I'm not religious but now and again I like to have a wander around a church grounds or graveyard to…read moreremind myself of the spiritual side to life. St. Marys in Comber is a particularly old church and so it is home to many very old graves and gravestones - some dating back to the 1800's. The church stands on the site of a Cistercian Abbey which dated back to 1198 - it was shut by Henry the 8th when he went all fanatical and wanted to marry all the ladies and then cut off all their heads - he was a bit loopy if you ask me. Anyway, there are some original stones left which are exhibited inside the Church itself. I had a nice dander around the graveyard, when I came to leave I noticed a crypt marker to the Andrews family - another famous family from Comber - they used to run the local mill and the son of the family Thomas Andrews was chief architect on the Titanic. Unfortunately his body does not lay here as it was never found. Historical goodness in Comber town.

Ooooh la la, this church is rather snazzy. With its striking 'Elim' signage, complete with the…read moreflame symbol of this particular denomination, and expansive building, including a 1000 seater auditorium and top-notch coffee shop, Bangor Elim certainly looks the part. Not that that matters of course. Descending upon the Elim's evening service at 6:30, myself, my sister and my other half were heartly greeted at the door by a rather eccentric looking old man, hand jangling up and down and grinning from ear to ear. I do appreciate a nice welcome. Despite us being a good fifteen minutes early, the church was buzzing with people, from babies right up to pensioners; there was certainly a good variety. Amongst the hustle and bustle, we located a few friends, who, unbeknownst to us, had decided to come to the service too. We sat on the cinema style seats and took a good look around. Pleasant surroundings, without being OTT, and a massive stage which takes up the entire front of the church. Nice. We were welcomed by one of the three pastors, and told that, due to this being the first Sunday of the World Cup, there would be a definite football theme that evening. By this stage, the huge band had taken their places on the stage, followed by a small choir who stood on the rafters beside the band. The music was upbeat and cheery, much of what I am personally used to. The worship leader was fab, and had a great voice. The choir took a wee while to get into the swing of things, but they didn't half do bad either. I must confess, I was rather enjoying the whole experience thus far. I was later informed that the evening meetings are much more evangelistic than the morning services, so the topic of the World Cup took the format of idol worshipping and placing things over and above God in our lives. It was a good sermon, but not gritty enough for me. Definitely suited its purpose though. A few more songs were sung at the end, and communion was served. Grappling with a bulky communion tray whilst singing required a bit of a hand, but apart from that the two intertwined rather well. As soon as the service was over, another friend came over to speak, introducing her friends to my sister and I. One of the girls offered to give us a tour of the church, showing us the fab coffee shop, impressive youth centre and the various rooms used for different purposes. We all had a brilliant night, and would undoubtedly return.

I used to be lured to Elim every Saturday night with the promise of indoor football, a tuck shop…read moreand fizzy drinks. I went week in week out and they would always end each youth club with a little bit if preaching. Now I didn't really mind this, the thought of indoor football always kept me happy. But they often went a little far trying to get you to listen to their positive messages. Despite this I always found Elim quite bearable and hospitable considering I abused their youth club without ever being a member of the church.