Notices for February 15th, 2026
Services for February 22nd 2026, 1st Sunday of Lent
Morning Worship at:
9.30am St Paul’s Church, Collooney
10.45am Holy Trinity Church, Ballisodare
Noon Emlaghfad Church, Ballymote
Collect for Today
Almighty Father,
whose Son was revealed in majesty
before he suffered death upon the cross:
Give us grace to perceive his glory,
that we may be strengthened to suffer with him
and be changed into his likeness, from glory to glory;
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Lent Prayer
We are planning to look at prayer and pray over the Lenten period in our churches. We will meet in all our churches over Lent. We plan to be open from 10.00am and 11.00am on Fridays (just drop in, you don’t have to stay for the whole hour) in the following locations and dates beginning with the service Ballisodare on Ash Wednesday at 8.00pm. Further dates are:
February 27th, Collooney; March 6th, Ballymote; March 13th, Ballisodare, March 20th, Collooney and March 27th, Ballymote. A flyer will be available from Ash Wednesday and next week.
Confirmation
A United Confirmation Service for the Sligo churches will take place on May 10th. Any children or adults seeking confirmation this year should ask Andrew for a form. The Bishop usually likes candidates to be in Secondary School at the time of confirmation. Preparation will take place after Easter this year and will most probably be done on Zoom. Please let Andrew know if this presents any difficulty.
Faith Re-ignited
Our Archdeaconry is planning to run several events for the churches in the period from Ascension to Pentecost 14-24 May. Each parish group is invited to put on one or two events or activities that will draw back those who have wandered away from church life. Please give this some thought and prayer and if anything comes to mind have a word with Andrew.
Life for Purpose
CIYD, in association with Alpha Ireland, are organising Life on Purpose. This is a four week course for any older Christian teenagers (TY and up) who are thinking about how to live out their faith. The sessions will touch on service, mission and evangelism. These courses are in response to a need by rural parishes with one or two young people, in order to help disciple them.
They are running two groups: Sunday at 5pm and Monday at 8pm. These will begin on the 22nd and 23rd of February and run for four consecutive weeks. Some promotional materials are attached and a trailer for the sessions can be found here. https://youtu.be/ctDVUQabygs?is=vdWehvVyhSPPuWI0 (direct link from our website Notices section. Interested young people can email Luke at Luke@CIYD.org to sign up or to ask any questions.
The Marthas
The Marthas are meeting again on Tuesday Feb 24th at the home of Mary Bourke from 7.15pm.
Church Youth Training Events
Jane Henderson from Church Army is delivering two training days, Wednesday March 25th and Thursday 26th March at the Church of Ireland Theological Institute on: Resources useful for Christian Unions or religion classes. Church Youth workers are welcome to attend. (Wednesday)
The first is Ignite, 10 sessions each lasting 30 minutes which explore faith and leadership. You can read more here: https://mycn.org.uk/
The next one is Faith Pictures. 6 sessions each lasting an hour designed to get people talking about their faith. More information here https://churcharmy.org/
Finally there is Faith Shared. This is the next step along from Faith Pictures, and is more explicit about evangelism and mission. https://churcharmy.
Please contact Luke@CIYD.org to book your place and indicate whether you would like lunch (12 noon) and/or dinner (5 30) all of which is free, like the session.
On Thursday she will run training in Faith Empowered. Faith Empowered seeks to train local lay leaders in Evangelism over 10 sessions designed to be spread out over a year. They would be ideal for a group of older Christian teenagers.
Prayer
Please remember in your prayers parishioners who are in hospital, or resident in our care homes.
Leaving a Gift for the Church in your Will
Legacy gifts or ‘gifts in will’ are an important source of income for churches, allowing us to make long-term plans. They are also a way of enabling you to continue to support the church after you’re gone.
By remembering us in your will, you can help ensure the church’s presence will continue to benefit many generations to come.
Further details on how to do this are on our website along with answers to some of the questions you may have. A paper version can be provided on request.
Irish Hospice Foundation
Bereavement Support Line available Mon-Fri, 10.00am-1.00pm 1800 80 70 77
Bank Transfers and Standing Orders
If you would like to make donations via bank transfer or by standing order please contact the Rector or the local treasurer who will provide appropriate details.