Church Visits.  As part of our Ministry we are invited by, and regularly visit, Churches throughout the Province.  Up and coming services are;

Team members wishing to take part in these services should contact the    office so that we know how many people we will have on the ministry team for each service. 

Praying in Faith – Following the teaching evenings that Brother David had on Praying in Faith toward the end of last year, he is going to have another series in February possibly aimed at people who are suffering from long term illness.  This will be an opportunity to learn the Prayer of Faith and to practice it so that we can pray this way everyday in our own homes.  If you feel that this is something that you would like to take part in please let Brother David know. Dates to be confirmed are Thursday evenings 2^nd, 9^th, and 16^th February at 8.00pm. 

Wholeness and Healing – We are currently hosting a series of speakers who will be talking on the subject of Wholeness & Healing on Monday evenings at the Cathedral. They will be;

Mon   6^th February;  Rev. Arthur Young, Tullylish Parish

Mon 13^th February;  Rev. Margaret Ferguson, Woodvale Methodist.

Our CD recommendation for January is, “Practising the presence of God”. I can think of no better way to begin this New Year than making an effort to walk more closely with God. Try to imagine what life would be like if we were conscious of the presence of God being with us all day every day. What a wonderful thought, no matter how bleak or challenging our days might be, that  the Lord God himself was right there with us and not just as an impartial observer but as an integral part of our lives sharing in our troubles as well as our Joys, guiding, teaching, and strengthening us. In this CD Brother David points the way to achieving this association by offering some very practical suggestions and insights.  Of course there’s no short cut to achieving this state so let’s not fool ourselves. It will take time, effort and perseverance but what a reward at the end of it all, Him in us, and us in Him. Surely that’s something worth aiming for?

Intercession Service – As well as our regular healing services one of the other areas of ministry that IDHM offers is the Intercession Service. This service is completely confidential and many people have been greatly helped by this prayer in the background. Just ring (028) 9031 1532, leave the first name of the person you are concerned about and what they need prayer for, and our team will pray for them every day for 30 days. Organised by Sydney Cousins, it is one of the aspects of our ministry that is going very strongly. We have over 100 intercessors who pray for 4 or 5 people each. When people ring up anxious about loved ones it is very reassuring to them to know that we will pray for them for 30 days and we are generally praying for 400 – 500 people at any given time.

Visit of Brother Samuel Minister Provincial of the Society of St. Francis.  Brother Samuel will be present at the Healing Service in the Cathedral on Monday 27^th February at 8.00pm.  There will be a cup of tea after this service. Please try to support us on that evening.  Brother Samuel will speak at the service in St. Finnian’s on Tuesday 28^th February on “Strength and Healing” which he has received through his own faith. 

Diary Dates:

There will be a special service on the theme of “Anxiety & Depression” on Monday 20^th February 2012 in St. Anne’s Cathedral at 8.00pm. The guest speaker will be Dr. Stephen Rodgers from the Kingsway Fellowship Church, Dunmurry.

On Monday 26^th March 2012 there will be a Service for those who have Cancer.

On Monday 14^th May 2012 at 8.00pm in St. Anne’s Cathedral there will be a Service for those with Alzheimer’s. The speaker will be Niall Griffen from Rostrevor. 

Ash Wednesday – This coming Ash Wednesday (22^nd February) Brother David Jardine has been invited to speak at the Pilgrimage Centre at Lough Derg, Co. Donegal. This will begin at 12.00 noon and he will speak on the theme of Forgiveness.  Please remember this event in your prayers.
 Focal Point – The Ministry at Shankill Road Methodist Church. A few years ago Brother David approached the Rev. Jim Rea of Shankill Road Methodist Church about the possibility of using his premises for healing services. Situated on the front of the busy thoroughfare of the Shankill Road, the church presented a great opportunity to reach out to the  man and woman on the street. For the past three years, every Thursday between 10.30am and 12.30am, a small ministry team led by Jim Tate have been able to do just that. In the beginning Jim would stand at the front doors of the church handing out invitations and three years down the line a number of people regularly meet for healing prayer. Unlike other venues there is no formal service. Those attending simply share a warm welcome over a cup of tea or coffee and a chat in the comfortable church tea room. Those desiring prayer are provided with it individually in the more confidential surroundings of the main church. Over the years many people have been greatly helped, good relationships have been forged, and people have given their lives to the Lord. The Rev. Jim Rea has now retired but we are grateful to the Rev. Mark Charles who has embraced and encourages the work of this ministry. Please pray for its continued success and growth.

 AGM – This year’s Annual General Meeting will be held on Friday 2^nd March at 8.00pm in the Townsend Street offices. 

Please remember all of these many and varied activities in your prayers.

Psalm 44 vs. 1 – 4

‘We have heard with our ears, O God, our forebears have told us all that you did in their days, in time of old;

How with your hand you drove out nations and planted us in and broke the power of peoples and set us free.

For not by their own sword did our ancestors take the land nor did their own arm save them,

But your right hand, your arm, and the light of your countenance, because you were gracious to them’

The Psalmist is giving thanks for what the Lord has done for his country in years gone by.  They were not trying to take the credit for themselves, not glorify events which God had no part in.  I felt that here in this country we could learn something from that.  We are going to be celebrating in the next few years events in this country which people owe great allegiance to.  I wonder could we start to put more emphasis on what the Lord has done for this country in the past, look for particular ways in which He built the country up, or answered prayer and rescued us at times of danger.  That would really be worth emphasizing, celebrating and giving thanks for.

