Editorial: Life begins at forty
Anna Rankin

Comment: Leadership on the move
Stanley McDowell

From the director: The discipleship factor
David W Porter

Four things for leaders to do at the end of the world
Derek Poole

Pastoring people in prophetic living
David Montgomery

Being a servant leader
Diane Clutterbuck

Interview with Maria Garvey: Oil and water
Anna Rankin

Nurturing the next generation
John-Mark Mullan

The Word made flesh - East Belfast
Glenn Jordan

The Word made flesh - North Belfast
Bill Shaw

The Word made flesh - Derry
Sue Divin

The Word made flesh - Enniskillen
David Cupples

The Word made flesh - Poleglass
Martin J Magill

Resisting temptation
Drew Gibson

Review: And now let's move into a time of nonesense
Claire Martin

Review: Christianity for Dummies
Scott Vance

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THE WORD MADE FLESH
Five examples of church in the local commnuity

POLEGLASS

I AM PRESENTLY MINISTERING in the Parish of St Oliver Plunkett in West Belfast, where I have been for the past two years. The parish has an estimated population of 9,000 people, which continues to grow with more development in the area. On average, around 25% of the population worship regularly each Sunday. Almost all parents within the parish area will present their children for baptism.

Many people here suffered during the so-called 'Troubles', with the effects of the conflict still taking its toll on some. There is a strong network of community groups co-ordinated by the Lenadoon Community Forum and the area enjoys a number of amenities.

The needs of the area
The parish, like so many other parishes and churches, faces multiple needs ranging from family breakdown, unemployment and domestic violence to mention only a few. It is not possible in the space of this article to go into detail on all these; instead I will focus on two needs and our response.

Adult faith development
It is of concern that less than 30% of the people registered with the parish worship regularly in church. I certainly would not want to reduce a person’s Christianity to the level of church attendance, yet it is still some indicator of the spiritual health of a community. Many people within the parish lack a sense of belonging to the parish. Associated with this, and of particular concern to me, is the issue of adult religious education. For significant numbers of people there has been little or no opportunity to develop in faith since leaving school. I am aware that reading and praying the scriptures on a daily basis is not the norm for most people within the parish community.

Parish response
I believe one of the best ways of responding to these issues is through collaborative ministry with fellow clergy and lay people. I am grateful to the other two priests for how we can work together. At the time of writing, we in this parish are in the process of establishing an interim pastoral council which will consist of lay people and priests working together to identify and prioritise the issues and then devising strategies to deal with these issues. The council will be formed by gospel principles and values as we strive to discern what God is blessing in our parish and how we best respond to that.

Alcohol misuse and drugs usage
To my mind, one of the most serious issues facing my parish community and so many others is the issue of alcohol misuse, alongside a growing drug problem, both of which are leading in some cases to addiction even amongst teenagers. While the problem is not solely restricted to young people, the visible signs of street drinking and anti-social activity are often blamed on the young. It is recognised here that the physical punishments of the past (kneecappings and other physical attacks) are no longer commonplace but the issue of dealing with juvenile anti-social activity remains a serious concern. From my pastoral experience I have seen again and again the close connection between alcohol and drug usage and crime. In particular, the incidence of teenage addiction is, I believe, on the increase.

The issue of adolescent addiction is not one solely confined to the Catholic community but affects all denominations. It was with such concerns in mind and motivated by gospel principles that representatives from the Church of Ireland, Presbyterian, Methodist and Catholic Churches met in October 2004 to explore how the churches could respond to this issue. From that meeting, ICAP, the Inter-Church Addiction Project, was born. ICAP meets on a monthly basis with the sole emphasis of developing a holistic approach to adolescent addiction. It has received support from the leaders of the respective churches. At the time of writing, project members are looking for a possible site to establish a therapeutic centre for adolescents with addiction problems.

Hope for the future
In this article I have only touched on a few issues; many more present challenges to all churches and parishes. When I look to the future, I would like to see churches working more closely together at all levels. In short, I subscribe to the Lund principle (outlined at the World Council of Churches meeting in Lund, Sweden in 1952) that says churches should 'act together in all matters except those in which deep differences of conviction compel them to act separately'.

MARTIN J MAGILL was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1988. Since then he has ministered in parishes in North and West Belfast.

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