Parish Organisations
Our Parish
Parish Pastoral Council
The All Saints’ Parish Pastoral Council was established in 1998. It is a representative group of parishioners who advise Monsignor Delargy as Parish Priest on matters of pastoral ministry and who work in full collaboration with the priests of the Parish.
Details of the current membership of the pastoral Council are set out above.
The Pastoral Council is a consultative body, helping in the identification, implementation and evaluation of pastoral initiatives and policies best suited to spread the gospel in the Parish. Members of the Council serve a three-year term but can be re-elected. The Parish Pastoral Council meets monthly between September and June each year.
The Pastoral Council Mission:
“Inspired by the Holy Spirit, we will nurture the gifts of all our people in order to grow as a vibrant, welcoming, joyful Christian community where everyone feels called to build the Kingdom of God.”
In pursuit of its Mission, the priorities or key themes for the work of the Pastoral Council and for the Parish are:
- Building a joyful Community;
- Nurturing the gifts of all the people;
- Understanding our faith; and
- Evangelising/Sharing the Good News.
If you would like to raise an issue with the Pastoral Council, please use the Suggestion Boxes located in the porches of All Saints and St Patrick’s Church, Crebilly. All suggestions and correspondence will be considered by the Council at its monthly meeting.
A copy of the Pastoral Council’s most recent Annual Report can be viewed below-
Finance Committee
The Finance Committee oversees the financial affairs of the parish. The Parish Priest presides over this council and the members are experienced in legal and financial matters, thereby providing an effective and competent service to ensure that funds are properly managed.
St. Joseph’s Young Priests Society
This society of lay people promotes vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life, and assists financially in the education of clerical students. Its focus is mainly the Irish dioceses but in recent years it has assisted overseas students.
The Society was established in Ireland in 1895 by Mrs Olivia Taaffe and there are branches all over Ireland. Our Ballymena branch was established in September 1994.
The committee members meet in the Parish Centre at 8pm on the Thursday preceding the first Friday of the month, between September and the following June. They pray and organise the activities of the Society in our parish. The activities and news of the Society throughout Ireland are published in the news-sheet ‘The Sheaf’ which is issued quarterly and distributed to members and associate members.
You can partake in the work of the Society by becoming an associate member; by your contribution of £6 per year to assist financially in the education of clerical students; and by daily prayer for vocations; in order that the faith and the love of the Mass can be handed down to children of today and future generations when Priests will be needed.
Anyone interested would be welcome to join us at our monthly meeting, and members can be contacted through the Parish Office.
President: Mr Paddy McGroggan
Telephone: 028 2565 0527
Society of St. Vincent de Paul
The society’s goal is to fight poverty in all its forms through practical assistance to people in need. The society has an active presence in our parish.
The society has been serving the poor in Ireland since 1844.
What it is and what it does
What is the Society of St Vincent de Paul?
A voluntary organisation of lay people.
What are its aims?
To help people in need on a person to person basis.
Is it a Catholic organisation?
Yes, with membership open to people of different faiths.
Does it assist Catholics only?
Members assist people in need irrespective of creed.
Is it an all male organisation?
No. Women are full members of the organisation.
Is membership very time-consuming?
Members give part of their spare time working for people in need.
What does membership cost money-wise?
Members subscribe according to their means at weekly meetings. Helping people in need cost money.
Who may join the Society?
Anybody who has a little spare time to help needy people.
Why do people join the Society?
To translate into action the Christian obligation to help people in need.
What is the major activity of the members of the Society?
Visiting distressed families in their homes.
How can a visit help a family in distress?
The family knows that somebody is concerned enough to call and offer help.
Is money given to families in distress?
Yes.
What are some kinds of distress in a family which money can’t solve?
Illness, loneliness, desertions, alcoholism.
What other material gifts are given to families in need?
Clothing, fuel, food, beds, furniture, holidays.
How are families in distress found?
Some come seeking help; others are discovered by members of the Society.
Does a family ever spurn assistance?
Rarely. People in need always welcome assistance.
In what other activities does the Society of St Vincent
de Paul engage?
Youth Clubs, hospital visitation, Hostels for the Homeless, Holiday Homes for young and old, Clothing Guilds, Seamen’s Clubs, prison visitations, Housing Societies, Secretariats.
Are members of the Society trained for the work they do?
St Vincent de Paul Training Programmes are provided.
How would one know if one would like the work of the Society?
One will never know unless one tries.
Where could one contact the Society?
The Northern Regional Office is at 224 Antrim Road, Belfast,
BT15 2AN or telephone 90 351561.
The website address is www.svp-ni.org
When the Society started in Ballymena
On Sunday 4 January 1891 the inaugural meeting of the Ballymena Branch of the St. Vincent de Paul Society was held in Ballymena. Father McMullan PP VG read a letter from Dr McAlister, Bishop of Down and Connor. Father Darragh CC was appointed as Spiritual Director.
The President was Mr James McAllister
The Vice Presidents were Mrs N McVeigh and Mr J Mallaghan
The Treasurer was Mr James Mallaghan JP
The Honorary Secretary was Mr P Lanigan
Members were: Mr James McIlhenney, Mr John Butler,
Mr Patrick Campbell, Mr John Bell, Mr Thomas Campbell and Mr Charles O’Neill.
It was agreed that members would meet on the second Sunday of the month, after Mass.
The Knights of St. Columbanus
We were established in Belfast in June 1915 by Canon James O’Neill. In placing the Order under the patronage of St Columbanus, our founders were mindful of his missionary zeal in bringing the good news of salvation to all. The Knights were the response of Catholic laymen acting in close co-operation with their Bishops in the work of the Apostolate.
Our aims are:
- To promote by personal and group action the extension of practical Christianity in all phases of life
- To maintain a fraternal society of Catholic lay leadership
- To honour the Faith
- To prepare its members for the Apostolate
For further information contact:
Secretary
The Knights of St Columbanus
Ely House
8 Ely Place
DUBLIN 2
Tel: 01 676 1835 (From NI 003531 676 1835)
Email: koc@iol.ie
Website: www.knightsofstcolumbanus.ie
The Pioneer Total Abstinence Association of the Sacred Heart
The Pioneer Total Abstinence Association of the Sacred Heart was founded in the Church of St Francis Zavier, Dublin by Father James Cullen SJ on 27 December 1898. One of the main celebrations to mark its centenary year was the Mass and Rally in Croke Park, Dublin on 30 May 1999.
Pioneer members take a threefold commitment –
-To pray daily for the conversion of excessive drinkers
-To abstain for life from all intoxicating drink
-To wear the Pioneer Pin publicly; an encouragement for others to do the same
The Pioneer Association is not anti-alcohol. Total abstinence is a personal choice of Pioneers – moderation and self-control is for all. The first Pioneer Council in All Saints’ Parish, Ballymena was founded over seventy years ago.
Contact the Parish Office for more information.
See also the association’s website- https://www.pioneerassociation.ie
Kirkinriola Eco Parish
We are blessed to be able to enjoy in the natural beauty of God’s creation at home and on the grounds of each church. We take frequent steps to use our resources including water, electricity, energy and water, efficiently. Small steps put together make a big difference!
Pope Francis’ call for all of us to care for Mother Earth in his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’ reminds us of the immense beauty and fragility of the world in which we live.
A true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.
Pope Francis
Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience.
Pope Francis
If someone has not learned to stop and admire something beautiful, we should not be surprised if he or she treats everything as an object to be used and abused without scruple.
Pope Francis