30th April 2018 arrived

with an early start to be at the school by
5.45am! With final goodbyes, Olivia and
her classmates climbed aboard the bus
and off they headed to Belfast City
Airport & onwards to ‘the big smoke’.

5 days of checking the school website

for updates, photos & videos had
commenced; I think we visited the web page more that week than in the previous
6 years! It was great to see everyone enjoying the trip and to share the experiences
from afar.

The week passed quickly and soon we were waiting in the school carpark, for the
coach to appear. With the chaos of everyone getting off, we didn’t really get a
chance to thank the school staff for all their dedication and energy in organising
everything, keeping everyone safe, and making the trip memorable for Olivia and
her class – so a big ‘Thank You’ to Mr McCambley and all his staff, it really is
appreciated.

13
Unleashing Potential one young life at a time.
Here in CONNECT, we love to tell great stories of
people from Waringstown who are making a
positive difference in our wider community. So I was
absolutely delighted to grab a coffee with local
youth worker Jamie Stoddart to hear all about his
work with local charity REACH. If you haven’t heard
of them, they are a faith based charity that partner
with local schools to support young people to
‘reach’ their full potential.

Jamie, a member of Waringstown Presbyterian

Church, has been working with young people in the
greater Lurgan area for over 10 years. He has
recently taken up the role of Schools Mentoring
Coordinator for REACH, and is an infectious
advocate for the organisation. In his own words, Jamie Stoddart from REACH

“mentoring opens new opportunities every time you meet with

young people. It’s a privilege to be that support in the lives of
those who have nowhere else to look.”

He informed me that whilst the charity has only existed for 3 years, the vision was birthed
over 10 years ago, when local youth workers and volunteers began investing time every
week into the lives of young people in local schools. Today REACH has a highly skilled
team of 7 staff including qualified teachers, youth workers and trained counsellors,
along with a host of skilled volunteers, all ably led by Founding Leader, Rick Preston.

Weekly Mentoring sessions with 320

young people forms the core work of
REACH, but alongside that, Jamie
informed me that they deliver Personal
Development lessons for schools, as well
as ‘cluster sessions’ outside of school with
young people requiring additional
support. Jamie’s belief in the importance
of this work is clear as he explains:

“providing a space each week for

young people to step back, talk, listen,
laugh or cry can be a life changing
experience, and I’m delighted to be
part of that.”

14
Community News
Reach support young people with a wide range of emotional and behavioural needs
across 24 schools (primary and post-primary) in the Lurgan, Craigavon and Portadown
area. One of those is Lurgan College, where teacher Heather McDowell is all too aware
of the vital contribution Reach are making:

“So many of the students that I teach are lost in a world where adults are too busy, or
too distracted to listen. Where expectation is thrust upon them. Where they face
challenges such as bereavement, illness, depression. As Pastoral Year Head I am
grateful that I am able to use REACH to support students emotionally as they learn how
to face these challenges, walking alongside them as they develop resilience in a
demanding world.”

I hope by now, like me, you are getting a growing sense of admiration for the vital work
of this charity, that clearly punches well above its weight.  That said, Jamie left the best
to last as he shared with me some words written by a 14 year old student who was
mentored this year: 
“REACH has had a big impact on my school life and normal life as I am now a confident
young girl who is not afraid to do the impossible. I am now not afraid to speak out in
school anymore. I have been getting better grades and have been putting myself
forward for challenges for example, I’ll be speaking at our class assembly, something I
would have never been able to do before Reach.  Thank you a lot reach mentoring
group from the bottom of my heart…
…You all don’t realise what an impact
you have on a child's life.” 
 
If you want to know more about this
amazing local charity, or would like to get
involved then drop into their offices (High
Street, Lurgan) where you will almost
certainly be welcomed with a cuppa and
a bun!  Alternatively you can make
contact via ‘REACH Mentoring’ on
Facebook or Instagram. 
 
In the words of child psychologist Urie
Bronfenbrenner, “Reach, believe that: 
every child needs at least one adult who
is irrationally crazy about him or her.” 
 
Maybe you could be one of those adults?

