Church of Christ Coleraine
Trustee’s Report
Year ended 5[th] April 2023
Following covid, the church was being used more frequently and felt like things were getting back to normal. The church was used to perform functions such as worship, baptisms, wedding and funerals.
During covid, investment was made in technology to enable us to offer meeting through social media. This was especially useful for those with underlying health conditions who were apprehensive about easing into social gatherings. We continue to use online meetings for our Sunday evening service as it enables us to connect with members further afield in the USA and others who unfortunately aren’t able to attend in person due to ill health.
Benevolence programmes were in great demand throughout the past year and our church partnered with groups such as Age Concern, Social Services, St.Vincent de Paul to meet the needs of those who were struggling.
The Street Pastor’s ministry which our church supports continued meeting the pastoral needs especially of young people.
The congregation remains committed to engagement with new citizens. (from ethnic minority backgrounds). Our minster chairs the Multi Cultural Forum and Inter Faith Forum. There has been a rise in the location of Syrian and Ukrainian families who have been displaced from their homeland.
We work and engage with agencies setup to signpost and provide help. This has involved English Classes, Donation of clothing etc. and the delivery of activities for younger children. We encourage and support members of our congregation and others to help those less fortunate by providing home visits and practical support. We are an open church welcoming people from all backgrounds to be recipients of our ministry or use our facilities.
There had been an increase in opportunity for bereavement counselling from families who had been restricted in the grieving process. Referrals come through funeral directors and or medical staff.
Our Internship programme was delivered and our church accommodated 16 students who we involved in our parish activities.
There is ongoing participating representation from our church in partnership with, Coleraine Churches Forum, Multi Cultural Forum, Inter Faith Forum, PSNI Advisory Group, Camp Shamrock, Street Pastors, Coleraine Rural and Urban Network.
The church continued its aid to overseas projects, specially, Zimbabwe, India, Philippines and Ukraine.
We remain thankful for the generosity and willingness of spirit from those who make this work possible.