Email: Elizabeth Cluff

To all of my Friends:

If you were to ask me “what do you do at work?” my initial response would be, “I make a lot of tea and coffee. If I am not making it, then I am drinking a lot of tea and usually having some sweet cake or biscuit along with it.” However, I actually do much more than that.

My job is split roughly 50/50 between Regent Street Presbyterian Church and the Link Family and Community Centre, both in Newtownards, a small town east of Belfast.

Regent Street

It is hard to say in a few words what I do at Regent Street because I do a bit of everything. My main focus and energy are spent with the children and youth of the church. I work alongside the assistant minister, Greame, to teach and run their evening youth fellowship on Sunday evenings. Graeme and I also wrote the Sunday school curriculum that all the children’s classes are using, and I help the teachers deliver the weekly lessons as well as  do some large group worship with the Sunday school.

I sit in on session meetings as well as help a sub-group of the session brainstorm new ideas for church life and put these ideas into place. From this group we have started a coffee morning fellowship for the congregation to share in before worship on Sunday. It has been operating since January and has proven to be a success in getting members together to share a “wee cuppa” (a cup of tea and biscuit) and have a chat.

One of the highlights of my week is bowls club night. The attendees of this club are of a mature age. It is absolutely wonderful for me to get to know and interact with this group in a relaxed atmosphere. A bowls club would not be complete without a cuppa and biscuit at the end of the night either!

Since I have been here, I have been meeting different families of the church every Sunday for lunch. Not only has this been a fruitful gift for me—a home-cooked meal on Sunday afternoon—but it also gives me a chance to meet members and their families. After a lovely and filling Sunday lunch, we inevitably retire to the church member’s lounge where we have our cuppa and continue our conversations.

The Link

The other part of my time is spent working at the Link Family and Community Centre. “The Link’s mission is to bring about positive change and growth in human lives so that ‘the community of Ards would love God and love their neighbours as they love themselves.’” This mission is realized in the MARC (Making A Real Change) project, a program that helps adults with addictions. Another important effort is community relations, which in simplest terms, the Link helps to facilitate better relationships within groups in the communities by serving/mediating community forums, councils, and other various work. This is probably the most significant and most complicated work the Link does. They also have a time for senior citizens on Monday mornings where they share  lunch together and enjoy a variety of programs. English as a Second Language classes are held in our facilities, and a “Mom and Tots” time also happens weekly.

The area where I serve is Project 23, which is the youth work. We provide a safe and welcoming drop-in centre for marginalized young people. Many dropped out of school when they reached 16 (legal age to drop out in Northern Ireland) and most have not tried to earn the equivalent of a high school degree. Some are at technical school learning a trade, while others are living off unemployment benefits. These young people are living in areas (estates) that have in the past been overseen by the paramilitaries. Many of our young people abuse alcohol anywhere from one to four nights a week. Our drop-in provides a safe place where they can hang out, play pool, and play video games. Coffee and tea is served in the drop-in and is free.

Relationship building, reactive support, mentoring support, and more structured youth programs are developed in consultation with the young people. My role during the drop-in sessions is to be a support to and to build the relationships with the young people. I am usually behind the counter serving tea and coffee to the young people that come in. By now, I know the beverage of choice of our regulars. The young people come in and all they have to say is “Hey Liz, cuppa, please” and they know I’ll make it just the way they like it.

I believe I am learning quite a lot from the warm and tasty beverage.

With all of my Love,

Elizabeth Cluff

For more about my life and work in Northern Ireland, see my Web site.