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The first Job Shop to be run by the Presbyterian Church will be opened this Thursday 22 February, (see arrangements below, speeches 10.30am at Alexandra Presbyterian Church, 80 York Road. Photocall - 11.00am at Job Shop, 112 York Road) by MLA and Chairman of the Assembly Committee for Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment, Dr Esmond Birnie. The Moderator Dr Trevor Morrow will also be present.
Situated on Belfast's York Road the 'shop' will serve the lower North Belfast area including Duncairn Gardens, York Road and Shore Road. It will provide information on job vacancies but more importantly it will assist people to find suitable work giving help with filling in application forms and training in interview technique.
'This is a forgotten area of Belfast,' says Myna McCullough, manager of the shop. 'With new road schemes, most people bypass it completly and it is suffering huge social deprivation. In days gone by employers here offered well paid, low skilled jobs. But as factories closed or moved elsewhere long term unemployment and a low skills base became the norm.'
'Christ's ministry was one of witness through teaching and social action,' says Rev Mervyn Gibson, chairman of the Job Shop Management Committee. 'So as we try to follow his example today it is appropriate not just to have congregational activities but also social action projects like this to show that we really care about all aspects of people's lives.'
Helping those who have difficulty finding work and supporting their families is not new for the Presbyterian Church. Through its Board of Social Witness and PCI Enterprises, which runs the Job Shop, the Church previously administered an ACE Scheme operating largely in North Belfast. Start up costs of over £100,000 to buy and refurbish the Job Shop have been funded by the Presbyterian Board of Social Witness, Belfast Regeneration Office, Belfast European Partnership Board and Lloyds-TSB.
Esmond Birnie, himself a member of the PCI Enterprises Committee, considers social action on behalf of the church a vital part of community life. 'The Church is there not to dominate the community nor to submit to it but to be of service. I hope that this shop will be seen as a sign of hope which will show people going up and down this busy road that the Church does care.'
Arrangements
10.30am -- Alexandra Presbyterian Church, 80 York Road. Speeches from Rev Mervyn Gibson, Dr Esmond Birnie and Presbyterian Moderator, Dr Trevor Morrow.
11.00am -- Photocall: Group moves to Job Shop, 112 York Road, for official opening and pictures.
Issued by Stephen Lynas, Presbyterian Information Services. Info@PresbyterianIreland.org
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