Time of service to be confirmed.

The festivities begin this evening with the switching on of the Christmas tree lights just outside the Parish Hall. Come along and join in the fun organised this year by 1st Kilbride Scout Group. And don’t be surprised if a special guest dressed in red and with a big white beard makes an appearance!

Christmas Crafts demonstrated by Fiona and Betty

Kids4School

Speaker - John McCullough

Venue - Parish Room

Harvest Thanksgiving Service.

Preacher - Very Rev. Dean John Bond

The church will be decorated for this very special service. If you would like to donate any foodstuffs the church will be open to receive it on Saturday morning, 21st September.

Immediately following this service there will be a Harvest Lunch served in the Parish Hall. This will be organised by the Ladies’ group and it will be a fundraising event for Women’s Aid ABCLN, a charity working to end domestic abuse. Women’s Aid ABCLN provides confidential support, information and emergency accommodation for women and children who are affected by domestic abuse across Antrim, Ballymena, Carrickfergus, Larne and Newtownabbey.

Pamper evening demonstrated by Lynn from Tropic beauty products.

Venue - Parish Room

This morning’s service of Morning Prayer will also include a baptism.

Drive to Glenarm along the A2 coast road from Ballygally and past St Patrick’s church on the road out of Glenarm towards Carnlough. Meet in the car park just past the church (beside the children’s play park and toilet block) at 6:50pm

Walk over the footbridge and over to the marina and then into the village, up Toberwine Street and on to the entrance to the forest. Walk the long loop around the forest following the red waymarkers and then back to the village. Look out for red squirrels on the walk.

Difficulty rating - 5

Distance - 6.5 km

Full day excursion.

Following the past three year’s very successful trips to Rathlin this will be another chance to explore more of the island. The bird sanctuary at the West Light should still be busy with birds although the breeding season is largely finished.

Various walking routes are available on the island and there is also an option to hire bicycles.

Visit the Rathlin Ferry website to book. Leaving Ballycastle on the 10:00 sailing and returning from Rathlin at 17:00. The ferry is free for those holding a valid travel pass.

Meet at the Minnowburn car park near Shaw’s Bridge at 6.50pm. Follow this link for full details - Giant’s Ring

Difficulty rating - 5

Distance - 6 km

Meet at the forest car park on the Upper Ballyboley Road at 6:50pm. Walk will be on forest tracks which can be rough in places.

Meet at the public car park just off the Croft Road in Carnlough at 6:50pm. Going through the village turn left at the Spar. Cross over the crossroads and drive up to the small roundabout. Turn left again and park in the car park at the end of this avenue. Starting to walk at 7:00 pm. This walk is almost a repeat of a previous year’s visit to Carnlough crossing below the cliff face and over the mine workings to the Croft Road and then back to the village. There are lovely views of Carnlough Bay from the mine workings.

Difficulty Rating - 4

Distance - 4 km

Drive to the National Trust car park at Minnowburn just off the Ballylesson Road near Shaw’s Bridge in Belfast. Walk starts at 7:00pm.

The walk will be along the River Lagan walking upstream up to and across the first footbridge, then back down the river to Clement Wilson park and on to the lock-keeper’s cottage before returning to the car park.

Length - 4 to 6 km dependent on the turning point.

Difficulty - 4 (a fairly flat route throughout)

Follow this link to WalkNI for a map of the Lagan Two Bridges Walk

Meet at the Redburn Country Park car park in Holywood at 6:50pm. This is located just off the Old Holywood Road and is close to Holywood Care Home. A steep ascent right from the start to the top of the park.

Difficulty rating - 8

Distance - 6 km

Drive to the Ards Shopping Centre just off the roundabout on the approach to Newtownards and meet beside KFC at 6:50pm. The walk begins at this car park.

Follow this link for more details on the area - Scrabo Hill

Difficulty rating - 7

Distance - 7 km

There will be a mid-summer barbecue immediately after this morning’s service. All are welcome to come and enjoy this event. If you intend being there please add your name to the sheet at the back of the church or contact one of the church wardens, Iris or Clarence. This will help with planning the catering.

Meet at the Cavehill Country Park near Belfast Castle at 6:50pm. The route follows the green waymarking arrows and will take in McArt’s fort at the top of Cavehill before moving around towards Divis and back to the car park. A challenging route. Follow this link for a map - Cavehill

Difficulty rating - 7

Distance - 7.2 km

This will be the same route that was walked around Divis last year. Meet at the car park just above Hannahstown at 6:50pm and then follow first the blue way markers and then the red to the top of the hill, returning down the opposite side looking out for the World War 2 aircraft that crashed during the war.

