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Parish News Round-up

Thursday December 20 2018

Our regular round-up of news received from churches.

Please send items of parish news to magazine@lifeandwork.org or Life and Work, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN. Please check the quality of your pictures: images which are too small, blurry or too dark cannot be used. If there are children in any picture please confirm that their parents or guardians have given permission for publication.


A much-loved Fife church is to share in a £429,211 funding payout from the National Churches Trust. 

A £20,000 National Churches Trust Repair Grant will help fund a project to fix damp in the sandstone walls of Saline and Blairingone parish church and to replace rotten timbers and linings.

The church, a prominent feature in the West Fife village of Saline, was built in 1810 and designed by William Stark, an eminent architect described as a “genius” by Sir Walter Scott. Stark died aged just 43, so few of his buildings have survived.

Chronic dampness in the church’s walls is the result of a misguided application of cement render many years ago. Interior linings have also become damaged and timbers have rotted. An undetected roof leak led to serious rot in a roof truss. The slates, believed to have been second hand when major work was last done on the roof after World War Two, are badly in need of renewal.

The project will replace the render with a coating that will allow the walls to breathe. It will also remove a redundant chimney that has let water seep through, repair the failed truss, and generally refurbish the roof.

Once the restoration work is complete, there are plans to create a museum display and to produce a booklet and leaflet telling the story of the church’s heritage.

Ann Easton, Session Clerk, said: “Our building is the only place of worship in an extensive rural parish, a valued amenity for the community, and a significant feature of the local heritage. The award of the National Churches Trust grant is a substantial help and encouragement towards realising our vision for sustaining the building and our mission into the future.”


Over 400 people attended Pitlochry Parish Church’s Christmas Tree Festival on December 1 and 2. The was the sixth Christmas Tree Festival, but a new feature was a free community lunch on the Sunday. A Carol Concert was held on the Sunday evening, accompanied by Perthshire Brass and local musicians. £1440 was raised, to be split between Help for Heroes and Penumbra – Edinburgh Crisis Centre.

The picture shows one of the exhibits - 'We Wish You a Welly Christmas'.


A special charity concert celebrating the sounds and music of the season of Epiphany will take place at the Abbey Church of Dunfermline on Saturday January 5.

Featuring opera singer Frances McCafferty and music from Ian Boulter, organist and Master of Music at the Church of the Holy Rude in Stirling, ‘The Road to Bethlemen’ promises to provide a programme of seasonal songs and recitations to celebrate the Church season which celebrates the visit of the Magi to the newborn King. The concert follows the success of a similar celebration in January 2018.

Tickets costing £10 (including refreshments) are available from Sew Yarn Crafty in High Street Dunfermline, or on the door at the concert at 4pm on January 5.

All proceeds from the concert will go to the Abbey Restoration Fund.


For a few years Old and St Andrew’s Church Montrose has published an Advent Calendar online on its website. To help those who cannot go online it was decided to produce a large ‘hard copy’ Advent Calendar and to display it in the Church. This has been very successful and the church hopes to continue doing both versions in future.


At a recent service, long service certificates were presented to three members of the Guild at Maxwelltown West Church, Dumfries: Mairi Savage (34 years), Mary McLeod (37) and Olive Woods (35).


On Sunday December 9 six new elders were ordained in Whitburn South Parish Church by the Rev Dr Angus Kerr.

Pictured left to right: Jim Brown (Session Clerk), May Hart, Karen Kane, Joyce McAlpine, Syd McAlpine and Dr Kerr. Back: George Hamilton and Graham Westwood.


The minister of St Maur’s Glencairn Parish Church, Kilmaurs, the Rev John A Urquhart, celebrated the silver anniversary of his ordination to the church on November 29.


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Comments

Jean Caldwell - Thursday, December 20th, 2018

“Lovely photo congratulations to all the Uquharts Jean Caldwell”


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