The Free Presbyterian Church was founded in Crossgar 75 years ago this month. On St Patrick’s Day in 1951, Crossgar Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster was formally constituted in the village’s Killyleagh Street Mission Hall, becoming the first congregation of what would grow into a wider denomination.
The story of the church’s beginnings is detailed on a dedicated website, which outlines the events leading up to the first meeting, officiated by Rev Ian Paisley. According to an article by Glynn Moore, the gathering began at 3pm with every seat filled and others listening outside via loudspeaker. Worship included the singing of the 23rd Psalm, prayers, hymns and paraphrases. William Emerson was ordained as an elder, joined by Hugh-James Adams, George Gibson, Cecil Harvey, William Miscampbell and James Morrison. Rev George Stears, a missionary home on furlough, was inducted as minister pro tem, while Rev Paisley used his inaugural address to criticise the Irish Presbyterian Church and declare the rise of a new faithful witness in Ulster.
The website also features photographs from the early years of the congregation, including the completion of a purpose-built church in 1957, as well as a timeline charting its development over the decades.
Meanwhile, the church’s magazine, Free Presbyterian Vision, includes an interview with Crossgar native George Jackson, who attended the original 1951 mission as a 10-year-old boy. He later served as a Church Committee member for 64 years. Mr Jackson recalled travelling with his father to collect Rev Paisley for meetings, even sitting in the back of the family’s Austin 7 as Paisley drove across the Castlereagh Hills.
He also remembered the community effort involved in building the church, with local people raising funds by selling sticks and bags of blocks, and giving both time and money sacrificially. As a young teenager, he said he and other young people were fully involved in the work. A Bible given to him by his mother in 1951, marking both his birth and the date he was born again, remains a treasured possession.
