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Closure of Falkirk Church
Final Service of Thanksgiving 27 April 2008
Posted on Apr 9, 2008
FALKIRK (PLEASANCE GARDENS)
The congregation at Falkirk (Pleasance Gardens) opened in 1875 as a Church of Christ. Their building, near the town centre, was among houses and tenement blocks and the congregation quickly grew, their witness becoming well known in the town. As a Church of Christ, they developed a leadership of elders and deacons, many of whom led worship and preached. From time to time they did receive full-time ministerial help, including an American exchange minister for three years in the late 1950s.
In the 1960s they started a Sunday school in Bantaskine housing estate, a mile or two away from the church, meeting in the local day school. This work flourished and the congregation even considered moving there, a site being available rent free from Falkirk Town Council. For various reasons they did not proceed with this plan, and a lack of teachers eventually led to the Sunday school closing.
Falkirk town centre was undergoing big changes and many flats and houses nearby were demolished. The church building ended up facing the rear of a big shopping mall, so there were fewer people living near the church. An aging congregation and family removals meant that the congregation gradually declined in number, and even with part-time ministerial help from Fife and Glasgow, and recently from Avonbridge United Reformed Church, the church had difficulty keeping going. As part of the Reformed Association of Churches of Christ, the congregation had joined the United Reformed Church in 1981.
In March, 2008, the remaining members (three) decided that they could not continue, with their small numbers and a building needing repair. Following their final service, on 27th April, they will become members of Grahamston United Church (Church of Scotland, Methodist and United Reformed Church). We thank God for their witness and service over a long period of years.
