Rothesay : Trinity

Church of Scotland

Parish Profile

Introduction

The Charge

This scenic island parish, with quick and easy links to the mainland, is seeking a

Minister with leadership and pastoral skills.

Our vision for the future is of a Church of Scotland congregation continuing in the

centre of the historic Royal Burgh of Rothesay which ministers to the spiritual and

social needs of both those within the church walls and those without.

To achieve this we will continue to work with and for all age groups in the

community, changing, adapting and expanding as the need arises, led by an

enthusiastic minster who is interested in and cares for all God’s people in the

Parish.

Rothesay : Trinity is a charge without restriction. It is in a Parish Grouping with

the United Church of Bute, our sister Church of Scotland charge on the Island.

Consequently, the Parish boundary for both charges is the whole Island.

The congregation was founded at the Disruption in 1842 and is now the result of

several unions going back to 1929 when the congregation joined in the union of

the United Free Church of Scotland with the Church of Scotland and the name

Trinity came into being. Several other unions have take place namely:-

1938 with St James Church

1942 with Craigmore High Church

1979 with the West Church

The present congregational roll is 330.

Music

Throughout the year Sunday Morning Worship is held at 11 am, with an Evening

Service on the first Sunday of each month at 6.30 pm. There is also a 30 minute

service on Thursday mornings at 11.15 am, which is held in our Small Hall.

Communion Services are held on the first Sunday and Thursday in February,

June and November. Informal celebrations of Communion are held at

Christmas, Easter, Whitsun and in August. Tea / coffee is served after the

Sunday Morning Services.

Members regularly read the lessons and lead us in prayer. The Worship Group,

Guild, Sunday School and Summer Sunday Workshop have occasionally

conducted part of the Service. The Boys’ Brigade and Girls’ Brigade have

organised Youth Carol Services in the past, with other uniformed organisations

also taking part.

The Sunday Schools meet in the Church for the first part of the Service before

going to the hall for their classes.

A team of drivers bring members who need transport to Church on Sunday

mornings, using the Community Links minibus.

Pulpit supply is available and paid for by the Congregation. Parish duties, such

as funerals, are usually undertaken by the Minister of our sister congregation

during holiday leave and vice versa.

Worship is greatly enhanced by the music of both organ and mixed voice choir.

The organ is an Allen Digital Computer Organ of 43 stops, dedicated in 1988.

The choir has 12 members and is augmented by others on occasion. Choral

contributions to worship are prepared for services such as Communion,

Christmas, Easter, Harvest etc.

The Fourth Edition of the Church Hymnary has been in use since 2010.

Occasional use is made of ‘Mission Praise’.

Worship

Publications

A ‘Pew Leaflet’ is printed weekly and the Morning Services are recorded for

distribution to the homes for the elderly and the housebound.

The ‘Congregational Record’ magazine is produced three times a year in line with

Communion Services.

Ecumenical Services

The Island clergy meet together from time to time as the ‘Ministers’ Fraternal’.

There are regular joint Ecumenical Services throughout the year and during Holy

Week.

Communion Services are held in the Sheltered Housing complexes as requested

and monthly Services are held in Ferfadd Court, which are shared, on a rota

basis, with the United Church of Bute, the Baptist, Roman Catholic and Episcopal

Churches and Rothesay Christian Fellowship.

School chaplaincies are shared.

The Island Churches also jointly run ‘Messy Church’ once a month, and have

taken part in a Scripture Union week long Holiday Club for the past four

summers.

Congregational Life

Children are involved in Crêche, Primary and Senior Sunday Schools. The

Summer Sunday Workshop takes over from these during July and August.

The 1st Rothesay Boys’ Brigade and the 1st Rothesay Girls’ Brigade are

affiliated to Trinity and meet in our halls, both of which are very well attended.

Other organisation include the Guild, Visiting Committee, Walking Group,

Gardening Club, Ladies Bowling Club and Badminton Club.

Trinity hosts the Luncheon Club, for Senior Citizens twice weekly. The halls are

well used by other community groups for meetings and fundraising.

Administration

The Parish and Congregational affairs of Trinity are administered under the

Model Deed of Constitution.

The Kirk Session has 34 members and meets on a regular basis.

Since 2001 the temporal affairs of Trinity have been looked after by the

Congregational Board. It consists of 18 Elders, 2 Deacons and 10 elected

members and meets as required on the first Thursday of the month. It operates

committees for Finance, Fabric, Halls, Ways & Means and AV/IT.

Finance

A simplified Statement of Accounts and / or an OSCR compliant form of

Accounts for 2015 can be obtained on request.

