THE ART WORK OF THE CHURCH

The architect, Denis O'D. Hanna, believed that, while the various art forms, painting, carving, sculpture and metalwork used to ornament the church should be contemporary in form, they should not be so abstract that they expressed no meaning but, on the contrary, should help to extend the church's message.

Outside the church, above the front door, are six brass engravings, each dominated by the figures of two angels, with smaller figures at their feet representing the workers with their tools who designed and built the church.

To the left of the door, on the curved wall, is a stone moulding representing the Holy Spirit descending into the symbols of Sacrament - the Bread, the Wine and the Font. To the right of the door a similar moulding represents the Word of God - the Eagle, with Satan entangled in his grasp and an open book with the letters Alpha and Omega.

On the side wall of the parish office, are five stone mouldings. First, a representation of Creation with the hand of God lifting the sun, moon and stars from the waters. The winged thunderbolt, which was regarded as one of God's great instruments, is also shown. The next moulding shows Adam and Eve in disgrace leaving the Garden of Eden and walking out into the outer darkness of the world. Adam puts an arm round Eve for comfort, but the Hand of Christ comes from the sky and offers them a fresh opportunity. The third is one of two which depict scenes from the life of St Molua. It illustrates the legend that, when he was young, Molua miraculously cured his father of a cancerous foot; the demon of disease is seen fleeing from the foot. The fourth shows the protecting hands of God, one holding Man in His palm above the flames of perdition and loss, with the second hand above sheltering him from the cruel shafts of the world. The last moulding in this group represents Molua as Bishop supervising the erection of one of his churches.

On the opposite side of the church, on the side wall of the robing room, are five more stone mouldings, depicting symbols of Jesus. The first is the Rose of Sharon and the Lamb of God; the second, the pelican feeding its young with blood from its own breast with, above, the Crown of Thorns and Calvary and, below, the interwoven Celtic pattern symbolic of eternal life. The fourth symbol of Jesus, the Fish, is seen on the third carving, with the tree that grew from a grain of mustard seed in which the birds of the air took shelter. The Lion of Judah, with Satan bruising His heel and Christ bruising the head of Satan with a cross, is the fourth carving. He wears a crown and above Him is the Tree of life. The discarded apple of Eden lies at His feet. The final image is of the True Vine and the Chalice. It was the great quest of the Middle Ages to try to discover this Holy Grail and it has become a symbol of high venture.

On the outside back walls of the church, above the chapel and vestry, are silvered metal decorations representing tares; the representations of wheat, which completed the theme, caused dampness, were removed and have been lost.

On the outside of the parochial hall, above the porch, is a sculpture in beaten sheet copper representing Christ the Carpenter. On the wall at the left-hand side, rather concealed from view, are two more stone mouldings. The first shows the snakes being banished from Ireland by the crosier of St Patrick. The snakes are believed to typify certain sins and pagan heresies of the Druidical world of Ireland so, with that in mind, the next rather puzzling panel is more easily understood. It shows Crom Cruskin, the patron deity of Tara, one of the famous idols of the Druids against whose priests Patrick strove. But the cross of conquest has been driven through his belly to remove his evil power and the crosier of Patrick, ornamented with his Irish cross, rises triumphant above.

Inside the church, the vestibule doors are carved in Celtic patterns including the Boss of the Holy Trinity. Beyond them is the font, its sides decorated with an Irish cross and the medieval font cover representing the Orb of the World supporting the Cross. On the ceiling, the main theme in the church, the divine plan for the redemption of mankind, begins with a series of paintings: the Annunciation; the Nativity; the Baptism in the Jordan; the Last Supper and the Kiss of Betrayal in Gethsemane.

Calvary is represented behind the choir stalls by the three crosses under which are the spears and helmets of the Roman soldiers. The Cross is also depicted in the floor tiles which are laid in the traditional pattern of Walls of Troy. This pattern is also seen on the sides of the font cover. The carvings on the desks on either side of the chancel illustrate the Salvation of Mankind with the angel who guarded the gate of Eden having lowered his sword so that all may pass through to the Altar of God. The Tree of Life is shown on the gates of Eden. The carvings on the pulpit represent the four Gospel writers - the Lion of Mark, the Ox of Luke, the Man of Matthew and the Eagle of John. On the lectern the Word of God is represented by the Eagle - in one talon the Torch of Truth and, in the other, Satan in the form of an expiring snake. Above is another of the interwoven Irish symbols of eternity.

