Lizzy's Been Bizzy

Hot off the press within the last hour, we're delighted to announce that while Select Vestry was meeting tonight, the new church website for St Elizabeth's has been unveiled. It's still at the Bizzy Lizzy address, but has been completely renewed (reborn?) by Steveo.

On the subject of church websites, just last week, Kevin DeYoung was urging for churches to be welcoming by having a good website. I wonder how our new one meets his criteria?

Dundonald Bible Week

Dundonald Bible Week kicks off on Monday night, and you're very welcome to join us for any or all of the events:

Monday 18th April, 7.30pm at Dundonald Baptist Church (Youth Night) - Psalm 23 - How to have everything
Tuesday 19th April, 8.00pm at Dundonald Presbyterian Church - Psalm 2 - The Big Picture
Wednesday 20th April, 8.00pm at Dundonald Baptist Church - Psalm 40 - His First Coming
Thursday 21st April, 8.00pm at St Elizabeth's Church - Psalm 45 - His Second Coming
Friday 22nd April, 8.00pm at Dundonald Presbyterian Church - Psalm 22 - The Heart of the Matter

The speaker is Jonathan Stephen, Principal of WEST, and there will be music, interviews, Bible talk, bookstall, food and friendship each evening. Hopefully we'll see you there!

The Link

If you're interested in the kind of things we're doing at St Elizabeth's, you might want to have a look at The Link, our special Christmas publication with an eye towards the wider Dundonald community.

Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

Yes, it's our harvest weekend in Dundonald, but it's not a traditional harvest weekend by any means! Tonight we're having our harvest supper. Stop for a moment - what images do those two words bring to mind? You're probably thinking of a salad tea, or plates piled with sandwiches, followed by traybakes, buns and sweet things. Well, not tonight. Instead, we're having a 'Golden Chip Harvest Supper' supplied by one of the local chip shops. Over 100 portions of chips, and a selection of sausages, chicken strips and pasties will be served as quickly as we can have them delivered and distributed! Thankfully, though, we don't need to worry about the calories, because our evening continues with a Barn Dance (yeeha!)

Tomorrow we're having a special day of Bible teaching, with Bishop Wallace Benn, the Bishop of Lewes in England teaching on Steps to Local Church Growth from the book of Acts. The sessions begin at 10.30 in the Burton Hall tomorrow morning, with some family activities in the afternoon, with a final session at 5pm.

Sunday is our actual Harvest Thanksgiving services, at 10.30am and 6.30pm, again with Bishop Wallace preaching. You're very welcome to join with us to celebrate God's goodness to us, and to praise King Jesus.

Θχigeη

Θχigeη is back again, the youth event in Dundonald for 1st form to 6th formers, organised by the partnership between Dundonald Baptist, Dundonald Presbyterian and St Elizabeth's. This year we're having a training event for leaders and Christian young people tonight, as well as some street work to invite people along (let's hope it's a dry night despite the heavy rain this morning!), and the main event kicks off on Wednesday 25th for three nights.

Trevor Johnston (Crosslinks Ireland Team Leader) is speaking on Why Bovver? and there are some great activities lined up as well as some chill out time. Each evening begins at 7.30pm in St Elizabeth's Halls, and you can get some more information over at the Oxigen website.

Playing Catchup

Isn't the world a very small place? Last Friday night I made my way over to Dundonald Presbyterian Church for a special service. Our friends there were welcoming their new minister at the service of Installation. William McCully was moving from his previous churches in Letterkenny, County Donegal to become the new minister in Dundonald. I think I've only ever been in Letterkenny once, so didn't think I would know him at all.

What a surprise, then, to find that he was originally from Drumgooland, not a million miles from Dromore - but a greater surprise was in store. It turns out that his brother-in-law was one of my friends from school! And there, in the middle of Dundonald, I saw Gordon Bingham for the first time in probably five years or so!



