Greyfriars, Kirkcudbright with St Mary’s, Gatehouse of Fleet

Congregational Profile

Greyfriars, Kirkcudbright with St. Mary’s

Gatehouse of Fleet

Diocese: Glasgow and Galloway

Website: http://www.greyfriarsstmarys.org.uk

Our vision is:-

To be a more evident presence in our community, witnessing to God’s love for all through

worship and prayer; listening and serving; acceptance and welcome; to be a people who are

growing towards a closer relationship with God, and each other.

Tucked away on the very southern edge of the country, Kirkcudbright and Gatehouse of

Fleet are at the heart of Galloway, Scotland's hidden gem. Although very much set in the

countryside, we are easy to find, and have all the things you could want.

We are a community of ordinary people drawn together by the love of God in Jesus Christ

and seeking to serve him in one another.

We are looking for a Rector who will uphold our worshipping tradition and help and support

us in our efforts to further God’s work in our communities.

Who Are We?

We are two ecumenically minded congregations amongst a number of others; Church of Scotland, Roman Catholic Church and the Community Church in Gatehouse. Kirkcudbright has a population of approximately 4000 and Gatehouse around 1000: and we are located about seven miles apart in an area of outstanding natural beauty in Dumfries and Galloway on the northern coast of the Solway Firth. The area enjoys a long and rich history of social, religious and cultural change. Today both towns have an eclectic cultural mix of art, literature, music and sporting activities. Their economies are largely based on fishing, agriculture, forestry, tourism and related industries. Both towns contain strong local communities and a not insignificant number of retirees from south of the border.

The Rector We Would Like to Have

Confident and Visible We are looking for a Rector who is secure and confident in his / her spiritual and personal life. Someone who enjoys meeting people; has the ability and concern to nurture and be visible in the community. The Rector should live in the house provided at 18 Castledykes Road, Kirkcudbright. Strengthen Relationships We need someone who will help us strengthen and maintain our good relationships with local schools, homes for the elderly, the councils and organisations in Kirkcudbright and Gatehouse of Fleet. Engage and Grow There is Lay participation in the services and in pastoral care, but we would like him / her to encourage and help us to engage in new things that will assist us to grow as a family church. Teach and Guide A person who is willing to teach and improve the understanding of the word of God and to advise and support Bible study and discussion groups. Care and Concern Our congregations appreciate visits and sympathetic support from their clergy. We should like our Rector to make this a priority. Leadership and Working with others We are seeking someone with leadership and organisational skills, which may have been gained outside the priesthood, who will promote the work of the churches with all ages in the community. We look for a Rector with sufficient maturity and proven leadership skills to be a leader for the two congregations. Mutual Support We offer our firm support and a very warm welcome to whomever God sends to us as our Rector.

About Our Church

Greyfriars Church was re-consecrated after a long history in 1922, this after considerable

reconstruction. The altar furnishings are particularly special, designed and made by an early

20th century artist, and there are fine Stained Glass windows. The MacLellan Monument,

erected in 1597, depicts Sir Thomas who built the Castle and his wife Lady Grizel Maxwell.

The normal weekly pattern of worship is Sung Eucharist (1982

Liturgy) each Sunday at 11am and a Thursday Communion

Service (1970 Liturgy) at 10am. Other Services take place at

times of Church Festivals and in Holy Week. We are subject to

the Canons of the Scottish Episcopal Church.

From Easter to September there is usually an 8am Eucharist service using the traditional

language liturgy of the Scottish Episcopal Church of Scotland (Scottish Liturgy 1970).

Greyfriars Church seats approximately 100, the church role has 56 members with 20 to 30

attending regularly on Sunday, with considerably more including families at Christmas and

Easter.

We use ‘Hymns Ancient and Modern, New Standard,

plus other hymns on occasion from our own book.

The church has an electronic organ.

The distance between Greyfriars and St Mary's is

approximately 10 miles, travel time of 15/20 minutes.

There is Lay participation in terms of Welcome and

Stewarding, Reading, Intercessions (first and third

Sunday of the month), and Altar Preparation. The

Rector is to organise all worship activities and

resources (Altar requirements) and to publish a diary

for Worship and the use of Greyfriars Church.

