Podcasts from the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

The pandemic has taken its toll on all our young people, with some tough times when hope has been scarce. In April, a brand new type of youth event ONWARD: Journeying together in hope will help young people reflect on the Hope of the Gospel. This podcast features the two speakers of ONWARD, Nicola Clarke and Carl McManus, who talk to Graeme Thompson (PCI Youth Development Officer) about their expectations of the event in the context of youth work at this time. Four young people also share their honest reflections on their experience of the past two years and their hopes for the future.

You can find out more about ONWARD at www.presbyterianireland.org/onward

The podcast continues its ‘RENEW’ theme by turning attention to how we might be able to help renew our all-age worship. Children’s Director Nicky Bradley (Knock Presbyterian Church), Kidzone Leader James Cousley (Bloomfield Presbyterian) and Schools Ministry Manager and former children’s worker Mark Moorhead (SUNI) join Ruth Bromley to discuss thinking about why we do all-age worship and also some great ideas about how to include all ages in worshipping together and being challenged in our faith.

Listen out for some great ideas and stories of how all-age worship has worked well and also some findings on research into all-age discipleship and the impact it can have on a whole church family.

The podcast continues its ‘RENEW’ theme by turning attention to how we might be able to help renew those who serve as volunteers within our congregations. Discipleship Facilitator Rachael Gamble (Sloan Street) and Clerk of Session Paul Elliott (Carnmoney) join Rick Hill (PCI) to discuss encouraging those who serve, drawing others into leading, carrying an equipping mindset in their roles, and being sustained in their own service. 

Also, have a listen to discover a great acronym for the word KNOW! 

If you want to access any other helpful resources at this time, visit www.presbyterianireland.org/refined

It is increasingly apparent that there is a growing cultural gap between church and society across Ireland that makes it more and more difficult to reach new people with the gospel. To give an insight into how we as Christians, both individually and corporately can do this better, we draw learning from experiences of global mission in this conversation with Donna Jennings from Evangelical Alliance NI and James Cochrane, PCI Global Mission Worker in Porto, Portugal.

For our first episode of a new year, Rick Hill hosts a conversation about Refreshment and Renewal. Rev Sam Finlay, Minister of Redrock and Druminnis Presbyterian Churches in County Armagh, along with Paul Bowman, Youth Worker in Fitzroy Presbyterian reflect on coping with the challenges associated with leading in the church. They talk about sustainable ministry, counting blessings, finding our restorative niche as well as still being self-sacrificial while also paying attention to self-care. Also, listen along to find out more about sinking wells and building walls!

Tune in for a festive special on the Moderator's theme of, Hope at Christmas. Host Sarah Harding, editor of the Presbyterian Herald, is joined by Rev Richard Kerr, minister of Templepatrick PC, Olivia Elwood, member of Bloomfield PC, and Ilona Veres, PCI global mission worker. This episode explores how the World Development Appeal will bring hope to people living in Haiti and Ethiopia, get an update on the work of Illona and her husband Csaba in Romania during the pandemic and it will also reflect on the outcomes of COP26. 
You can find out more about the World Development Appeal here:https://www.presbyterianireland.org/worlddevelopment
Read more about the Hope at Christmas campaign here:https://www.presbyterianireland.org/hopeatchristmas

While so much of life was disrupted and so much church activity was paused last year, it could be argued that one thing that couldn’t be stopped by any restrictions was prayer. We can always approach God, and perhaps we found a greater emphasis on prayer or a freshness in how we prayed with others. Rev David Cupples (Enniskillen Presbyterian Church) and Lucy Hill (24/7 Prayer) join Rick Hill to talk about prayer, reflecting on the need for both personal rhythms and corporate models of prayer. 
If you want to find out more about the resources Lucy mentioned, you can email [email protected]

Christian parents who want to actively help their children follow Jesus may find that this role changes as their family gets older. In this episode, Dr. Gareth Crispin (Cliff College, England and father of 3) and Gillian Spiers (mum of 4 from First Dromara Presbyterian) are in conversation with Graeme Thompson (PCI Youth Development Officer) about how parents can disciple their young people. They discuss the privileges and challenges of parenting, the daily patterns and habits of Christian families and how they can partner with the church in this critical process.
Some of the resources mentioned in the discussion are: “Together with God: An Introduction to Family Worship” (2016) Gareth Crispin & Ed Mackenzie; “The Generative Church” (2019) Cory Seibel (Ed) – Chap. 4 “The Relationship between Church and Home” (Gareth Crispin); The One Conversation Model (by Axis); and “The Pop Culture Parent: Helping Kids Engage Their World for Christ” (2020) Ted Turnau

The 26th UN Climate Change Conference known as COP26 is currently meeting for twelve days of talks in Glasgow. To give an insight into why we as Christians, both individually and corporately should be concerned about climate change and suggest some practical ways we can respond, this episode hears from Rachael Thomas, a member of Knock Presbyterian and Gareth MacLean, minister of Orangefield Presbyterian.

Ministry to children and families has been seriously impacted by the pandemic and we may have lost momentum that we had in this ministry previously. So, what are some of the things we need to think about as we restart children’s ministry for this season?

For this conversation, Ruth Bromley is joined by Rev Mark Johnson (minister, St Andrew’s Bangor), Hazel Kyle (volunteer, Glengormley) and Stephanie Houston (Children’s Associate, High Kirk) to share stories and ideas on restarting children’s ministry.

They discuss how the pandemic affected children’s ministry, how things look different in this new season of restarting and share stories and encouragement of what is important to hold tightly to in this season of sharing the Gospel with children and families.

The two resources – updated guidelines and the Simple ways back to children’s ministry video clip – can be found here