NewMinisteris installedatColpe
DROGHEDA’S new Minister, Reverend Damien Burke (38) was officially installed on Saturday, September 2nd at Colpe Church.
Rev Burke takes over the reigns from Reverend John Woodside, who left last year after 13 years in Drogheda.
Originally from Callan just outside Kilkenny, Rev Burke comes to Drogheda from Bloomfield Presbyterian Church in Belfast.
The new minister and his family, wife Sarah, who is originally from Rathdrum in County Wicklow, and children Hannah (10), Roisín (8) Lydia (5 and a half ) and Stephen (4) moved to the area in August and are settling in well in their new surroundings.
Rev Burke told the Drogheda Independent he and the family were delighted to have the opportunity to officially meet the congregation at the service in Colpe Church.
‘It has been really nice getting to know people in the local area,’ he said. ‘ The diversity of people is lovely, our church is probably a good representation of Dorgheda as a whole. It is quite diverse, there are lots of different nations represented from all over the world.’
He admitted he was not familiar with Drogheda before the family moved to the area but said the town has been very welcoming to them all and has a vibrant, cosmopolitan feel.
‘We’ve moved around a fair bit but we do see this as kind of settling in, this will hopefully be for the medium to longterm,’ Rev Burke said.
‘ The kids are a a certain age where they’re in school and they want to put down roots. They’ve just started school up in St Peter’s in town and we’ve found people to be really open and lovely and friendly so far.
Reverend Burke studied Economics and Geography in University College Cork (UCC) and spent ten years working in the county working on a number of projects, including the early school leavers programme.
He went on to spend three years in London learning theological teaching with the Presbyterian Church there.
Rev Burke was then placed in Bangor for the training part of his ministry where he spent six years working with two churches; Hamilton Road Presbyterian and Bloomfield Road Presbyterian, before making the move to Drogheda.
He said he is really looking forward to getting to know the local people in the locality and said the Church is a fantastic amenity, not just for the congregation but for the wider community in the town.
‘ They’ve tried to open it up to different community groups and it’s built a kind of credibility which is great and it is great for the local community to be able to use it as an amenity and there is a bit of history there having left Palace Street to come and build a new church on a greenfield site.’