Millstreet.ie

Since the early days of the Methodist movement, over 250 years ago, congregations were invited to share in a Service once a year to renew their Covenant relationship with God.  A covenant is an agreement or set of promises which 2 people exchange.  It implies a commitment to each other.  So our covenant with God begins with Him in that He has given himself for us on the cross and through His resurrection we are born again into Eternal Life.  We are then called to respond by giving our lives to Him, by dying to ourself.

During our Covenant Service we shall have time to confess our sins to God, receive his forgiveness and be reminded of his promises to us.

There will be a sermon on this theme and then we will share the words of the following prayer before ending with Communion.

Sisters and brothers in Christ, let us again accept our place within this covenant which God has made with us and with all who are called to be continue reading…

Happy Christmas to Everyone.

Of course for many people in Ireland it will be a Christmas that will be very tight financially. With job losses, mounting debts and falling incomes many people will feel that they have little to celebrate. However Christmas is not about celebrating because all is well – it’s about celebrating the fact that in to our world God has come and he offer us himself whatever our circumstances. None of the main characters in the story of the first Christmas had much reason to celebrate. Mary and Joseph were a very young couple faced with bringing up a child in a world that was very hostile to children of doubtful parentage. Then there were the shepherds, a group of people who were much ostracised in those days and looked down on by everyone. However they all ended up celebrating and worshipping God because they realized that continue reading…

Meetings for worship, prayer and Bible study continue to be organized by the Methodist Church in Millstreet.  We now meet every Sunday at 7pm in the Canon O’Donovan Centre (kindly granted) on Clara Road in Millstreet.

Last week we were reading together some inspiring verses from 1 Peter 1:3-4 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In his great mercy he has given us new birth in to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and in to an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade… kept in heaven for you …”

These are very uncertain days and as recession bites continue reading…

Methodist meetings in Millstreet now every week
I hope everyone had a nice summer despite the weather. We were delighted over the summer months to welcome some new people attending our meetings. This has led to the decision being taken that from now on our meetings will be every week instead of just twice a month. We will continue to meet in the Canon O’Donovan Centre (kindly granted) on Clara Road in Millstreet town. The meetings will take place every Sunday evening at 7.00 p. m. They will continue to take the form of an informal time of singing praise songs to God and then studying a passage from the Bible together. The Bible is God’s Living Word and he never fails to speak to us through it.
All of our meetings are open to everyone so you are welcome to attend. For further information please contact Rev. Laurence Graham on 064 6631613 or <Rev. Laurence Graham>

Hello again to everyone. Hopefully you are all enjoying the wonderful “Irish” summer!! Of course these days we are being reminded that the weather is not the only thing we can’t control. It seems that all the news these days is about huge monetary figures that are far beyond our imagination. These are uncertain days and we are certainly being reminded that we cannot rely on material possessions as a secure foundation for our lives. In these days I often think of the words from the Bible found in 1 Peter 1:3-4 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth in to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you….” It’s wonderful to know that if our personal trust is in Jesus Christ then we can have certainty in this world and the next.
Our meetings in Millstreet continue this month on Sundays 14th and 28th August at 7.00 p. m. meeting, as always in the Canon O’Donovan Centre (kindly granted) on Clara Road in Millstreet town. continue reading…

In the Methodist Church June is always marked by the Annual National Conference of our Church.  This Conference is the main governing body of our Church and is the final authority in any decisions that we make as a Church.  It is carefully constituted of exactly half lay people and half ordained ministers.  It is presided over by the President of the Church who is a minister and the Lay Leader who is (obviously!) a lay person.  Every Methodist Church in Ireland is represented at the Conference and any Church or in fact even any individual member can bring a motion to the Conference.  In this way the Church seeks to involve everyone in its governance.  This is an important principal of Methodism. Please pray that God would guide all our deliberations and decisions. continue reading…

Greetings to everyone as we approach the high point of the Christian year. Next week we shall remember those momentous few days in Jerusalem leading up to the death of Jesus Christ on our behalf followed by his conquering of death. Because of the resurrection we rejoice in the knowledge that “we serve a risen Saviour…” on Easter Sunday evening in Millstreet we will be having a special service of worship and celebration. Everyone is welcome to join us as we give thanks to God for what he has done in Christ. We meet as usual at 7.00 p. m. in the Canon O’Donovan Centre on Clara Road on Sunday 24th April.

