Greenisland Parish ‘strong and courageous' after devastating fire

Greenisland Parish ‘strong and courageous’ after devastating fire

Monday September 2nd 2024

The blaze at the Church of the Holy Name, Greenisland, on September 1. Photo: Chris Bennett.

Joy turned to heartbreak on Sunday night when, hours after the Church of the Holy Name, Greenisland, celebrated its 70^th anniversary, flames devastated the parish hall, attached to the church.

Photos (below) by the Rev Chris Bennett who was on the scene.

Thankfully no injuries have been reported. The PSNI have said that the fire, reported at 9.10pm on Sunday, is being treated as arson.

Writing on Facebook, the Bishop of Connor, the Rt Rev George Davison, said he returned to Greenisland last night after hearing of the fire. He said: “It was heartbreaking to watch and to stand with so many parishioners who couldn’t quite believe what we were witnessing. I’m so thankful that no-one was hurt and very grateful to the members of the Fire Service and the PSNI for all their efforts this evening.”

Stressing that the Church of the Holy Name was alive and well, the Bishop added: “It is strong and courageous in the face of this challenge, it is still loves and cares for the community of Greenisland; it is safe in the arms of Jesus, who gives it life!

“The Church of the Holy Name is not a damaged building, it is the amazing group of people that I met there this afternoon and who stood together this evening and cried and hugged each other and resolved to keep on worshipping and serving Jesus in Greenisland.”

The Bishop was among the many guests at a 70^th anniversary service in the church earlier on Sunday. They included former rectors of the parish and the Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Rev John McDowell, who preached.

Police are appealing for information following the fire at the church and church hall which is in Station Road, Greenisland

It is reported that at the height of the fire there were nine appliances and 49 firefighters at the scene.

A PSNI Inspector said that thankfully, no one was injured, but a significant amount of damage was caused to both buildings.

“We are treating this as arson and I am appealing to anyone who may have witnessed anyone suspicious in the area or to anyone with CCTV, doorbell or other footage that could assist with enquiries, to contact police on 101 quoting reference 1437 of 01/09/24,” the Inspector said.

“Alternatively, you can submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ . You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/”

On an online video message on Monday morning, the Rev Dr Isy Hawthorne-Steele said: “I am just absolutely gutted that this has happened, but we will rise out of this. The Bishop said to me last night, out of ashes – we will come through this together as a church because we are church people – we have faith and we have hope. I shall cling to that, and please pray.”

The Baptist Church next door to the Church of the Holy Name has opened the Mango Tree Café for people to gather and anyone wishing to show their support is welcome to come along from 12pm today (Monday September 2).

We will have more on this story later today.