Banbridge Free Presbyterian celebrates 40th anniversary

THE members and friends of Banbridge Free Presbyterian are preparing to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of their constitution as a congregation of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster.

The anniversary services will begin with a series of ministry meetings with various ministers of the denomination taking part. The meetings will be followed by an anniversary dinner which will be held in the church hall and the services will conclude with an evening of praise with Rev Fred Greenfield, former minister of the church presiding.

The witness of the Free Presbyterian Church in the Banbridge area commenced in the local Orange Hall on Sunday November 15 1970, under the ministry of Dr John Douglas. At the time Dr Douglas was the minister and founder of Moneyslane Free Presbyterian Church.

At first the fledgling congregation only met for one service on a Sunday evening and on a Wednesday night for special prayer services.

However, the interest in the work grew and on 22 January 1971 the little congregation was constituted.

On June 5 of the same year the present site of the church on Ballymoney Hill was purchased and a temporary building erected on the site.

Sadly on August 9 that year vandals burnt down the meeting house, which had been constructed mostly of wood.

However, undeterred, the congregation pressed on with the building of a new church to replace the one that had been destroyed by fire. The foundation stones of the new church were laid on 16 April 1974 and the building was opened on September 7 that year.

As the years passed the congregation continued to grow and it soon became clear that additional facilities to accommodate the needs of the growing congregation were required.

On February 3 1996 the foundation stones of a new church hall and Sunday-school complex were laid and on March 1 the following year Dr Paisley opened the new building.

As a result of new legislation regarding the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), also Health and Safety, and possibly insurance issues, the Elders and Committee of the Church decided a new building was necessary, especially as the congregation had continued to grow.

In September 2007 the foundation stones were laid and the beautiful new building was opened on Saturday 21 March 2009.

The Session, Committee and Congregation of the church would like to extend to all an invitation to join them on this special occasion marking 40 years of Gospel ministry in the town.