Parish Profile. Bo ness Old Kirk

Transcription

1 Parish Profile Bo ness Old Kirk

2 Our Christian faith is celebrated, shared and lived out in a relevant and meaningful way through worship, prayer, friendship, care and action. We will provide: Prayerful and practical support. A desire to work with the minister to advance Christ s Kingdom. A friendly, welcoming and supportive congregation. A good financial base. Congregational Profile: Registered Members: 424 Regular Worshippers: Kirk Session: 26 Congregational Board: 18 We seek a minister who will: Share the love of Jesus by worship faith and fellowship with a rapport for all ages particularly young people. Be inspirational in leading worship and in preaching from the bible to help us understand it s relevance in today s world. Be motivational in their preaching and in leading worship and a good communicator preferably with a sense of humour! Have pastoral gifts with a desire to reach out to others in our Parish who do not yet know Christ. Help us to develop our gifts so that we can work for Christ. Develop our prayer life and help us to deepen our faith and grow spiritually. Be open-minded and inclusive in developing the involvement of the congregation and working with us to help us explore new ways of engaging with and serving our parish. This unrestricted charge is an exciting opportunity for someone with vision, energy and a sense of humour. We look forward to working with our minister in responding to the many challenges and opportunities for the future.

3 Christian fellowship is at the heart of the Old Kirk. Our Building The Old Kirk has stood on its present site overlooking the Forth for over a century, but our history goes as far back as the 17th century and our original home can still be found in the beautiful grounds of nearby Kinneil House. Major refurbishment during the 1990s added to our accommodation whilst retaining the many elegant features of our sanctuary including magnificent stained glass windows. The church can seat 950 people and we have excellent facilities for meetings and functions consisting of a small chapel, hall, meeting rooms, vestry, office and modern kitchen. Community events held at the Old Kirk include: Bo ness Academy concerts Unison Kinneil Band concerts Remembrance Day commemorations Bo ness Children s Fair events We have a minibus which we use to provide transport to and from services. It is also used for church outings, guild meetings and to support other organisations in the town. Worship Our worship is fairly traditional but over recent years we have embraced more modern styles. The main service of worship takes place on a Sunday at 10:45am with an average attendance of around 100. The format is one hour in length with a mix of hymns ancient and modern plus readings (we use the NIV Bible). Music is provided by an Allen Organ and Clavinova and the singing is led by a talented and experienced organist and the Choir. Our Children and young adults are usually present for the first part of the service before going to our youth groups: KidZone, teenzone and Creche. There is a rota of readers from the congregation. There is also a Sunday evening service and an informal half hour service on a Thursday morning which is led on alternate weeks with the Minister and by a team from the congregation. A half hour service is also held on the last Sunday of the month at Dean Court a sheltered housing complex within the Parish with whom we have close links. Communion is celebrated 4 times a year as part of our worship services including at Dean Court. We make full use of our fully integrated multimedia systems in the church and hall through Mediashout presentation software. This is used to provide recordings of services and events for those unable to attend worship. Refreshments are served after the morning service to encourage fellowship with one another.

4 We are committed to improving our youth ministry and growing our church. Children and young adults Every Sunday there is a Crèche facility for babies and toddlers along with KidZone, our children s programme, which is divided into 3 groups: minizone: Age 3 - Primary school age megazone: Primary 1-3 megazone: Primary 4-7 TeenZone is for secondary school age young people. teenzone members run our Puppet Ministry which is always welcomed by our congregation at our Family services and gives a new and fresh way to teach the love of Christ to all. KidZone and TeenZone lead and take part in our Family services held at Easter, Prize Giving and Christmas services. KidZone events: The KidZone team also hold special events throughout the year. Messy Day and the popular KidZone at the Movies are held on regular Saturdays across the year and gives another opportunity for KidZone members to invite friends and to learn about the love of Jesus in a fun and refreshing way. Our challenges: Allowing children and young adults to use their gifts to serve God. Encouraging children to read the bible and pray. Bridging the gap between TeenZone and full adult membership. Holiday Club Holiday Clubs are an important part of our youth outreach program. We have held a week long holiday club in July for a number of years with up to 110 children attending (aged 5-12). The Club is run by a team of church members who organise; pray; bake; administer, lead groups, craft or games & demonstrate the Gospel to the children in all the activities and their conduct. We have used SU materials such as Space Academy, Landlubbers & Rocky s Place. Following the Holiday Club we invite all attendees & their families to a Holiday Club Sunday Worship service. Many Children attend faithfully year after year even if not associated with the church. We would like to develop these links to encourage families and young people to attend church regularly and to become involved in the life of our congregation. We also host a Scripture Union Christmas Holiday Club Bubblegum N Fluff where P6 pupils from two of the local primary schools attend with their teachers for a half day session. This is led by Scripture Union Staff assisted by volunteers from our congregation.

