Welcome to
AGHERTON PARISH CHURCH
The Church of John the Baptist
Welcome to Our Church
Welcome to the Church of St John the Baptist. Please feel free to go inside and have a look around, or spend a few moments in the peace and quiet of this lovely space at the centre of Portstewart.
There is a service of Holy Communion each Wednesday with prayer for those in need at 10.30am and often saints’ days and commemorations are transferred to that day. Sunday services are at 9.30am (Holy Communion) and at 11am either Parish Eucharist, Morning Prayer, or a Family Service (3rd Sunday).
There is a bible, prayer book and a book of readings near the Side Chapel on the right hand side.
The building was recently re-hallowed following some re-ordering in the nave and the new porch extension dedicated in September 2016, marking 175 years of worship in the current location. Previously the church was at the junction of the Agherton and Coleraine roads up towards Coleraine. A church ruin still stands there. The great arch at the entrance to the chancel was designed by Sir Thomas Drew and was a later addition to the main body of the church. The Church was consecrated for worship in 1841 and was re- oriented when the arch was added. The original east window can be seen on the (East) by the left hand side aisle. So now, unusually, the pews are facing South towards the chancel and sanctuary.
Parish organisations usually start in September but there are many other users of our Parish Centre at 19 Church Street.
Please contact us if you would like to know more.
Office: 028 7083 3277
Mon-Thurs 9:00am to 1:00pm
What we Believe
We are disciples of Jesus Christ, worshippers of God the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and subscribers to the Creeds of the early Church.
In keeping with Anglican theology, our beliefs and practices derive from Scripture, reason and tradition. We are Catholic in holding all the Christian faith in its fullness and being part of the one worldwide Church of God. We are Reformed in believing that the Church’s life should be aligned with Scripture and that the Church should only require its members to believe those doctrines to which Scripture bears witness.
We are disciples of Jesus Christ, worshippers of God the Holy Trinity and subscribers to the Creeds of the early Church.
The Church of Ireland is a member Church of the Anglican Communion, a family of independent Churches in full communion with each other and with the See of Canterbury.
We rejoice in the progress on unity made by the ecumenical movement and we seek to remove obstacles to full communion between Christians and to gain from the insight and experience of others.We provide a context in which people of diverse views on theology and liturgy can live and worship together.
We regard worship as a priority for every Christian. In particular, we see the Holy Communion (the Eucharist) as the main way in which church members celebrate their love for God and for each other and become renewed as the Body of Christ for mission and service.
We regard worship as a priority for every Christian.
The Book of Common Prayer is a source of unity within the Church and an expression of a liturgical language, traditional and modern, which over the years has captivated people by its beauty and spiritual power. We see a direct relationship between the language of common prayer and the language of doctrine: the words that church members themselves pray and own become the expression of what the Church itself believes.
We affirm the ancient three–fold ministry of bishops, priests and deacons. The ordained ministry serves the whole people of God, to facilitate and encourage its members in their worship, and to enable each of them to identify their own particular ministry as baptised Christians.
