Buckna Presbyterian Church

About Us

Who We Are

Rev Stephen Kennedy is our minister. He is originally from Bessbrook and has been with us in Buckna since February 2018. He is married to Lynn and they have four children – Eva, Erin, Micah and Judah. Before moving to Buckna, Stephen was the Assistant Minister in Hill Street Presbyterian Church, Lurgan.

Outside of work and ministry, he enjoys spending time with his wife and family. He is an avid Manchester United fan and also regularly attends Northern Ireland international matches. Stephen has an interest in technology too and enjoys working with computers. Since moving to Buckna, he also has an occasional scramble up Slemish!

Stephen works alongside a group of elders who help make decisions about the spiritual life of our church family. Each elder has a district – a group of people within the congregation they keep in touch with and visit regularly.

In Buckna there are currently 15 ruling elders plus the minister, who is the teaching elder. The finance and the church buildings belonging to the congregation are managed by the Congregational Committee.

What to Expect in Buckna

Perhaps you’re thinking about going to church for the first time, looking for a new church or simply passing through? Visitors are always welcome in Buckna!

Two services take place every Sunday. Our Sunday morning service starts at 12pm and is over by around 1pm. First of all, when you arrive at church, you will be greeted at the front door by two of our church leaders. You may then go ahead into the main area of the church choosing to sit either downstairs, or upstairs in the balcony – feel free to sit wherever you like. Regulars generally sit in similar areas of the church each week but do not have specific seats.

We sing using a combination of contemporary and traditional hymns with various instruments to accompany. There is no dress code and you will not be expected to give money or join in the singing if you don’t want to.

A crèche is available for pre-school children. Children of primary school age leave after about 20 minutes of the Sunday morning service to go to Children’s Church.

The evening services are similar, although there is no crèche facility available. They tend to be quite informal and have a stronger teaching element. We start at 7pm and finish around 8pm. On the second and fourth Sunday evenings of the month we run SNAC (Sunday Night at Church). This gives families with young children the opportunity to come to the evening service as well.

The services in the morning and evening follow a familiar theme from week to week with hymns, prayers, Bible readings and a sermon. The minister will preach a sermon, talking to the congregation about some aspect of the Bible, encouraging us to apply what God says to our everyday ordinary live

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What We Believe

As a church, we are a group of people of all ages, from many backgrounds, united in our desire to put God first, and to share His love with those who do not yet know Him.

We seek to teach the Bible as the Word of God. We understand that the central message of the Bible is that God has revealed himself to us through Jesus. We believe that because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, He now offers us the free gift of forgiveness and new life.

Buckna is part of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. You may visit the PCI website for further, more detailed information about our denomination and its mission. Our minister and elders subscribe to the historic Reformed faith which is explained in the Westminster Confession of Faith. You can find out more information about it here.

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