At a recent special service, attended by over 450 people, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland’s newest church building – the meeting house of Buckna Presbyterian Church in Country Antrim – was officially dedicated by PCI’s Moderator, Rt Rev Dr Trevor Gribben.
Speaking after the service, Dr Gribben praised the faithfulness of the congregation, “Tonight has been a very special and joyful time of fellowship, worship, and giving thanks to God for what He has done in this place, both down the centuries and in recent years.”
The Moderator continued, “It has been a privilege to be just a very small part of Buckna’s journey, but their journey also speaks to something deeper, something that’s relevant to all people, and I touched on it during our General Assembly in June: No matter what the statistics look like, no matter what social media might say, no matter how many times the church might be ridiculed and ignored, we have hope and a future in Jesus Christ, and He will continue to build His Church.”
Set in the heart of the Braid Valley, four miles from Broughshane with Slemish Mountain just over a mile away, the congregation of some 250 families had outgrown their former meeting house, which had been built in 1756. The process of getting to this point had been a long and faithful journey in particularly uncertain times, as Buckna’s minister, Rev Stephen Kennedy, explained.
“This evening has been a wonderful time as we gave thanks to God as the Moderator dedicated our new meeting house. We were delighted to see past ministers join us, and many others too, as we also gave thanks for the journey that we have come on as a church family to get to this point. A time that has seen a tough economic climate and the Covid pandemic.”
“We’re a growing congregation and very blessed to have a large number of young families connected to us. As a vibrant evangelical church community that has a heart to reach those who don’t know the Lord Jesus our new meeting house now better meets our needs for gospel mission and ministry in the surrounding area,” he said.
The new church is a quarter of a mile from the old building, but opposite the old church and close to the manse. Built on a greenfield site, Dr John Kirkpatrick, who was Moderator at the time, officially cut the first sod back in October 2022. Mr Kennedy explained that it was just one significant part in a journey that had begun some time before he became minister in 2018.
“Plans were initially drawn up, and the project moved forward, during the ministry of my predecessor, Rev Mark Neilly, around the 2010s, with the congregation raising in excess of £1 million for the Building Fund during quite tough economic times. Having appointed architects in 2014, the church was in a position to tender for a contractor in March 2020, just when Covid hit. This obviously delayed things for nearly a year and half,” the minister explained.
“But we are here now and as we enter this new era, tonight was all about giving thanks for what the Lord has provided through the prayerful patience and sacrificial giving of a faithful church family. It was also a really nice celebration,” Mr Kennedy said.
While Dr Gribben officially opened and dedicated the new Meeting House this evening, the congregation had their last service in the old meeting house in June, after which they walked the short distance together to the new building. The first service took place on 22 June. “I think everyone noticed the difference, especially those attending and running all the different activities, from our Sunshine Club for seniors, our Girls’ and Boys’ Brigades to our youth fellowship and children’s work. We can now have tea and coffee each Sunday and not once a month, as we have better facilities now. It’s a small thing, but just makes things better. Preaching is also different as we are all on one level,” Mr Kennedy said.
Before the service, Mr Kennedy’s oldest daughter Eva cut the ribbon alongside her father, the Moderator, David Hamilton of contractors Martin and Hamilton and Paul Griffith of MV Architects. “In speaking to Stephen, he told me that there was a verse that the team often returned to during this long process, and it was 2 Corinthians 8:9. It says ‘For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.’
“Buckna has been richly blessed in a way that we all hope secures gospel work in this area for generations to come. This evening I spoke from Luke’s gospel, of the time when Jesus spoke from the synagogue in Nazareth, His hometown. He declared that the Grace of God and His favour had come, which was not just for people in His hearing, but those outside the walls of the synagogue.
“God’s Grace is the same today as it was then, and I know that this new meeting house has not just been built for those who worship here now, but for those outside its walls who have yet to come in,” Dr Gribben said.
Find out more about the ministries and witness of Buckna Presbyterian Church on their website.