Window designed and executed by Isabella Findlay,

who was a member of Greyfriars Congregation.

Greyfriars, Kirkcudbright

The two churches seek and take other opportunities to do things together in one venue,

with Sung Evensong, Taizé services or for social events.

From time to time there have been evening courses of study, particularly during Lent or

Advent, sometimes in conjunction with the other churches in Kirkcudbright.

Remembrance Day Service by the War Memorial

Greyfriars Church is represented on the Kirkcudbright Churches Together committee which

arranges joint events and special services between the three churches in the town: The

Parish Church and the Roman Catholic Church of St. Andrew’s and St. Cuthbert’s.

Kirkcudbright War Memorial

Sculptor Henry Paulin

The Vestry

The Vestry committee meets every two months on the second Thursday of the month.

Normally chaired by the Rector to organise the business of the church. The Secretary,

Treasurer, and Lay Diocesan Representative are elected and serve on the Vestry without

time limit. Other Vestry members are elected for three year terms, after which they would

normally retire and not consider seeking re-election for at least a year. However if there is a

shortage of candidates, a retiring member may be co-opted for a further period. If there is

a shortage, extra members of the congregation may be co-opted.

All elections are conducted at the AGM, held in November.

During an Interregnum, the Chairperson is elected by the meeting.

A list of Vestry Members is available from the Secretary.

The Vestry provides organisation towards the Link magazine, led by a Rector’s article.

The accounts for 2014/15 are available if requested.

Greyfriars House

Greyfriars House, next to the church, is owned by Greyfriars Church and used by the local community as well as by the church for meetings and smaller events. It offers kitchen and lavatory facilities. Bookings are arranged through the local Community Voluntary Services office. Like everyone else, the church pays when using the house. There is a management committee and user group, which meets twice a year chaired by a Greyfriars representative. The fabric of the house is looked after jointly by the church representation and Greyfriars Property Convener. To date the enterprise is profitable. When the church acquired and adapted the property, previously a private house, it received lottery and heritage grants on the condition that the building be used for the local community as well as the church.

Local events through the year in which the Vestry and church members are involved include:

‘Winter Wonderland’ in

early December, a

Christmas Fair including

Father Christmas which

raises up to £1,500, of

which 10% is given to a

selected local charity,

the rest going to

Greyfriars’ funds – a

very inclusive and

popular annual event in

the town.

The Sunday Service during the weekend of

the annual Kirkcudbright Jazz Festival is

accompanied by a Jazz Band.

The Umbrella Parade

During the Arts and Crafts

trail weekend (end of July –

beginning of August), the

church is open for visitors –

we also open the church to

visitors at other times during

the Easter and summer

holidays.

An Excerpt from ‘The Link’ Magazine.

August 2014

For those of you who were not able to visit Greyfriars

during the Art & Craft Trail, you may wish to know that the

weekend brought five hundred and thirty visitors to the

Church; many who said they had no idea how beautiful it

was. Comments made included “I’ve lived here all my life

and never been inside”: “How wonderful to visit the church

and look around in peace and quiet”: “How lovely that you

are open and to see children taking part in activities

enjoying themselves”.

To that end we planned six sessions for children to make

stained glass windows, and not one window was the same!

Much imagination and creativity was displayed by local

children and by visiting youngsters.

This is something we feel can be built on in future years and perhaps a way of encouraging

the young to join our church.

A booklet with colour photos is available in church recounting the history of the site and of

Greyfriars Church, also describing features of the church.

There is a leaflet describing a ‘Pilgrim Trail’ round the building, stopping at features of

importance, describing their significance and inviting reflection and prayer.

Kirkcudbright Greyfriars Episcopal Church serves the former county town of the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, an ancient port which was made a Royal Burgh in 1455. The name Kirkcudbright is derived from St Cuthbert, reputed to have founded a church on what is now the cemetery hill above the town. The Church, situated on a mound (or ‘motte’) next to the harbour, is on the site of a pre-Reformation Franciscan Friary. After many vicissitudes and re-builds it was re-consecrated in 1922. There had been an Episcopalian congregation in the town for some time before that. Situated at the head of the Dee estuary, Kirkcudbright is home to a modern fishing fleet of scallop

dredgers. The town has two important food processing businesses, one dealing with scallops for an

international market, the other producing Castle MacLellan Pâté. There is an M.O.D Range 6 miles

south of the town.

