East Kilbride Old Parish Church East Kilbride South Lanarkshire

Welcome to East Kilbride Old Parish Church!

Join us for worship on
Sunday Mornings from 11am – 12noon.

We hope you will feel a warmth and friendliness and that your experience of our worship together is enjoyable, meaningful and encouraging. Please also look out for activities you could be a part of during the week – there are lots of opportunities to meet with a friendly crowd! East Kilbride Old prides itself in being known as a welcoming church.

 

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Download Minister Rev Anne S Paton vCard

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https://ekopc.org.uk/  

 

 

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• The church and halls are wheelchair accessible, and we have a couple of suitable spots to sit or store wheelchairs.
• There is an induction loop PA system for the hard of hearing.
• We provide large print copies of hymns for those who need them.
• The service is recorded onto CD for the benefit of the housebound (delivered to the member's home on request). We have also made recordings available online - Click on 'Listen to a Service' above, or on the Home Page.  

East Kilbride Old Parish Church, located in the heart of the original village of East Kilbride, replaced an earlier ‘Kilbride’ church, dedicated to St Bride, of which there are records in the 1170s.

The present-day church was built by James Pollock in 1774-75, as can be seen on the engraved stone on the front of the building.

Just outside of the entrance gates is an old coaching inn and, serving both in the old days, the Loupin’ Stane, an aid to mounting a horse or cart.

The church is a B-listed building, stone-built, with a highland slate roof, and a bell-tower topped with a Scotch Crown Belfry. The church bell was replaced more than once, the current bell being installed in 1881*. It is termed the ‘Hunner Pound Bell’ because of its cost, paid by public subscription.

* Apologies for previous error stating 1818. According to local historian, Bill Niven, in his 2002 book about the history of our church, a bell was indeed purchased in 1818 but it came adrift in 1879 and fell into the kirkyard. Perhaps weakened by this, it then cracked in 1881 when announcing the assassination of the Czar of Russia, and was replaced in the same year.

Adjacent is the Old Halls building (1912) consisting of Upper and Lower Hall, Small Meeting Room, Kitchen, Toilets, Office and Lounge/Creche Room. Note: a distinctive two-part mural adorns the wall of the Lower hall, painted in 2007 by Edward Marle and Vince Clark.

In the kirkyard is an 18th century mausoleum to the Stuarts of Torrance Castle (see ‘Graveyard’).

A new hall was built in 1974 in nearby Glebe Street.

Vestry Building

The new church vestry containing the War Memorial stone, was dedicated on 16/10/1921 after Sunday worship. The names of the First World War fallen are inscribed under an arch above the windows. A plaque at the side records the names of those lost in World War 2. Carved in stone right at the top, above the arch, and below the stone Cross are two ancient Christian symbols.

Below the Cross are the two letters Alpha and Omega. These are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. You have to look carefully, because the carver has intertwined the two letters, and given them some artistic curves and scrolls.

In the last book of the New Testament, Revelation, the writer imagines the Risen Lord as saying “I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end”. Ever since, these two letters have been used in Christian art, to remind us of our faith in God’s love revealed in Jesus Christ.

Below the Alpha and Omega is what is called the Chi-Rho sign. Again, this is made up of two Greek letters. These are the first two letters of the Greek word “CHRistos” – our word “Christ”. Like the Alpha and Omega, the Chi-Rho sign has been in use for almost two thousand years.

So, even before we enter the Church itself, we can look up and be reminded of the great central truths of Christian faith – carved in stone, yes, but also alive in our hearts and lives.

Our Iona Cross

Our Iona Cross is a model of one of the great High Crosses of Iona, commonly called the St John's Cross. It stands in a base of green Iona marble, taken from the old Marble Quarry on Iona's south-east corner. Called Serpentine, this marble is among the oldest rocks on earth. Our Cross reminds us of our roots in the Christian Church in Scotland:

For centuries, the original stood outside the West Door of Iona Abbey Church, close to where the early Columban monastery is thought to have been situated. It blew down in a storm and a replica now stands in its place on the original stone base. The Cross itself is in the little museum to the East of the Abbey, and you can see how wonderful it is. It stands about 12 feet high, and is carved with intricate spiral designs.

Not far away, still in its original position, is another of the great Crosses of Iona, called St Martin's Cross. It has figure scenes carved on it ¬ showing the Virgin and Child, Daniel in the Lions' Den, and Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac. These great Crosses date from around the middle of the 8th Century AD, some two hundred years after St Columba first came to Iona.

Interior

The church interior is on two levels.