Kirk congregations and minister numbers have been dwindling for decades, with churches across Scotland forced to close their doors for good.
Determined to continue serving future generations, four Broughty Ferry churches became one at the beginning of 2024.
Broughty Ferry New Kirk (also known as Queen Street East) united with Broughty Ferry St James, Broughty Ferry St Luke’s & Queen Street and Barnhill St Margaret’s to form Broughty Ferry Parish Church.
Now, a year on, the church is reaping the benefits of a larger, unified community.
A greater number of parishioners means more people to share volunteering responsibilities but also a lot more “good ideas”, Reverend Lorna Tunstall told The Courier.
Events are no longer replicated in each church and those that have taken place have been “some of the best yet”.
With a membership of more than 1400, three well-attended Sunday worship services and 17 baptisms over the past year, Broughty Ferry Parish Church appears to be a real success story for the Church of Scotland.
‘Merger has made us stronger’
Reverend Tunstall, who hopes to soon be joined by another minister, said: “I am immensely proud of the Broughty Ferry Parish Church community for making the past year such a success.
“Everyone has worked so hard to make this work.
“We are now one big family and, to me, that is the greatest benefit of the union.
“The sense of community is wonderful and coming together has made us so much stronger.
“Each church had its own identity and way of doing things and, of course, there have been some challenges as we unite and learn to work together in a way that works for all – but the positives far outweigh any negatives.
“Change takes time and we are already looking at things in a new way, together.”
While each of the church buildings are still open, Reverend Tunstall confirmed Broughty Ferry St Luke’s & Queen Street would be sold in the “near future”.
The experienced minister, who did her probationary year at Barnhill St Margaret’s before spending a number of years at churches in the Highlands, added: “Within the Church of Scotland it is no secret there has been a long period of restructuring.
“We have too many church buildings, reduced congregations and less ministers alongside rising running costs.
“There is a real spiritual enhancement of having a big congregation – it is a much better atmosphere.
“We have upwards of 250 people a week at our Sunday services so we are really bucking the trend now.”
Keen to attract new members and embrace novel ways to worship, the church will launch a new intergenerational group, Praise, Play and Pizza, on February 22.
The session, which will include group worship, bible study, crafts, storytelling, music, dance and pizza, will take place at 3pm on the last Saturday of each month at Barnhill St Margaret’s and is open to all ages.
The united congregation’s first Festival of Cribs event at Broughty Ferry St James in December – which saw 58 different nativity scenes on show – was also a big success.
‘We have to face the facts’
Church elder June Anderson, convener of the mission and outreach group, admitted: “Many people were concerned about the impact of change but, a year on, it is clear there have been many benefits.
“No-one likes change, and in a perfect world we would have been able to continue as four churches.
“But we have to face the facts.
“Church congregations are dwindling, running costs are increasing and there aren’t as many ministers.
“A church without a minister is like a ship without a rudder.
“Uniting the churches to become Broughty Ferry Parish Church should, we hope, ensure the continuity of the Church of Scotland in The Ferry.”
June added: “A big positive is the fact that church volunteers feel less of a load.
“There used to be a small number of people to do a lot of jobs in each church but now the pool is far bigger in terms of people and also ideas.
“People have got to know each other and any preconceptions of other churches have gone.
“There are a lot of new friendships now and it feels like one big community.”
Conversation