The town is also known for early 20th century artists who lived in the town, among

them E. A. Hornel, Jessie M King, and Charles Oppenheimer. Broughton House and Garden now in the care of the National Trust for Scotland, the former home of E.A. Hornel (complete with all of his belongings) and its renowned garden attracts many visitors. An annual exhibition in the Town Hall reflects those times. There are a number of contemporary galleries. The town is a holiday resort with caravan and camping site, marina, 18 - hole golf course, swimming pool, R.N.L.I Lifeboat station, local beaches, estuary, coast line and nearby hills. With a population of 4,000, there is a thriving commercial heart with a variety of small locally owned shops, two Banks, hotels and a working harbour. Kirkcudbright Academy and Primary School are near the town centre and there is a local Football team. As well as a Health Centre, there is a Cottage Hospital and a Dentist’s surgery. Besides residential areas with small gardens, there are parts of the town which originated as local authority housing in the years after WWII, many of the properties now owner-occupied. There are Care Homes for the elderly and sheltered housing. In the more distant past, the ‘closes’ off the High Street (now divided into picturesque private houses) provided cramped living space for large numbers of people, as well as small workshops serving shipping, the port and local farms. There is a substantial new housing scheme at the Merse (just over the bridge). Another new development is due to be built in the Castledykes area.

There are numerous local groups i.e.: Local History, Literary Society, Choral Society, Friends of Broughton House & Garden, Book Groups, Sports and Dance Groups. Plus a thriving U3A based in Castle Douglas, but with meetings held locally. During summer Kirkcudbright Festivities hosts events including a Scottish Night held on Thursday evenings over six weeks culminating in a Tattoo Night. The hinterland is good farming country, now mostly given over to dairy, beef and sheep farming, due to the excellent pasture land. There are two other churches in Kirkcudbright: Church of Scotland and Roman Catholic, and there are good inter-church relations. A well-established ‘Churches Together’ group organises regular combined events. Traditionally the three congregations combine in the Parish Church for Harvest Thanksgiving and on Remembrance Sunday. The Greyfriars Rector has been welcomed in the Kirkcudbright Academy School, along with the other clergy in the town and we would want this to continue. Our wish is that, besides attending to the worship in church and pastoral duties, the Rector of Greyfriars should become known and valued in the local community.

Outreach Links Although we are a small community, we support many charities, organisations both local, national and abroad. Including: The local Food Bank - assembling non-perishable items Sunday by Sunday for passing on to Social Security for distribution where needed. The ‘Mission to Seafarers’ with items of knitted woolly clothing. A girls Secondary School in Malawi - offering monetary and Spiritual support and corresponding with the head teacher. A “Gift Service” is held in December with gifts passed on to the local Social Services Department for distribution. Kirkcudbright is a Fair trade town and we have a monthly stall held after the Sunday service in Greyfriars House.

For more information about Kirkcudbright, please visit:

