Latest News: Church is Opening for Worship on Friday 2nd April, Good Friday.

The Church of Ireland Bishops in Northern Ireland have decided that the time has now come for a cautious and careful return to in-person church services from Good Friday (2nd April 2021). The letter from the Bishop is available below.  Please remind yourself of the protocol for in church worship during the Covid19 pandemic, which was published last September. You can view the protocol below, or on our services page.

Remember if you need the service of a minister or perhaps just a chat or assistance during the Covid19 pandemic, please contact the Rev'd Dr. Isobel Hawthorne-Steele at or 07788553376 or please contact our pastoral care team using the details at the bottom of the page.

 Easter Services

Readings and Reflections by Dr. Ron Elsdon:

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On each weekday, throughout Lent 2021, Dr. Ron Elsdon will record a 3 minute Daily Reflection,  which you will be able to access on our Worship Page   or as a daily post on our Facebook page. 

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Across the six weeks of Lent, and leading to Holy Week, Dr Ron Elsdon will consider the themes of Lament, Fear, Repentance, Thanksgiving, Perseverance and Hope. During Holy Week Ron reflects on some words from Henry Francis Lyte’s hymn ‘Praise my soul the king of heaven’. Ron completes his series of reflections during Easter week when he considers the theme of resurrection.

Please take a few short minutes each day to listen, reflect, and pray during this season of Lent and Easter.

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Appointment of New Priest-in-charge:

Good News

Some of you will already know Isy Hawthorne-Steele who was our lay reader some years ago. Isy has been working in St Paul & St Barnabas for the past 3 years and now she has been appointed by our Bishop to be our part-time Priest-in-charge. If you require a minister for any reason please contact her on 07788553376

On behalf of the Select Vestry and Parishioners, we welcome you Isy.  Doreen Faulkner (secretary)  

Note from Isy

I am so delighted to take up this new post. It’s just like John Denver sings ‘Hey it’s good to be back home again”. I would ask that you keep both myself and Sam in your prayers and we start this new chapter of ministry with you all.   

In His service,  Rev Isy 

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Protocol For Worship during COVID 19 Pandemic:

During the current Covid 19 pandemic the following rules will apply when attending Church, please note and follow these rules if you intend to come to church:

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• The service begins as normal at 10:30am, and lasts forty minutes. Please use hand sanitiser when you enter the building. You must, if possible, wear a face mask. If you wish to wear gloves, please wear a fresh pair that have not been worn elsewhere. 

• For the purposes of contact tracing if someone falls ill, your name and telephone number will be recorded each time you come to worship. There will be a one-way system: You will enter through the foyer of the halls, and exit through the external door of the church 

• The rows of seats have been spaced out further, and a distance of two metres will be maintained between members of different households. You will be instructed where to sit by the Churchwardens, filling up from the front of the church 

• Instead of a printed order of service, the text of the service will be displayed on the projector screen.

• There will be no congregational singing, but there may be a small choir or a soloist who will sing one or two hymns. 

• Children will remain with their parents throughout the service.

•  If there is Holy Communion, you will remain in your seat, rather than moving forward to the communion rails.

• To limit the amount of movement within the church, there will be no FWO collection during the service. Any FWO envelopes or loose money should be deposited before or after the service in the marked box at the back of the church.

• Except in the case of serious emergencies, the toilets will be unavailable as otherwise they would need to be cleaned thoroughly between each person using them.

• At the end of the service, you should remain at your seat until the Churchwardens instructs you to leave.

• Despite our understandable desire to have a chat with those whom we haven’t seen for a few months, groups of people will not be permitted to form inside the church building and will be strongly discouraged on church grounds. 

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Church Giving-Update

During the current lockdown the Church has decided it is in the best interest of our parishioners that we should close for worship. We know that many parishioners will wish to continue to support the church in meeting its financial obligations of bills etc, there are a number of ways you can do this.  For details please follow the link to our giving page:

Updated Giving Information

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At home with a young family?

Check out our Children's Page for some ideas for keeping busy and resources to tune in to.

Upcoming Events

Covid 19 Vaccination Programme:

Greenisland Old School Surgery has commenced distribution of Covid 19 vaccines and the church hall is being used  as a vaccination Centre. To assist with this the surgery is seeking volunteers to help with signposting people, managing carparking, helping to clean chairs after use and storing of equipment. If you would be willing to help can you please pass your contact details to the Rector either by email at or by phoning her on 07788553376, and she will forward details to the Practice Manager .

Verse of the Day

PrayerLine

If we can pray for you, contact a member of the prayer team. Details on Prayer Line Tab

Ripple Children’s Ministry is planning to run online sessions of the All Aboard programme beginning Sunday April 26.  The sessions will include stories, quizzes, prayers, games and challenges. More details on the Children's Page. or at Ripple All Aboard

Home and Hospital Visits

Please be aware that clergy have been advised to suspend all routine visiting to minimise spread of the coronavirus. Visits will be replaced with a phone call or email so do make sure we have your up to date contact details. Send them through to us by email, text or phone. Both the Minister and the pastoral team are available by telephone or email.

Pastoral Care Team: 

Our details are:

Pastoral Care Team Co-ordinator

Roger Martin  07884182838

Covid 19 Vaccination Programme:

Greenisland Old School Surgery has commenced distribution of Covid 19 vaccines and the church hall is being used as a vaccination Centre. To assist with this the surgery is seeking volunteers to help with signposting people, managing carparking, helping to clean chairs after use and storing of equipment. If you would be willing to help can you please pass your contact details to the Rector either by email at or by phoning her on 07788553376, and she will forward details to the Practice Manager . If you are leaving a message please make sure you leave a contact number, don't assume the Rector knows your number.