Special service to celebrate 300th anniversary of St Johnston Presbyterian Church

The new moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Right Reverend Dr Richard Murray, will be in St Johnston on Sunday for a special anniversary service.

Rev Murray will preside at a service to mark the 300^th anniversary of the St Johnston Presbyterian Church.

The service, at 7.30pm on Sunday, will mark 300 years since Rev William Gray preached to a group of Presbyterians in the east Donegal village.

The Presbyterian Church, with its soaring tower and corner pinnacles, stands as a real landmark in the village.

The existing church replaced a smaller-scale meeting house, which was equipped with stables, in St Johnston which locals believe was the church built in 1724 for Rev Gray.

That meeting house was de-consecrated in 1849 when the new church was erected with the tower added ten years later.

Just before Christmas in 1982, the tower was damaged by lightening and was rebuilt using the original cut stone. The building reopened in March 1984.

Rev Gray initially preached from a lime kiln and the St Johnston Congregation of Presbyterians was officially founded in 1726.

Rev Murray, a native of the Drumreagh near Ballymoney, was appointed as the moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ireland general assembly earlier this year. He succeeded Rev Dr Sam Mawhinney and is the 179^th person to hold the highest office.