http://www.kirkcudbright.town.co.uk

G.M.A.S/L.H.S/MA/ 02/12/15

Description of the Parish

The church of St Mary’s is in the historic village of Gatehouse of Fleet, in Dumfries and Galloway, South West Scotland, just off the A75 trunk road. This is a National Scenic Area and on the edge of the Galloway Forest Park, with its’ “dark sky” status. On the edge of town is the Trusty’s Hill Dark Age site, with Pictish carvings. The Town is small but benefits from beautiful scenery, ready access to several local sandy beaches and pleasant woodland walks. Structurally, Gatehouse is a linear village, mostly laid out by James Murray of Broughton between 1760 and 1850. Gatehouse has the status of a town, although it is of village size. The population from the 2011 census was 986. However, our small town has a vibrant tourist industry. In 2013 the footfall through the local heritage site, a converted mill, was estimated as 38,000. The town has a multitude of clubs and societies. We have a weekly farmers’ market throughout the year. The Gatehouse website, http://www.gatehouse-of-fleet.co.uk/, publicises local events including those of our church. It includes photos of the town, some of its history, and community events. There is a quarterly newsletter delivered to Gatehouse homes. The church is on a principal road leading from the High Street, close to the Primary School, Community Centre, Fire Station and Health Centre. There is a hotel opposite the church. Beside us we have a garden leading down to the river. Fleet Valley Care Home provides caring accommodation for elderly residents, several of whom are members of our congregation. In the summer months the population is increased by visitors to the many holiday cottages and to Anwoth Holiday Park, situated on the edge of the town. Other amenities in Gatehouse include two general/grocery stores, various shops, 3 hotels, a pub/restaurant, a B&B, and a Visitor Heritage Centre. We have a Post Office, Bank, Solicitor and Estate Agent, Library, Pharmacy, tourist office, and two cafés. There is a football pitch, cricket ground, bowling green, tennis court and golf course, all keenly patronised by local clubs and teams. The YMCA Drop in Centre has a high profile in the town. Partly financed by the local Charity Shop, it provides support and entertainment for young people. There is also a Scout Group and youth groups. The regular bus service between Dumfries and Stranraer stops at all major towns and villages along the route, including Gatehouse. There is also a regular service linking Gatehouse, Twynholm and Kirkcudbright. The nearest railway stations are Dumfries and Lockerbie.

St. Mary’s, Gatehouse of Fleet

Worship and the Congregation

Services and Music The main service, at 9:30 on Sunday morning, is a Sung Eucharist. Average weekly attendance is 30. Numbers increase at holiday seasons. We have coffee and biscuits in the church afterwards. There is a simple communion service on Wednesday mornings at 9.30. Average attendance is 6. The lessons are read by members of the congregation on a rota basis. The Intercessions are prepared and led by members of the congregation on alternate Sundays. The celebrant leads the Intercessions on the other Sundays. Traditional language liturgy is used for the midweek communion. As part of the MAP process the congregation indicated that some other forms of service would be welcome. A meditative Taizé service now takes place approximately once per quarter at 5pm on Sunday evening. This is well attended, frequently by members of other local churches. The service is prepared and led by our Lay Representative, who is a Licensed Worship Leader. We have also introduced Choral Evensong services at St Mary's. These are currently held twice a year - on Palm and Advent Sundays. We hope to increase this to four times a year. The service has been sung by a small local choir, and recently our two churches have combined to provide our own informal choir for these services. Our Christmas services regularly include a carol service. In 2014 a Midnight Mass and a Christmas Eve childrens’ service were also held. In Holy Week the Mass of the Last Supper is celebrated on Maundy Thursday with voluntary washing of the feet. On Good Friday a devotional service is held, and has included a Stations of the Cross service. Also on Good Friday our church takes part in an Ecumenical Walk of Witness around the town. Our Harvest Festival Eucharist is usually followed by a congregational lunch at a local venue, after which there is an auction of produce. The proceeds are sent to our school link in Malawi. Baptisms and Weddings are rare, never more than one or two in some years, but usually none. Funerals range from none to three per year. We have the support of four retired clergy who live locally. They contribute significantly to our worship and discipleship, and to that of Greyfriars and neighbouring charges. They preach and celebrate from time to time, and are able to cover when the Rector is away. They all served in the Church of England prior to retirement. The Blessed Sacrament is not reserved because we do not have an aumbry. We use the Hymns Ancient and Modern New Standard Edition, supplemented by an in-house booklet Containing old and new hymns. Our church organist is a professional musician. She makes a great contribution to our worship,

