Roddy’s always reaching out
New church’s reputation is growing
For most of his life he worked as a builder and safety consultant in the construction industry before becoming a pastor.
He did a lot of work during the renovation period of the church, working for up to 18 hours a day.
“My wife and I started the church in August 2000 and originally met in the Ballgreen Hall.
“We grew the church up from nothing.
“That went on until about 2012. Then the Church of Scotland came to us and asked if we would be interested in taking this property on. We felt we could do something with it.
“After months of negotiating we secured our lease and got the keys at the end of 2012.
“We renovated the whole building from end to end and started meeting here as a church in 2013.
“It was always planned to have a community coffee house – and from then it has gone from strength to strength.
“I wanted people to help out and if somebody can donate an hour of their time I wanted them to come in and see me working.”
Roddy is determined to keep the modern look at the church and pushing forward.
He feels that they have managed to strike a good balance between young adults and elderly visitors – coming up with various community projects.
He continued: “It’s not everybody’s cup of tea – but not everything is. I’ve always had a desire to find a way to culturally connect the church.
“It’s exciting to get young people in. They connect in a different way.
“We are constantly looking forward to the future. We want to enhance the community and not be seen to be competing.”
He adds with a smile: “Watch this space.”