THE WONDER OF IT ALL
Moderator of the Presbyterian Church, Dr
As I roll back the years, my mind is transported to a Christmas lost in time. In my carefree youth, the Lord’s birth was awaited with reverence. Today is all about glitter, glam partying and all that jazz.
I remember the big clean-up, the fireplace would be whitewashed, the delph on the dresser would be washed, the holy pictures dusted, everywhere in readiness for the big day. The red berried holly was adorning every nook and cranny.
The goose waddled around, with the other blended families of turkeys and hens. The gander was a law onto himself; he kept a close eye on his own patch. Who would kill the goose? Oh no, not I! Death would be fast and cruel, with one snap of his neck, a few dying kicks and the drama would be over.
A good warm fire was a must, the turf having been harvested in the bog during the summer, sent out a welcoming glow, with the sparks racing up the chimney like ‘sputnick’. The aroma from the burning peat still brings happy memories.
Mid November, the trees having lost their leaves, the dark evening added a mystique to that time of year. The brown leaves once so green and vibrant, now lying dead on the ground, they crunched beneath our feet.
Children’s thoughts turn to Santa’s arrival. My wish list was on its way to the North Pole, a big long list, but the doll I saw in a shop window downtown was top of the list.
Sam Mawhinney, became Minister in Fermoy in 1997 and was the first Presbyterian Minister in the north Cork town in
She had blond hair, “lovely take me home eyes” and a bright pink dress. I asked mammy could I have her, but mammy said no!
I still had a dream Santa would deliver, he is a kind man. Could Santa be in recession? I hope mammy is wrong, austerity could not reach the North Pole, and the journey is too far.
The track to the village to bring home Christmas would be taxing with the harsh east wind blowing but somehow, the people of that era always beat the “smoking gun”.
Santa and his kindness, were preparing for the ‘Long Haul Flight’. That magical man dressed in red and white, who travelled around the world in one night, when it took others 80 days to do it. He was some man for one man.
Christmas Eve with the goose stuffed, the wibbly wobbly jelly made and the yellow custard making our mouths water. The joy of the festive season was well and truly here. It would be early to bed, with our faces shined squeaky clean and our dreams of Santa flying through the night sky, we were in seventh heaven.
Christmas morning dawned bright and clear, yes, Santa had arrived. The cake and bottle of stout that mammy had put out for him had been consumed, Oh the delight of it all. The moon was slipping behind the hill, the track to Mass was cold, the frost bit into our well-scrubbed faces, our fingers turning blue, but the penance would be worth it, our gifts awaited.
The warmth
of the
47 years.
Arriving into the community at that time, a big challenge awaited, as the church building in the church was welcoming, the Mass in Latin went on forever, the choir sang out, paying homage to the new born King. A visit to the crib was a must for us children, the wonder of it all.
On arriving home, the mad dash for my stocking, almost took the door off the hinges, such was the excitement. Out popped an orange, an apple and a few sweets, but no doll. Could she have gotten stuck on the chimney during Santa’s descent I thought?
I decided to have a look, but no luck, all I could see was the sky. How could Santa have forgotten my so longed-for doll? Ah well, “What’s another year?” I muttered to myself.
NO ONE COMPLAINED
Christmas dinner, the highlight of the magical day, was ready. The aroma filled the kitchen, the taste of the stuffing, steaming hot, was a feast fit for a king. With my fill of Christmas dinner, another treat awaited, the jelly and yellow custard, it left a satisfying taste in my mouth.
A snowflake or two, was starting to fall. A white Christmas, sure Bing Crosby was always singing about ‘a white Christmas’, so why can’t I?
The day was moving on, the glow from the red candle on the window, sent out a welcome to the traveller. Santa had long gone home; he was now enjoying the Big Sleep. The snow had carpeted the landscape and frost had crystallised the countryside.
Sleep was about to take over, but the Rosary had to be said. Kneeling on the cold flagstones was not very welcome, but no one complained. That’s how things were in my youth.
That was Christmas long ago. town was then described as ‘quite derelict’ - it was Dr Mawhinney's task to go about restoring it.
