A congregation of 200 gathered in Christ Church Lisburn on a sunny summer’s day on Sunday 4th June for the farewell service of the Rev Derek Harrington before he moves as Priest-in-charge of the grouped parishes of Muckamore and Killead.
Derek chose the hymns for the service and they included, ‘Be thou my vision’, ‘Speak O Lord’, ‘Make me a channel of your peace’, ‘Soldiers of Christ arise’ and ‘Go forth and tell’. The service was led by Archdeacon Paul Dundas. Our parish reader, Tim Littler led the congregation in reading Psalm 25. The Bible Reading was from 1 Timothy 4: 7-16 and was read by the Rev John Pickering. Derek led the kid’s song, ‘Every move I make’ and spoke to the kids about being an example and used his puppet bird, Chuck. He then preached from 1 Timothy 4: 7-16 with the theme ‘pray for us’ as he explored training in godliness, not neglecting our gifts and setting that example in speech, life, love, faith and purity.
There was a slideshow to batman music to reflect some of the memories and events in Derek’s time in the parish. The prayers were then led by some of the young people in the JAM group, Holly, Scarlet, Jack & April who pre-recorded her prayer. The rector commended Derek in his move to Muckamore and Killead by using the words of Hebrews 13: 20,21 with the parish choir singing the Aaronic Blessing.
The congregation had an opportunity to speak to Derek, Anne-Marie and Liliana at the door before we all joined them in the hall for refreshments. The people’s churchwarden, Vera Hewitt spoke on behalf of the parish in giving thanks for Derek’s ministry in the parish and in commending him for the new opportunity in leadership. The rector also spoke and reflected on Derek’s ministry and impact for the Lord during his time in the parish since September 2018. Gifts were presented to Anne-Marie and Liliana by Rosie Long, Dan Thurasi and Bertha Thompson. The rector’s warden, Alex Henderson presented a cheque and framed picture of the church to Derek. The Rev John Pickering concluded the time together in praying for Derek and his family.
The service can be viewed through the following link:
コメント