All next week a very special event is taking place in our Church building in Killarney. From Monday evening the 18th April right through until Easter Sunday morning (24th April) the Church will be open 24/7 for prayer. continue reading…

In the Methodist Church February is the month we especially focus on what used to be called Overseas Mission but is now much more accurately described as the World Church. While Methodists are small in number here in Ireland there are about 70 million Methodists across the world. In fact now in Ireland we rejoice to welcome sisters and brothers from Churches from all around the world who have come to live amongst us here. Indeed our little community that gathers in Millstreet is a multi-cultural group and we really enjoy learning more about each other and encouraging each other in our Christian faith which unites us across all potential barriers of culture, race etc. Our next meeting for prayer, praise and Bible study in Millstreet is on Sunday 27^th February, as usual at 7.00 p. m. in the Canon O’Donovan Centre on Clara Road. Everyone is always welcome to our meetings.

For further information contact Rev. Laurence Graham at 064 6631613 or <Rev. Laurence Graham>

Greetings from Port-au-Prince, Haiti. I have been here since the 29^th December leading a team of fifteen people. We have been working together with Haitian sisters and brothers in construction work (pictured on the right) as well as assisting in clinics and helping at an orphanage. It has also been a privilege to share in the life of the Methodist Church here in Haiti. Wednesday was the first anniversary of the terrible earthquake which struck Haiti on 12^th January last year. We were delighted to join with a crowd of many thousands of people who gathered in one of the main streets of the city centre from 6 o’clock in the morning. Just beside the ruins of the Presidential Palace people stood in the hot sun worshipping God for over five hours. We had thought that it might be a rather sombre and mournful occasion but those who were there were determined to praise the Lord and thank God for life. The theme of the service was “Celebrate Life”. I was privileged to be invited to address the crowd as I speak Creole, the local language having lived here twenty years ago. I was glad that I did not have to speak until several hours into the service because by continue reading…

Unfortunately, due to the icy conditions, our Carol service had to be cancelled on the 19^th December. However the Methodist community in Millstreet would like to wish everyone in Millstreet a very Happy Christmas.

Just after Christmas Rev. Laurence Graham, the Methodist minister in Killarney who also oversees the work in Millstreet, will lead a team of seventeen people to Haiti for almost three weeks. They will join with sisters and brothers from the Methodist Church in Haiti to work on a building project. Some medical personnel on the team will be helping at three different Church based medical clinics in rural areas. We also hope to run activities in a Church run orphanage which is next door to our building project. Please pray for the team, for safe travel and a productive visit.

Methodist meetings continue on the second and fourth Sundays of each month so for January that is the 9^th and 23^rd. We meet at 7.00 p. m. in the Canon O’Donovan Centre on Clara Road.

We are really into winter now – aren’t the evenings getting dark since the hour change. Also of course we have just had the darkness of Halloween. However Jesus is the light of the world and at our next meeting in Millstreet we will be exploring what that actually means for you and me practically. We will also share in our usual time of informal worship and prayer. Everyone and anyone is most welcome to join us. We meet in the Canon O’Donovan Centre on Clara Road in Millstreet at 7.00 p. m. on the second and fourth Sundays of each month. So our next meeting is this Sunday the 14^th November. It would be great to see you there so we can share the light of Christ together.

Hi again folks,
I am just back from Haiti having spent a week there planning various mission projects including a team which I will lead from the Methodist Church in Ireland travelling for two and a half weeks after Christmas. Twenty years ago I lived and worked in Haiti for a period and was pleased that the language came back to me reasonably well! It was good to be there again but of course very distressing to see the amount of devastation since the earthquake. However it was also hugely impressive to see the way that the Haitian people, who have always had great guts, have begun to rise up again and get on with their lives as best they can. Most Haitians just survive as best they can with no real job. Like every other organization the Methodist Church in Haiti has been badly rocked by the earthquake but again there is a determined effort to re-build and resurrect all aspects continue reading…

Just a wee reminder that even over the summer meetings for prayer, praise and Bible study organised by the Methodist church continue in Millstreet on the second and fourth Sundays of each month at 7.00 p. m. in the Canon O’Donovan Centre on Clara Road.

Methodism is quite small in this area with just ten congregations across Cork and Kerry.  However worldwide there are about seventy million Methodists.  I have just come back from a Missions Conference in London which was called this year because it was the 250^th anniversary of the beginning of Methodist Missions around the world.  It was very moving to be part of a group of people from over sixty different countries who were there because of the faithfulness and commitment of our forebears from Ireland and Britain who traveled long distances to introduce the Christian Gospel in the places far from home. continue reading…

Methodist Services in Millstreet Increase to Twice Monthly

We are glad to announce that the meetings for Prayer, Praise and Bible study organized by the Methodist Church in Millstreet are now going to take place twice each month.  The venue continues to be the Canon O’Donovan Centre on Clara Road (kindly granted).  Meetings are planned for the 2^nd and 4^th Sundays of each month at 7.00 p. m. each evening.  The meetings for June are Sunday 13^th and Sunday 27^th June.  Please note that there is an open welcome to everyone at these meetings – the more the merrier!

