In September 2011 we organised a TITANIC DAY to mark the centenary of the launch of the Titanic in 1911. After coffee and scones for 70 in our 'Parisien Café', Susie Millar (Titanic Tours Belfast) gave us a gripping account of how her great-grandfather had worked on the Titanic, and then sailed on her to make a new life for himself and his young family in America, but went down with the ship. Susie encouraged comments and questions afterwards, and even the 'old hands' who used to work in the shipyard were eating out of her hand!
After lunch (rounded off with home-made 'Titanic Shortbread', Susie led a convoy down to the Titanic Quarter, where we had a look around the Drawing Office. The Titanic Society had an exhibition, hosted by a couple of very elegant ladies in Edwardian dress, who encouraged us to try on wonderful hats. Unfortunately the slipways were closed for refurbishment, but we finished our Titanic Day with a look at HMS Caroline (the only remaining WW1 ship, the dry dock, the Pump House, and a tour of Sinclair Seamen's church.
Then we all went back to St Andrew's where a sumptuous dinner awaited us in the First Class Dining Saloon. Our hostess apologised that the Captain couldn't join us for dinner - he had been called to the bridge on a small emergency, but she was sure it was nothing to worry about...
We celebrated our 60th Anniversary on Saturday 12 September with a dinner, attended by about 140 guests. It was wonderful to see the main hall packed with a large number of our own congregation and around 40 former members (some travelling from England, Wales, and even Canada and the USA). Many said how much they owed St Andrew's, and still felt it was 'home'. It is very encouraging that so many people have such fond memories of their time with us, and we are delighted that so many are continuing to build God's kingdom in other places.
A hardworking team created a visual record of the past 60 years, set tables in the main hall, and prepared dinner. Guests were welcomed with a cocktail (non-alcoholic of course!) and had a chance to meet up with old friends, and reminisce over the photographs.
Our senior elder, Ivan Robinson, gave us a brief look back over the early days in St Andrew's. (We celebrated the 50th anniversary of Ivan's ordination to the eldership last year.) Then our minister, David Maxwell, brought us right up to date with what is happening in St Andrew's today, both in our own locality and further afield, with a couple of Powerpoint presentations on Streetreach and the Peru Team. For the last couple of years, we have organised Streetreach in Cregagh estate, where we have sent teams into the neighbourhood to do 'random acts of kindness' for people as a practical demonstration of God's love for them. We have washed cars, mown lawns, painted fences, planted flowers, and generally tidied up - all freely done in the name of Jesus. We have also sent two teams out to Peru through Latin Link - in 2007 we helped build a nursery school, and in 2009 we helped build a community centre for elderly people (who were not only extremely grateful, but came every day with their sleeves rolled up to see what they could do to help!).
Our after dinner speaker was the Rev Alan Russell, who grew up in St Andrew's, and is now minister in Ballywalter Presbyterian. Alan recalled how he had been influenced by people and events in St Andrew's, through BB, youth club, coffee bars, and the limitless patience of Paddy and Eileen Patterson, who opened their home to the young people of that generation. He recognised that we are facing huge challenges with our property, and urged us to remain faithful to God as we seek his guidance for the future.
Edith Godfrey (Clerk of Session) paid tribute to our minister, David, who has already had a huge influence on our congregation. David has managed to engage many of our congregation in 'on-the-job' training through programmes like Evangelism Explosion and Christianity Explored, and by remodelling our midweek service into an interactive discussion and learning time. He has also encouraged all-age church events, where the enthusiasm of youth and the experience of age come together to make the body of Christ really come alive. David has managed to build us into a functioning body that gives all its members the opportunity to develop their abilities and gifts in ministry.
Afterwards, we were entertained by Stephen Hunter on saxophone, accompanied by his brother Stuart on piano. Later John McCallum joined them on bodhran and we finished the evening with a rousing rendition of Be Thou My Vision.
Our Sunday morning service was conducted by Rev Stephen Johnston, a former assistant in St Andrew's, and currently minister in Kilkeel Presbyterian. Stephen brought us a challenging and encouraging message, and it was lovely to catch up again with him and Ruth over coffee after the service.
Our Sunday evening service was a typically homely, informal St Andrew's family affair, when we praised God in song, and several of our current members highlighted aspects of the fellowship in St Andrew's which had most influenced and strengthened them. It brought our celebration weekend to a very fitting close.
Dinner Menu
Fan of melon with red berry coulis
Chicken stuffed with mushroom and onion and wrapped in prosciutto ham, Baby boiled potatoes, Peas and sweetcorn
Chocolate orange cheesecake with vanilla sauce and mandarins
Tea and coffee served with home made shortbread
Following the visit of the 2007 St Andrew's Team to Arequipa in Peru,
to help build a nursery school, we felt it was important to keep
contact with the Lord's work on that city. And so we have done lots
of fundraising to enable us to send out a STEP Team from St Andrew's
to Peru this summer.
Latin Link's STEP Teams work on a basic building project alongside a Latin American church community, and also help with evangelism, working with local people, young and old, music and drama. Our Team of 11 members left for Arequipa on 12 July, and are due back at the beginning of August.
The Team have been working on a new community facility in the north of the city which is mainly for the elderly. It will provide kitchen and dining facilities so that folk may have some good food, medical facilities and a garden for fresh vegetables. When our Team arrived to start work - a light programme of building toilets, building a kitchen, preparing and planting a garden, making curtains! - they were surprised to be greeted by a lot of the elderly folk who were also there to work. "It's surprising how many boulders an 88-year- old can carry" they said! You can follow the Team's experiences on this link - Visit our Bebo page for more photos and info.