This year we're thirteen years away from Dromore High School (Gordon is 3rd in from right on 2nd row from back), and spent some time remembering our days at the school, as well as having plenty to catch up on, and to meet his wife Helen! Gordon is now working for the Faith Mission in Cumbria, a brother gospel worker just across the water, so we were able to encourage one another in the work for the Lord as well.

The world truly is a small place, and the Lord can work in marvelous ways through his glorious providence. Through bringing his brother-in-law to minister alongside us here in Dundonald, I'm back in touch with Gordon, and hopefully will keep in better touch, particularly with the local link.

Dundonald Dodgems

This morning, it was like the dodgems in Dundonald village. The traffic lights at the junction of the Upper Newtownards Road / Church Road / Ballyregan Road weren't working. Most seemed to think it was an adult high-speed version of dodgems, only in your own car.

It was interesting to see the various reactions to the absence of red/amber/green lights moderating the traffic flow. For once, there was no restraint, no legal obligation to stop and give way to others, so most carried on regardless. Those on the Newtownards Road thought that they were on the major road and so didn't have to slow down at all, keeping going at the regular speed or maybe even a bit faster then normal. Scary stuff, especially if you were trying to emerge from Church Road or Ballyregan Road. We were at a disadvantage, so had to sit and wait for quite a while, until quite sure the road was clear both ways. Nevertheless, even cars coming from the minor roads edged out farther than they should, trying to push the boundaries and get on with their journey.

No traffic lights, no restraints, total chaos. Thankfully the lights are working again now, but it was a reminder of how we all are or were. If we think we can get away with something, we will. So if you can't see a police car / speed camera, it doesn't matter what speed you do. Or you abandon your car where you like if you know the traffic wardens are on holiday. You push the boundaries and do as much as you think you can get away with. You behave differently in private from your public persona/appearance.

Ultimately, we reject any notion of outside authority and install ourselves as functional king, sovereign over our own life and destiny. A dangerous state of being, because if each of us are doing what WE want, then we'll be horribly frustrated and conflicted when everyone else does what they want as well.

At the end of the book of Judges, there are three gruesome chapters as things in Israel go from bad to worse to worser. There's no authority, no rules, they're just making it up as they go along. The very last verse of Judges says this:

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (21:25)

Total chaos, with no rules, no order, and tribal violence. No wonder that the writer of Judges is yearning for God's king to be anointed and revealed. David brings order to the chaos of Israel, conquering enemies and securing borders, establishing the city of the Lord at Jerusalem and preparing to build the Temple. Yet even David messed up. We need a better king than David - great David's greater Son.

To drive through an untraffic-lighted junction is dangerous enough. To go through life disregarding rules and making it ul as you go along - that's fatal. Life without Jesus is fatal, but living under King Jesus is life and peace.

Family Fun

Last night we had a family fun night at church. A good turn out of people, and a nice clear evening which made for good barbecue weather! To start with, the Curate had set a Treasure Hunt which took the families through the Moat Park and round part of Dundonald, following terribly forced doggerel rhymes. Thankfully no one got lost, and all returned having worked out a good number of the answers.

The BBQ fires had been burning, and the burgers and sausages were consumed with relish (!) before the results were revealed and treasure (gold-wrapped chocolate coins) was distributed. There were also some relay races and pass the parcels for the kids to enjoy before we cleared the hall and went home. A great night, and good to see the young families coming together and enjoying getting to know each other. Perhaps we'll have another one before too long!

General Election: Second Round

Following the first review of most of the candidates' election communications for the constituency of East Belfast in tomorrow's General Election, a second round of election communications have arrived. This time, though, we'll deal with them all in one fell swoop, with new things or heightened emphases as polling day quickly approaches.

Naomi Long: Alliance

Naomi's second communication (this time addressed to me) is much bigger, but seems to contain much of the same information, just in bigger text boxes and bigger photos. On the plus side, she answers the nagging question from the first leaflet of double or triple jobbing, with a pledge that 'if elected to Westminster, she has committed to stand down from the Assembly to ensure that East Belfast has full-time representation in Parliament.' On the down side, she is still perpetuating the 'spin' on election results from the 2007 Assembly election, presenting herself as just 52 votes behind Peter Robinson (while neglecting to admit the huge distance between Alliance and both the UUP and the DUP). She now has included Facebook information, so a plus one for social media!