The triumphant climax of the decoration is the mural on the wall of the apse (the ecclesiastical, if not the geographical, East of the church) where Christ is seen ascended and seated on His throne. In His hand the Orb of Majesty and above Him the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. The Light of God, in the form of a great sunrise, pours down from the Throne upon the Holy Table and the communicants, while the angels sound their trumpets. The original intention had been to clad the apse wall with plain wooden panels, but it was decided, after members of the Select Vestry had examined the mural in Bangor Abbey, to have a similar feature for St Molua's.

The architect wished to have an important feature on the chapel wall, possibly of Christ stumbling with the Cross, but its subject matter was never finally decided. It, too, an apparent victim of the increasing need to economise. Likewise, a proposed mural of the Fall and the Redemption planned for the rear wall of the hall was abandoned, the feeling being that it would be 'lost' at the back of the building. While not part of the original artistic 'Theme' of the church, the stained glass windows are undoubtedly part of its decoration. Each one a memorial, the whole series was prepared by Messrs Wippell of Exeter when the first window was installed in 1966. In 1998 there are still two windows without stained glass on the right (south) side of the church and no stained glass at all on the other side.

The design of the church and the overall plan for its art work were the work of the architect, but the execution of the various decorations was the work of a number of specialist craftsmen. The Select Vestry kept a watchful eye on every stage and the Bishop also was involved in approving the design for the mural after several changes had already been requested and complied with. The stonework mouldings on the outside of the church, although it is not recorded, were probably made by Aerocrete, the firm which also made the font. The wood carving, including the font cover, was done by the Belfast firm of R.H.Knox and Co. The unusual combination of the work of the sheet-metal worker and the blacksmith which decorates either side of the choir, and the metal 'foliage' on the outside of the rear of the church was used in St Molua's for the first time in the architectural world. Again no record has been found of who the craftsman or men were.

Another architectural 'first' was the use of what Mr Hanna called "the goldsmith's art" in the brass panels above the door, a medium used here for the first time in any part of the world for this purpose. They were the work of artist, goldsmith and sculptor James McKendry, who also created the bronze of Christ the Carpenter on the hall. At one point it was decided to use aluminium for the panels to avoid possible corrosion problems but Mr McKendry prevailed upon the Select Vestry to accept the original choice of brass. He suggested the panels be hermetically sealed to prevent condensation damaging them, but it was felt to be too expensive -another economy that in the long run proved to have been a false one. Within a year there were already signs of staining, an expensive and recurring problem, at least until the panels were sealed in the 1990s.

The paintings, on both ceiling and apse wall, were done by Desmond Kinney assisted by another professional artist, Ralph Dobson, and two art teachers, John Hunter and Oliver McLarnon. It was suggested that tempered hardboard would be a suitable base for the mural but Mr Boyd the builder was opposed to this, and suggested a special finish for the plaster instead - a solution which proved to be enduring, satisfactory and, to the relief of all concerned at the time, cheaper.

Unable to justify the expense of a landscape gardener to lay out the grounds, most of the task of bringing the wilderness around the church under control fell to parishioner volunteers. It was 1963 before the relatively small group of volunteers was able to get started. In spite of heroic efforts, the sheer size of the task eventually forced them to bring in professional help to rotovate some of the larger areas in preparation for grassing. A bulldozer was also borrowed to clear and level the area behind the church hall. Trees and shrubs were donated and planted and the area was gradually transformed into an attractive framework for the new buildings. Through the years regular maintenance work has been carried out by a faithful few; grass is kept cut, trees and hedges trimmed and the wandering roots of cherry trees extracted from clogged drains.

PAYING THE BILLS

While it is common enough for new buildings to have 'teething problems', St Molua's appears to have had more than most, many of them apparently design or building faults. The placing of a dampproof course below ground level is hard for even a layperson to understand. Likewise the siting of the water storage tank in the hall over the electrical installation.

A series of small problems arose in the hall, starting within the first year, then in 1969, dry rot appeared in the minor hall. A major problem with a rotting stanchion supporting the sloping back wall necessitated a complete rebuilding of the wall in 1978 - this time in traditional vertical style. The problem was identified as a structural defect and as such was only partially covered by insurance. A claim might have been made on the architect's insurance but this was not possible because Mr Hanna had died, suddenly, in 1971.

There were more problems in 1984 when the hall roof began to slip and steel beams had to be added to strengthen the repaired building. The chapel windows leaked - almost from the beginning and problems with the large area of flat roofing persist and have been hugely expensive over the years. The extensive storm damage in 1965 to St Brendan's Church in Sydenham, a church designed and built by the same team as St Molua's, gave further cause for alarm. However, an urgent inspection showed these fears to be apparently unjustified. But worries about the size of the bills to be paid were not.