David Jardine, December 2011

Growth in a local parish

For almost twenty years I have been taking a service every year in a parish in East Belfast at the beginning of July, mostly when the rector is away.  The people are warm and friendly and I enjoy my annual visits.  But I could not help noticing over the years that numbers were beginning to dwindle, and a year or two ago seemed to me to be pretty small.  So I was pleasantly surprised to go on the usual Sunday in July, 2011 and to find the church well packed.  It was buzzing in a way that I had not seen before.  Recently I talked again to the Rector and he assured me that is the way it is every Sunday now, comfortably packed.  This is an ordinary parish in East Belfast and I just wonder is this growth a sign of the revival that is coming.  We have between 500 and 600 people who have been praying for revival for 2 ½  years, since the venture was launched in 2009, and I dare to believe that this very considerable growth is a sign that our prayers are being answered.

I have found the same thing in West Belfast.  A Rector has worked faithfully there for 20 years and all of a sudden very steady growth is starting to take place.  Numbers attending worship are the best since he has gone there.  From August until Christmas 5 or 6 individuals in the congregation have given their lives to Christ. A number of men with a paramilitary background are now coming to church.  Some have become committed Christians.  An ordinary parish in an area which suffered a great deal in the Troubles.  Is this another encouraging sign that revival is beginning?

At the other end of the scale a friend in Bangor who goes to a Presbyterian Church told me that in a church which holds 800 people they are having to put out extra chairs every Sunday.  This growth has been happening steadily in recent times.  Young people are very well represented in this church.

Is this another sign that revival is beginning?

David Jardine, December 2011

Speaker will be: Rev. Niall Griffin, Rostrevor.

We had a very successful service focussing on cancer on September 26, 2011. On the strength of that we are holding another on March 26.

Personal prayer and anointing with oil will be available. Also we will make available spiritual resources for those suffering from cancer.

Many people in our society have been deeply hurt and find forgiveness very difficult. This service will teach how to forgive so that people may find peace. Speaker will be Brother David Jardine.

These teachings will help people to pray with greater confidence for other people and situations, as well as for themselves.

There will also be an opportunity each evening to practice praying in faith, so that it will be easier to do in our own homes and as we move about.

WHAT IS REVIVAL?

According to Christmas Evans, the famous Welsh preacher, ‘Revival is God bending down to the dying embers of a fire and breathing into it until it bursts into flame’.  It is a hunger after God, an awareness of the need for holiness, an awakening of religious fervour.  It is something brought about by God alone – a divine outpouring of the Holy Spirit – and it starts with God’s people – His church.

One of the greatest outpourings of the Holy Spirit since the day of Pentecost was the 1859 revival and it touched America, Ulster and many other countries.  In Ulster it is said that there were strange manifestations.  People would fall to the ground and lie motionless for hours.  When they recovered they knew that God had visited them and were never the same again.

In the 1904 Welsh revival people cried out for mercy and forgiveness as they were convicted of sin.  Miners – hardened men – gathered round the pits to sing and pray as they became aware of a mighty God.  People would kneel in the street in tears and beg God to save them.

In the O.T. God seemed to be moved by the prayers of the saints – Moses, Abraham, Elijah, Elisha.  Their prayers were selfless, bold and specific and they were heard.  The two elderly sisters who prayed before the Hebridean revival had the same qualities.  Can we learn from that?

Revival is not evangelism – evangelistic crusades may bring many to Christ but that is not revival – rather it is a combination of the human and Divine.  Evangelism is what men do for God.  Revival is what God does for men.

Many of these thoughts come from the writings of Selwyn Hughes whose intense longing was for Revival.  He talked often of preparation – holiness of life, unceasing prayer and repentance and humility.  Are we willing to pay the price?

The cry is as it was in Isaiah’s time ‘O that you would rend the heavens and come down’.  Even so come Holy Spirit’.

Joan Weir

I believe that this defeat was much more than a football problem. Although I did not see the match, commentators noted how quickly the heads of the Northern Ireland players went down when they went behind.

Years ago this would have been unheard of – Northern Ireland players of the past fought to the final whistle and never gave up.

I noticed very much in the 1990’s, when the ceasefires were called, walking through areas which had really suffered, the heads of the people were down. There was a depressed spirit over very many of these areas. That has lifted somewhat in recent years, but there is still an enormous amount of healing to take place. When you hear that 40% of people in West Belfast are taking medication for depression, you realise how true this is.

All of this simply highlights the great need for revival of the faith in this country. One of the suggestions we have made to all those committed to praying for revival is that they ask God to breath the life of His Holy Spirit into all the churches. I believe that it is only the Holy Spirit who can bring the healing that it is  desperately needed and bring people truly alive again.

That is why it is so important that we make praying for revival an absolute priority.

Two of the greatest enemies of revival in Northern Ireland? – sectarianism and traditionalism.

One of the areas where we need to repent is for putting our culture before God.

Importance of unity

Rev Jim Rea, former President of the Methodist Church in Ireland, told me that there is a new revival going on in the Potteries in England where a friend of his works.  It started when the clergy of various traditions made time to come together to pray on a regular basis.  ‘Behold how good and how beautiful it is when brothers and sisters dwell together in unity.  There the Lord commands his blessing, which is life for evermore!’