Trevor Ringland: Conservatives and Unionists

We've received two further communications from the Unionists. The first had much the same material, with a few more photos from Trevor's day out in East Belfast, at some new locations - including the reconciliation statue in Stormont Estate. In this communication he also now comes out in favour of the public inquiry into the City Airport runway extension. Sadly, though, it's hard to look past a couple of clangers - what Mark Devenport has been calling the Spellection: on writing about the importance of tourism in East Belfast, Ringland says 'From the Titanic quarters to Parliament buildings...' (Have we more than one Titanic Quarter now? Maybe that's why it's all so expensive...); and the worst clanger, 'Nothen Ireland'.

His second election communication contained a personal message from Trevor Ringland, addressed to my wife. (Should I be worried?) Ringland is coming out fighting, mainly against the Alliance Party, as he says: 'Trevor Ringland is the only candidate who can win this seat from Robinson. The figures speak for themselves. Alliance has always trailed in third. Every vote counts in this election, and with your support, we can put an end to the neglect of East Belfast at Westminster. A vote for Alliance in a vote for Robinson.' At least he is arguing on the basis of fact on the election results. On the plus side, we actually see that he has a change of clothes, with photos of him wearing something other than the outfit he wore for every photo on the first two election leaflets!

Peter Robinson: Democratic Unionist Party

In his final election communication, Peter Robinson is firmly attacking his unionist opponents - perhaps this is where he sees the battle most fiercely fought, rather than against Alliance (sorry Naomi). There are lots of photos of Robinson in various places and situations - a DUP rally, a primary school, visiting a centenarian, with the Orange Order, with troops in Iraq (?) or Afghanistan (?), with Barack Obama, in Parliament, on a building site, and with Citizens' Advice.

There are sections against the UUP/Conservative link up, as well as against the TUV, appealing for unionist unity. However it is on the back page that Robinson becomes his most vitriolic, and perhaps even applies some double standards. He is trying to argue that he is the only local unionist worthy of being elected, and so he writes:

'Peter Robinson lives in the constituency - his unionist opponents live outside the area, one as far away as County Armagh... Peter Robinson knows East Belfast and its people - some of his opponents are tourists and would need Sat Nav to find their way about the area.'

There are several factors about what he has said here:

1. Peter Robinson has only just been moved back into the constituency - he couldn't have said that if Dundonald hadn't been shifted from Strangford to East Belfast again, which would indicate that prior to this election, he wasn't himself in the constituency.

2. There is no legal barrier on anyone living outside a constituency standing for election, nor no residency condition.

3. Is Peter Robinson and the DUP applying this standard for its other candidates? After all, Willie McCrea lives in the Mid-Ulster constituency but is standing in South Antrim, and, as a prime example of double standards, Nigel Dodds, standing in North Belfast, lives as far from that constituency in a provincial town as David Vance does from East Belfast. Should Nigel Dodds therefore not be standing in North Belfast and a local resident be up there instead? Or are the DUP exercising double standards in this attack on its opponents?

The election communications have now been printed and distributed. It's almost time for the x to be crossed and votes cast. This time round, Northern Ireland votes will be counted virtually as soon as polls close at 10pm, rather than the next day. I'm still debating whether I should sit up for a while to watch the results as they come in, or go on to my bed. Any ideas?

General Election: Vote TUV?

In the fifth of our General Election communications review for the constituency of East Belfast, we turn to the newest unionist party on the block, Traditional Unionist Voice, and their candidate David Vance.

With a huge picture of himself on the front, the communication weighs in as a 4 page A4 glossy booklet, with plenty of information on his views, and the wider political issues. However, it is clear that the TUV is seeking to fight its major battle against the dominance of the DUP, having come out from the wings of the DUP (led by Jim Allister) in the aftermath of that party joining the powersharing executive as equal partners with Sinn Fein.

