Virtual Methodist

The Grosvenor Hall congregation had its final service yesterday afternoon, marking 136 years of faithful worship and witness. The work of the wider Belfast Central Mission goes on however, and indeed, we will be gathering again in Grosvenor House on the second Sunday of next month to mark the beginning of the Annual Toy/Gift Appeal... But back in June, after the decision had to close had been taken, I was out visiting some members of the congregation who hadn't been out for a few weeks, and after a fruitless attempt to visit two houses in a row I thought I would stop off in Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park and grab a coffee. It was a beautiful day and I had been listening to Eddi Reader singing Burns songs in the car, and as I sat in the sunshine the following song, set to the tune of "Ae Fond Kiss" sprang almost fully formed into my head. At yesterday's emotional farewell, my two friends Jim Deeds and Diane Holt, sang these words as a benediction to those who had gathe...

After a few years as “ecclesiastical gypsies” by 1893 the Mission Committee realised that they needed a permanent home and towards the end of that year the site on which Grosvenor House now sits was bought by the Committee treasurer... And on 25th October of the following year the first Grosvenor Hall was opened...Or rather the Central Hall as it was formally called... But it quickly became known as the Grosvenor Hall by all who used it, and passed on the name officially to the second building that replaced it, in 1927. At first an adjacent building to the hall on Glengall Street was rented to host the social work and smaller meetings, but this was quite a costly arrangement, and so two years after the hall was opened an annex was built that not only increased the size of the main hall to 3000 if needed (slightly more than we need today) but also offices and smaller meeting rooms. But the cost of all of this was massive in those days. Crawford Johnson and his faithful treasurer Thomas ...

Custom House Square is central to a lot of Belfast's history down through the years. The Farset River which gave the city its name as Béal Feirste, the "Mouth of the Sandy River", runs under it and empties into the Lagan just beyond the building which gives it its name "The Custom House" which was erected here in the middle of the 19th century… As such it reflects Belfast’s origins as a maritime trading town, and its development as an industrial and commercial powerhouse in the 19th century under the British Empire. It’s one of the many buildings in Belfast (including Queens University) designed by Charles Lanyon. But McHugh’s Bar across the square which dates from the 17th century, reflects another dimension in Belfast’s origins as a port. Both it and DuBarry’s Bar that used to sit beside it, were “houses of ill repute” frequented by sailors.  So Custom House Square was a space where people from all levels of Belfast society could meet. The statue on the steps ...

Another of our stops en route last Sunday was opposite the site of what for many years was the Grosvenor Hall's city centre sister congregation, or perhaps, arguably step mother, Donegall Square Methodist on the east side on of City Hall. It opened on that site in 1806, with the remaining façade being part of a building erected in 1846, and is referred to as the Mother Church because in its lifetime it birthed many other congregations...Indeed when I previously asked where the story of the Grosvenor Hall began, it could be argued that it began in earnest here. Because in February 1889 two lay mission workers John Coulter and John Adams who had been employed to work among the unchurched of Belfast gave a graphic account of the social and spiritual plight of the poor of the city... This led directly to the petition which went to Conference in June 1889 for the establishment of a City Mission. However when Crawford Johnson was set aside as Mission Superintendent, he was not attached ...

The Mission operated out of Hermon Hall until January 1890 when Mr Ginnett needed the building back again, meaning that they had to decamp once more, leading Crawford Johnson to describe them, in thoroughly un-PC terms, as “ecclesiastical gypsies" (I used a less controversial synonym for the title). Their primary Sunday venues for the Mission were St. George’s Hall in High Street and the Ulster Hall, with repeated returns to Hermon Hall, from time to time until it was knocked down to prepare for the building of the Opera House. The weekday activities of the Mission were even more scattered... in lecture rooms and halls in north, south and east Belfast... Some of these were Bible studies and classic Methodist Class meetings, but increasingly more of them were working to address social needs of the people around, including food programmes rudimentary alcohol support groups, men’s and women’s groups, and work with (in another un-PC phrase) “street Arabs” – children running wild on th...