The main expenditure in the early years was on the erection, furnishing and equipping of the church buildings, the running expenses and the repayment of substantial bank overdrafts. These had been necessary in order to fund the completion of the buildings when the £19,000 received from the RCB ran out. It was calculated that an annual income of at least £3,000 was needed to cover these outgoings.

It was hoped that weekly giving, much of it through a freewill offering envelope scheme which was started in 1960, plus one annual fund-raising event in the form of a Christmas Fair, would be all that was necessary. This turned out to be a grievous underestimation.

To their great credit the members of the various organisations themselves raised much of the money they needed to buy equipment and become established, through sales, concerts, fashion shows and coffee parties. But it was the early, and unexpected, maintenance bills which began to flood in that were the problem. By the end of 1964 the interest due on the bank loans was using 32% of the church's annual income with another 16% of income going on annual repayments of the loan. The annual income was just not enough. Something more had to be done to raise money.

In the mid 1960s, planned giving campaigns were being organised in many Church of Ireland parishes to help raise levels of giving, many of them run by the commercial Wells Organisation. While the idea of appealing to parishioners to increase giving appeared to be a good one, some of these commercial campaigns had proved to be expensive. It was therefore decided that the Select Vestry would organise its own campaign. Two modest 'Parish Suppers' were held for parishioners, preceded by a visitation by members of the Select Vestry and others. At the suppers parishioners were told of the state of the church's finances and an appeal made for greater giving. While the campaign did bear fruit, it was insufficient, and renewed efforts were made to raise money in other ways.

Parishioners were asked to make interest-free five year loans to the church, a wastepaper collection was organised, a flower festival was held (the proceeds of this being shared with Combat Cancer). Further appeals were made and parishioners were encouraged to covenant their donations. A regular Harvest appeal was introduced - usually for a specific objective, for example, the two major repairs to the hall wall. The takings at the Christmas Fair increased steadily - but so did inflation.

An investigation into the freewill offering scheme in 1968 showed that a number of parishioners voluntarily took envelopes but in fact did not contribute, while many other nominal members neither attended church nor subscribed - a state of affairs common to churches of many different denominations. A second, simpler, campaign to increase giving was held in 1969. A group of visitors canvassed the parish before the parish suppers when about 450 were entertained in the hall. Again income rose, and the Select Vestry began to feel more optimistic. A majority of them had been members of the Vestry for almost a decade and had worked hard and long for the benefit of the church. Nevertheless, the cost of maintenance of the flawed church buildings remained high. The first major rebuilding of the rear wall of the hall, for example, cost over £6,000 in 1979, and repair work to the flat roofs in 1981 brought another large demand. Contributions were made from the various organisations to help, but stringent economy remained the order of the day.

In 1984 further repair work on the back wall of the hall brought more big bills. Two more years on, and extensive work was required to bring the hall up to the new standards set by the Belfast Corporation, following a fire tragedy at Maysfield Leisure Centre, before an Entertainments Licence could be obtained. This was essential if admission charges were to be levied for events in the hall - a vital source of income for the parish. Heads were just above water financially in 1989-90 when not only did the flat roofs begin to give trouble again but a new boiler was required for the central heating system, another major outlay.

The response to the many appeals to the parishioners was good and by the time of the Easter General Vestry in 1990 the church was actually in credit to the bank and there was hope that it might be possible to afford a curate again. There had been a few before but only at prolonged intervals and it was nine years since the last one had left. Hope was rising too that it might soon be possible to contribute more from church funds to charitable causes. A number of these had been supported over the years, but nearly always as a result of special events held by organisations for the purpose. However, optimism was short-lived when, in December 1992, the Quinquennial inspection by the Diocesan Architect revealed serious and extensive structural defects across much of the back of the church, affecting vestry, organ loft, chapel and choir room. It took five years and more than £50,000 to remedy most, but not all, of these defects.

In spite of the problems, the novel church architecture and decor has aroused interest in some unexpected places. In December 1962, Lord Snowden, on an official visit to the nearby Ulster Hospital at Dundonald, took time off to pay a visit to St Molua's where, after a tour of inspection, he signed the visitor's book. In 1964 the RCB Artistic and Ecclesiological Committee named St Molua's as one of only a dozen churches in the Diocese of architectural interest. Thirty years later, the church was designated a Grade II Listed Building of Architectural Interest by the Northern Ireland Department of Environment.