Day Thirty-One: County Carlow
Sunday 31 May
The annual VOX magazine Finding Faith Tour looks very different this year. Instead of a 7-day road trip around the island, this year VOX editor Ruth Garvey-Williams brings you highlights from all 32 counties (one per day plus one for each of the 31 days in May). Contact Ruth if you have a story to share.
Day 31 God’s Timing is Perfect
After years of trying to buy their rented building, Barrowvalley Community Church in Carlow has seen miracles during lockdown and the sale finally went through on Friday! On the final day of this year’s marathon Finding Faith Tour, I spoke to pastor Paddy Grant to find out more.
“Things were so difficult during the recession that at one point we did not have enough money to pay the next rent,” Paddy shared. But after years of struggle, last year doors began to open up to grant funding and community finance. A returning missionary spearheaded a “buy-a-brick” campaign in the church and there was a sense of anticipation growing.
After receiving a valuation of €250,000, the church offered that amount to the landlord, which he refused point blank asking for a significantly higher amount. When the lockdown was first announced, Paddy and another leader in the church had taken time out to seek God for the future vision of the church. They decided to put in a revised offer (expecting a pointblank refusal) but caught on the hop by the lockdown announcement, they shelved all future considerations in order to respond to the crisis.
In the middle of planning, the landlord got back to them with a counter offer of €300,000 (the exact amount that Paddy had in mind). Trying to play it cool, Paddy and his fellow leader were overjoyed! “It was a crazy time to get the thing through but the Lord opened all the doors.
"Everything fitted into place. The landlord had said if the deal wasn’t through by this weekend, he would pull out but the last of the finance came in on Friday morning and by lunchtime our solicitor announced that the deal was done!”
“It has been an incredible journey with a lot of heartache and pain along the way but now we have the opportunity to develop the potential of the building.”
“The Lord doesn’t change even if the world around us is going to pieces.”
Like so many other churches, the pandemic has brought some exciting new opportunities with one person coming to faith as a result and a local Chinese woman writing in to request a Bible. “This time of lockdown has forced us to open up our doors in ways that we have never done before (even though our building is closed) and there has been an incredible reach. I believe in this time of lockdown, the Lord is preparing our hearts for the coming harvest,” Paddy said.
