“Wondering at God’s Great Works”
“For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone,” Psalm 86:10.
A message preached by Rev David Creane (Rtd) at the morning service, August 20th 2023, marking the 49th Anniversary of the opening of Kilskeery Free Presbyterian Church building on 17th August 1974.
A video of this sermon may be viewed here:
A brief account of the work of God in Kilskeery
Today has been set aside as an anniversary of the opening of the first building on this site 49 years ago.
However, the work of grace in the area had begun some years before. From the earliest days of the Free Presbyterian witness in Lisbellaw, where the first regular service began on 12th February 1967, there were Christians from the Ballinamallard/Kilskeery area attending the services.
But in 1970, chiefly as the result of the witnessing of a Kilskeery lady, Mrs Sadie McKinley, who had been saved in a meeting at which Dr Ian Paisley preached, in a gospel mission that I was conducting in Springfield, a few miles north west of Enniskillen, members of her family and friends in the Kilskeery area began attending the Lisbellaw meetings, travelling over from Kilskeery, a distance of some 12 miles. Very soon, some 20 adults and children were attending regularly, some 12-15 having been converted.
Almost immediately this work of grace took place, the old Orange Hall at Feglish, now demolished, was obtained and prayer meetings and children’s meetings began and desires for a permanent ‘home’ for such meetings arose. Soon Mr and Mrs Robert Edwards donated a large section of their garden as a site for the new hall and work was carried out by the men (and women) in the area and the the hall was opened by Dr Paisley in August 1974.
Sabbath services, prayer meetings and children’s meeting began immediately in the new hall. In 1977, a congregation was constituted and a year later Rev Ivan Foster was called and he was installed as minister in February 1978. I believe that it can be said that it was a time of God’s blessing with souls being added to the church.
It was in the next year, September 1979, that Kilskeery Independent Christian school was launched under the principalship of Mrs Ann Foster, BA. There were just thirteen pupils but it quickly enlarged and from a primary school it moved into secondary education the next year. Soon it was covering a wide range of subjects and in subsequent years many of its graduates moved on to university studies.
In 1985, an extension to the original building was erected. This was to accommodate the school classrooms. The extension also provided Sabbath school rooms and an overflow area seating some 75 people. This also served as an assembly hall for the school.
The ministry of Rev Ivan Foster ended with his retirement in November 2008 as did the labours of Mrs Foster in the school. Dr Stephen Pollock subsequently was minister for a brief time. The congregation has been without a pastor for some nine years, since his leaving. Various local minister have acted as Interim Moderator caring for the spiritual needs of the flock. At present it is Rev James Porter of Bethel FPC, Enniskillen. Visiting preachers supply the pulpit for the sabbath services.
The congregation is unceasingly praying for the Lord to send a man ‘after His own heart’, to the church to take up the work of pastor. In the meantime there is much thankfulness for the faithful ministry of the visiting preachers.
The words of Micah echo their prayers at the present time.
“Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me,” Micah 7:7.