Dear all,

Greetings in the name of the Lord from Banbridge Rectory.

We are now safely settled into our beautiful newly refurbed home and have already felt the warmth of the welcome of the Parish in cards, buns, cakes, flowers and messages. Thank you to everyone who has made preparation for us coming and especially for the lovely home you have provided for us.

Now to our story so far and my prayerful hopes as we seek to move forward with the Lord in a oneness of heart and mind at Banbridge Church of Ireland.

My faith journey began in a Christian home in Co.Fermanagh. From my earliest memories, life for us revolved around three things: family gatherings, farming and Magheracross Parish Church. The life of the local Church of Ireland Parish was very much at the centre of everything as I grew up and it was there in my family, and local Parish, that my faith in Jesus was born, nourished and grown. My parents gave a great example of putting Jesus and his things at the centre of home life.

I will always give thanks for the ministry of all those who served us in Magheracross, both lay and ordained, and in particular for the ministry of Rev’d Paul Hoey and his team of helpers in the then ‘Clogher Diocesan Youth Fellowship’. My hunger to serve the Lord was formed by the work of the Holy Spirit in that Youth Fellowship. I am also thankful for the encouragement to minister that I received from the late Rev’d Harry Trimble and his wife Ruby at Magheracross. All part of God’s call to serve.

Aged 13, I found myself committing in a personal way to follow Jesus in repentance and faith, although I was already convinced of the Lord as a young child attending Sunday School. Very shortly afterwards, an already formed call to ordained ministry became increasingly real. After studying for a degree from the Faculty of Agriculture at Reading University, where I met my now wife Caroline (Caz), I came home to work alongside my parents on the family dairy farm. That, alongside some part-time lecturing at Greenmount College of Agriculture, kept me busy, but there was a growing sense of laying down my life as a farmer and being ordained. Caroline also grew up in the heart of church life, with her parents encouraging her in the faith through the fellowship of Christ Church Beckenham, in London.

Over time the Holy Spirit persisted in calling me to Ordination and thanks to a mission in Ballinamallard Methodist Church I surrendered to the call of the Lord and offered myself for full-time ministry. I began to train in September 1997 and was both ordained and got married to Caroline in the year 2000. Caroline is a Primary three teacher at Harmony Hill Primary in Lisburn. Caroline loves her work there and is blessed by a wonderful staff-team around her.

Since Ordination, we have ministered in 5 very different contexts:

St Paul’s Lisburn (Curate); St Malachi’s Hillsborough (Curate); Emmanual Corstorphine (Priest in Charge); St Ignatius’s Carryduff and St Andrew’s Killaney (Rector); St Patrick’s Drumbeg (Rector) and DV as of Tuesday 20th of August I will begin as Rector of Seapatrick Parish Banbridge.

The journey this far in ministry has been fruitful in the Lord, with each piece of the jigsaw being used by Him to do His work. Whether in hard times or joyful times I can testify that His grace has always been sufficient, His provision immeasurably more than I could have imagined and His ministry a thing of power and goodness, as I have watched lives blessed, faith enriched, hearts comforted and souls eternally transformed. To God be the honour and glory.

Along the way, we have been blessed with two daughters, Anna and Alice, both at Queens University and a son Sam who now hopes to go into Sixth Form at Methodist College. They are all committed to the Lord Jesus, which is the greatest blessing we could have in our lives.

Nothing is more important to me than those we love having living faith in Jesus. Salvation is found in no-one else.

Anna and Alice now live in student accommodation in Belfast and attend Newtownbreda Baptist Church; Sam joins them there on Sunday evenings, but he will be with us in the mornings.

My heart is to see all I minister to enjoying a vibrant, personal and spirit-filled walk with the Lord. Life in the Spirit is what God promises us in Scripture. To those very Scriptures I will hold fast with a submissive heart and mind. I love teaching the Bible and watching God’s Church grow as it feeds on and surrenders to His living Word.

In the Diocese I am blessed by serving as a nominator for boards of nomination, serving as a member of Diocesan Council and serving as Warden of Readers, where I work alongside Andrew Brannigan to train and equip Lay Readers in preaching.

As I come to Banbridge I am keen to see Prayer established at the very heart of the ministry and to actively seek to help the whole congregation to engage in both corporate and private prayer in meaningful ways. Without prayer we cannot expect growth in the ministry, as growth comes from the work of the Holy Spirit who is welcomed in prayer. With our clear desire to grow in faith and number, we will need to learn to pray. Prayer ministry will be a vital part of our strengthening and growth.

I also long to see those without living faith coming to faith in Jesus.

I hope to continue to build a culture of faithful Bible study as the foundation for our living as faithful Christians. The Word ministry on Sundays and midweek in gatherings, both in the Parish Halls and in our homes, will be important.

I sense that in the early phase with you, we will work together at equipping and growing those who serve in ministry roles in the Parish. Those who serve already need encouraged and we will need to find new servants to grow the Church. I pray that the equipping of the saints already in service and the call of the Holy Spirit into service, will be real among us. I long for more people to lay down their lives sacrificially in both lay and full-time roles in Mission and Ministry. Local and overseas mission are in my DNA and I pray will become a rich part of our service together in the Lord.

I am excited by the existing children’s and youth ministries in the Church family and look forward to working with the Select Vestry, Ava and her team of helpers to develop these ministries and to strengthen them in depth and number.

I understand that we need to fully re-engage with families who have Primary aged children as we seek to make disciples of all ages at Banbridge.

Someone recently asked me if young families would be my focus at Banbridge. My reply was simple, ‘I am called to minister to everyone from the youngest to the oldest among us and my commitment to one and all will be the same’. In truth, I long for an all age Church where everyone comes together in faith and fellowship with a heartfelt love for one another and for those not yet part of our fellowship. Let us love well.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly I want to see our times of worship together, in both Holy Trinity and St Patrick’s, growing in vibrancy, being transformed by the touch of the Lord, being a welcoming place for those seeking to return, or to come to Church for the first time, and becoming spaces of encounter with the Lord and places of real response to the ministry of the Lord among us, as He receives all glory and honour and is set at the very centre of our worship.

May the joy of the Lord fill us, the presence of the Lord humble us and the grace of the Lord lead us into growth as we work in harmony as God’s team called together at this time in Banbridge Church of Ireland. Let us note well that God has a purpose in bringing all of us together at this time in the history and life of Banbridge Church of Ireland. Let us determine in prayer and in the Holy Spirit to play our part in seeing the plans and purposes of the Lord fulfilled in our shared ministry together.

There is much to do, but in the power of the Holy Spirit we are confident that what the Lord has begun among us He will bring to completion.

In Christ,

Willie.

Deuteronomy 18:15

Proverbs 16:9