For further information contact the Methodist minister in Killarney, Rev. Laurence Graham at 064-6631613 or <Rev. Laurence Graham>

The next Methodist meeting in Millstreet takes place this Sunday (9th May) at 7.00 p. m. in the Canon O’Donovan Centre. In the Church in Killarney in recent months we have been looking together at a wonderful book by Rick Warren called “The Purpose Driven Life”. This identifies and examines five key purposes of our lives. It has provided much food for thought and really helped many people in their relationship with God. We shall be thinking together about one aspect of this when we meet in Millstreet on Sunday night. Hope to see you there. As always please feel free to contact Rev. Laurence Graham for more information at 064 6631613 or <Rev. Laurence Graham>

The first seven chapters of The Purpose Driven Life have been published as What On Earth Am I Here For? and can be read online if you follow the link

Our next meeting in Millstreet is on Sunday 11^th April at 7.00 p. m. in the Canon O’Donovan Centre on Clara Road.  You would be most welcome to join us for an informal time of worship, prayer and Bible study.

Before that, over the Easter weekend, we are greatly looking forward to the visit of Glengormley Methodist Youth Choir to the area.  The choir are based in a large Methodist Church on the outskirts of Belfast and has been in existence since 1978.  During this time there has been a constant flow of new members so that it remains a youth choir even today!  Rev. Laurence Graham, the Methodist minister in Killarney, spent five years in this choir when he was a youth a long time ago!!  On the evening of Easter Sunday at 7.30 p. m. the choir will perform a presentation of the Easter story in music and drama which they have produced.  This should be a very enjoyable and inspiring evening and is to be held in St. Mary’s Church of Ireland Church in Killarney (kindly granted).  Admission is free although there will be a voluntary offering to help cover expenses.  Why not have a trip to Killarney on Easter Sunday evening.

For further information on any of the above please contact Rev. Laurence Graham at 064 6631613 or

Happy Easter to Everyone.

Our next meeting in Millstreet is on Sunday 14th March at 7.00 p. m. in the Canon O’Donovan Centre on Clara Road. As always everyone is welcome. Our meeting this month is very close to St. Patrick’s Day and so we will be thinking a little bit about Patrick’s life and lessons that we can learn from it. We will be looking together at some sections of the two short documents which historians are almost certain were actually written by Patrick himself. There is a lot in them about Patrick’s life and faith which can challenge and encourage us in our walk with God today.

As well as thinking about Patrick on Sunday night we will also have our usual informal time of worship and prayer. Hope to see you there.

For further information please contact Rev. Laurence Graham at 064 6631613 or

from Rev Laurence Graham of the Methodist Church:

Happy New Year to everyone.

A tradition which goes back over 250 years to the early days of the Methodist movement is that, near the beginning of each year we share in a Covenant Service.  A Covenant is an agreement or set of promises which two people exchange implying a commitment to each other.  The Covenant service gives us an opportunity to renew our Covenant with God.  Of course our Covenant with God begins with him in that he has made the first move.  He came to earth as Jesus Christ and gave his life on the cross to take the consequences and brokenness caused by our sinfulness.  He then rose again and invites each of us into a personal relationship with him.  So we are called to respond by giving our lives to him, trusting him as our personal Lord and Saviour.  As the apostle John puts it “…we love because he first loved us.” (1John 4:19)

This will be the theme of our next meeting in Millstreet which takes place on Sunday 10th January at 7.00 p. m.  During this meeting we will share together in the special Covenant prayer.  The meeting takes place as usual at the Canon O’Donovan Centre on Clara Road in Millstreet.  For further information contact Rev. Laurence Graham at 064 6631613 or <Rev. Laurence Graham>

Laurence Graham, the Methodist Minister for Millstreet has dropped us a note that RTE Radio 1 will be broadcasting from their Church in Kenmare tomorrow (Sunday) morning:

… the Broadcast Service on RTE Radio 1 this Sunday (22nd) is coming from the Methodist Church in Kenmare.  It is on from 10.45 – 11.30 a. m. but only on Long Wave and Internet.  It’s not on FM.  That would give people an opportunity to hear something of how we worship etc.

RTE 1 Broadcasts on long wave at the 252 frequency.
The service should be available to listen to afterwards on the RTE Religious Listen back Archive for 2009.

Update 23 Nov: The service is available to listen to on the RTE site