making the most of the small pipe organ we were given following the de-consecration of a local Church of Scotland church. We benefit immensely from her enthusiasm and commitment, and her networking with other musicians and singers. Churchmanship The Eucharist is at the heart of our worship (Eucharistic vestments are worn), with a strong emphasis on the preaching of the Word and a desire to develop our personal spirituality and discipleship. We are a 'broad', congregation, and endeavour to be inclusive. Most of our congregation were brought up in the Church of England, and we have at least three members from Roman Catholic and Methodist backgrounds. Congregation Most of our congregation lives in Gatehouse and the surrounding area. There are around 40 on the church roll. Most are retired and over 60, but four children attend from time to time. Many of our congregation are English born. They moved to Scotland via career moves or retirement. New members to our church often come via that route. We are seeking to widen our congregation by outreach. The energy of the congregation enables the church to flourish. We have volunteer flower arrangers, sacristans, readers, intercessors and “welcome” stewards who participate in the Sunday services. We have a paid cleaner for the church, replaced when required by a paid volunteer from the congregation. There is a rota of volunteers who maintain the garden. There are also skilled needlepoint ladies in the congregation who launder and repair the altar cloths.

Regular Church Events We hold social events several times a year, which are usually hosted within the homes of members of the congregation. These raise funds for the church. Flower Festival

Here we raised over £280 in donations towards a Christian

hospital in Gaza.

Joint Church Events Greyfriars and St. Mary’s publish a joint magazine which is much appreciated by the congregation. When the month has five Sundays, Greyfriars and St Mary’s hold a joint service which alternates between the two churches. These are times to formally come together. The visiting congregation provides the readers, thus sharing the duties. We also share in joint special services, for example Choral Evensong.

Gatehouse Gala Week Churches Together Gatehouse has a thriving Ecumenical “Churches Together”. The other local churches are the Church of Scotland, The Roman Catholic Church and the Christian Fellowship, (Community Church). We regularly hold or support joint activities. This is especially true for major church dates (Easter) and major local events (Gala week). Remembrance Sunday is commemorated in Gatehouse each year with an ecumenical service in the Parish Church. The service is taken by the Minister, with all Denominations taking turns to provide the preacher. The service is followed by the Act of Remembrance at the town War Memorial. We worship together during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and on the World Day of Prayer During Lent there is a Churches Together study group which is open to all. Soup lunches are held once a week. Each church donates the soup and the kirk hall hosts the event. Christmas cards detailing seasonal services are distributed by Churches Together. Gala week brings a joint service in our gardens with the local brass band, and also a beachside service at Cardoness. Outreach links Although we are a small rural community, our congregation looks outwards.

We have links with a girls’ secondary school in Malawi. We try to offer monetary and spiritual support and we enjoy all the correspondence with the head teacher.

We also support the Mission to Seafarers by celebrating Sea Sunday and by knitting items, especially hats, which are taken to Grangemouth and Troon to be distributed by the Missions at those ports.

We collect used stamps, currently for the RNIB.

Together with other churches in Gatehouse and Kirkcudbright the congregation donates food and other items to the local food bank and also makes regular financial contributions.

We are aware that there is scope to support “seekers” by providing introductory activities and instruction into Christian life and belief. Initiatives such as an Alpha Course have been mentioned, but not yet implemented.

How we see ourselves We are a small congregation and a warm church family. We welcome the full age spectrum into our church, and value each person equally. There is an area at the rear of the church which is suitable for wheelchairs and also can be used by small children. The church has a disabled toilet and a kitchen. It is our custom to ask any children (of suitable age) if they would like to help with the offertory collection.

We have been working to provide some activities for the young children who sometimes attend. A float was entered in the Gala Parade to involve, as a church, local children, and to become more involved with the community.

Gala Float – Noah’s Ark

Mission Action Planning is enthusiastically supported in the church. Our congregation is dynamically engaged and secure enough to “think outside the box”. We aren’t afraid to try new things and we have been able to start and complete many activities. We see ourselves as welcoming and supportive. The report from our “Mystery Worshipper” said “At the end of the service people gathered round me and made me feel very welcome. I was given a magazine and was impressed how much commitment the congregation has to world-wide good works all reported in articles. The church was filled with warmth from the congregation as well as the heating. I loved the simplicity of the church with the Celtic wooden cross on the wall behind the altar. I also enjoyed the sung Eucharist and learned the meaning of the word Eucharist from the notes at the beginning of the service sheet.” Finance

St Mary’s shares the costs of our rector equally with Greyfriars. Otherwise each church funds its own building and administration costs. The congregation supports the church, with 20 members of the congregation donating regular monthly/annual sums, either by Standing Order or regular giving. They raise an estimated £23,000 per year. The congregation also responds to particular appeals, and has recently funded work on the organ in 2014 and a new hearing loop system in 2015. This type of specific appeal is sometimes supported by our regular church social fundraising events. However we are aware that in usual times our expenditure exceeds our income and are grateful that the Diocese has confirmed they will make a contribution to the Rector’s stipend. We have some limited reserves, and we run stewardship and gift aid awareness campaigns every so often within the church. Copies of the accounts are available on request.

