Lack of discernment as Protestant churches join in ‘Irish Blessing’ recording organised by Jesuit priest

1 John 4:1: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”

Ecumenists and diluters and compromisers of God’s Word and true Christianity seek to employ any means by which they can advance their ungodly cause.

The Protestant people of Ulster ought to know this more than anyone, given how wretched clerics, both allegedly Protestant and Romanist, used the murder campaign of the Romanist thug agents of the devil of the IRA to seek to foster a sham “unity”.

We are expected to follow it to this day and the words “cross-community” being applied to any event or grouping are expected to be greeted with almost reverential awe and nods of approval to indicate how worthy and wonderful such a thing is.

It is very troubling when such things are transplanted into the spiritual realm and such an occasion has arisen courtesy of the coronavirus pandemic.

Brazenly using the deaths of thousands between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to advance their mean gospel of ecumenical compromise, a Jesuit priest and Church of Ireland ordinand have joined forces to promote a recording of what they are calling ‘The Irish Blessing’.

‘Father’ Martin Magill (pictured, top) of St John the Evangelist Papist chapel in Belfast is the Romanist Jesuit priest who is co-organising the initiative alongside Philip McKinley, a Dublin based Church of Ireland ordinand.

‘Father’ Martin Magill is, alongside Rev Steve Stockman of Fitzroy Presbyterian Church in Belfast, joint organiser of the annual ecumenical talking shop known as the Four Corners Festival. He was also the much-lauded (by other ecumenicals, be they political or religious ecumenicals) speaker at the bizarre funeral of journalist Lyra McKee, accidentally shot by a dissident republican while reporting from a republican riot in Londonderry but who somehow became some sort of LGBT martyr.

According to their website: “The Irish Blessing is an initiative for Christian people from all of the Irish Churches to join together seeking God’s blessing on the people of Ireland and to join our voices in praise of God on Pentecost Sunday. This unprecedented pandemic requires a collective response from Irish Churches”.

So the answer to a pandemic is religious compromise and ecumenical wickedness, apparently.

Further stressing their desire for an ecumenical party, they say: “We want all churches to know that they are included in this initiative. We want to encourage the widest possible participation, denominationally, geographically and also in terms of backgrounds of age, ethnicity and abilities, all representing the richness of an Irish Blessing and the spirit of Pentecost.”

The “widest possible” denominational participation is sought, leaving no room for discernment or separation.

The initiative takes the form of a recording of people from various churches and faith groups singing the hymn, ‘Be Thou My Vision’. The numerous people involved record themselves singing the hymn and then those behind it splice the various clips together to create one video.

Of course there is nothing wrong with the hymn they have chosen, but the message behind what is being done and the architect of it is not so admirable.

The message behind this video is the idea of fostering ecumenical unity, using the Covid-19 pandemic as a cover for it. Everybody is grateful for the efforts of frontline workers at this time so how could anyone speak out against it, eh? Any dissent can easily be framed as unreasonable.

Well, sadly, a voice ought to be raised at this latest clever trick to pollute true Godly worship.

A vast list of a few hundred churches heeded the ungodly call for ecumenical unity to join in on this scheme.

Did all these churches who signed up to it understand the nature of what they were backing and who they had joined forces with? Possibly not, but at best these churches are guilty of carelessness and a lack of discernment as to whom they join under the banner of Christianity with.

Sadly, a number of churches from denominations which might be considered better than involving themselves with such ecumenical compromise have given their name to this.

This includes numerous Baptist churches as well as a couple of Congregational churches.

The Baptist churches which are listed by The Irish Blessing’s own website as contributors are Antrim Baptist Church, Greenisland Baptist Church, Holywood Baptist Church, Newtownbreda Baptist Church, Portstewart Baptist Church, Strandtown Baptist Church and Windsor Baptist Church, the latter two both based in Belfast.

