Bishop Andrew Forster and Rev Nigel Cairns get ready to celebrate the first ever ‘Drive-in Service’ in derry’s inner city, on Sunday morning, May 31 – the Feast of Pentecost
The service, which took place in glorious sunshine, was led by the Rector of St Augustine’s – ‘The Wee Church on the Walls’ – Rev Nigel Cairns.
The service was held in Bishop Street car park, adjoining St Augustine’s Parish Hall and opposite the city’s courthouse.
A team of volunteers, dressed in ‘high-vis’ vests and PPE gear, oversaw a one-way, ‘car ferry’ type system, that meant cars were directed in one entrance and out by a different route after the service.
Social-distancing guidelines required all those present to remain in their cars during worship, and parish volunteers ensured that none of the worshippers fell victim to the soaring temperature.
The Rector of St Augustine’s, Rev Nigel Cairns (right), welcomes Bishop Andrew Forster to his parish’s first ever ‘Drive-in Service’ in Bishop Street car park
He said: “St Augustine’s was known as ‘the Wee Church on the Walls’.
“Today, we’re the wee church without walls.
“I always think about St Augustine’s as the wee Church with a big heart and today we’re showing our big heart because we’re together, worshipping God on this Pentecost Sunday.
“This is definitely a first for me,” the Bishop said.
“And I would imagine it’s a first for many of you as well, but God is here and we worship him in spirit and in truth.”
The Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Rt Rev Andrew Forster, preached the sermon at the Pentecost Day ‘Drive-in Service’ in Bishop Street car park
He said the St Augustine’s parishioners would be gathering for worship in the same location again next Sunday.
