It is thirty years since protests marked the debates in the House of Keys on what became the Termination of Pregnancy (Medical Defences) Act 1995. This effectively legalised the principle that a baby in the mother's womb could be killed by a medical professional. It was a dark time for the Isle of Man. Pictured is Leslie Kaighin (centre) of Grace Baptist Church Peel standing together with others against this move. Our protest and witness for truth was led by Pastor Matthew Else. We still stand against abortion today. Sadly, in 2019 the Isle of Man brought in one of the worst abortion laws in the world. Since then hundreds of babies have died under its terms.
Our founding Pastor was Matthew Else, who was called to serve the Lord in the Isle of Man in 1969. He was the founding Pastor of Grace Baptist Church Onchan (now commonly known as Onchan Baptist Church). The Onchan Church were involved with outreach work in Peel which led to the establishment of Grace Baptist Church Peel in 1974 with Matthew set apart as the founding Pastor. He ministered faithfully until the time of his sudden death in 2008. Many of his messages were recorded on cassette tape, and some have been uploaded to the website. Podcast RSS Feed
Our current Pastor is Glenn Walters. Glenn worked as a teacher before becoming a city missionary with London City Mission. In 2010 he accepted the call to the full-time pastorate at Grace Baptist Church Peel. He has served the Lord in Peel since 2010. Podcast Rss Feed
The other preachers from the church are:
Leslie (Les) Kaighin, is the longest church member. He who was brought up in a Christian home and remembers visiting the church in Peel on occasion, both when it was in what is now the Philip Christian Centre and in the present building. He recalls when the Salvation Army text was still on the wall. In 1981 he attended a series of outreach meetings held by the church in Peel, when he was challenged over his need for repentance and faith and to profess that faith. He can not remember when he first sermon preached at Peel. Leslie benefited from classes held for preachers by the church. For some years in the 1990s, he was responsible for Bible Class. His activity over many years has been limited by health problems. In July 2024 he was diagnosed with Bowel Cancer after various scans and stoma surgery followed. On 24th October, he began Chemotherapy. In early 2025, surgery successfully removed the tumour and was followed by more chemotherapy. He is now in remission and (September 2025) slowly taking up preaching once more. Podcast rss feed
Stephen Else, presently responsible for Bible Class, is a long standing member of the church. Podcast Rss Feed
Andy Feather is the most recent preacher to join the Church. Andy has a keen interest in home schooling. He works with Griah Ministries, supporting people in need in the Isle of Man. Podcast Rss Feed
In the 1980's March was often Gospel Mission time at Grace Baptist Church Peel. A week of gospel preaching, with Matthew Else proclaiming the saving grace of Jesus Christ, often saw the building full as the newspaper article from the "Manx Star" of 12th March 1982 reported. The notable comment from the journalist is perhaps the phase, "One either loves or hates his particular message, but there can be no half measures." This must always be the reaction when the gospel of Jesus Christ is faithfully preached, to some it is the power of God unto salvation, but to others it is foolishness.
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A letter to the editor written by Matthew Else and published in the "Isle of Man Courier" 8th October 1982 .
SIR — This letter is written in response to the one which appeared in last week's Courier, advocating the use of pure water for baptism by immersion. I find it interesting to note that your correspondent appealed to the old Hebrew Scrolls for what is essentially a New Testament ordinance. The New Testament, which was originally written in Greek, neither states nor even suggests that the correct title for baptism is "purification of the soul". Furthermore the idea of a devout and holy person praying over the water prior to the ceremony is also foreign to the Word of God.
Lavrengo's dogmatic assertion that baptism by immersion "must take place in pure river water" is another thing which is completely unfounded. Indeed it is open to question whether any New Testament baptism took place in water which was absolutely pure. The river Jordan in which Christ Himself was baptised, is a very muddy river. But did the mud prevent the Lord Jesus from fulfilling all righteousness? Indeed not. Neither did the chemicals in the Peel Pool invalidate the baptism of the two candidates pictured in a recent Courier.
These two friends did not enter the swimming pool for the purpose of being purified and cleansed. As believers they had already been cleansed by the precious blood of Christ. Their baptism was a step of obedience and was simply an outward expression of an inward experience. In view of this the content of the water is an irrelevance.
MATTHEW F. ELSE (Minister) Grace Baptist Church Peel.
The Evangelical Times carried a report of a debate in the newspapers about the ecumenical movement. The debate was sparked by Methodist ministers and Roman Catholic priests preaching in each others churches for the first time in the isle of Man. Pastor Matthew Else took part with vigour, earnestly contending for the faith and affirming that 'apart from the new birth there can be no Christian unity'. David Boadle, minister of Onchan Baptist Church , wrote 'to agree that tolerance and love are vital', but also to 'take issue with the assertion that there are no doctrinal differences that prevent fellowship..... To deny certain essential doctrines is to deny the very essence of God's way of salvation. 'For example, the Scriptures affirm both the full deity and the perfect humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ .... Sadly, many professing Christians deny either or both truths, yet this is no bar to ecumenical fellowship .... 'Many deny that the death of Jesus was an atonement for sin, or that he really rose from the dead. This does not exclude them from the ranks of the ecumenical movement. 'Love is vital but truth no less so. There comes a point at which divergence becomes falsehood.'
Not sure of the date of the article, but references in it indicate the 1970s.
