ALL SAINTS' PARISH CENTRE - 'A REAL BLESSING' FOR BALLYMENA

(3-5 Cushendall Road, BT43 6HA)

(This was the headline of an article published on 17 June 2008 and written by Elinor Glynn of the 'Ballymena Times' newspaper announcing the opening of the new Parish Centre).

The article read:

It may have been built at a cost of around £2m courtesy of a decade's fundraising from withing the parish but, All Saints' new state-of-the-art Parish Centre is open to one and all.

Accessible from both the Broughshane Road and Cushendall Road, it was completed in March of this year and blessed by Bishop Anthony Farquhar on April 10, with its multiple facilities swinging into use the following month.

In the short time since, around forty groups have made it the venue for their meetings and activities on a weekly or monthly basis and a tour of the myriad disabled friendly facilities will leave no-one in any doubt as to why.

Built literally a stone's throw from All Saints' Church on the former site of the parish's Boys' School, it is a hugely impressive project, both inside and out.

Flanked by a spacious free, car park, the exterior is a mixture of the modern and the traditional, combining such features as arched windows, automatic doors and rooftop gardens, with a wall section created in the same blackstone finish as the adjacent chapel - one of only three of Ballymena's
remaining 'Seven Towers'

The main door and the cafe

A view from the side door of All Saints' Church

Inside the two-storey 17,700 sq ft premises, the ground floor boasts two meeting rooms (The Tower room, named after the chapel's bell tower, and, the Devenagh Room, in tribute to nearby Devenagh Way) and a community hall with space to seat three hundred people,

as well as 'The Old School' cafe - named due to its exact positioning within the footprint of the former parish Boys' School.

The view of 'The Old School' cafe

The list of groups and organisations which now regularly use those ground level facilities alone is lengthy to say the least and include - the Spred Group, who provide support for young people with disabilities; the Seven Towers Senior Citizens' Club; All Saints' Bowling Club' 7th Ballymena Scouts and Guides; the parish Bingo Group; Charismatic Prayer Group; The Aplha (interdenominational) Faith Group; the Childcare Protection Team; St Vincent de Paul Core Group; a new Drama Group featuring several former Slemish Players; the Apostolic Workers; and, the Friends of Crebilly. And come the end of this month, the former 'Kenbaan' based St Vincent de Paul offices and highly popular Thrift Shop will open on the Cushendall Road side of the building in purpose built premises.

On its first floor, the Parish Centre has seated balcony areas for 'chilling out',

three small offices, a hall set aside specifically for a new Snooker Club which is due to open in September, and the substantial 'Slemish' Conference Room complete with all the necessary facilities for projector and power point presentations.

The view from the 'Slemish' Conference room

Office space on that level has already been snapped up by the St John Order of Malta for courses in First Aid, and, ACCORD whose members will be running a series of pre-marriage courses in June. Also, in September, the Belfast-based Family Ministry Group, established through the Diocese of Down and Connor, will be setting up an outreach facility there too.

Most of the organisations which use the Centre do so at no cost as the rule of thumb is, according to its Manager, Sadie Marron, 'We don't charge for anybody who doesn't charge for their own services'.

Should a fee be required, prices for the hire of facilities are highly competitive, with the huge community hall, for example, available for just £12 50 an hour.

In the few short weeks that it has been open, the premises have also hosted religious services in Polish and Romanian and, through Ballymena Ethnic Minorities Forum, have held monthly information sessions, complete with interpreter, on issues affecting their working lives, such as the law, benefits, housing and taxation.

Most recently, on May 31, an inaugural Romanian Orthodox Mass was held with The Tower Room which included a baptism, performed by Ireland's only resident Romanian Orthodox priest. 'This illustrates that the Centre is totally cross-community and interdenominational', said Sadie. 'We are open to everyone - all classes and creeds'.

One of the Parish Centre's biggest success stories, however, is its cafe which opens daily from
10 30am-12 noon for breakfasts and from 12-2pm for lunch and snacks. And with the delicious, reasonably priced fare prepared fresh on the premises by Chef, Paul Rea, it's easy to see why tables are snapped up at both those dining slots.

'We wanted it to be a place where people could come in and get a balanced, healthy, tasty meal, particularly those who live on their own or maybe feel isolated from the community', said Sadie. 'As one lady said to me recently - 'If you go down the town alone, you shop on your own, you eat on your own and you go back home alone'.

'Here in the Old School cafe, there is a family atmosphere, everybody's friendly and meals are provided at cost price thanks to our pool of volunteers who give their services free', she said. Yes, draw up a chair, survey the menu and you'll find a large all-day breakfast priced at just £2 50, homemade soup and a roll for £1 50 and Kids' meals, including a drink, for £1 70, to name but a few of the inexpensive options on offer.

Having such culinary facilities on the premises means that the Parish Centre, which is open seven days per week from 10 30-4 20 and 7pm-10 30 daily, can cater for functions - from small parties and family celebrations to post funeral get-togethers and even weddings, featuring up to one hundred and thirty guests.

Never content to rest on their laurels, however, Sadie and the core of fifteen hard working volunteers are already planning to branch out further and hope in the near future to open an outlet for Christian Literature and set up internet facilities too, which will be open to all'.

They are also working on staging regular classes for salsa, modern, old tyme and tea dances and are hoping to attract a volunteer tutor to realise that aim.

'We have set out in our first year to develop the Parish Centre to its full potential', said Sadie, 'and these are just a few of the ventures we are hoping will help us achieve that!'

Sadie can be contacted on 028 2563 1236