The Vestry

The Vestry meets bi-monthly on Tuesday evenings. In 2015 the AGM was held on 29th November. There is one joint Vestry meeting with Greyfriars each year, or more as required A list of Vestry members is available from the Secretary.

Mission and M.A.P Growth Strategy We have a MAP working party, which is responsible to the vestry, but which works to implement the ideas of the congregation. We are blessed with a confident and engaged congregation who had so many ideas at the first meeting that we are still working through this initial list. We selected as our priorities for growth: “Prayer and Spirituality” and “Welcome and Integration” Examples of our successes:-

New types of service have been introduced and become part of church life.

The formation of a Bible Study group.

Upgrading and refreshing the magazine (now in colour and including photographs). Developing the website, which is now a more interesting and consequently more used space. We are aware this can be our “face” to the outside world and therefore prioritise this area.

Welcome – a welcome pack has been designed and is available in church for new visitors.

The main external notice board has been modernised with a coloured background and is more actively maintained. In addition to church notices it now has notices of other local events, ensuring that the display changes regularly.

We are currently trying to improve our external church doors by introducing some glazing to enhance our welcome; we have applied for Diocesan permission.

A new wooden sign pointing to the church, visible from the High Street, has been put up.

Outreach – opening the church to the town. In 2013 we held an exhibition of Congregational Talents; in 2014 a Flower Festival dedicated to World War One; in 2015 daily musical recitals in St Mary’s.

Congregational Talents - 2013 We actively advertise our events with new exterior banners, use of website and local posters. We conducted a Time and Talents survey during

Lent 2015 in readiness for the appointment of a

new Rector.

Mission Action Planning is a dynamic process. The MAP Working Party meets regularly to review

progress and to facilitate further initiatives. The congregation are actively involved through

consultation exercises and congregational meetings.

St. Mary’s Float for the Gatehouse Parade

Buildings

The Church

The Church is a Grade B listed building dating from 1839. Originally a Free Presbyterian Church building, it has been owned by the Episcopal Church since 1915. The building has no maintenance backlog. We have a small organ in good order, good functioning heating, and comfortable seat pads in the pews. The Quinquennial review of the church was undertaken in 2010. St Mary’s owns a grassed area reaching down to the river beside the church which is currently “rented” to the hotel opposite in return for it maintaining the grass cutting. Here we host the ecumenical Songs of Praise service during Gala week each year, and invite clergy from other churches to participate.

The Mill on the Fleet

The High Street - Gatehouse

Joint Matters

The website All our services, events and church notices are on our shared church website, http://www.greyfriarsstmarys.org.uk

This is an actively managed website and is managed by our webmaster who runs it on behalf of both

churches. We are working to increase the photographs available on the website.

The magazine - LINK

We share a joint magazine, which is published every two months. This is a colour magazine which

contains a letter from the Rector and various articles written by the two congregations.

This magazine is used as part of the outreach programme, and in Gatehouse copies are left at the

post office, and the major hotels and B & B’s in the town. In Kirkcudbright, we distribute in a similar

manner.

The Rectory

The Rectory is a newly purchased and refurbished property in excellent order at 18 Castledykes

Road, Kirkcudbright. Close to the town centre, the Primary School and Kirkcudbright Academy and all

the other local amenities.

Financing of our Rector

The costs of Rector and Rectory are divided equally between the congregations of Greyfriars and St

Marys’, Gatehouse of Fleet. Expenses are paid as required to fulfil all aspects of the role, including

travel, telephone and internet communications and resources.

L.D/S.W/MA/L.H.S/GMAS 02/12/15