The new church was officially opened by Miss J Joy of Port Davey, an original member of the church and the ceremony took place on 6th April 1940.
Iron Church 1915 The ‘Iron Church’ served its purpose for 36 years and the last service held in the church was on 16 July 1939
‘Psalms Only Group’: They decided to form themselves into a separate congregation at a meeting held in the Victoria Café on 6th August 1902 and a committee was formed to look after the new congregation. The Victoria Café became the venue for worship services.
About Our Church
Official Presbyterian records
state that the first Presbyterian Church was formed in Whitehead in 1900, when
an interim session was established which became permanent in August 1901.
In the first year
trouble lay ahead when the Session decided to recommend the use of a Hymnary
and organ. To a section of the congregation brought up on the Psalter, this
innovation was abhorrent and objected strongly. Some fifty members and adherents
sent a memorial to the Session protesting against this innovation, but was rejected
and the proposal of the Session was given effect from 17th August
1901. As a result the objectors withdrew from the church and made there own
arrangements and broke away from the church and labelled themselves ‘Psalms
Only Group’
They decided to form
themselves into a separate congregation at a meeting held in the Victoria Café
on 6th August 1902 and a committee was formed to look after the new
congregation. The Victoria Café became the
venue for worship services. There was no instrumental music and the praise was
led by a ‘Precentor’ and remained a feature for many years. The first service of
this ‘New Church’ was in September 1902 and was conducted by the Rev. G.
Thompson from Ohio, USA were thirty Three families attended and a Sunday school
was also formed.
Evidence showed that in 1905
a piano was hired for use at Band of Hope meetings and minutes of meetings also
recorded that the piano was also used for choir practice, but Sunday services
were still being led by a Precentor.
One begins to wonder if
the introduction of instrumental music was the only reason for the breakaway.
The Victoria Café was not a
suitable building to house the church and from time to time members homes were
used one being the McCleary home and was referred to as ‘Church House’ Chester
Avenue. The founding fathers were thinking of somewhere permanent and tentative
plans were drawn up to secure a site on the King’s Road. These plans were
abandoned when it was discovered that the presbyterian church had acquired the
adjoining ground for building purposes.
At the time this looked like
a disaster but in the long term it turned out to be a blessing. At a meeting in
April 1903 it was announced that a Mr William McKeen offered a site at Castle
Chester which was described as one of the nicest and most valuable sites in
Whitehead.
Plans were drawn up and
tenders were invited for an erection of an ‘Iron Church’ on the Chester Avenue
site. The ‘Iron Church was to be 60feet long by 36 feet wide. The cheapest
tender was £990 which back in 1903 was a considerable sum of money. The work
was all completed quickly and the first service was held in 26th
July 1903, conducted by Rev. A. F. Moody with a congregation of 155 and the
evening service conducted by Rev. Fleming with a congregation of 177.
The ‘Iron Church’ served its
purpose for 36 years and the last service held in the church was on 16
July 1939 and was conducted by Dr Hanna of Berry Street Presbyterian Church,
Belfast, but it was in need of urgent repair. Mr John Barr advised
that they could build a new church and showed that it could be done by donating
£1000. Simulated by this generous action plans and specifications were drawn up
for the new building but the Second World war started and so was the new
building and was well in construction that the Government Department allowed
the building to be completed.
The new church was officially
opened by Miss J Joy of Port Davey, an original member of the church and the
ceremony took place on 6th April 1940.
The stone structure which replaced
the old ‘Iron Church’ was praised for its architectural design and the old
pews, pulpit and choir box were from the old church.
The most dominant feature of
the new building was the attractive west window. The insert ‘The Burning Bush’
came from Berry Street Presbyterian Church which was the victim of the ‘Belfast
Blitz’ and was generously donated to the church.
On its inception the ‘Larne
Guardian’ did a series on churches in the area and one of the first selected
was the Chester Avenue Church which was highly commended for its structure and
architectural design.
The Church tried several times in these early days for recognition as a second Presbyterian Church in Whitehead but without success. A link was made with Islandmagee Presbyterian Church, but this only lasted until the minister of that church Rev. McCready resigned. The Church then decided to link with Dr. S. Hanna of Berry Street, Belfast in 1929. Dr Hanna’s assistant Rev. Magill served the church from 1930 to 1946. Then for the next 5 years the Church was linked with ‘King’s Road’ in a way going back to its roots, however this prove to be unsatisfactory and once again attempts were made to be recognised as a separate identity, but without success. However things were about to change for the better under the ministry of Dr. H.H. Aitchison, who joined the Church in 1951. The decision to become a Congregational Church was made in 1954.Since then the ministers have been.
Rev. Prof. Dr. J.M. Henry 1979 - 2002
Rev. Dr. Victor Ryan. 2002 - 2016
Rev Dr. Ivan Hull 2016 - 2020
and most recently ordained by the Congregational Church at our Harvest service on October 2020 Rev. Christopher Barron.This
is a brief summary of our church and the information has been derived from
articles of three publications over the years ‘75th Anniversary’
by Rev. J.M Henry and John Thompson Secretary 1966 – 2007, Ninety Years
Without Slumbering Compiled by Rev. J.M Henry and Whitehead
Congregational Church Centenary Year 2002, edited by Robert Herman, Ernest
Clark and David Stevenson.
If you have eyesight problems or visual impairment, click on the link below to listen to the King James Version Bible in full.
Our Mission
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