Welcome to Comunità Cristiana In

Trip to Ireland

Last week, 18 Italians from Comunità
Cristiana Internazionale (CCI), Bassano
del Grappa (north east Italy) came to
Ireland to visit various Christian Fellowship
Churches.
Staying at Millisle Beach caravan
park, owned by Stevie Smyth, the leader
of North Down CFC, the Italians have
enjoyed the sights, sounds and of course
the hospitality and food of the North.

The CCI church was planted in March
2002, by Iain and Moni Wilson from CFC
Holywood. Iain grew up in East Belfast
and is the international sales manager
for the world acclaimed Avalon Guitars
(Newtownards), while Moni heads up
German Connections one of the Province’s
leading translation companies.
“CCI is an international church with
currently 12 nations represented in the
congregation,” explained Iain Wilson.
“Bassano has 40,000 people with only one
other evangelical church. Just imagine
Lisburn or Newtownards with only one
church to serve the community.
"Therefore, Moni and I felt God lead
us to plant an international church
in the town. The core of the church is
of course Italian, but we have people
from England, Germany, Switzerland,
Cuba, Nigeria, Ghana and many other
countries, not to mention Belfast of
course."

One of the leaders in the church, Carlo
Schiavano, describes church life in
northern Italy.
“There are very few evangelical
churches in the north of Italy and a
large church is considered to have 20
members. There are 18 of us here on
this trip to Ireland and that represents
about a third of our congregation.
“God has really blessed us in the last
2 years. Bassano has 40,000 people, so
we have a long way to go! The harvest
is ripe and we believe the church will
grow over the next few years as people
discover the love of Christ in a new and
fresh way.”

Moni Wilson explains the significance
of the visit.
“This trip has given our church
members the opportunity to catch a
wider vision. We have visited the CFC
churches in Strandtown, North Down
and Holywood, as well as the Oasis
Centre in East Belfast.
“It has inspired them to realise that
God is not limited to 20 people, but
churches can grow much bigger and
have a powerful effect on the local
community around them. Now we have
to fi gure out how we can implement
some of the various programmes in an
Italian context.
“Oasis was a real inspiration. The
social aspect of life is something which
most churches in Italy do not get
involved in.
“However, there is a lot of need in
Bassano. There is a growing immigrant
population, growing poverty and unemployment.”
Who better to help these people than
the church.” says Lorenzo D’Amico, one
of the church members. “This September,
we will be starting a language school in
Bassano, which although it will offer
English to Italians, will also focus on
helping new immigrants to learn Italian
and help them integrate into society
and deal with authorities, landlords and
employers, as well as try to overcome
growing racism.”

The group has also spent a lot of time
sightseeing. Thanks to a minibus lent
to them by the Ulster Temple, they were
able to enjoy the sights of Newcastle,
Spelga Dam, Giant’s Causeway, the
North Down coastline and the Ulster
Folk and Transport Museum.
The trip would not have been complete
without a visit to East Belfast, taking in
the various murals on the Newtownards
Road and of course the Hard Rock Café
and other facilities at the Odyssey.
“It has been great fun taking them
around”, explains Iain. “Moni and I left
East Belfast 5 years ago and although
we come back regularly, we never have
time to see the sights.
“The highlight was the Folk Museum.
The Italians have never seen anything
like it. We had real problems getting
them out of each house. They were enthralled.
“As it was the linen week, we had the
opportunity to see the entire process,
weave and discover how the Irish lived
in the past. This was followed by a
barbeque on the seafront at Cultra with
over 60 people, hosted by one of the
members of Holywood CFC.”