Greenisland Baptist Church host 'standing together' community service on behalf of nearby Church of Ireland after recent fire
The pastor of Greenisland Baptist Church said he is "devastated" by the fire caused to the nearby Greenisland Church of Ireland in the town.
The blaze broke out at the place of worship on Sunday evening as nine fire appliances and 49 firefighters attended the scene on Station Road in the Co Antrim town.
The church’s Facebook page posted a message on Sunday night saying the “terrible” fire had started at the back of the building.
“We are just so thankful that the building was empty and nobody has been hurt,” said the statement.
In a later Facebook post, the church said: “What a shocking and terrible night for our parish and the whole Greenisland community."
Furthermore, fire crews had to be called out to the church for a second time on Monday night, after a fire had wrecked the church hall and part of the main church building the previous night.
The local community came together this evening as members from all nearby churches attended a ‘Standing Together’ service at Greenisland Baptist Church.
"The idea to host the service in our church was an obvious choice as the churches in the local community have previously come together," pastor Michael Wylie said.
"We were looking up at the building and saw the fire taking off quickly and we are devastated with the consequences as we know it’ll have a knock-on effect for the next months and even years.
"The whole community – including the Methodist and Presbyterian denominations – were present last night to rally around our friends in the Church of Ireland.
"We want to assure them that they are not alone and we were more than delighted to offer our premises for the service.”
In an update, Greenisland Parish said on Facebook that “miraculously the fire crews were able to recover some photographs and keepsakes from the memories exhibition” but that there will be “no unauthorised entry to the building for some time.”
A GoFundMe page has already raised about half of its target of £30,000 for rebuilding works to be carried out.
Police have confirmed they are treating the blaze as arson and are appealing for information.