Go ahead given for new church

The Clarehill Road church has been bursting at the seams for many years and the congregation have been fundraising to get the money together for the new church.

“The new church building will be built on the same footprint as the existing church,” explained Rev Howard Gilpin.

“We will be demolishing the old church and rebuilding it. We expect the build to take about a year but we still have some fundraising to do before we can start the work.”

Moira Presbyterian Church currently has 300 families worshipping each Sunday and with only 220 seats in the church, accommodating them has become a struggle in recent years.

Rev Gilpin is hopeful the new church, which will have 400 seats, will enable the church to grow even further.

Thanking the congregation for the support during recent years, Rev Gilpin said: “This has been in the pipeline for quite some time. We have been fundraising and have had gospel concerts and a PW fashion show. The congregation have been very supportive. There’s a church development committee, who have worked very hard to drive this forward,” he added.

The go ahead for the new church was given at this week’s meeting of Lisburn City Council’s Planning Committee.

Alderman James Tinsley welcomed the granting of permission for the new church, as did Councillor Alexander Redpath, who said: “This project was praised by councillors from across the political spectrum. I am glad to see strong vibrant congregations making such large investments in their local area to meet the needs of a growing church.”