Those who serve and have served among us.

Having been saved by God's grace in 1988, Noel served within his home congregation of Maghera Church of Ireland for several years as a Sunday School teacher and Youth Fellowship Leader. After his marriage to Nicola in 2001 they set up home in Castledawson and not long afterwards joined the congregation of Castledawson Presbyterian Church.

Sensing a call to full time ministry, Noel began to explore the possibility of training for ministry within the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. He commenced studies at Union Theological College in September 2007, after working for fifteen years as a teacher of French, Religious Studies and Boys Games in Magherafelt High School.

Having spent three summers serving as a summer assistant in the congregation of Cuningham Memorial, Noel was assigned to the role of student assistant in June 2009. The following year he was licensed as a probationer for the Christian ministry by the Presbytery of Tyrone in his home congregation of Castledawson Presbyterian Church before commencing to serve as the assistant Minister in Cuningham Memorial in June 2010.

Following the completion of his assistantship, Noel was ordained and installed to the oversight of the congregation of Glenwherry Presbyterian Church in May 2012. He ministered in Glenwherry for over nine years until God called him to return to Cuningham Memorial as minister in September 2021.

Noel's main interests outside of church life include football, walking, reading, travelling and spending time with family. He and Nicola have been blessed with two children, Zara and Ella.

Stuart grew up in a loving but (for the moment!) unbelieving family, originally in sunny Carrickfergus before moving to County Armagh during his teenage years. It was just as he was finishing secondary school that the Lord Jesus noticeably began to work in his life, through surprising ways.

Stuart was like any other unbelieving, unchurched teenage boy - interested in being liked, being successful, being happy, and girls, giving no thought to God or the Gospel in his pursuit of those things. But the Lord Jesus began to draw Stuart to Himself. First, Jesus showed him that Christianity is the only religion which actually makes sense of the world and humanity as they really are, and really is intellectually credible. Secondly, God confronted Stuart one night through the Bible being taught. Through that Bible talk, the reality that the God of the Bible is the God who is there hit Stuart so hard that he was never the same again. Thirdly, Jesus sent suffering into Stuart's life, which He used to take away all those things Stuart looked to for happiness, hope, and security that weren't Jesus Himself. At the end of a six-month period of avoiding God and holding onto his false gods, Stuart gave up resisting Jesus, and reluctantly accepted Jesus' saving love for sinners.

Since then, life has not been plain-sailing. Jesus has continued to send some suffering into Stuart's life, in order to teach him that he really must rest in Jesus Himself as his only hope in life and death, to rescue him from sin, Satan, and Hell. Stuart is a slow learner!

Stuart joined us as Summer Assistant in 2023 and was subsequently licenced as an Assistant Minister in his home congregation of Donaghcloney on Sunday 16th June 2024. He hopes (God-willing) to spend the rest of his life reminding God's people of the Gospel, and telling those who don't know Jesus about His Good News.

On the 14th August 2024 Stuart married Joanna Baird at Mourne Presbyterian Church in Kilkeel. We are pleased to welcome Joanna into our Church family and are blessed by their presence with us.

If you want to get Stuart talking endlessly, talk to him about books (especially theology or 'The Lord of the Rings'), Liverpool FC, films, how beautiful this wee island is, coffee, or surfing!

Rev Murphy entered training for the ministry of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland in 1986 following fourteen years of employment with the Northern Ireland Electricity Service. He was brought up in the congregation of Molesworth Street, Cookstown and after his marriage to Miss Helen Kerr in 1976 they joined the congregation of Dungannon.

It was as a member of this congregation that both David and Helen were saved by the grace of God and where later David would be ordained to the eldership.

He was licensed as a probationer for the Christian ministry in Dungannon Presbyterian Church by a Commission of the Presbytery of Tyrone in June 1989. Having been assigned as a student assistant to the congregation of First Cookstown he was ordained and installed there as an assistant minister in January 1990 and following the completion of his assistantship was installed to the oversight of the joint charge of Bellaghy and Knockloughrim in May 1991. He ministered here for just over seven years until his call to Cuningham Memorial in June 1998.

He retired from full time ministry on 10th May 2020. He and Helen have two children, Alan and Christine. Both are married; Alan to Pamela (nee Wilson) and Christine to Brian Anderson.