This is to address some rumours, and give you an update on what is happening with the church and to ask you for some help.
Neilston is a place where news spreads fast. ‘Village life’ is still important and people want to know what’s happening. While this can allow people to stay up to date there are times when things that are passed around are either exaggerated or simply not true. At these times it can cause concern to people and organisations.
You may be aware that at both national and local levels, the Church of Scotland is going through a time of restructuring and change which has been necessitated by well publicised challenges in such areas as ministry staffing, congregational decline, buildings and financial issues. Although these are national issues Neilston is not immune from the effects.
Neilston Parish Church is part of the Presbytery of Clyde which covers a large geographical area on both sides of the River Clyde and like all other presbyteries in Scotland, we have a Presbytery Mission Plan to deal with the issues mentioned above.
This Presbytery Mission Plan, provides that the congregations of Neilston, Barrhead Bourock and Barrhead St Andrews will, at a date to be confirmed, unite to become one much larger parish which will be supported by two full time Ministers of Word and Sacrament (in other words, Parish Ministers as we know them). It is widely accepted that it is imperative that we have a continuing physical presence in the community of Neilston.
That does not necessarily mean that it will be the current church building, as we are currently going through a feasibility study for both the church (Main Street) and our separate halls buildings in High Street, to identify what our options are. What is certain is that we cannot continue to maintain both buildings.
So, to address the rumour that ‘Neilston Parish Church is closing’, as outlined above, this is not true. We are actively working to keep a church presence here in the village but it is a case of wait and see for now as to what building that will be.
Neilston Parish Church is very much still open and providing services of worship, pastoral care and community facilities. If you want to find our more, please come along to our services and other events as they are advertised.
We have also heard rumours that the Manse (the minister's home) is up for sale. Again, this is simply not true. No decisions have been taken yet about the future of the Manse and will not be while our minister the Rev. Matthew Ritchie, is still in post, and he and his family occupy the Manse.
Each of the three churches currently has their own minister. However, after the new “union” is brought into being, there will only be two ministers for the new larger parish.
The Rev. Tim Mineard and the Rev. Pamela Gordon in the Barrhead churches are both in the position that they have “unrestricted tenure” which means that they have the right to continue in their current post until a time of their own choosing.
However, our minister, the Rev. Matthew Ritchie is in a different position – in that he was appointed as Minister in Neilston for a period fixed at a maximum of 7 years – which from December 2024 will have a further 3 years to run.
As you may know, Matthew and his wife Natasha have a young family and they have decided that it would be in their best interests that Matthew moves to another church so that the children will be settled in a new environment, different primary school and have established new friendships before they face the change of moving to secondary school.
Accordingly, Matthew is now seeking to move to a different church – but there are no fixed timescales in which this could happen and until it does, he will continue to serve as your Minister in Neilston Parish Church.
Looking forwards and preparing for the new future before us – two new planning groups have been established – both of which will have 9 members with each church having a representation of 3 people on each group. In addition to the 9 members of the group, each group will be chaired independently.
The groups are :
• “The Way Forward” group, which will deal with a wide range of organisational and practical matters and will be chaired by the Rev. Maureen Leitch.
• “The Mission and Outreach” group whose work will guide the central focus of all the activities of the new congregation. This group will be chaired by Graeme Currie, the Youth Worker at Barrhead St Andrews.
Turning to our own congregation here in Neilston, there is a range of areas of activity in which we urgently require and seek assistance – and it cannot be stressed enough just how critical it is to ensure that these areas of responsibility and work are adequately maintained if our Church is to have a continuing future.
At the meeting of the Kirk Session on 24 September 2024, there was an in-depth and frank discussion about the challenges before us and several leadership roles were filled either on a continuing short term basis or with a longer term horizon.
However, volunteers are sought urgently to support a range of vital activities which include:
Communications – preparation of the powerpoint slides for services – preparation of the weekly Pew Leaflet – updating the Church’s Web-site etc.
Management of Halls Lets – Our halls provide an important community facility for both Church and non-church organisations. Some of those generate important income for the Church.
Maintenance of Property – taking part in work groups to undertake routine minor maintenance and repair work in the church properties
A letter with this same information has already been sent to all members of the congregation with the plea that people consider firstly, how with their own range of talents and skills they might be able to support any of the above areas of responsibility and secondly, if they know of any other people within the congregation or in the community who might be approached to offer their skills.
If you are able to, please give of your time and talents to support Neilston Parish Church to continue through these challenging times as we move ever nearer to the new future which God has for us.
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