TRUSTEES REPORT 2023
Members of the Kirk Session held meetings throughout 2023 to deliberate and make prayerful decisions on the spiritual aspects of the congregation.
God has also blessed us with an active Congregational Committee who deal with the day to day running of the needs of the congregation. This committee is divided into various subcommittees and any decisions taken are brought before the Kirk Session for approval before being implemented.
The members of the congregation are committed to one another under God and aim to encourage and welcome all families and individuals into our fellowship.
Over the year there were times of joy when new families joined our congregation and individuals joined our communicants role on confession of faith but also times of sadness when members of the congregation passed away, to the families of those who passed away we continue to offer prayerful and practical help.
Our various organisations continued to meet on a regular basis throughout the year and all those who lead them deserve a big thank you for all their dedication and commitment.
Our Sunday morning church services continue each week and have been well attended. We are blessed to have a church choir and organist who lead us in praising our Lord and Saviour.
We held special services throughout the year at Easter, Harvest and Christmas. We also celebrated The Lords Supper at different times over the year.
Reverend Flaherty is kept busy as he now looks after our congregation and 1[st] Donaghadee. He is also Clerk of the Ards Presbytery, and this adds a lot of extra work on top of the work that is involved with both his congregations.
It is an exciting time for our congregation as we have reached our 250[th] anniversary of serving God and bringing his word to members of the congregation and those who live in the surrounding area of Millisle.
We started the 250[th] celebrations with a congregational dinner in Harrisons of Greyabbey, it was a great evening with good fellowship and food. It was lovely to have Reverend Maurice Gault one of our past ministers join us for the evening along with his wife Helen.
Next we had an anniversary weekend at the end of September - We held our annual Harvest Service followed in the evening by a 250[th] anniversary thanksgiving service with special praise by the choir, followed by supper in the hall. The service was well attended and the sermon was preached by The Moderator of the General Assembly. Before the service the Moderator planted a tree to mark the occasion – the tree was planted beside the Amy Carmichael Garden at the top of the church lane.
Over the weekend we held an exhibition in the Amy Carmichael Room including photographs and details of all the ministers who have served our congregation since the beginning. It also had memorabilia and items from our organisations past and present and from members of the congregation.
A big thank you to all who worked very hard to make the anniversary dinner and weekend go so well.
The anniversary year continues into 2024 and the main event will be a Flower Festival to be held in May. Other events are being arranged and these will be announced and mentioned on our Facebook page when they are due to be held.
I thank all those who have given of their time and who have worked in any way in the congregation during 2023, their support is invaluable.
I pray that God will continue to bless our congregation as we strive to live out our Mission Statement “To bring glory to God through worship and by demonstrating the love of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Mary Startin – Clerk of Session