Building Hope Together
The story of the exciting new church and community centre in Ballincollig
(From the October - December 2021 issue of VOX)
Ballincollig lies less than 10km from Cork city. In the last 20 years it has grown from a small village to a bustling town. Where the British Army Barracks once dominated the centre of town, a multi-million euro development transformed the space with a modern shopping centre, residential and office buildings opened in 2005.
Arriving as Rector of the Church of Ireland Carrigrohane Union of Parishes in 2009, the question uppermost for (now retired) Rev. Ian Jonas was, “What are we going to do about Ballincollig?” His church had no physical presence in the centre of one of the fastest growing parishes in Ireland.
“We’ve always known that we were not really part of the local community.”
“Our church has always been on the outskirts of Ballincollig,” said church member Bill Lane. “This is the main town in the area and with lots of new young families. We’ve always known that we were not really part of the local community. Although we ran Alpha courses for years, our impact has been very limited. It has been a real burden for us.
“Some years ago, I felt the Lord was saying we should speak the word of the Lord into the open courtyard of the town. We went and prayed around it and we thought about it but nothing seemed to materialise.”
When the Rev Ian began his ministry, he immediately picked up on the concerns of his congregation. “Church [in Ballincollig] felt like a hit and run affair.” The parish organised a week of activities in the town’s big shopping centre but it didn’t seem effective. “We were not really building bridges into this community,” Bill Lane said.
In 2016, the church formed a steering group to explore for a suitable building in town. Their initial thought was to find a shop in the high street but about that time, the barrack buildings that had once housed the Officer’s Stables came up for sale. It seemed far too big a project to take on but God was at work.
“A call came from an estate agent to come and view the field belonging to the old parish rectory St Stephen’s Day of all days,” Ian said. “Let alone the unseasonal request, I never dreamt that my call to serve God would have me fielding enquires from real estate auctioneers. I am more at ease with unpacking the meaning of the hope of the “many mansions” that Jesus’ promises, than selling fields.”
A re-zoning of the land meant the field had massively increased in value and a sale would now mean the church was in a position to buy and refurbish the old barracks buildings.
Bill Lane, who had taken early retirement, was in the ideal position to take on the task of leading the purchase and re-development of the building.
Jane Moffatt also joined the steering group, “I live in Ballincollig, close to where the building is and it was on my route to and from work every day. As I went past it, I used to pray, ‘Please God if it is your will, let us have the building.’
“In the whole project, God’s hand has been there in the most amazing way. We put in an offer to purchase the building, which they turned down and then went to auction. But on the day of the auction, the only other people who were interested in purchasing the building got the day wrong. We were the only bidders. How does that kind of thing happen? It must be God’s hand. The finances came at the right time.”
At the time, Rev Robert Ferris was a curate in the parish with the main responsibility for the church in Blarney. Since Ian’s retirement, he has been appointed as Rector of the whole group of parishes.
“When we put the idea of a centre in Ballincollig to the church, there was one big meeting where the congregation came together and the vision was shared,” Robert said. “This was a big project but the parish was right behind us. There was a real buy in from everybody. It was really quite exciting for me to see unity in the church. We dreamed big dreams. This is where I get passionate as Rector, seeing the potential of engaging with the community without the baggage of a traditional church building. It is so exciting to see what church can be and what it can offer the wider community.”
“For me it has been a journey of always knowing that God was ahead of me.”
Work began to refurbish the stables into a multipurpose space that would respond to needs within the community. Overseeing the project, Bill Lane said, “For me it has been a journey of always knowing that God was ahead of me. I had a dream and in that dream I saw a bank loan application and the owner of the Carraig Centre was Jesus Christ. Within the limits of my faith, I was convinced that God was in this and we’ve seen that on multiple occasions.”
With two thirds of the refurbishment complete, the centre was ready to open in February 2020 just when the pandemic hit. The Carraig Centre has three functions, as a church, a parish centre and a community centre. The purpose-designed space features a Main Hall (which in non-Covid times could seat 250 people), offices, catering kitchen, a playroom, a prayer room, meeting rooms and the mezzanine youth floor. The child-safe outdoor playground became particularly important during lockdown. The soft surface play area and climbing frames are the only ones within walking distance of the town centre.
“There is a big block of flats right across the road,” Bill explained. “There were people living in all of these apartments and yet with no green space. We decided to open up the playground to individual families or a single bubble. They could ring up and book a time slot. People used it as an opportunity to meet up with isolated family members in a safe space outside (for example a chance for children to meet their grandparents).”
In this way, the church began to make natural links with the local community even in the midst of a pandemic.
“It’s a year since we opened after the first lockdown,” Bill shared. “In that time, the building has pretty much paid for itself, even in such an unusual year. There is a big demand for this kind of community space. We have all sorts of groups hoping to use the space including drama and dance classes, the ICA, drug recovery programmes, the local Foróige club, the Garda Divert programme not to mention our anchor tenant - Enable Ireland - that continued to use the space throughout lockdown.
“So far feedback is positive. It is just a joy to be more part of the community. Now we’re bang in the centre of town and close to a new housing estate. It is the ideal location.”
Once restrictions were eased, the hall could also be used for church services and the congregation has been excited to explore new ways of worship both in person and online.
“This church community is a pioneering fresh expression of church,” Rev Robert said. “While we do traditional Anglican services in the other churches, this is something fresh and new. There is a freedom of worship and we’ve been given permission to experiment whilst also maintaining the DNA of Anglican worship.
“Especially during this Covid time, I’ve been able to use the space outside by bringing seats outside for pastoral chats when I wasn’t able to go to people’s homes. It is a neutral space and a safe space.”
“We are saying this is a place of hope, a place with Christ at the very centre.”
Robert is delighted to see the centre open and sees huge possibilities for the future. “As an evangelist, I want mission to be at the heart of what we are doing here and not being afraid of that but doing it in a very contextual way. We are not hiding as church. We are saying this is a place of hope, a place with Christ at the very centre. I’m excited to see how the five marks of mission can come together and show that church has the potential of being an answer to the community’s problems rather than being the problem itself.”
For Ian, there has been a sense of joy to see the project completed and moving forward even after his retirement, “There was a beauty in retiring just as the new centre was opening. They don’t need me now and there were people to take it on and take it forward. The challenges are huge for the institutional church and yet in this union, people are thrilled to see this creative development.
“I think this is a also a sign of healing. These buildings were the British army barracks. It is a sign of reconciliation, a healing centre which meets the needs in the community. For me it is on the cusp of something special.
“It seems so appropriate that we should be converting an old army barracks it into a place of God’s peace for all.”
“Robert likes to talk about the craziness of life. The story of the purchase of the Carraig Centre in Ballincollig has surprised us all, and could on the surface seem to be crazy when we already had three church buildings and a parish centre to maintain. But the craziness caught the imagination of local people, who were glad to see the old building given a new lease of life. It seems so appropriate that we should be converting an old army barracks it into a place of God’s peace for all.”
