About us
From
the minister of Gorgie Parish Church - Peter Barber
Following Jesus, for me, has been stepping into a great adventure. I have
learned more and more, how much God loves us and values us, because He has
shown it in the birth, death and rising of Jesus. I have also found that
God has plans for each of us, which are there to discover if we will respond
to His call, 'Follow me'. I would encourage everyone to step into the future
with Jesus, 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans
to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'
(Jeremiah 29:11) I became a Christian in 1973, when, during a time of personal
uncertainty and confusion, I heard the message that Jesus is 'the way, the
truth and the life'. I responded to the invitation to receive Jesus into
my life by faith, and since then have known, through many mistakes and difficulties
as well as through joys and blessings, the presence of Jesus leading me
through life. I felt called to become a MInister, and having been accepted
by the Church of Scotland, I served as a Minister in Glasgow for ten years,
before coming to Gorgie in 1995.
Vision for Gorgie Church
Gorgie Church is at the heart of the community of Gorgie. Our vision is to
be a spiritual heart for the people of Gorgie. We believe
we received a word from God about what our focus ought to be as a Church,
and we are looking at ways of putting it into practice. After waiting
on God for some time, the leaders in the Church were given 1 Peter 4:7-9
as a guideline for our future work: 'The end of all things is near. Therefore
be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love
each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins…
Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully
administering God's grace in its various forms' Our priorities, therefore,
are to become a PRAYING, LOVING and SERVING fellowship of God'
Our History
The church can be traced back to 1896, when students began mission work
in the Gorgie area. The church at its present location opened in 1902
and was called Cairns Memorial after Principal John Cairns, D.D. Cairns Memorial
was a United Presbyterian church before the United Presbyterians joined the
Church of Scotland in 1929. Tynecastle Church was older than
Cairns Memorial Church. In 1885 the Reverend George Wilson started mission
work in Tynecastle. The church started in a small room off Gorgie Road and
Tynecastle Church was opened in May 1891. In time, the congregation doubled
its size and a new church was built at a site in Gorgie Road. The official
opening of this building was in November 1901. The church, as well as Cairns
Memorial Church served the Parish in Gorgie until 1979. In 1979, Cairns
Memorial and Tynecastle Churches were united and Gorgie Parish Church came
into being. The decision was made to use the building at 190 Gorgie Road.
The Church Building
The church of course is made up of people and not just a building. However,
we cannot ignore the changing times and realise that since the church was
originally built in 1902, we need to look to the needs of the church as
we enter into a new century and even a new millennium. The church building
should be able to house all the many activities which take place, enabling
us to be an effective witness to the life of Jesus Christ in our service
to each other and the wider community. We have just completed a modernisation
project to improve current facilities so that we are in a better position
to meet these needs.
How do we work?
Like many congregations, Gorgie Parish Church has a "Model Constitution",
which means our spiritual life is led by the Minister and Kirk Session while
temporal matters are dealt with by the Congregational Board.
The Session meets most months throughout the year and is made up of Ordained Elders with the Minister as Convenor. The Board also meets regularly and is larger than the Session since several members of the congregation in addition to all the Elders serve on the Board. The Annual General meeting, to which all members of the congregation are invited, is held in March.