To that end, in the 14 text boxes found throughout the leaflet, 10 of them contain a direct reference to either the DUP or some member of the party, always in a negative connection (unsurprisingly, of course!). Particularly in focus is the person and work of Peter Robinson, with the figures of his (and Iris') expense claims from the last Parliament being quoted several times, as well as the connections between the DUP an Sinn Fein in the Assembly.

The other four text boxes, while not directly referring to the DUP are clearly written with them in mind, seeking to present the TUV as the party able to provide fulltime representation at Westminster, and the party who will not break their election promises (nudge, nudge).

Interestingly, there's also a section on addressing controversial issues of sovereignty (opposing the Lisbon Treaty and calling for a referendum), immigration (using a points system for skilled workers rather than an open door policy), and climate change (which is as a result of 'suspect science').

On the use of photos, it seems strange that Peter Robinson features in as many photographs on David Vance's literature as David Vance does himself - three times each. Now obviously the photos are carefully chosen to maximise the potential damage to Robinson and boost the Vance campaign - so we see Peter Robinson smiling alongside the box alleging that the Robinsons were operating a 'who wants to be a millionaire political lifestyle'; Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness alongside the text arguing that Stormont is a shambles because of the mandatory coalition; and that infamous shot of Peter at his desk and Iris in a full head-back cackle of a laugh which sits beside a call for voters to say 'no to scandal and sleaze.'

So much for the content. Anything to say about what is said? Well, there's no mention of David Vance's previous membership of the Bob McCartney UKUP (who?), and it does seem that most of the arguments are (again) on issues connected to Stormont, and not Westminster - for which this election has been called. You almost get the feeling that these leaflets could be reused at the next Assembly election without alteration - except that one sentence needs to be changed to make some sense.

'If you expect better then vote for a man who'll be there do the job - vote Vance x.'

I really do expect better - someone 'to' do the job of proofreading, never mind representing East Belfast!

Once again, there's no reference to social media, but there is a website specifically for the campaign, which has a live twitter feed for his campaign.

It's hard to know how the result will turn out - perhaps the rage at Peter Robinson's performance in the past will be raised and focused by this election communication, and Vance can turn enough people to win the seat. I just don't know.

General Election: An SDLP Future?

It can be easy to feel sorry for the SDLP candidate standing in the General Election in the East Belfast constituency. In an area which is resoundingly unionist, you might almost think 'what's the point of standing?' Yet fair play to Mary Muldoon. Her campaign literature arrived in the post yesterday, so she shall be my fourth review today, leaving the TUV for tomorrow and Sinn Fein if we receive any before Saturday.

Compared to the big booklets and huge folded sheets of other candidates, Muldoon isn't spending much on her campaign literature. One glossy A5 sheet with picture and slogan on one side, and some blurb on the other. The battle Muldoon faces isn't so much to win the seat, but rather seems to be worded to reflect the battle within the nationalist and republican community: 'It is vital to vote in this election and to vote for an honest voice who will take their seat and represent the people of East Belfast.'

Following some biographical information, mostly on her experience in Belfast City Council, there are also the promises of what she will do if elected. That's a big 'if' - perhaps emphasized by the exclamation marks at the end of each pledge: e.g. 'I will oppose cuts to the NI Budget to ensure funding for Hospitals and Schools!' I'm not sure if those exclamation marks are well chosen, but they are perhaps the most enthusiastic of the election promises being made by any of the candidates thus far.

Because there isn't a great deal of detail on her campaign literature, it's harder to discuss it and pick faults, but perhaps what is worth noting is that she firmly comes out against the runway extension at the City Airport - the most open statement I've seen on the issue.

As well as the writing on the back of the sheet, there's also the obligatory pictures, so we see Mary with a constituent when she was canvassing during her last election run out (which must have been the 2007 Assembly election), one with new party leader Margaret Ritchie, and one down in Titanic Quarter in which one of the Harland and Wolff cranes makes an appearance.

