Week of public events planned for anniversary.
Thurles Baptist Church celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
Baptists formed their first churches in Ireland more than 350 years ago. Here in Tipperary, the village of Cloughjordan had a congregation of almost 200 people, many of whom emigrated to New Jersey in the 18th century. And there are records of a Baptist presence in Thurles dating back to the early years of the 19th century. But like so many things, the church that existed at that time did not survive the Famine.
The current church in Thurles began in 1975, when a small group of believers started meeting for worship at a house in Collins Park, near Semple Stadium. As numbers grew over the years, plans were made for a new and bigger premises, and the current church building at Graigue Bridge on the Holycross to Pouldine road, hosted its first service on Easter Sunday morning in 1988.
The church will mark its 50th anniversary with a week of special events in August, and these will include a series of public lectures at the Anner Hotel in Thurles. The topics and dates are as follows:
Understanding and Dealing With Depression – 8pm, Monday 25th August.
Journeying Through Bereavement – 8pm, Tuesday 26th August
Living With Stress – 8pm, Wednesday 27th August
Facing Hardship – 8pm, Thursday 28th August.
All lectures are open to the public free of charge, and will be hosted by Dr. Stephen McAuley, pastor of Thurles Baptist Church.
Stephen brings a wealth of experience to these subjects. Having trained as a doctor and psychiatrist, he went on to establish a Christian counselling service, and practised for more than 25 years. He has also taught counselling at Belfast Bible College, and has delivered lectures across Ireland and the U.K.
Of the upcoming celebrations, Stephen says: “We are all very excited to be celebrating 50 years since the founding of the present Baptist church in Thurles. It’s also an opportunity to reflect on a history that goes much further back. We are celebrating half a century of sharing the same good news that Saint Patrick first brought to Ireland almost 2,000 years ago.”
The anniversary week will also see the launch of former pastor Dick Keogh’s new book, Lest We Forget: A History of Thurles Baptist Church. It tells the story of the growth of the church from its humble origins in the 1970s, and in his introduction to the book, Dick writes:
“As I look back over the years, I thank God for allowing me to see days of profound change and much encouragement. It has been my privilege to witness the birth of a local church in Thurles, and to see first-hand how the Lord continued to build His church here in Tipperary.”
Thurles Baptist Church will also host a Bible teaching day on Saturday 30th August, from 11am to 4.30pm. The subject will be Fellowship, and the guest speaker will be the former principal of the Irish Baptist College, Edwin Ewart.
And the 50th anniversary celebrations will come to a close with a service of Praise and Thanksgiving on Sunday 31st August at 11am. The guest speaker will be former pastor of Thurles Baptist Church, Michael Quinn.
All are welcome to attend.
LISTEN NOW: Pastor Stephen McAuley’s radio interview.
If you missed it a couple of weeks back, Pastor Stephen McAuley was on the Tipp Today show on Tipp FM, where he spoke with Fran Curry about the upcoming church anniversary celebrations, among many other things. It’s well worth a listen.
Loughtagalla Times 
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