Interestingly, the latter four are also 80% of the quintet of Baptist churches who are members of the Evangelical Alliance in Northern Ireland, which, until his promotion to Director of the Evangelical Alliance UK wide, was led by determined ecumenist ‘Papist’ Peter Lynas. The Evangelical Alliance also contains numerous very questionable members, so carelessness in who one fellowships with or joins under a banner with is a recurring feature for them.

The Congregational churches involved in this are listed as being Ballycraigy Congregational Church in Newtownabbey and Straid Congregational Church, near Ballyclare in County Antrim.

It is very concerning to see such churches aligning themselves with a religious project ran by a Jesuit priest.

Among the other churches involved are a number of what might justifiably be called the “usual suspects”.

This includes Newtownbreda Baptist Church’s ecumenical chums in the south and east Belfast areas, CFC Belfast and Willowfield Parish Church, as well as Emmanuel Church in Portadown, County Armagh, ran by Alain ‘Ecumenical’ Emerson, Causeway Coast Vineyard in Coleraine on the north coast of Northern Ireland, the welcomers of heretics who are happy to be “all in” with the Pope and Belfast’s Fitzroy Presbyterian Church, led by the man who preaches the gospel according to Lady Gaga, Rev Steve Stockman.

Papist Stations of the Cross promoters Redeemer Central, another Belfast gathering, are also involved, as are the Methodist Church’s East Belfast Mission, happy promoters of mean compromise with Rome.

Of course, a host of Romanist chapels, where blasphemies and lies are taught and practised every single day, are involved in this, including Clonard Monastery, a leading hub of Papist deceit in Ulster and other Romanist churches unambiguously devoted to deceit such as the Church of Mary in Saintfield in County Down or the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish of Carryduff and Drumbo, also in County Down.

You can see the full list, ordered alphabetically, by clicking on this link.

Dear reader, just because the cause appears to be a worthy one, it does not mean we are to compromise ourselves or “let things slide” just to be associated with something considered by the world to be praiseworthy.

We are to try the spirits and assess that which we are considering forging an alliance with before committing ourselves to something which would hinder our progress.

Look even at the children of Israel under Joshua’s guidance when approached by the Gibeonites, who were located close to where the Israelites had at this stage reached, but claimed to be from a faraway land.

Joshua 9:3-6, 8-13: “And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy. And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us. And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye? And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the Lord thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt, And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was at Ashtaroth. Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take victuals with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us. This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy: And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey.”

The Gibeonites were very plausible, were they not? A lot of effort had gone into looking plausible, and would it not have been unreasonable for the children of Israel to send them packing?

Well, of course, we know the truth about the Gibeonites and we can very easily know the truth about the Church of Rome and about various religious initiatives if we but ask the Lord.

We can make sensible, practical enquiries about a church or initiative to see who is behind it or who has signed up to it. We can of course, indeed ought to pray to seek God’s will in a certain situation or matter. We can also consult His Word to put that which is before us in the light of Scripture.

We have no excuse not to do just that and likewise the children of Israel, Joshua and his elders.

Yet they were careless.

Joshua 9:14-15: “And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord. And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them.”

We are told “they asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord”.

Had counsel been genuinely sought at the mouth of the Lord and a proper answer waited for, then surely these churches would have baulked at chipping in with a scheme supported and organised by the blasphemous Church of Rome.

Reader, we need to carefully guard our separation and those whom we align ourselves with, especially when we claim to do it in the name of the Saviour.

Let us ever be vigilant and examine that which we are presented with, rather than swallow it without question or further enquiry.

Baptist and Congregational churches yoked with creation deniers and Jesuit cheerleaders in ‘Evangelical Alliance’

2 Corinthians 6:14-17: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you”.

A vitally important Biblical principle is that of separation.

However, that principle has been increasingly abandoned throughout professing Christendom and is indeed the subject of mockery from many who would claim to be Christians.

On ‘Protestant Revival’, we repeatedly and unashamedly highlight the absolute necessity for separation from Rome and its manifold blasphemies.