Again, social media isn't being widely used in East Belfast, indeed there isn't even any contact information at all (apart from that required by the legislation of printer and publisher/promoter).

Not much detail, but then, to be fair, her candidature will help the overall performance of the SDLP in terms of vote share (being the only party standing candidates in each constituency), but not much chance of taking the seat.

General Election: DUP2Win?

In the third of my reviews of the General Election literature in the East Belfast constituency, we turn our attention to the sitting MP, Peter Robinson, who on top of his Westminster job continues to be an MLA and First Minister of Northern Ireland.

Three jobs would seem to be a lot for anyone, but there's no signs that Peter Robinson will step down from one or other of his seats if elected to Parliament again. This despite the recent scandals, and ongoing questions surrounding the transfer of some land in our village of Dundonald. Robinson has been under pressure recently, and perhaps it's being worked out in the way his campaign team are failing to engage with the electorate.

On Monday night I was sitting in the house, with one ear listening for the doorbell announcing some canvassers visiting. Instead, the DUP team were very quickly slipping the election communication through the letterbox and moving on - without ringing doorbells or knocking the doors. No attempt at all to speak with potential voters. I even went out to the door, and the guys say me, but hurried on their way. Not exactly a positive sign, unless they presumptively imagine that my part of Dundonald is either going to automatically vote for him, or is a lost cause so they just want to get their information out without causing a scene.

So as to the information itself, there's quite a bit of it, contained in an 8 page A5 booklet (which also contained an A5 4 page flyer for the local council candidate in the by-election caused by Iris Robinson's resignation). 7 pictures of Peter, so I think Trevor Ringland is still winning for most pictures of himself. Despite being the sitting MP, Robinson seems to be under pressure in the booklet, coming out fighting with material on the expenses scandal in page 2, quoting Sir Thomas Legge who gave him a clean bill of health.

The fight continues on pages 3, 6 and 7, where Peter the fighter is presented positively compared to 'a novice' given his personal experience in those multi-tasking jobs we've mentioned previously, as well as comparing the DUP to other unionist parties in the areas of unionist unity, strong positive leadership, representing unionism and with long-term strategy. Having seen campaign leaflets from other constituencies, these sections are the same across the board, with just some special East Belfast and Peter Robinson sections where the local candidate is introduced in each constituency.

However it's interesting that unionist unity is now presented as a key concern, whenever the DUP are the largest unionist party. If memory serves correctly, they were less keen on unionist unity when they were the smaller unionist party, on the hardline fringe of things. However now that there's a possibility of a Sinn Fein First Minister in the next Assembly they're very concerned to protect their position, especially since the TUV has comfortably moved into the gap left when when DUP shifted into government with the Shinners.

As with some of the other candidates in East Belfast, there does appear to be some confusion as to what the election is all about, with the issues discussed in the Assembly being referred to as if they are the main thing, rather than the particular issues concerning Westminster.

Again, there are no references to Twitter or Facebook or such things, and the only website link is to dup2win.com which has been on the go for many years, and didn't seem to have individual pages for each of the candidates standing in the election.

Time will tell if Peter Robinson will still be MP for East Belfast come the 7th May. It's hard to tell at this stage how the unionist vote will split, and how many votes will be lost to the Conservatives and Unionists, and the TUV. Alliance are also talking up their chances, but as I've said before, I can't seem Naomi Long winning through.

DUP2win? We'll see.

General Election: Alliance for All?

The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland's candidate in the East Belfast constituency is current Lord Mayor of Belfast, Naomi Long. However, I'm not sure that she actually wants my vote.

You see, her recent election communication came through the post, and was only addressed to my good lady wife. So maybe I shouldn't even be reviewing it, seeing as I didn't get one myself!

Much smaller than the Conservative and Unionist candidate's paper, Long's is an A4 glossy sheet (carbon neutral, we're assured), folded into three. Just three pictures of Naomi, a portrait, one at the Tall Ships Festival, and one with her fellow Alliance candidates (or is it their MLAs?)

