For many years one of the first things people have seen as they leave the railway station on arrival in Portlaoise is the small, handsome Methodist church on the other side of the road. Here, Sunday by Sunday, the Methodists and their friends have met for worship, but there has been nowhere in the building with enough space for recreational and other meetings during the week. Fortunately, there was ample space in the grounds and about five years ago the members began to think of building a hall there.
From thinking they moved to planning and then to fundraising, and some months ago the building work began. All of this comes to fruition on Saturday afternoon, May 5th, when the hall will be opened and dedicated by the President of the Methodist Church, the Rev Kenneth Todd. On the following evening there will be a Praise Service to celebrate the opening, and the preacher will be the Rev John Stephens, who was minister of the circuit when the idea was born.
The building will meet a longfelt need of the local Methodists, but their intention is that their building should serve a wider use. While they are planning regular groups of parents and toddlers, children, and women, the hall will be available for use by town meetings.
"Taming the Tiger" is the title of a Dublin District Day, to take place on Sunday May 13th, when members of that district will meet in Christ Church, Leeson Park. It will begin with Morning Worship at 11.30, at which the preacher will be the President of the Church, the Rev Kenneth Todd. After lunch, workshops will examine various aspects of living the Christian life in today's Ireland. They will study business ethics, consumerism, "keeping up with the Murphys", work pressure, and passing on values to children. There will be a parallel youth and children's programme so that all of the family can share in the day. The Closing Worship will be at 4.30 p.m.
The Fellowship of the Kingdom is an organisation most of whose members are Methodist ministers, though it is also open to lay people. This year its annual conference at Willersley Castle in Derbyshire will discuss "When Our Confidence is Shaken". It opens on Monday, May 14th, and continues until Thursday, May 17th. Two speakers, the Rev Dr David Wilkinson of Durham, and the Rev Mervyn Willshaw of London will consider creation, redemption and eternity.
Tomorrow the President of the church will be preaching at Bray Methodist Church in the morning and at Dun Laoghaire in the evening. On Monday he will be visiting Fulton House in Belfast. He will open and dedicate the new hall at Portlaoise on Saturday next, and on May 13th will participate in the Dublin District Day.