5 Outreach is an important part of our ministry and we wish to extend this further. Men of Faith This group was set up to encourage men within Bo ness to come together in faith and fellowship with the added bonus of a light breakfast. Recently with the relocation of the minister steps were taken to continue these meetings and a joint membership was set up to form a running group. To date we attract some thirty members from various congregations including outside the town. These meetings take place on the first Saturday of the month and consist of breakfast followed by prayer and hymn then a guest gives an informal talk to the men closing with another hymn and prayer. At Christmas we arrange to sing carols in the town centre adjacent to the local Vine Trust bookshop. Good Morning Ladies Similar in format to Men of Faith, our ladies group meet once a month on a Saturday morning for a short talk, praise, fellowship and a light breakfast. This is led by volunteers from within the congregation and last for approximately an hour with a fully faith based focus. Outreach is an important part of our ministry and we wish to extend this further. We regularly hold Christianity Explored courses and have also held a Discipleship Explored course previously. Various members of our congregation have advanced to church membership after partaking in these. The Guild We actively support various Christian Charities: Christian Aid, Blythswood Care Shoebox Appeal, Scottish Bible Society, the Vine Trust and Ekwendeni Hospital in Malawi. The Guild meets every 2 weeks on a Wednesday afternoon and have occasional outings. Minibus transport is provided. Heart to Heart Specifically aimed at women, two house groups meet weekly for bible study and fellowship. They also hold occasional social evenings. Prayer Group We also have a Prayer Group which meets regularly in members' houses. Other organisations make use of our building including a long running Mother and Toddlers group and Alcoholics Anonymous. The Old Kirk is also a popular venue for musical performances. Our challenge is to grow our congregation and active church membership.

6 We are proud of our beautiful and historic property. Both the Old Kirk and Manse are well maintained. Manse The Manse has a commanding view over the River Forth. It is a traditional stone built detached villa only a few minutes walk from the church. The ground floor comprises of 4 public rooms, kitchen and toilet with 4 bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. The house has full double glazing, gas central heating and we have a rolling maintenance and decoration program (the bathroom is about to be fully refitted). There is a detached garage, driveway and enclosed garden at the rear. We have strong links with the 2 other Church of Scotland congregations and other denominations located in Bo ness. A Ministers Fraternal, consisting of Ministers within Bo ness, meets regularly. Bo ness Churches Together holds joint worship services and events throughout the year. During Holy Week joint services are held in the various churches in the town including the Old Kirk. Find out more about Bo ness: bo-ness.org.uk bonesscc.org.uk thefairday.com kinneil.wordpress.com bkrailway.co.uk Bo ness Bo ness is a small town on the southern shore of the River Forth, about 18 miles west of Edinburgh. There are good all round motorway links, a railway station in nearby Linlithgow plus leisure, sporting and shopping facilities. The town has a number of nurseries, 5 Primary Schools and a Secondary School. The church provides chaplaincy for Kinneil and Deanburn Primary Schools. There is a strong sense of community and we are very proud of our heritage and community events, particularly the Bo ness Children s Fair Festival. Bo ness and Kinneil Steam railway is a popular attraction in the town and the Bo ness Hill Climb Revival sees large crowds visit nearby Kinneil House in early September. Nowadays Bo ness is primarily a commuter town making use of its central location and good transport links but has a strong community heart and welcoming spirit. There are two other Church of Scotland congregations in the town and other denominations are also well represented. Bo ness has a strong sense of community and the Old Kirk plays an important role in the life of our town.

7 Contact Information Interim Moderator Rev Murdo Campbell, Nominating Committee Clerk Eric Gilfillan bokonline.org.uk Registered Scottish Charity, No: SC008191