As with their election posters, Alliance are working through a series of contrasts - sharing works, segregation costs; partnership works, deadlock costs; justice works, crime costs; respect works, bigotry costs. Given that Alliance currently don't have any MPs, they instead choose to focus on the things that they're doing in the Northern Ireland Assembly for us, which, while possibly interesting, aren't really the things that are at stake in this election. (Like other parties, perhaps they need a basic education in the different decision-making bodies and which powers are enjoyed by Councils/Assembly/Westminster.

There is also quite a lot on the person and experience of Naomi Long, who perhaps has an even higher profile at present thanks to her time in the Lord Mayor's chair in Belfast City Council. Perhaps this is the reason she's standing, to ride high on the publicity generated from her Council job - but with no word within the literature that she would give up her Council and Assembly seats if elected to Westminster.

She also includes sections in Chinese and Polish, to reach the local ethnic communities - perhaps something unique for the Alliance party in this campaign? However, there is just the general Alliance website, with no reference of an address, email address, Facebook or Twitter at all. Indeed, it took a bit of searching to find out anything about the election, as the Elections section on the website is from the 2005 elections!

There is one possibly misleading section which seems to inflate her chances of winning the election, on a dubious political premise. I'll quote the section, then take it apart.

"Your vote is crucial. This is the most open Westminster contest in East Belfast in a generation but if you want change, only Alliance can deliver. Naomi was elected 52 votes behind Peter Robinson and over 1400 votes ahead of Reg Empey in the last Assembly election. Alliance can win in East Belfast, but your support is crucial. On the 6th May, make your vote work for you. Vote Alliance."

On the face of it, Naomi only needs 53 more people to vote for her and she would take the seat. That sounds doable, doesn't it? Except it's not quite as it seems. Either Alliance don't understand statistics and election results, or else they are deliberately using them in this way to present a false impression.

You see, while Naomi was just 52 votes behind Peter Robinson himself, in the constituency of East Belfast, for their three candidates combined, the DUP received 11,155 first preference votes. (Peter Robinson got 5635, Wallace Browne got 3185, and Robin Newton 2335). Alliance has one candidate, Naomi Long, who received 5583 votes. That is, just about half the number of DUP first preference votes, or 5572 votes behind. That's a lot more than just the 52 votes being presented in the campaign literature.

Indeed, taken as a whole, while Naomi Long's personal first preferences outweighed Reg Empey's, the UUP as a whole (with three candidates and a poor balancing of first preferences across the constituency) received 6516 first preferences. That is, 933 more than Alliance. So Naomi Long and Alliance come into this General Election in third place, with a long way to go to beat the Conservatives and Unionists, let alone the DUP.

Her best chance may come if thousands defect from the DUP to the TUV and UCUNF, so that the three unionist parties are fairly evenly split, and she sneaks ahead by a couple of votes. Otherwise, despite this bigging up of her chances, I think it's safe to say Long won't be heading to Westminster, unless on a holiday.

General Election: Ringland for Change?

This is the first in a series of intended impartial reviews of the election literature received for the East Belfast constituency in the General Election of 2010. Hopefully as the series progresses this week we will actually receive the election communications from the other parties...

The Conservatives and Unionist Candidate is high-profile former British and Irish Lion rugby player, Trevor Ringland. His glossy A3 campaign literature was the first received in our neck of the woods, and the only doorstep caller thus far in the election. Change is the big word, both on the title page, and throughout the literature.

Through a series of short articles and soundbites, the Conservative and Unionist priorities are discussed. First up, a message from David Cameron and Sir Reg Empey, which doesn't say much, and emphasises the fact that Northern Ireland's voice can finally be heard in Westminster through the introduction of 'normal' politics via the Conservatives. The other boxes talk about economics, jobs, reducing sectarianism, and 'helping those who need help most'. (Is that a split infinitive?)

