knock methodist church
Our
Story
The foundation stone of the original Methodist Church at Knock, Belfast, was laid on 17 August 1869 on the Knock Road. This site has now become the Knock Methodist Centre. It was officially opened for Divine Worship on 15 January 1870 by the Rev. William Archer MA. It's hard to believe now, but in those early days some members of the congregation travelled to church by horse, and stables and sheds were provided for their convenience. At this time Knock formed part of the Ballymacarrett Circuit, but in 1874 Knock was formed into it's own Separate Circuit. The manse was also built in this year, and the first minister to live there was the Rev. Joseph W. McKay. On 21 March 1879, the first recorded number of members of Knock Methodist Church was 41. Many wealthy merchants began to move into the leafy suburb of Knock, amongst them many prominent Methodists who decided to build a larger place of worship for the growing congregation.
Much was accomplished in those early years on an annual income of £265:9:4 (pounds, shillings and pence) and within 12 years, in June 1882, a further site for the building of a new church was acquired. This progress speaks volumes for the enthusiasm, loyalty and devotion of those first Leaders at Knock Methodist. The foundation stones of the present Church were laid by Mrs. James Lindsay, Mrs. Thomas Pullman, Mrs. John J. Shillington and Mrs. William Hinde on 2 October 1882, and the Dedicatory Service was conducted on 13 June 1883 by Rev. Charles Garrett, President of the Methodist Conference. The Church is built of Scrabo red sandstone and a shamrock, symbol of the Trinity, is incised into the stonework at the front of the building. The original pulpit was re-installed in the current Sanctuary. Over the following years, the congregation at Knock grew in numbers and strength, with a growing interest throughout the circuit. In1907, in order to accommodate the large numbers who required seating, it was decided to construct a Gallery at a cost of £680, and this was opened in April1908. Again there was an increase in attendance at Public Worship. The second alteration came in 1925, as part of a war memorial project, and this added 200 seats with two transepts, better accommodation for the organ, the Green Road entrance and a choir room at a cost of £5000. Lady Kelly re-opened the Church on 7 November that year. A third building scheme was carried out in 1968 enlarging the choir room, adding a church office, a youth pastor's room, a vestry, kitchen and adjoining creche.
Over the years, the center began to show substantial wear and tear and the estimated costs to replace meant that the wise decision was to replace the old hall buildings with a new larger purpose built facility. Fund raising was undertaken and in September 2011 we opened the new Knock Methodist Centre, and made improvements to the Green Road entrance, linking the two buildings with a covered walkway. More recently, in 2019, we made a few more alterations this time to the main Church Sanctuary, and this included changing the main double doors to a more inviting glass design, remodeling the rear of the Church to allow a central entrance with improved visibility, and enlarging and opening up the communion area to allow for a more multi-purpose usage.
The Church organ has always been a central feature of worship at Knock Methodist. In 1887 our first organ was installed to replace the existing harmonium. In1925 this was replaced by an instrument by Messrs. Evans and Barr Ltd., and in 1969 one of the finest instruments in Belfast was installed by Messrs. Charles Smethurst Ltd. using some of the materials from its forerunner. However, maintenance of the organ has always been a costly affair and in the autumn of 2019 a new digital organ was installed which would require very little financial upkeep. The new organ is a three manual Viscount Regent and the various sounds are generated by a computer to replicate the traditional pipe-organ tones plus some interesting orchestral extras like oboe, clarinet, harpsichord and harp. There are four amplifiers and twenty-one speakers hidden behind the facade pipes from the old organ.
For more than 150 years we have offered opportunities for worship, service, and fellowship in Christ's love and grace. Please come and join us as we journey into passionate and purposeful living for Christ in the next 150 years, and beyond.
Sources:
"A Sketch of the History of Knock Methodist Church, Belfast", History of Knock Methodist Church, Belfast 1869 - 1957, Andison, T.B.
"Knock Methodist Church - 100 Years, 1870 - 1970", Connell, N.
"Round the Churches", Alexander, F.
Background Image: Murray, P.
