The Young Women's Association is holding its annual gathering at Castlewellan Castle on Saturday, February 26th, from 10 a.m. to around 7 p.m. It will be led by Ms Meriel Pinkerton of the River of Life Trust, whose theme will be "What's My Image?". She will invite the young women present to examine their self-image, and to see themselves as others see them. Under the title "TIME to A.C.T.", a mission event will be held in Dundrum Methodist Church next Saturday, February 26th, from 3.30 p.m. to around 7 p.m. Participants are offered a choice of workshops on the present situation in Sierra Leone; the work of the group which visited Uganda last year; refugees in Dublin; music from around the world; and mission action.
There are simultaneous programmes for young people and children. Facilitators will include the Revs Sahr Yambasu, Nigel Mackey, Noel Fallows and John Parkin, as well as Ms Rosemary Lindsay, Ms Joy Ritchie, Ms Roz Beattie, Mr Michael Jones and Mr Andrew Smyth. The programme will conclude with an act of worship to which all the groups will contribute, and an evening meal.
On the same day at Queen Street Methodist Church in Lurgan, the team which prepared the Dream on. . . study document will lead an event for the Portadown District to develop a vision for the churches there in the new century.
One of the best-known and best-loved Methodist institutions in Dublin is the Dublin Central Mission, whose work has been developing to meet changing needs for 107 years. It is holding its anniversary services on Sunday and Monday, February 27th and 28th, in the church in Lower Abbey Street. Services will be at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. on the Sunday, and at 7 p.m. on the Monday. At all of these the preacher will be the president of the Methodist Church in Ireland, Dr Kenneth Wilson. There will be soloists at the evening services.
Cliff College in Derbyshire was originally founded by a member of the Guinness family for the training of evangelical clergy. Acquired by the Methodist Church many years ago, it has played a significant role in training young people for effective mission in many different ways.
Quite a number of Irish people, Methodists and others, have studied or worked there through the years and there is little doubt that this will continue into the future. Just recently, the relationship of the college with the University of Sheffield has been revalidated.
The principal, the Rev G. Howard Mellor, is quoted in the Methodist Recorder as saying: "This is a big step forward for Cliff College, and we are all absolutely delighted." Cliff College courses were first validated by the University in 1993, and the present development marks a higher profile for the college, which continues to initiate new courses.
Tomorrow morning the president of the church, Dr Wilson, will be preaching at the Methodist Church in Coleraine, and in the evening he will share in an Enniskillen and Sligo District Mission event. This will be held in the Methodist church at Corlespratten near Arva in Co Cavan.
The president himself served for some time in the Caribbean, his wife, Ruth, served in Malaysia, and both have recently been visiting churches in China. On Friday, February 25th, the president will visit the Upper Erne circuit in Co Fermanagh. On Saturday, March 4th, he will be in Lisburn to participate in the stone-laying ceremony for a new hall at the church in Seymour Street.