However, it is not just enough to be separate from Rome, we must also be separated from all those who help to propagate error and would deny the Word of God.

We can, as individuals, and as churches, be tied up with that which is dishonouring to God by alliances made within and among churches.

Organisations such as the Irish Council of Churches, which has the Presbyterian Church, Church of Ireland, Methodist Church and Salvation Army, among others, as its members, are such examples.

The Irish Council of Churches is an overtly ecumenical organisation and prides itself on being so.

While such brazen ecumenism is repugnant to the Word of God, it is easily discernible and as such we can be clearly warned of engaging with such organisations.

However, there are other organisations whose ecumenical nature and agenda are much less clear and whose membership comes largely from individual congregations, making it difficult to establish its bona fides.

One of these is the Evangelical Alliance, headed up in Northern Ireland by a man who has come to be known as ‘Papist’ Peter Lynas (pictured, above), a leading figure in the Causeway Coast Vineyard Church.

‘Papist’ Peter is a habitual ecumenist, having praised so-called Protestants for meeting the Pope, eulogised the ecumenical evangelist Billy Graham and endorsed the ecumenical prayer initiative ‘Healing The Land’.

And the former lead pastor of his church, Alan Scott, notoriously said he was “all in” with the Pope.

So this is the man at the head of this supposedly God-honouring organisation.

Any church which is a member of the Evangelical Alliance has made themselves subject to ‘Papist’ Peter Lynas.

Sadly, there is a significant number of churches affiliated formally with the Evangelical Alliance.

There are a number of what might be considered the usual suspects, such as King’s Church in Bangor, County Down, whose pastor Glen Mitchell (pictured, above) has rejected the Biblical account of creation and bemoaned a decision by his local council to block the lighting of a town hall up in support of sodomite ‘Pride’. Sadly, that decision has since been overturned, although Glen Mitchell is yet to comment publicly on the matter, perhaps for fear of it being highlighted on this page once again.

Another member of the Evangelical Alliance which will not surprise any regular readers is Emmanuel Church in the Craigavon area of County Armagh.

So numerous are its flaws and so blasphemous are the actions of its leaders, we won’t go into them all in this article, but the most recent disgraceful developments there include Alain ‘Ecumenical’ Emerson glorifying Jesuit founder and Counter Reformation leader Ignatius of Loyola and another lead pastor, Dave Wylie, describing a Roman Catholic monk as a “hero of church history”.

The fact these two churches, and, needless to say, Causeway Coast Vineyard Church, are members is enough to set alarm bells ringing.

You might say to this so far, ‘well, so what? This is a case of birds of a feather flocking together’.

Indeed, there is some justification in adopting that attitude.

However, there are other churches tied up in this God-defying organisation who casual observers might mistakenly think are ok, not knowing the links they have forged with eager promoters of error such as ‘Papist’ Peter Lynas and Alain ‘Ecumenical’ Emerson.

This includes several Baptist congregations and even one Congregational church in Northern Ireland.

And the Baptist churches we can confirm are members of the ‘Papist’ Peter Lynas headed Evangelical Alliance, according to the Evangelical Alliance’s own website, are Newry Baptist Church, Portstewart Baptist Church, Strandtown Baptist Church, Finaghy Baptist Church and Newtownbreda Baptist Church, the latter three in the Belfast area.

Newtownbreda Baptist Church is interesting as their pastor, Trevor Ramsey (pictured, top), leaped to the defence of ‘Papist’ Peter Lynas on our facebook page when we dared to criticise his ungodly supporting of Maghaberry Elim deacon and Ulster Unionist MLA ‘Roman’ Robbie Butler scuttling down to Dublin to do obeisance to “that Antichrist”, the Pope.

Strandtown Baptist Church as well has a lengthy association with the Evangelical Alliance, who in turn appear to have a lengthy association with consorting with Rome.

In a report from the ‘Burning Bush’ website from 2002, it is recorded that a Romanist priest was an invited guest at the installation of a Gordon McDade as the new pastor of Ballynahinch Baptist Church.

