printed 19 February 2024
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An East Dunbartonshire church held a particular breakfast and anniversary service to mark 375 years as a parish.
A whole lot of individuals attended New Kilpatrick Parish Church in Bearsden to rejoice the milestone yesterday, together with the moderator of the Normal Meeting.
Rt Rev Sally Foster-Fulton preached a sermon and offered lengthy service certificates to veterans who’ve devoted a long time of their lives to spreading the excellent news of Jesus Christ.
The native church’s motto is “open coronary heart, open thoughts, open religion” and he described the occasion as inspiring and uplifting.
Rev Roddy Hamilton, minister of New Kilpatrick Parish Church, has revealed that New Kilpatrick grew to become a parish church per week after the beheading of Charles I in 1649 however joked that the 2 occasions usually are not considered linked.
It was underneath an Act of the Scottish Parliament that the parish of Kilpatrick was divided into Wester or Outdated Kilpatrick and Easter or New Kilpatrick.
Mr Hamilton defined: “This 12 months marks the 375th anniversary of our being a parish, an anniversary that’s essential to us as a result of a parish means caring for neighbours, being a part of the material of our neighborhood and giving of ourselves for that neighbour.
“There was a church presence right here in Bearsden because the monks dammed the River Clyde 50 years after the founding of Paisley Abbey.
“The area stretches from Milnegavie to Outdated Kilpatrick and Bowling, and from the River Clyde to Stirlingshire.
“Nevertheless it’s not about how outdated we’re, or how lengthy we have lived, however the feeling of caring for one another that we rejoice.
“Having been right here so lengthy now we have many daughter and sister church buildings and plenty of of them had been represented on the anniversary service the place the moderator preached and offered some lengthy service certificates to Ian Successful, Ian Stark and Elaine Thomson.
“Representatives from companies and faculties and neighborhood organizations additionally took half.
“You will need to us as a neighborhood as a result of it’s in partnership with all who reside and work within the parish, of all faiths and none, that collectively we are able to look after and assist one another.”
Neighborhood goals
The moderator mentioned it was “fantastic” to see such a broad cross-section of neighborhood representatives and international and interfaith companions on the occasion.
“The sanctuary was full and at breakfast, folks had been lined up out the door at 9am,” he added.
“Numerous thought was put into the service, the youngsters had been concerned and it was not only a celebration for the congregation, however for the function they play in the neighborhood.
“There was an actual sense of neighborhood function and I got here away buzzing, it was nice.
“I discovered a congregation not simply good-hearted however deliberately on the lookout for imaginative methods to be a part of the neighborhood—to convey folks into the area and to work past it.”
