Church Profile
Musselburgh Congregational Church
Our Mission To provide the opportunity for Christian worship, fellowship, education and outreach and to offer Christian Care, support and love. Location The Church is situated in the Fisherrow area of Musselburgh, which is about five miles east of Edinburgh. There are excellent road and rail links with the Scottish Capital and the town has both primary and secondary schools in close proximity. The church has been in existence since 1798 and the church building was built by its original members from local materials and was completed in 1801. A large hall with toilet facilities was built in 1912.
Church Building
All buildings are in good condition and comply with current legislative requirements. The church has seating capacity of approximately 200 with loop sound system and a Holditch pipe organ. The entry vestibule includes a vestry with toilet and a cloak room. It is all in good decorative condition. A suite of halls and rooms provide varied accommodation for large, small and diverse organisations and these rooms are in use seven days a week. In 2007 radical alterations were carried out to the vestibule and toilets of the large hall. These included the installation of a disabled/male toilet and two female toilets and a new gas-fired central heating system. A commercially equipped kitchen was installed in 2004. This is used by the Lunch Club to supply hot snacks to the community. It is also used by the varied organisations using the halls and for small private parities. The kitchen is well-equipped with all necessary utensils and also has a commercial dishwasher.
The Manse This is situated about one and half miles from the church and is a modern detached two storey villa, purchased in 1968; with lounge/dining area, kitchen/breakfast area and study downstairs and three bedrooms and bathroom upstairs. There is a detached garage.
Worship The current membership is 115 with an average attendance of 40 attending worship. There is one service each Sunday at 11am but there are occasional special evening services. Holy Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday of each month. The Sunday School also meets at 11am and participates in the first part of morning worship. Morning worship is traditional in style with hymn singing, prayers, Scripture readings and a Sermon. There is now also a regular Family Service which we have been able to explore different styles of worship. Piano and organ music is played before and after worship.
Working Together As a Congregational church we are self governing but we are a member of the national Congregational Federation of Scotland, England and Wales which we contribute to financially. Church delegates also attend all Scottish and National Federation annual conferences. At present there are 9 deacons who manage all aspects of church life under the direction of the members. A Vacancy committee has also been set up. Diaconate members undertake pastoral care and visits to members are made on regular basis. To keep all our members informed of the work of the church a quarterly magazine, “The Link”, is produced by one of the members and distributed by the deacons. We also have a regular updated website managed by the Church Secretary (www.musselburghcongregational.org.uk).
Finance We are a fully self supporting congregation with most members contributing by free will offering, open plate collection, standing orders and Gift Aid. Members respond really well to the church’s financial needs, retiring collections are taken 1st and 3rd Sundays for the fellowship fund and Building Fund. There is a weekly rota of members for the supply of flowers for Sunday services and Flower funds boxes also receive regular small contributions.
Organisational Groups A wide variety of organisations covering all age groups meet regularly in our church and halls. Attendance is healthy and a typical weekly diary of activities is shown in appendix 1. Sunday School Our Sunday School meet each week in the Large Church Hall at 10.45am, then all go in to Church. The children begin their weekly worship with the first part of the service by bringing forward their offering, choosing the hymn, reading prayers and hearing their own story. After the children’s hymn they return to the hall to sing and do craft work. The children are a very important part of our Church family and they are happy and relaxed in the Church environment. There are currently between 8 and 15 children attending each week, ages range between 2yrs and 14yrs, although small in number they are big in enthusiasm. The Superintendent is supported by 3 teachers who are all dedicated to developing the children’s understanding of God’s Love for them and to encourage them to explore ways to serve Him. Women’s Fellowship The aim of the Women’s Fellowship is to encourage home and family life and to unite its members in worship, fellowship and service. Meeting fortnightly on a Tuesday evening (except during the summer months) they have a programme of speakers, demonstrations and films. Throughout the year the Women’s Fellowship is responsible for organising many different types of fellowship events including Coffee Mornings, Musical Evenings, Beetle Drives; they also have fundraising events for Charities such as the Macmillan Nurses and have a very popular Christmas Hamper fundraiser. The ladies are very well known for their hospitality and their home baking is out of this world.
Lunch Club This is held on a weekly basis (except during the summer months) this group supplies hot snacks, tea, coffee and biscuits everyone is made very welcome. This group could be classed as both outreach and fellowship as there are many different reasons why people come each week but also leave with a need having been met. Other Organisations There are many other organisations that use our halls each week and although in the past we have not actively offered outreach, the Ministry team have been working with these organisations to help them understand what we as a church have to offer. These groups are 3rd & 4th Rainbows, 8th Brownies, Y, Alpha Dance Academy, Little Shakespeare Drama Group, Musselburgh Amateur Musical Association, Musicbugs and Alcoholics Anonymous. Outreach and Mission Samaritans Purse – Operation Christmas Child Samaritan’s Purse Shoeboxes are packed and sent to Operation Christmas Child by members of our Congregation who also assist in the warehouse during the build up to the dispatch of the boxes and also in fundraising throughout the year.
Bethany Christian Trust A team of volunteers from our Church serve the homeless people of Edinburgh during the winter months. We also support the Trust itself by promoting its shops and outreach.
Concern Over the past few years the Sunday School have completed various sponsored events as part of the Harvest Celebrations from Sing-a-thon to Help Others and all proceeds have been donated to Concern’s Food Aid project.
Make a Wish Foundation The Sunday School held a sponsored Bake-a-thon and all proceeds were donated to Make a Wish Foundation.
A few members are part of the Council of Musselburgh Churches and through this membership we have supported events and proceeds have been donated to many charities such as SCIAF and Christian Aid.
“On our firm foundations of our past we build our future.”
We see the future as continuing to develop the good work already taking place in Musselburgh Congregational Church.
Appendix 1 Organisations/Groups Using Musselburgh Congregational Church Monday Rainbows 6.15pm – 7.15pm
Tuesday Alpha Dance Academy 2.45pm - 6.30pm Women’s Fellowship (Fortnightly) 7.30pm - 9.30pm
Wednesday Musicbugs 10.00-10.45am Brownies 6.15pm - 7.45pm
Thursday Lunch Club 9.00am – 2.00pm Little Shakespeare Theatre School 7.00pm – 8.30pm
Friday Rainbows 6.00pm – 7.00pm
Saturday Little Shakespeare Theatre School 10.30am – 12.30pm Alcoholics Anonymous 1.00pm – 4.00pm
Other groups book the halls for use when they are available |
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