“We really loved Fermoy. I just enjoyed coming into a town where everybody that I met, I knew that I had a responsibility towards them as a Minister of Jesus Christ. Secondly, I was the first Presbyterian Minister in Fermoy in 47 years.
“The state of our building, the little church was quite derelict and so that was a whole job of reconstructing it. There were some very interesting, what I would call, God coincidences, of finding a plumber and a plasterer and electrician. The council were welcoming of the reestablishment of the church and they paid for the outside lighting. It was wired into the grid, and I think that worked well. Everybody was really supportive,” he explained when in conversation with
earlier this year. Born in Ballycastle, County Antrim, Dr Mawhinney grew up as a member of the Presbyterian Church and said that it had always been a big influence on his life.
Avondhu
The
QUALIFIED DOCTOR
At an early age, he developed a sense of faith and said that he was ‘confronted with the reality of who Jesus was in a childlike way and believed in Him’.
In his later teenage years, Dr Mawhinney said that he began to sense that he should be a minister within the Presbyterian Church, but was ‘afraid’ at the time.
Taking a different direction, Dr Mawhinney went on to study medicine at Queens University in Belfast, qualifying in 1986 before training as a GP in Templepatrick. By 1990, Mawhinney was a fully qualified general practitioner.
“I kind of revisited that decision and just really believed that God did want me to be a Minister. I talked to my Minister in Antrim at that time and made that decision and that’s what took me into ministering,” he said.
In 1990, Dr Mawhinney was given the opportunity by the church to serve as a doctor overseas, which was an ambition he had from a young age, and he travelled to work at a hospital that the Presbyterian Church supported in Kenya.
“That kind of fulfilled that part of my life at that point which was interesting, because it only happened after I decided to be a minister,” he added.
Training as a Minister of the Presbyterian Church then took Dr Mawhinney to Union Theological College in Belfast, which was part of Queens University, where he studied from 1992 to 1995, before becoming an assistant minister in a congregation in North Belfast for two years.
According to Dr Mawhinney, he had sensed that God wanted him to work in the Republic of Ireland.
“I had become leader of the Christian Union in Queens in 1983/84 and that was quite a large group of people. Then I had a chance to meet with other Christians from Trinity and from Cork and Galway and other universities. My eyes were opened to what God was doing in the Republic of Ireland at that time. That was sort of my vision.
“We, as the Presbyterian Church, had sort of seen some growth in the church in Kilkenny and in the church in Carlow and I then went down to the churches in Cahir in County Tipperary and then Fermoy in County Cork. I was first put into Clonmel just to have a look at that. We used to have a church in Clonmel, but that really didn’t work out, so after three years I moved to Fermoy,” Dr Mawhinney recalled.
'ENCOURAGING' TIME
IN FERMOY
Ordained a minister in the joint charge of Cahir and Fermoy in 1997, Sam and his wife Karen and their three boys moved to Clonmel, arriving with three young children where they lived for three years, before moving to Fermoy around 2001.
As the first Presbyterian Minister in Fermoy in such a long time, the role was somewhat of a pioneering one as he set about rebuilding the church and Presbyterian community locally.
“Everything was new and we had to try things, we had the children’s work and that turned out small but it grew because the quality and quantity of work we did was good. We did Bible studies in the Grand Hotel and people started to come to that and to special events about the Bible and about relevant events and people would have come to those.
“Through the children's work and through those other things, people began to hear about us and look into the church. It was busy and tiring. I suppose you look back and wonder how you got it all done. I think, obviously we had help, and I was younger and God was with us and it was good. It was an encouraging time,” he said.
Life in Fermoy seemed to suit the young family well, as their three sons attended Adair National School in the town and began to get involved in the community.
“The boys really loved it there. There was great community spirit. We went swimming and the boys were taught to swim there. Peter, our first boy was a good swimmer, he actually swam for Cork in the Community Games. Andrew turned out to be a climber, we took him to the climbing club in Midleton Community School and he actually ended up climbing for Ireland,” Dr Mawhinney told
A key focus for Dr Mawhinney while in Fermoy was children’s work and a number of summer camps and children's clubs were held at the time, some of which saw up to 200 youngsters attending.
“We just had a busy but exciting time with lots of people coming and reaching out to them. We have