Moves to close hundreds of church buildings have sparked outrage

Like scores of others across the country, the congregation has learned their church building, with its towering landmark steeple and precious Hemony brothers’ bell, is to be culled as part of one of the most devastating periods of change to sweep across Scotland’s kirks.

The news came a desperate effort to avoid the axe. Incredibly, despite pouring hours of effort into compiling their case against closure, the committee charged with deciding its fate is said to have given their appeal a mere three minutes of its time.

That, however, does not appear to be unusual.

For the process of deciding which church buildings are to be axed has been tainted by suggestions of a lack of clarity, a ruthless ‘scoring’ system that favours modern churches with newer facilities at the expense of the oldest, and with hopeless congregation left in floods of tears.

For those who face seeing much-loved churches where they married, saw children christened and loved ones’ funerals, there is also the tricky question of what might happen to often centuries old buildings, artefacts, stained glass and pipe organs.

Some have war memorials within their walls, unique carvings, and even burial chambers. And there is the issue of what might happen to the groups and community work which rely on church halls and congregations to keep going.

“It has knocked the stuffing out of everyone,” said one churchgoer who recently learned their church building is to be axed. 

“I would not be surprised if it leads to friction. It’s not a happy situation.”

With falling congregations, too few ministers, creaking old buildings and rising costs, the Church of Scotland has warned for years that changes were on the way.

However, the issue has come to roost now: with appeals having been heard – apparently at breakneck speed - some have been left aghast at how clinical the process has turned out.

One much-loved church building on the isle of Arran has already closed. The delightful Tin Church in Pirnmill, built from a kit in 1920, the small, light blue corrugated iron pitched roof church had remained virtually unaltered ever since, with its pine boards, timber pews and church bell in the yard.

The Tin Church’s poignant final service was packed to capacity, with worshippers telling of their sadness at its loss, and bravely recalling happier times.

There is similar emotions among congregations around Scotland which have been left bruised by a process that has raised and dashed hopes.

In Edinburgh, the issue has placed congregations at loggerheads with each other and placed the local Edinburgh and West Lothian Presbytery on collision course with church hierarchy.

The row, which centres on churches in the Corstorphine area, has delayed the entire process, with the Church at national level insisting on closures and “forthright and robust” discussions said to have been held.

While at doomed Cluny Church in Aberdeenshire, minister Rev Euan Glen urged worshipers to get in touch if they felt they were struggling to cope with the news.

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In a Facebook video, he told them: “The situation has been difficult for the last five or six months as we were initially told Cluny was to remain open.

“These are difficult and sad times because of the number of people who have no idea how this system works, no idea what was involved. One minute we were open and Monymusk was to close, and then for us to hear differently…”

He urged parishioners “might be venting, angry, frustrated, sad” or who “want to cry” to contact him.

At Kilbirnie Auld Kirk, Keith Murray, a former session clerk who organised a petition calling for it to be retained, recognises the emotions involved.

Kilbirnie, he points out, takes its name from Cill Bhraonaigh, or St. Brendan, who established a Christian site there in the 6th century. The Auld Kirk, earmarked for closure, is built on or near the site.

“We are talking about hundreds of years of some form of worship being here. You feel the history in the place, and this has knocked the stuffing out of everyone.

“I feel that in our eyes, the appeal was a fait accompli. The Church was quite straight in their correspondence, they actually said they are not a heritage organisation.

“I just feel let down by it,” he adds. “I felt that we were just ignored, it didn’t matter, it was ‘hey ho, it’s closing and that’s it’.”

The final worship will be “terrible”, he continues. 

“My two girls were baptised there, my grandchildren were baptised there. My father-in-law, who was session clerk up until his death, my mother-in-law and my mother’s funeral was there.

“My wife is involved in the Sunday school, the choir and as flower convener. It has a lot of meaning for us.

“People are resigned to it but a lot are  depressed about it.”

At St. Margaret’s, there is also a feeling of despair.

“There’s a great deal of hurt and disappointment, it’s a tremendous loss,” says session clerk Alastair Todd. “There has been worship on the site stretching back for 600 years.

“There’s an ageing congregation, falling numbers, rising costs - you can see where the argument comes from. But the elephant in the room is the Church of Scotland has a very large number of large stone buildings to dispose of and no clear how that will work.”

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The episode has also impacted on already falling church numbers: “It’s fair to say when the closure came up and there was talk about the future, we lost quite a lot of folk.

“We put up an argument, they call it a ‘request for review’.

“We had three minutes. Imagine trying to justify existence of the church in three minutes? That really grates.

“It has been a painful process and they way it has been done is very raw.”

Rev David Cameron, convener of the Assembly Trustees of the Church of Scotland, says events are "the most significant transformation since 1929."

He adds: "We have known for some time that action was needed but now we have the momentum to make the changes that are necessary.

“We recognise that the speed and pace of the change, particularly in relation to Mission Planning has been difficult, challenging and a painful experience for many.

“We understand fully the emotions that come with the situation our national Church finds itself in. These range from anger, guilt, sorrow and failure. 

"There will also be relief that the burden of trying to keep a place of worship open with few people and little if any contribution from other community sources has finally been lifted.  

“Closure of much-loved places of worship is a grief Church of Scotland ministers, elders, members and staff all bear.  

“However, we do believe radical reform is necessary if we are to address the challenges of falling minister numbers, a decline in membership and a reduction in income both nationally and locally.”

Closures have been closely scrutinised at presbytery and kirk session, he adds. 

“This is not a top-down approach but one that requires the whole Church to play its part and to carefully consider how in going through this process we can listen to people as we undertake these changes and endeavour to provide both practical and pastoral support along the way."