Youth Column: An Amazing and Supportive Community

Monday October 11 2021

Scott Derrick explains why he came back to Church and highlights some of his church's work on mental health support.

Hi. My name is Scott, I’m 27 and I’m a member of New Parish Church in Port Glasgow.

From a young age, I have been involved in the church having been baptised in the town’s Hamilton Bardrainney Church and attending with my family throughout my youth.

After a period of time away from the church, upon welcoming my son Sandy into the world with my partner I felt really strongly that he should be brought up with faith and amongst the amazing and supportive community that the church, and in particular our church, provides.

One thing that struck me about our church is the enthusiasm and focus placed by our minister, the Rev William Boyle to incorporate young people into the work of the church within the town and on a Sunday morning.

On the morning of Sandy’s Baptism, the kids who were at church spent the service making welcome cards that they passed to him at the end of the service. It may sound trivial, but it was something that will stick in my mind for a long time and was an amazingly kind gesture from the kids to our son.

My partner and I are also currently in the process of organising our wedding, which I’m sure will be an amazing day.

Since becoming a member with New Parish Church I have found myself involved a few different projects, primarily “The Lighthouse Group” - which is a mental health support group that I was involved in setting up, offering a range of support services to the people of Port Glasgow and Inverclyde across a wide spectrum of different issues. 

To date, we have seen impressive growth in the engagement of people with the group and the services which we offer.

Currently we offer a weekly call (after Covid we hope to make this a meeting) and a fortnightly “Walk 'n' Talk” group.

To further that work, in conjunction with local professional football team Greenock Morton we have plans in place to start a Walking Football group aimed at reducing social isolation and getting people active who may not have been for a while.

This work, to my mind is incredibly valuable, and in the times we live we in the more support that is available to those who need it, the better. 

In the future, I hope to continue the work that we’ve started and if we can positively affect even one person it will have been worth it.