Click on the image for a larger view.
The extension provided a new hall of similar size to the existing hall, built on what had been a largely unused yard. The kitchen was renewed, involving more work than expected, but it was a blessing to find the weak out side wall before it did any damage. The opportunity was also taken to upgrade the toilet facilities to provide access for people with disabilities. The project was ambitious, but by the grace of God it all happened much much quicker than we had dared to hope. Many individuals and churches from around the UK helped us in this.
Some pictures of the back of the building before the extension was built and from the thanksgiving service
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Our building has a long history and is consquently old. In the late 1990s major renovation works were undertaken including the roof, and the outside was smartened up too.
The Building on 1st January 1993 showing its sad appearence. Click on the image to enlarge.
Our building in 2012
and in May 2014
This article was published in the Peel City Guardian March 1st 1997.
Praise the Lord, we have once more been blessed with a harvest of food to eat. On the Lord's Day, 3rd November 2013, our annual harvest thanksgiving services took place.
At The morning meeting Pastor Glenn Walters preached on "The Lord of the Harvest" from Matthew 9:35-38. In the providence of God the message failed to record, so here are a few notes from a listener.
Have you ever seen something that others don't see? Perhaps a picture hidden in a mosaic of colours and shapes? Some can see it whilst others can not. However, at other times it is selective vision. You choose to see or not to see. Usually it is sin that causes us to do this. I can remember a group of lepers sitting by the road side. I choose not to see them and walked past as if they were not their. I choose not to see them, and know that was wrong. We must learn from this type of experience. Closely related to this is choosing who to be friendly with, or even who you talk to. In our passage what we have is the Lord Jesus Christ seeing the multitude, and having compassion on them.
September 2010 marked a major step for our Church and for Glenn Walters, together with his family, for he moved from London to take up the Pastorate.
William Randall brought the charge to the Pastor (audio here) and Phil Lo Bao, from Grace Baptist Church Port Erin, the charge to the church (audio here).
In the summer of 2011 Pastor Walters was interviewed (link here) on Energy FM radio about the London Riots.
Our present site and building have long histories, but as a school rather than as a church. In 1765 a Mathematical school was opened for instruction in mathematics and navigation. By 1836 the school had declined and the building was in a very poor state so the school was closed. Work started in 1844 on a new building and a house for the school master. This was finished in time for the school to reopen in 1848. It closed as a school for the final time in 1892 but the St. Germans Young Mens continued to use it until the early 1950's. Peel Football Club was founded in the building in 1888 and to mark the centenary a commemorative plaque was unveiled after a special service.
In July 1973 Grace Baptist Church Onchan, held a gospel mission in Peel. Much work was undertaken in visitation and the meetings were greatly blessed of the Lord. Regular meetings were started, and in January 1974, the Church was constituted. With the blessing of the members at Onchan, Matthew Else, their minister, took up the Pastorate in Peel. In the early years, meetings were held in the Christian Street Hall (now the Philip Christian Centre), which meant a lot of moving of chairs. In the 1980s meetings moved to the old school building in Market Street, which had for a time been used by the Salvation Army.
Matthew Else was the first Pastor of Grace Baptist Church Peel. He was suddenly called to glory in 2008. "Reformation Today" carried a memorial article, which is now on "The Banner of Truth" website.
The photograph shows Matthew preaching the gospel from the pool during a baptismal service in September 1982.
Some of his sermons have been transferred from tape to mp3 and uploaded, view sermons here. This is a work in progress, it is hoped to add more on a regular basis as the Lord enables. The tapes are not being digitised in any particular order, but as they come to hand. This has the advantage of making a sample of different series available. The recordings cover the time from mid 1984 up to May 2008 and are for the Lord's Day ministry. As a general rule the Bible Study meetings were not recorded.
Subscribe to MP3 podcast (listed in date Preached)
Matthew Else was the minister of Peel Grace Baptist Church from the church's founding in 1975 until his home call in May 2008. His Lord's Day ministry of the word was usually recorded from about 1984 onward. These messages are listed in the order they have been transferred from cassette tape to the computer.
A report by Grace Baptist Church Peel
The first step towards legalising euthanasia in the Isle of Man took place on Tuesday May 14th 2003, when two politicians from the south of the Island sought leave to introduce a Bill to the House of Keys. MHKs [Members of the House of Keys] John Rimington and Quintin Gill were behind the move, which was prompted by the condition of one of their constituents, Mr Patrick Kneen, who was a cancer sufferer.
Following the discussion, an amendment from Alex Downey MHK granting leave to introduce a Bill on Euthanasia was passed by 15 votes to 7. However, before the introduction of the Bill, a Select Committee has been set up to thoroughly investigate the issue. After reading and hearing evidence from concerned members of the Manx public (and presumably also from interested friends off the Island), the Committee Members will present their findings to the House of Keys.
The Christian response to euthanasia is to unequivocally oppose it. To put it bluntly, euthanasia is killing. In legal terms, it is ‘the intentional killing of a patient as part of his or her medical treatment.’ Although it is referred to as ‘mercy killing’, the end result of euthanasia is the deliberate ending of a person’s life. To quote a recent Briefing Paper produced by CARE, “The key factor is the intention behind the act. Euthanasia occurs when a doctor, friend, or relative intentionally ends a person’s life, to ‘put them out of their misery’, i.e. kill them.”