Article by Neil Harrison

15
Our LocalLife
An Illustrating Poet
For some, a career in a creative field is
merely 
 a dream, but for local illustrator
Alison Soye, drawing for a living has
become a reality. Alison currently lives in
Edinburgh and has become a well
known name in publishing for her
illustrations in Waterstone's Scottish
Children's book of the month, Maggie's
Mittens. She also continues to work
freelance with her famous 'favourite
things' commissions. For this issue,
Connect was able to chat to Alison
about her exciting career! Alison Soye

Alison, it's great to hear of your success so far. Did you always know that you
wanted to pursue a career in illustrating?

I always knew that I wanted to do something creative but it wasn’t until I tried
out the illustration module during my foundation year at university that I realised
it is something I really wanted to pursue. I love illustration as it encompasses so
many different methods of creating images - from printmaking and painting, to
collage, typography and even painting onto ceramics and windows!

What has been the biggest challenge you have faced in your career?

There are certainly a number of challenges around working as a freelancer.
Being essentially my own boss means I have to organise my time, work load,
finances, admin and self promotion myself - a bit of a learning curve when I first
started out! As well as this, being responsible for my own work can sometimes be
stressful; it’s my reputation and name on the line if things don’t go smoothly or to
plan - so that can really put the pressure on.

What has been the best moment of your career so far?

Seeing the children’s book I illustrated in high street bookshops for the first time
was very special, as were the school and library visits that followed! I’m very
lucky to have been asked to take part in various newspaper, radio and TV
interviews and as much as I cringe reading, listening or watching them back, it’s
lovely to see my work being noticed.

16 Community News
What advice would you give to others wanting to pursue a creative career?

Don’t stress if you’re not entirely sure what you want to do - this comes with time
spent trying out different things. Don’t compare your work to others - by all
means be inspired by other creatives - but
really try to focus on what YOU want to do
and create.

What are you working on right now?

I have recently finished illustrations for the

children’s book Maggie’s Monsters by Coo
Clayton (a follow up to the first book,
Maggie’s Mittens). It is due to be launched
on the 27th June at West End Waterstones,
Edinburgh. I’m now back working full time
on lots of illustration orders for customers
and creating some new designs! You can keep up to date with my work on
Instagram (@alisonsoye) or Facebook (Alison Soye Illustration). My website is
www.alisonsoye.com.
Article by Rebecca McNeill

17
An Interview with
Waringstown Cricket Club Captain
2017 saw Waringstown Cricket Club become
the most successful club in Ireland, winning 4
trophies, including the NCU Premier League
Title and Irish Cup. However Waringstown 1st
XI captain Greg Thompson insists his players
will be hungry for silverware again this summer.

“Its not going to be a case of us sitting back

and going that was a great year. Waringstown
as a club have a history of success and it is up
to us to ensure it continues this year. We are
hungry and want more trophies.”

Thompson is also confident that they can cope with the loss of some key players “We
have the same strong starting eleven as last year, and although some might argue
we have lost strength in depth, we have
Andrew Mitchelll, & Jack Carson from Sussex,
plus Matthew Purse from Ballymena, who has
moved to the area. Then you have guys like
Ross Waite and Ryan Dennison who are
capable of playing first eleven cricket along
with talented young players coming through.”

Waringstown CC has always placed a

significant amount of pride in being heralded
as a community club and known for
developing young talent from the village. Greg
informs me that “the Lawn gives young people
around the village the opportunity become
active and meet new friends in an excellent
environment. The coaching structures we have
in place now are second to none, and as you
can see by our first XI, we have a brilliant track
record of producing young players & giving
them a chance at the highest level”

Greg adds, “I would love to see as many of the local community visit the Lawn as
possible. What you will see is a top-level sport right on your doorstep. The Lawn is very
family orientated as well with regular BBQ’s on match days. In addition, when the sun
shines it’s difficult to find a better way to spend the day. The team greatly appreciate
all the support we get, and new faces will be made very welcome this season.”

Article by Simon Fitzpatrick

18
Community News
* For full details of the competition see page 17
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Church Office
Waringstown Presbyterian
028 3888 2654
info@waringstownpresbyterian.com

Facebook Page:
Waringstown Presbyterian Church
www.waringstownpresbyterian.com

20 Competition