Rutherglen Baptist set for celebration
Rutherglen Baptist Church are set for a special service this Sunday (October 25).
They will celebrate the 120th anniversary of the congregation, which first began in a kitchen in King Street in 1895.
This Sunday the morning service at the Greenhill Street church will start at 10.30am instead of 10.45am and will be followed by a soup and pudding lunch.
The guest speaker for the morning will be Fiona Stewart who used to work for the Reachout Trust in Rutherglen before setting up her own Theatre Company called Foolproof, based in Edinburgh.
Fiona will be helping the congregation think about “missional communities”, while the service will also touch upon the ongoing reflection that church members and the congregation have been involved in over the past 18 months.
The morning will see a report from the Trustees updating folks about the finances, a restructuring of leadership and about proposed developments for the church.
Church members are being encouraged to go along and share stories of how their faith has grown or how they have discovered a new understanding of the faithfulness of God over the past year.
Over the past 18 months, the congregation has been encouraged to pray and ponder over their purpose.
This has resulted in a re-affirmation of the message of Jesus to “Love God and love others” and in particular to continue to develop a presence that makes a difference in the community.
The Rev Ken Coulter said: “The 120 years has actually crept up on us a wee bit.
“We are one of the smallest congregations in the area but also one of the oldest, and over the last wee while we have been pondering a lot of things about the church.
“There was a feeling that perhaps we were going through the motions and what other purpose is there for the church?
“It’s required us to be honest with each other and discuss where God is leading us.
“We have seen the tremendous growth of the Ark out of school care and of the hall for other events, so what else can we look at in relation to those events?
“It’s been a time for reflection before seeing where God will take us forward for the next 120 years.”
Ken is also pleased to welcome Fiona to the church this Sunday.
He added: ““I knew Fiona back when she worked at the Reachout Trust and I was one of the Trustees there.
“I’ve continued to come across her in the years since then, and although she has been focusing on her theatre company she has been able to keep that connection to the congregation .”