Big New Year's Eve Knees-Up at Green Pastures Church
Many New Year's Eve parties are planned in the town for this weekend, and Ballymena's Green Pastures Church is no exception. The leadership have organised several excellent bashes this year, including last month at Halloween, but the last big knees-up of 2023 promises to be the best.
Church members are encouraged to come along this Sunday evening, 31st December, and enjoy what the Green Pastures church website describes as 'an excellent old GP New Year's Eve celebration.'
And who could blame them? What an eventful and challenging year 2023 has proved for everyone. Despite finally defeating Covid, other giants have since appeared in the land.
One of the organisers commented this week, "It hasn't been the easiest of years for most people given the global cost of living crisis and the numerous negative events worldwide which have ended with two major wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. But 2024 doesn't have to be the same. We must believe for the better and give thanks for making it through such a challenging time. By letting our hair down and celebrating that fact, we encourage our assembly to look ahead and be positive regarding the arrival of a New Year."
The doors open at 8:30 pm. From 9 pm, worship and a word in season from senior pastor Jeff Wright about the new heaven and new earth will be on the agenda. Time will be spent committing the New Year to God and praying for His blessing in 2024. An interval includes some delicious food, followed by fireworks and the sound of bagpipes, a feature on a New Year's Eve night.
As the countdown begins, everyone is invited back into the auditorium, which will be lit up with glowsticks, party poopers and New Year balloons, where members can sing and dance their way into 2024.
Of course, 1st January heralds the fresh start of a New Year after a period of remembrance of the passing year. It’s always eagerly followed on radio, television, and in newspapers. Many publications have year-end articles reviewing the previous year's changes starting in early December.
Added a Green Pastures church spokesperson: "Church is no different. While New Year's Eve is an excellent chance to party and celebrate, it is also a great time to reflect and give thanks for what God has done over the previous year despite many difficulties. Our God is not stuck in the old but is always moving into the new. In Isaiah 43 and verse 19, we are informed, "Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert." God can make a way where there seems to be no way. He is a God of the new. Many people are worried about this coming year. Still, Jeremiah chapter 29 promised, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11). So, whatever this year produces, the good news is that God has a great plan for His people."
Organisers are keen to stress that their New Year’s Eve party is open to friends and family and anyone looking for friendship, fun and fellowship before the start of 2024.
Before all this, the earlier New Year's Eve service will start at 10:30 a.m. with the usual worship and the Word, with Kids and Youth church also available.
