NeuroDivine

I am writing this post sitting in St Patrick’s Parish Church, Ballymena—the parish church where I was baptised and confirmed, and a place that has shaped my faith long before I had words for it. Ballymena is my home town, and this valley, with its streets, fields, hills, and river, is woven deeply into who I am.

From Slemish on the horizon to the River Braid flowing quietly through the town, this is a landscape marked by memory, prayer, and ordinary faithfulness. The story of St Patrick belongs to these hills, but so too does the living witness of today’s church: people gathering week by week, bells calling us to prayer, love being worked out in daily life.

As I sit here, the twelve bells in the tower above me remind me that faith is not only something remembered, but something sounded out—calling, comforting, steadying. In this season of change for the parish, I hold before God a prayer that a faithful priest may be found to serve here as the new rector: someone to preach the gospel with clarity, to shepherd this community with care, and to help it grow in hope.

This hymn is offered as a prayer of thanksgiving for this place, for the churches and communities within it, and for Christ’s presence among us still. It is written for Ballymena, but also for any parish that knows what it is to be held by landscape, history, and grace—and to keep walking the pilgrim way together.

Suggested tune Ellacombe DCM

Where Patrick walked on Antrim’s heights,
Your call, O Christ, rang clear;
On Slemish slopes his heart was formed
In faith that cast out fear.
Through Braid’s bright waters, flowing still,
Your mercy finds its way;
And in this valley, loved by You,
We seek Your light each day.

In Ballymena’s busy streets,
Your steadfast love is known;
In Ballyclug’s green quietness,
Your peace has gently grown.
Two churches bearing Patrick’s name
Proclaim Your truth today;
And C’lumba’s witness strengthens us
To walk Your pilgrim way.

Twelve bells ring out above the town,
Their music strong and clear;
They call us into prayer and praise,
And calm the anxious ear.
So may our lives ring true with grace,
A parish warm and kind;
That all who dwell in Antrim’s vale
Your welcome here may find.

O Christ, who holds this valley dear,
Bless all who gather here;
In work and worship, home and field,
Stay close and draw us near.
Till hills and river, bells and streets
Resound with love’s refrain;
And all Your people, joined as one,
Sing hope through Braid’s wide plain.

Text copyright 2025 Michael McFarland Campbell. All rights reserved.