The story of the beginnings of the Grosvenor Hall congregation and Belfast Central Mission as shared with our Reflective Pilgrimage last Sunday afternoon continues... A tent is not exactly conducive for winter meetings... so towards the end of October they started to look for a new home, and found it on the site of what is now Belfast's Grand Opera House. It first opened on 23rd December 1895 (and contrary to popular opinion the opening show was not a pantomime starring May McFettridge). It was designed by the most prolific theatre architect of the period, Frank Matcham, and was originally called New Grand Opera House and Cirque. The term Cirque referred to the fact that the building that stood here before that, called the Hermon Hall, was one of a range of Halls across Britain and Ireland owned by the Ginnett family (often miss-spelt as Ginnet in Belfast histories, including the original published history of BCM), who were theatrical and circus promoters. Ginnett’s ow...

This is the first of  a few short posts in the run up to the closure of the Grosvenor Hall congregation that I currently have the honour of ministering to, this coming Sunday, after 136 years of faithful worship and witness. Last Sunday I organised a Reflective Pilgrimage for a small band of interested people, looking at the history of the congregation and Belfast Central Mission, especially the early years, and I included in it a few new poems. We began at the building where Sandy Row Methodist Church used to meet, before its closure 2 years ago. In its much larger predecessor, for the first 2 weeks of September 1889, the newly appointed Superintendent of what was then referred to as Belfast City Mission (leading to much confusion with the Presbyterian initiative of the same name) Rev. Crawford Johnson led a series of evangelistic services. But after 2 weeks of packed services, Johnson dismissed the initiative as a failure, because those who attended were already regular church-go...

The A4 magazine format of this history of BCM belies its depth and importance. Unlike Eric Gallagher's centennial history, 'At Points of Need' which took a traditional chronological approach, this one takes a more thematic approach, perhaps allowing the reader a greater sense of the breadth of the mission's work over the years. An advantage that this history has over Eric Gallagher's is that it can more fully reflect the importance of Eric Gallagher's own role as Superintendent of the mission an ...more We have recently established a "Good Book Group" in Belfast South Methodist, and for our third book we wanted to slip in something easy to read before the summer. As it  happens Belfast Central Mission recently distributed copies of an A4 publication tentitled "Through Changing Scenes" to both mark the 125th anniversary of the Mission and highlight a proposed new development - Copelands Dementia and Nursing Care on the site of its former ...

The third of the Hope and History Advent Candle Liturgies that we will be using in Belfast South Methodist this morning as an introduction to our "Gift Service", where members of the congregation bring gifts for the Belfast Central Mission Christmas Gift Appeal. These gifts go to help families facing less than "joyful" circumstances, and will hope fully brighten up some young people's lives this Christmas. But real joy is not to be found at the foot of a Christmas tree wrapped in gaudy paper, at the bottom of a bottle or on a table laden with food. Real joy, from a Christmas perspective is something that is independent of material circumstances, but one day we can know perfect joy when we are in tune with our creator and the rest of creation. That is as much of a sermon that I am offering here this morning. You will have to come to Belfast South Methodist if you want more... But if you scroll to the bottom you will find a wonderful rendition of "Joy to the...

This morning in Dundonald Methodist we celebrate what we call our "Gift Service" where we bring gifts for the Belfast Central Mission's Gift Appeal , where toys and other presents are given to support children and young people in difficult circumstances (If you haven't given already they, and other agencies like the St. Vincent de Paul and Salvation Army are accepting donations for another week). But just as with our gift-giving on Christmas day it is good to think again about our motivation for giving such gifts... Is there any sort of expected pay-back? At Christmas we can feel piqued if our generous gift is not matched by a similar one in return... or perhaps our magnanimity is payback in itself as we bask in the image of ourselves as unselfish benefactor... or perhaps we are expecting our reward in heaven?  On this day as on any other we should give because it is good to give... indeed we're told it is more blessed to give than receive... And with that in...