About us

From the minister of Gorgie Dalry Church - Peter Barber
Following Jesus, for me, has been stepping into a great adventure. I have learned more and more, how much God loves us and values us, because He has shown it in the birth, death and rising of Jesus. I have also found that God has plans for each of us, which are there to discover if we will respond to His call, 'Follow me'. I would encourage everyone to step into the future with Jesus, 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future' (Jeremiah 29:11) I became a Christian in 1973, when, during a time of personal uncertainty and confusion, I heard the message that Jesus is 'the way, the truth and the life'. I responded to the invitation to receive Jesus into my life by faith, and since then have known, through many mistakes and difficulties as well as through joys and blessings, the presence of Jesus leading me through life. I felt called to become a MInister, and having been accepted by the Church of Scotland, I served as a Minister in Glasgow for ten years, before coming to Gorgie in 1995.

Vision for Gorgie Dalry Church
Gorgie Dalry Church is at the heart of the community of Gorgie and Dalry. Our vision is to be a spiritual heart for the people of this area. We believe we received a word from God about what our focus ought to be as a Church, and we are looking at ways of putting it into practice. After waiting on God for some time, the leaders in the Church were given 1 Peter 4:7-9 as a guideline for our future work: 'The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins… Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms' Our priorities, therefore, are to become a PRAYING, LOVING and SERVING fellowship of God'


Our History
The church can be traced back to 1896, when students began mission work in the Gorgie area. The church at its present location opened in 1902 and was called Cairns Memorial after Principal John Cairns, D.D. Cairns Memorial was a United Presbyterian church before the United Presbyterians joined the Church of Scotland in 1929. Tynecastle Church was older than Cairns Memorial Church. In 1885 the Reverend George Wilson started mission work in Tynecastle. The church started in a small room off Gorgie Road and Tynecastle Church was opened in May 1891. In time, the congregation doubled its size and a new church was built at a site in Gorgie Road. The official opening of this building was in November 1901. The church, as well as Cairns Memorial Church served the Parish in Gorgie until 1979. In 1979, Cairns Memorial and Tynecastle Churches were united and Gorgie Parish Church came into being. The decision was made to use the building at 190 Gorgie Road.

The Church Building
The church of course is made up of people and not just a building. However, we cannot ignore the changing times and realise that since the church was originally built in 1902, we need to look to the needs of the church as we enter into a new century and even a new millennium. The church building should be able to house all the many activities which take place, enabling us to be an effective witness to the life of Jesus Christ in our service to each other and the wider community. We have just completed a modernisation project to improve current facilities so that we are in a better position to meet these needs.

 
How do we work?
Like many congregations, Gorgie Dalry Church has a "Model Constitution", which means our spiritual life is led by the Minister and Kirk Session while temporal matters are dealt with by the Congregational Board.

The Session meets most months throughout the year and is made up of Ordained Elders with the Minister as Convenor. The Board also meets regularly and is larger than the Session since several members of the congregation in addition to all the Elders serve on the Board. The Annual General meeting, to which all members of the congregation are invited, is held in March.