Perhaps the most recurring theme is the series of photos of Trevor Ringland in various places within East Belfast. Despite his attempts to vary the photos (some with jacket on, or off), it seems that he took about ten minutes to drive round certain parts of the constituency and get his (sometimes poor) photograph taken at the locations. So, Trevor at Harland and Wolff, Trevor at the Odyssey, Trevor at the Science Park in the Titanic Quarter, Trevor at the City Airport, Trevor talking to two Chinese (tourists?) at the Titanic Pump House, Trevor at a wee shop at the bottom of the Newtownards Road, Trevor slightly further up the Newtownards Road at the East Belfast Mission.

Perhaps these are the recognisable shots of East Belfast, but has he forgotten that Dundonald has been added to his constituency? Not to mention the rest of the Newtownards Road, through Ballyhackamore, Knock, Belmont, and so on...

There seemed to be a few clumsy moments. "A Northern Ireland for all inside a United Kingdom for all, while co-operating constructively for our mutual benefit with the others we share this island with." That last phrase doesn't seem to sit well - is there a 'with' too many?

Or consider perhaps the most ambiguous piece of diplomacy when talking about the Geroge Best Belfast City Airport:

"The airport contributes to the economy of East Belfast, but the needs of the travelling public must be balanced with the rights of local residents."

So are you in favour of the extension of the runway or not, Trevor? Should we seek to expand the economy, create jobs, as you write elsewhere, or do you not want to press that for fear of losing votes from the flightpath of the airport - hence all the photos of you down at the bottom of the Newtownards Road?

Finally, there were big sections on how to contact Trevor, and a space to write your comments or questions. New technologies and social media being used by this Conservative and Unionist candidate are Facebook and Twitter.

Trevor presents a well-crafted local perspective, although he may have a hard job trying to unseat Peter Robinson.

So Long, Strangford; 'Ello East Belfast!

We're now in the run-up to the General Election on 6th May, and candidates have a few days left to decide if they're standing. This is our first General Election since we moved home, and already we're on the move again.

Up to now, Dundonald was part of the Strangford constituency (formerly represented by Iris Robinson MP), but before we get a chance to vote on Iris' replacement, we've been moved into her husband's constituency, East Belfast due to the boundary changes. Both Dundonald and the surrounding wards have been added to East Belfast, so as well as getting to know the constituency (which stretches from the Odyssey to Ballybeen), we'll have a new bunch of candidates to get to know.

Following the deadline of 20th April I'll have a full list of candidates, but for now, those confirmed include under pressure First Minister Peter Robinson (DUP), Trevor Ringland (UCUNF), David Vance (TUV), Naomi Long (Alliance), Mary Muldoon (SDLP) and Niall O Donnghaile (Sinn Fein).

Home Again

Well, you might have noticed the silence on the blog over the past few days. A week off, in Lanzarote, and mostly away from the Internet. So there were no updates. However, there were plenty of books read - 7, to be precise, which will be reviewed (or at least mentioned) in due course. Makes me wonder just how many more books I could get read if some of my free time wasn't spent on Facebook and such like.

As well as reading the books I also made sure that my photo a day was taken so I'll need to update those as well this week. In due course I'll blog a bit more about the holiday, but for now I'll relax and take it easy!

I'm back to work on perhaps one of the busiest weeks in the church year - Holy Week. We're doing things differently this year, with St Elizabeth's, Dundonald Presbyterian and Dundonald Baptist coming together for the week, meetings rotating round the various churches. Tomorrow night is a Youth Night, and meetings each evening are at 8pm. The speaker is Andy Lines from Crosslinks, taking us through the account of the Passion from Mark's Gospel. You'll be most welcome to join us for any or all of the meetings!

Ready, Steady, Cook!

Doing anything this Friday night? I've been conscripted to take part in a cooking challenge in the Church Halls, in aid of our Building for the Gospel project.

It's the familiar Ready, Steady Cook format - Johnny Beare (our Youth Leader) and myself will be given a bag of ingredients, and we have to come up with a recipe and prepare a meal. No pressure then! The evening is being hosted by Shirley Kerr, one of the Pampered Chef agents, and we'll be using some of the products made and sold by Pampered Chef. Profits from the evening are going towards our building project.

