Returning to church was a special occasion that brought our community together again

Fo r t h e f i r s t t i me i n s i x months, East Kilbride Old Pa r i s h C h u r c h wa s o p e n last Sunday for a service of worship.

While the government guidelines have permitted a return to public worship for a few weeks now, we had taken the decision not to rush to open our buildings.

Obviously there are a lot of restrictions and procedures which need to be followed to enable this to happen, and we wanted to take time to get it right for our folks.

So l ast Sunday was a t r i al, just t o s e e how t hi ngs went, a nd we will again take time to evaluate the experience and see what we can learn from it, before we make the decision to open fully.

We are extremely f or t unate as a church to have expertise in our midst, and also fortunate to have the financial means to undertake work in the church and the procurement of new technology.

So last Sunday 48 people gathered in the church for worship. As our vestibule is narrow, we had to erect a gazebo outside for people to have names and contacts checked off and sanitiser used. They then entered the church where someone showed them to a particular seat, as most of the seats are not to be used.

Facemasks were worn at all times, and by the power of technology, our folks who were not in the church could watch it live at home.

Was i t what we were used t o? Definitely not, seeing only a small c o ngre gat i o n s pre a d a c ro s s t he church, and wearing masks.

Definitely not when it came to the hymn singing and the folks in church could only listen to the hymns, while the folks watching at home could sing to their heart’s content. And definitely not, when we dismissed the folks and encouraged them not to linger chatting to each other, but to go straight back home.

Yet, there were a lot of comforting and familiar things which warmed the soul.

Being back in our beautiful church building with its stained glass windows which at times the sun did manage to shine through was a great feeling.

Hearing the music of the organ playing was uplifting in itself.

Overall, being back in church was a good feeling.

If someone had said to the early Christians, “Are you going to church on Sunday?” they would have had no idea what they were talking about.

The early Christians met in each other’s homes and in essence did what we now do in church buildings.

Ho w e v e r d o w n t h r o u g h t h e centuries beautiful churches and cathedrals have been built including our ver y own East Kilbride Old in 1774.

When it was built, no one would have imagined a pandemic closing the church for worship, but t here have doubtless been other challenges faced and overcome.

This has been our challenge and I hope and pray in years to come, that future generations of worshippers in the Old Parish, will look back through the history books and discover how, wit h God’s help, we ros e t o t hat challenge.