Our funds are healthy, thanks to increased giving by our members, fundraising,

mainly organised by our active Ways & Means Committee, and the good

stewardship of our Treasurer.

Over the last few years we have raised funds to re-roof the Church, repair the

stained glass windows and, this year, to rewire the Church and halls.

Soup ‘n’ Sweet

Fundraiser

The Manse

The manse is a fine stone built semi-detached property situated in the quiet

area of Crichton Road, approximately 3/4 mile from the town centre, with

excellent views of Rothesay Bay and Loch Striven.

The ground floor consists of a sitting room, living room,. Dining room, kitchen,

bedroom, toilet and entrance porch. Upstairs consists of a further three

bedrooms, a study, boxroom, and bathroom. The house is centrally heated

and in 2008 the Ventrolla system of window draught proofing was installed.

There is a garage and gardens to the front and rear.

X Trinity Manse

Trinity Church

Map of town with Church and Manse marked in red

Buildings

View of the east side of

the Church and halls

View from the west

The Church building is B listed. The Architect was Archibald Simpson—whose

work is more common in the north east of Scotland.

The hall accommodation attached to the Church consists of:-

Large Hall accommodating 150

Small Hall accommodating 50

Castle Street Hall accommodating 50

Vestry and Samuel Room

Flat above Castle Street Hall has a sitting room, bathroom,

kitchen and bedroom.

The accommodation is widely used by our own organisations and the community

e.g. Alcoholics Anonymous, H.E.L.P Group, Bute Arts Society, Saturday Art Club

and Bute Flower Club.

The Church Interior of the Church

View from the Gallery

The Community Position of Bute on the Clyde

View over town

Location

Rothesay Trinity is situated in the

heart of the Royal Burgh of

Rothesay, the main town on the

island of Bute. The Island lies in

the estuary of the River Clyde

and is linked to the mainland by a

thirty five minute ferry crossing to

Wemyss Bay, from where it is

only a forty-five minute car or

train journey to Glasgow. There

is also a five minute ferry

crossing from Rhubodach, at the

north end of the Island, to

Colintraive in Argyllshire.

The population of the island is

about 6,000 with the majority

resident in Rothesay. There are

three sheltered housing

complexes and 2 residential

homes for the elderly.

Education

Within the town, a high standard of

education is provided by Rothesay

Primary School and Rothesay

Academy, which is a six year

comprehensive. Both are located in

the Joint Campus, along with the Pre 5

Centre and Argyll College. The smaller

North Bute Primary School is in the

village of Port Bannatyne.

St Andrews, a Roman Catholic Primary

School is in Rothesay.

There are a number of childcare

facilities on the Island including nurs-

eries, play groups and registered

childminders.

The Community continued

Health

The Heath Centre is the base for 7

doctors, Practice Nurses,

Community Nurses and Podiatrist.

Next door is the Victoria Hospital,

where regular clinics are held by

various Specialists from the

mainland. Serious cases are

transferred to hospitals in Greenock

Paisley or Glasgow by helicopter or

plane.

There are two community

pharmacies.

Dental Services are provided by

both Community and Private Dental

Practices.

Employment

Tourism, Farming, Flexible

Technology, Bute Fabrics and

HEROtsc ( a telephone call centre)

are some of the major employers

on the Island.

A large number of people commute

in both directions daily for work.

There is also a variety of shops,

including a supermarket.

Leisure

Facilities for sport and leisure on the Island are many and varied. They include

an indoor leisure pool and gym, walking, three golf courses, fishing and horse-

riding. There are football, rugby, bowling, cricket, shinty, sailing, badminton,

bridge, curling, dance, art and music clubs, W.R.I. etc.

There is a small cinema in the Discovery Centre.

The Church is a very popular venue for concerts given by visiting choirs and

musicians, both local and from the mainland.

Presbytery of Argyll

Thank you for showing an interest in our Vacancy by reading our Parish Profile.

For further information please contact.:

Interim Moderator

Rev Owain Jones

UCB Manse Bishop Terrace

Rothesay Isle of Bute

Tel : 01700 504502 email : JJones@churchofscotland.org.uk

Clerk to Nominating Committee

Mrs Elizabeth Speirs Cairncraig

56 Crichton Road Rothesay

Isle of Bute

PA20 9JT

Tel: 01700503480

email: elizabeth.speirs@talktalk.net

The Presbytery of Argyll meets four times a year for ordinary business. Three

of the meetings are held in Tarbert and one is held in various locations. All are

during the day to allow as many island based Presbyters as possible to attend

without having to spend a night on the mainland.

Much of the regular business is conducted by standing committees under

delegated powers using e-mail and telephone. There is ample scope for

ministers to contribute to the work of the committees.