Back in the autumn of last year, the Moderator, Rt. Rev. Dr. Frank Sellar, decided to mark the Fit for Purpose theme for this year – ‘A community of global concern’ – in a special way by encouraging the children and young people of PCI to think creatively about it.
Many will know that Dr. Sellar’s father, Robert G. Sellar, was a renowned artist, so it wasn’t so much of a surprise that the Moderator proposed an art competition on the theme of ‘Caring in God’s world’.
Over 100 entries were received by the Herald office where they were divided into the four age categories of 7 and under; 8-11; 12-15 and 16-19 (there were no submissions for the older category).
The submissions varied in size and style and came in from across the Church and across Ireland, from Omagh to Antrim, Newcastle to Londonderry, Galway to Enniskillen, and Ballina to Bangor. As well as entries from individuals, many Sunday schools also got involved.
Judging the entries was not an easy task, but Dr. Sellar, the head of PCI’s Creative Production Department in Assembly Buildings, James McCormick, and Rev. Lesley-Ann Wilson, Minister of Ballycrochan Presbyterian Church diligently undertook the task before them.
After much discussion and deliberation the unanimous verdict of the judges was that eight-year-old Amelie Gray from West Church Bangor, was the overall winner with her colourful collage on canvas.
Praising the creativity of the entries, Dr. Sellar said, “We have many very talented young people within our Church and it was lovely to witness how they viewed what it means to show care – how we as followers of Jesus, think about important issues that affect the world, such as injustice, poverty and working closely together.
“We were delighted with the quality of the entries and want to thank everyone who responded to the challenge. Clearly much time and effort was put into each piece and it was inspiring to see the many different ways in which the young people understood and reimagined the theme ‘Caring in God’s world’. So a big ‘thank you’ to everyone who entered and many congratulations to Amelie for her winning entry.”
Amelie Gray receives her prize from the Moderator, Rt. Rev. Dr. Frank Sellar, along with the
minister of West Church Bangor, Rev. Charles McMullen.
The winners under each age category are listed below with their winning entry:
Overall winner:
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Amelie Gray (8), West Church Bangor
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7 and under:
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1st William Gordon (6), First Kilrea Presbyterian
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 2nd Elijah Kelly (5), First Bangor Presbyterian
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3rd Annabelle Gordon (7), First Kilrea Presbyterian
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Age 8-11:
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1st Rebekah Gordon (8), First Kilrea Presbyterian
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2nd Alexander McKinley (11), Banbridge Road Presbyterian
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3rd Bethany Blair (11), Hill Street Presbyterian
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Age 12-15:
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1st Harriet Blair (13), Hill Street Presbyterian
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2nd Naomi Mooney, Kilfennan Presbyterian
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3rd Ellen Massey (13), Lowe Memorial Presbyterian
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The following were also Highly Commended:
Bethany Lily Houston (6), Ballynure; Abigail Christina Sunil (7), Galway; Addie Hamil (5), First Coleraine and Bethany Maxwell, Eva Doherty, Levi Finnegan, Alexander Bell and Oliver Gardner, (all 3) Harmony Hill.
All of the winning entries will be displayed in Assembly Buildings.