Follow this link for a map - Divis

Difficulty rating - 7

Distance - 10 km

Drive to the Park and Ride car park beside the railway station in Holywood and park. Aiming to catch the 6:45pm train. Note that the train timetable needs to be confirmed nearer the date of the walk. Take the train to Helen’s Bay station and walk back along the coastal path. Seniors go free on the train but only if you bring your Translink pass! For a shorter walk get off the train at an earlier stop before Helen’s Bay and walk back to Holywood or don’t take the train at all and walk along the coastal path towards Bangor until you meet the main body of walkers coming the other way.

Difficulty rating - 3

Distance - 8 km

Meet at the forest car park just below Woodburn Presbyterian Church at 6:50pm. Rough paths so walking boots recommended.

Difficulty Rating - 4

Distance - 8 km (this is to the Knockagh monument but shorter routes are also available through the forest). Approximately 3 km of this walk will be on public roads.

Meet at Robin Young’s car park on the Feystown Road just above Cairncastle at 6:50pm. The route heads south, following the Ulster Way markers, to the top of the hill and then follows the escarpment with excellent views across to Scotland and across Ballygally bay. The area directly below the escarpment is covered in bluebells in May.

Difficulty Rating - 8 (steep section at the start for approximately 750m but reasonably flat from then on. There are also some stiles to negotiate)

Distance - 6 km

The Bishop of Connor, the Rt Rev. George Davison, has very kindly agreed to take some time out of his busy schedule to come to the Watchmen men’s group for an informal conversation about his life as the Bishop of Connor and to answer a few questions put to him by some of our parishioners. It should be a very interesting evening and this meeting is open to everyone. It will be held in the Parish Room and light refreshments will be served.

Our friends in Ballyclare Presbyterian Church are hosting the Abaana Children’s choir in a fund-raising event in the church. The group of 20 children, who are beneficiaries of Abaana’s projects across Uganda, are representing their local communities by singing their way around the UK and Ireland, acting as ambassadors for their friends and families still living in poverty. They perform both Ugandan and English gospel songs and tell their testimonies.

Abaana is a Christian based charity set up for the benefit of less privileged people in Africa. The word ‘Abaana’ comes from a language found in the country of Uganda and means ‘children’. The charity’s aim is to raise awareness of third world poverty, find sponsors for an additional 200–300 children and rescue more children from a life on the streets.

There will be a voluntary offering during the concert to help with the work of Abaana in Uganda. A group of people from the church is visiting Uganda in July.

Meet at the Castle gardens in Antrim at 6:50pm, parking beside Clotworthy House in the Castle grounds car park just off the Randalstown Road. The walking route goes around the back of Clotworthy House, across the Six Mile Water using the Deerpark Bridge, then right to follow the river downstream to Lough Neagh. Continue south along the lough shore, through Rea’s Wood, eventually emerging onto the A6 Dublin Road. Turn left and almost immediately cross over to Kirby’s Lane, follow it for about 0.5 km and at the sign for the Mill Race Trail (on the left) turn left into this lane and follow the Six Mile Water downstream towards the town, crossing the bridge at the weir and eventually coming out at Riverside and then into High Street at All Saints’ church. Turn left and using the underpass at the river walk back to the Castle Gardens. Follow the path through the ruins of the castle and into the main garden area before returning to the cars in front of Clotworthy House.

Difficulty Rating - 4

Distance - 8 km

Kilbride Parish Church Ladies’ Group Annual General Meeting

Venue - Parish Room

Meet at the car park on the Upper Springfield Road (at the end of the lane leading to the National Trust site) at 6:55pm

Follow this link for more information - Divis

Difficulty - 6

Distance - 7 km

Rough terrain in places

Patricia Curran talk – Stephen Cameron

Venue - Parish Hall

The intriguing and unsolved murder of a 19 year-old student, Patricia Curran, on 12th November 1952 has fascinated the people of Northern Ireland ever since her body was found in the grounds of her own home near Whiteabbey. She had been stabbed 37 times. Patricia’s father was a high court judge and there were allegations of a cover up at the highest level but a young Scottish man called Iain Hay Gordon was tried and convicted of her murder. He escaped the gallows using a plea of insanity but he was subsequently cleared of Patricia’s murder in 2000 after the case against him was exposed as a tissue of lies. The real murderer has never been brought to justice.

Stephen Cameron has done extensive research into the Patricia Curran murder and drawn his own conclusions and he will present his findings in what will be a very interesting talk.

A supper will be provided at the end of Stephen’s talk.

Note - This is a ticketed event. Details of where to buy tickets and their cost will be confirmed at a later date.