Glenmanus Trustees Report for 2023
As we look back on 2023 we do so with thankfulness to God for His sustaining grace and His many blessings to us.
Worship Services were held morning and evening each Lord’s Day, with the exception of 3[rd] , 17[th] & 31[st] December, when there was no evening service. We joined with the Dervock congregation for their Praise Service on 3[rd] December and with the Ballyclabber congregation for their end of year Praise Service on 31[st] December.
The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was observed 4 times in the calendar year in January (20 communicants), April (22 communicants), September (22 communicants) and December (26 communicants). Average attendance at the morning service was 25 and in the evening 21. The main sermon series preached during the year included: The Ten Commandments, Mark’s gospel, Isaiah (chapters 36 – 42), 1 Samuel and James.
Most of the services were livestreamed on Facebook, with the Bible reading and sermon from the morning service also being made available on YouTube.
Mid-week meetings were held on Tuesday evenings apart from July and August. We continued to make use of the conference call facility when the weather was particularly unfavourable during the winter months. Our usual format is to have a study followed by a time of prayer. This year we began to make our way through 1 Corinthians. On quite a few occasions during the year we took a break from our usual format and had a guest speaker.
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On 21st February we were pleased to have members from the Dervock congregation join us for a meeting with Stephen McIlroy of Release International.
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On 7th March, in a meeting organized by the Women’s Fellowship, we had Linda Hoy and her husband Davy speaking about the Christian Family Centre in Armoy.
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On Tuesday 4th April Philip Robinson, representing Creation Ministries International, spoke at a special outreach meeting. We were pleased to welcome members from some other RP congregations as well as a few others from the locality.
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On 16[th] May Yusuke Hirata (along with his wife Honami, and children, Yoshi and Tomo) spoke to us about the R.P. church in Japan.
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On 12th September, in another meeting organized by the Women’s Fellowship, Lynda McCauley spoke about her work with CEF.
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On 3[rd] October Mr Phil Dunn gave an update of the work of European Mission Fellowship, focusing particularly on the work of Tobias and Julie Haslund-Thomsen in Denmark.
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On 17th October Mr Colin Jenkins spoke about his work with the Seafarers Christian Friend Society in Cork.
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On 31st October Mr John McCollum (Limavady), gave a report of the Relief trip to Nantes.
Summer Bible Readings. We were pleased to have Rev. Philip Moffett from our Cullybackey congregation speak at our Summer Bible Readings from 4[th] – 6[th] July. His theme was ‘The Lord Reigns’ and he spoke from Psalms 93, 96 and 99. The meetings were well attended and an encouragement to us.
The work of the Sabbath school continued with our three pupils – Ross, Ellen and Katelyn Carson – being taught by Scott McCollum and Anna McCollum.
Literature Distribution. Literature was distributed to advertise the meeting with Creation Ministries International in April and our Summer Bible readings in July. As in previous years our minister prepared a Gospel Calendar featuring photographs taken by members of the congregation along with an appropriate text for each month. In December 500 copies of these calendars were distributed along with copies of the Evangelical Times Christmas Good News. It is our prayer that God will use this witness to encourage believers and to draw people to himself.
The Friendship Group met nine times during the year. This is well supported by people outside of the congregation and those who attend appreciate the opportunity to meet and enjoy fellowship together. Session has agreed that the costs of the Friendship Group should be covered from church funds.
The work of the Committee in overseeing the maintenance of the church property continued during the year. We give thanks for the spirit of harmony within the Committee and the fact that all the members play their part. Special thanks are due to our treasurers, Miss Marion Wright and Miss Zara Carson, for all their work in looking after the finances. We also appreciate the good work done by our secretary, Mrs Elaine Crawford.
Giving. As a result of the generous giving of the members the congregation has been able to meet all its financial obligations. The targets for Mission (£4610.00) and Ministry (£5120.00) have been paid in full. It has been our practice to pay the targets quarterly. In addition, we were pleased to be able to contribute a total of £12,155 to many other Christian organisations.
Looking to the future we are conscious that not only our congregation, but the whole denomination, faces big challenges. Most of our congregations are relatively small, there are already a number of vacancies and with more ministers likely to retire in the not-too-distant future, filling those vacancies will be difficult. But our God is faithful and so we continue to look to Him to work out His purposes for His own glory in the Reformed Presbyterian Church and in the Glenmanus congregation.
“Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:57 & 58)
Respectfully submitted: Samuel McCollum Moderator Carlisle McCollum Clerk