Kilsyth Methodists’ new church opened

Kilsyth01The new Methodist church in Kilsyth was dedicated on 13th March 2016 at a service led by the Chairman of the Scottish District Rev. Dr David Easton.

The first Methodist Church in  Kilsyth was opened in 1840. It was replaced by a larger structure in 1885, but this was followed by a period of decline.

In the 1990’s it became clear that the church building did not meet modern requirements for mission and the burden of repairs was sapping finances and inhibiting our true calling. It was with a heavy heart and many memories that the membership of 69 decided to relinquish the building in 2007 and to meet in rented accommodation from which our mission was able to continue through social contacts, bible study and prayer meetings although with some restrictions.

From this time there arose a vision of a new church not just as a building but as commitment to God’s purpose. A search for finances to enable this vision to materialise was begun. For some time before this decision the church in Kilsyth was the only member of the original circuit, so it became expedient to join the Glasgow Circuit which subsequently morphed into the Strathclyde Circuit. Under the Superintendent, Alan Anderson the Circuit committed a substantial amount of money to a new church and this was followed by District support but this still left a substantial amount of money to be raised. Coffee mornings, requests to members and past members, as well as in more recent times the “buy a brick” campaign brought in substantial funds.

There were times when we were down hearted, especially when the Landfill Company Biffa turned down our grant application, but our faith that God’s purpose was for a new church to be built in Kilsyth carried us through. Dr Higgs of the Rank Trust visited us and was an inspiration for us to continue. Through him the Trust made a substantial contribution and he highlighted other sources of revenue. Finally the Connexion made a very generous contribution to our funds. It was during the latter part of our fund raising that momentum was created and we received substantial personal contributions to our funding. We were now in a position to invite a local builder to begin to construct our new multifunctional church which was completed on 22nd December 2015 on the same site as the original church and like that, it has no vestry or porch or pews and moreover it is in the same Circuit as the Airdrie churches who are now part of the Strathclyde Circuit – there seems to be nothing and everything new in God’s purpose.

This is only the beginning of our mission to support the Community in Kilsyth and elsewhere, but we know that with prayer and God’s blessing we will succeed.

Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.