Gordon McDade had previously held the role of Associate Pastor of Strandtown Baptist Church and the meeting was closed in prayer by a Stephen Adams, the former Chairman of the Evangelical Alliance.

Perhaps most interesting of all is Portstewart Baptist Church.

This is a church inextricably linked with ‘Papist’ Peter Lynas as he grew up in it and his father, Norman Lynas, founder of the Lynas food company, remains a key figure within it.

While sadly the previous pastor in Portstewart Baptist Church, John Lewis, passed away fairly recently, the fact remains this is a church heavily involved in ecumenism and associating with ecumenists.

Indeed, in the Portstewart Roman Catholic church magazine, called ‘Stella Maris’, a title often used in devotion to Mary, a 2016 edition features a photograph under the headline ‘Interchurch celebration’, of Pastor John Lewis along with the Church of Ireland minister in the town, Rev Stephen Fielding and Portstewart Presbyterian Church minister, Rev Billy Wilson.

Cosy ecumenical relationships all round then, but our focus is on Portstewart Baptist Church and the Evangelical Alliance at present.

A scan of their Facebook page of late will give you a good idea of the nature of Portstewart Baptist Church as well.

Speakers who came along within the last three or four months include the aforementioned advocate of ‘Papist’ Peter Lynas, Pastor Trevor Ramsey of Newtownbreda Baptist Church, along with another member of that church, its Community Pastor, Tim Robinson.

Gavin and Anne Calver of the Evangelical Alliance have also taken the stage there. That husband and wife pairing will also be performing, sorry, speaking at the ungodly, shameful ‘New Wine’ Conference in Sligo later this year. You can read about that festival of ecumenical compromise by clicking here.

And the main organiser of the ‘New Wine’ Conference, Rev David McClay (pictured, below) of Willowfield Parish Church in east Belfast, was another guest speaker in Portstewart Baptist Church in the past few months too.

All were, naturally, according to Portstewart Baptist Church’s facebook page, simply wonderful.

The Congregational Church which has formally aligned itself with ‘Papist’ Peter Lynas and his mean ecumenical compromise is Cregagh Congregational, in the east of Belfast.

Both the Baptist and Congregational churches would be considered by many to generally be fairly sound, but this demonstrates clearly that such assumptions are far from safe.

Why are these organisations formally joined with that which is acting contrary to the cause of Christ?

What is their justification for such God-dishonouring conduct?

Pastor Trevor Ramsey of Newtownbreda Baptist Church has already demonstrated his determination to abandon the Word of God when he backed ‘Papist’ Peter Lynas when he supported so-called Protestants running to Dublin to cower before “that man of sin, and son of perdition”, the Pope.

What do members and attendees of Newtownbreda Baptist Church make of such God defiance on behalf of their pastor? Does it sit well with them?

As for the other Baptist churches, in Finaghy, Strandtown, Newry and Portstewart, what do members and attendees there think of their formal alignment with that which is happy to work alongside Popery?

We would strongly encourage, indeed implore, readers to share this article widely so such rejection of a Biblical viewpoint can be challenged and force church leaders to address well founded concerns over their links with an organisation whose leader is habitually engaging in ecumenical conduct and consorting with others who do the same.

In this day of deepening apostasy, we must follow the words of the Apostle Paul and “be not moved away from the hope of the gospel”.

Colossians 1:21-23 says: “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel”.

Ecumenists, hiding under the banner of evangelicals, are moving people away from the hope of the gospel to an ungodly concoction of emotionialism, rock and roll music and wafer thin theology which seeks to please people rather than God.

Don’t allow yourself to be swept away by it and don’t allow churches in your area to get away with it unchallenged.

The people of God ought to be ever ready to follow the words of God spoken through Isaiah: “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” (Isaiah 58:1).

Let us not be silent when we see and hear the march of the armies of the ecumenical evangelicals, but rather let us cry aloud and challenge them for their ungodly deeds.

Ephesians 5:11: “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.”