‘Golden’ milestone for West Church bowlers

The West Church club, which competes in the Ballymena & District League, will celebrate its ‘golden’ anniversary later this month.

The club was formed on September 30, 1963.

Sadly, there are no surviving founder members but two honorary life members - Roy Kernohan, who still plays for the team, and Martha Black - have been associated with the club for 49 years.

To mark the 50th birthday, a special Thanksgiving service will be held in West Church this Sunday, September 29, commencing at 11am.

The visiting speaker will be Rev Andrew Thompson, who takes a keen interest in sport. He is involved in Sports Chaplaincy UK and has been the Ulster rugby team chaplain since 1999.

Over the past half-century West Church bowlers have enjoyed the friendship of all the other clubs in the league.

The club is grateful to the First Ballymena and Methodist club for the help and encouragement they provided when the West Church club was founded.

It is hoped that many bowlers and friends will attend the anniversary service.