The Church of Ireland Diocese of Connor

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Summer ‘Connor Connections’ out now!

Wednesday June 15th 2022

Your bumper 24-page issue of the diocesan magazine Connor Connections will be in parishes in the next few days.

Featuring a very colourful Ballintoy Parish Church on the cover by Randalstown-based artist Johnny Watt (www.artbyjdw.com) the magazine is packed with features and news from around the diocese.

Cheryl Graham, wife of the Rev Canon Kevin Graham, rector of Stranmillis, speaks about Jennifer Willis’s powerful photograph in which Cheryl bares her mastectomy scar to raise awareness of Secondary Breast Cancer and tells her own story.

We visit St Colman’s, Kilroot, which opens its parish hall to a group of refugees and asylum seekers each Wednesday afternoon, offering them space to relax and socialise, and we share some of the harrowing stories of those who attend.

Erin Burnett from the Church of the Resurrection talks candidly about living with autism and how churches can adapt to make attendance at services less challenging for people with autism.

Ballysillan parishioner George Briggs, who visited Windsor Castle on Maundy Thursday to receive a Maundy Purse from HRH Prince Charles, shares his experiences of the day, and we learn about a very special partnership between Christ Church Parish, Lisburn, and a school in Uganda.

It is almost four months since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and we look back at how parishes in Connor responded to the crisis in the early days, and meet Lisburn Cathedral parishioners Sam and Silvana Shaw who travelled separately to Poland to aid those fleeing Ukraine, and those staying behind.

CMSI Mission Director Jenny Smyth and her husband Billy returned to Connor’s partner diocese of Yei in February, and they share their thoughts on how people in Yei are rebuilding their lives in the wake of ongoing civil unrest – and the value of church institutions, in particular the Yei Vocational Training College.

We look back at the Installation Services for Bishop George in Lisburn and Belfast Cathedrals and the Connor Mothers’ Union Festival Service.

For anyone who didn’t know,  Royal enthusiast the Rev Canon Derek Kerr put his Royal memorabilia collection on display in Drummaul Parish Church during May, and we have an in-depth interview with Derek about how this passion evolved and take a look at some of the items of interest.

All this and more. Be sure and pick up your FREE copy in church.

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