You're very welcome to come along and laugh at my awful cooking - Friday 15th January at 7.45pm in the Church Hall, Church Green, Dundonald.

Let's hope I get a tin of beans and a pan loaf so I can do my chef's special of beans and toast!

Christmas Invite

It's shaping up to be a busy time! The flyers are part of what we're including in the giveaway material for carol singing and street evangelism. You're very welcome to any or all of our Christmas services at St Elizabeth's Dundonald:

Sunday 20th December
10.30am Lord's Supper
4.00pm Carols by Candlelight (with Grosvener School Choir)

Thursday 24th December
11.00pm Midnight Communion

Friday 25th December
10.30am Christmas Family Celebration

Sunday 27th December
10.30am Morning Service
6.30pm Evening Service

Thursday 31st December
11.15pm Watchnight Service (in Dundonald Presbyterian Church)

Sing Carols

The Marks and Spencer Christmas advert invites celebrities to fill in the blanks: 'Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without...' For me, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without carol singing. A great, traditional, culturally acceptable method of celebrating Christmas, reminding ourselves of the good news, and spreading that good news in the local area.

Yet in previous years, it seems that the carollers from St E's have found some Scrooges in the village. Adults and children alike have heard rude words as they have knocked on doors. Oops.

Which is why this year we're turning things on their head as we go out carol singing. We're not collecting money, we're not asking for anything. Instead, our carol singing is an expression of grace. While our big team is singing Christmas carols, some pairs are going to knock doors, not to get but to give - a little treat, as well as gospel literature and an invitation to our carol service on Sunday.

The routes have been planned, the song sheets are almost ready to be printed, the tracts have been purchased, and the coats and scarves will be put on, ready for 7.30pm, meeting at the Church halls. Want to come along? You're very welcome to join the singing of the birth of our Saviour!

The Anonymous Tract

I'm all for evangelism, and reaching out with the gospel. The Lord Jesus requires this, and sent out his disciples to be disciple-makers. Any opportunity to share the good news of God's word about Jesus Christ should be taken. However, I do think there are right and wrong ways off going about it.

On Halloween night, we were out, and I popped home to grab some clothes before staying over at the in-laws. Lying on the mat was a tract, indeed none other than a Chick Publications comic tract. (Not that it's funny, but it is a cartoon comic style production). Someone had put it through the door and gone their merry way. Fair enough- they didn't get us in, us horrible pagan people, so they posted one through the door so that we wouldn't miss out on the message of Chick Publications "First Bite" about how a demon-inspired evil vampire is plotting to have his first bite of virgin flesh on Halloween night, but instead Faith converts him, so that he not only loses his sins but also his fangs!

Not really the best Halloween tract out there* but with some gospel message in it. My problem, though, is that their evangelism isn't really in line with the great commission of Matthew 28. The whole thing about making disciples and teaching them, in my mind, presupposes relationship and contact. Someone may be converted through reading this tract or an isolated Bible verse, but it's surely the exception. My gripe is that the tracting of Dundonald on Halloween night was indiscriminate and anonymous. There were no contact details to be found on the back page (not even in the box specifically for them). There wasn't another leaflet or card to say who had left the tract. Just a quick tract dropped and run. Is this evangelism?

Say I had been convicted and converted through reading the tract. How would I know where to go to find out more? How would the people behind the spreading of Chick tracts ensure that I come under their own brand of teaching and (hopefully) discipleship? That is why I'm not convinced by anonymous tracting, soothing the mission conscience by indiscriminate leaflet dropping.

Over the run-up to Christmas, we're planning a range of evangelism efforts in the parish. I'll be sayig more about these in the coming weeks. But one thing I'm determined to not do is anonymous fearful evangelism. As we go out, we'll be clear that we are from St Elizabeth's Church, and include contact details and leaflets about our fellowship and meetings. But even more important is the personal touch, the ongoing and growing relationships with people as we bump into them at work, in the shops, at the gym, or wherever we find people. We're called to make disciples, not leaflet drop.

*For the best tracts check out The Good Book Company