History
- Where we have come from
- Where we are now!
Where We Have Come From
A Methodist society has been in existence at Priesthill for two centuries. From the opening of the first preaching-house on Puddleduck (now Aghnatrisk) Road in April 1786, and of Zion chapel (our present church) on Christmas Eve 1838.
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, made 21 visits to Ireland. In July 1751 John Wesley, journeying from Belfast to Lurgan came to Maze and preached, There were the usual signs following. The preacher's earnest and eloquent proclamation stirred hearts to new life and faith. The nucleus of a cause was formed. Lay preachers carried on the work. There was a revival and district meetings flourished, notably at Broomhedge and Kilwarlin where John Wesley preached again in 1771.
The Rev. Edward Thomas, in the life of James Carlisle, gives the origin of the Priesthill Methodist Church. A Roman Catholic, named Patrick Cunningham, a horseracer and a very dissolute young man, came under a deep sense of sin and guilt, and in many ways sought to drown the voice of conscience, plunging into orgies and revels. He tried priest and penance but was nothing better and rather worse. In his anxiety he went to Lisburn and heard a minister who had forsaken the Episcopal fold and adopted the Methodist persuasion, and under him he was converted and found inward peace.
In 1784 he started a prayer meeting in a friend's house at Priesthill and when this was shortly denied him he transferred to the house of Thomas Bradshaw. Here the circle went on widening and some regular meeting house was called for. In 1786, two years after Cunningham's conversion, the first Priesthill Methodist Chapel was built. It was one of mud and roofed with straw, and seems to have stood somewhere on the Puddleduck road.
It was used till 1838 when a better sight was chosen and a new edifice erected where the present Zion stands. And so rapidly did the cause gain fresh adherents, the Church had to be enlarged in 1851. At times there were over two hundred children attending the Sunday School.
Where We Are Now
Worship has been celebrated in the church here, known as Zion Chapel, for more than 150 years, and in 1974 the congregation built a new church hall for week-night activities. The growth of population in the vicinity has increased the number of groups using this hall. During 1999/2000 a major building scheme took place to extend/update the hall, and so three additional rooms and storage space have been added. There are plans to use adjoining land for outdoor sports.
