The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
SHANNON Christian Church are applying for planning permission for a place of worship in one of the town’s hubs of industry.
The West of Ireland Evangelical Trust, which they are part of, has lodged the application for a change of use at an existing industrial premises in the Smithstown Industrial Estate.
They wish to change the use of one building from commercial to a church which include reception meeting rooms, an assembly area and associated site works.
The application states that the church is already occupying pending planning permission.
There are already 59 parking spaces at the site and the application says that the church would operated from 9am to 10pm.
Alec Good is one of the trustees named on the application and he told The Champion; “The Shannon Christian Church would cater for people from around 22 nations, so it’s a multi cultural, multi national collection of people from quite a wide variety of backgrounds and what they have in common is their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, that’s what binds them together. They’re a diverse group of people from different backgrounds, different practices even. But we put all of that aside and form a family if you like.”
He said that the Church has been established in Shannon for 30 years and that it has been renting a premises for a number of years now.
Mr Good said it is quite a tight knit group. “The Church has quite a number of young vibrant peoples which would make it a little bit different from some of the other denominations. There’s a very high level of participation in Shannon Christian Church. We would have quite a number of small groups meeting throughout the town so people would do church in that family communal setting, which makes it more personal and you’re part of people’s lives and what happens.”
On its website (http://www.shannonchristians.ie/) the Church states; “We have a passion for God and a compassion for people. This is what unites us. Many of us have encountered God personally and have experienced His love and life-changing power. This is why we love to share the love of God with those around us and we’re excited that God is inspiring us to help others and see God make the same life-changing differences in their lives too.
“In difficult and uncertain times, when people are fearful and searching for answers, we believe God is the answer.”
Owen Ryan
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked for a number of other regional titles in Limerick, Galway and Cork.
