WHEN the minister quit four years ago in protest at the Church of Scotland's stance on same-sex marriage, the 300-strong congregation at St George's Tron in Glasgow went with him.
At the time, it seemed the end was nigh for the instantly recognisable city centre church, on Nelson Mandela Place and Buchanan Street.
But now thanks to the hard work of the new minister who left his rural parish at short notice, St George's Tron Glasgow is thriving and is back at the heart of the city.
Reverend Alastair Duncan has transformed the empty building into a busy hub. As well as a new congregation, the building also houses the Wild Olive Tree café, which serves soups and scones to visitors and parishioners.
It followed the previous minister being one of a handful to leave the Church around the time when the General Assembly was considering whether to accept ministers in same-sex relationships.
Mr Duncan said: “Nobody stayed. My wife and I came to an empty building. The former minister was still living in the manse and it took two years of negotiation until that situation could be resolved.
“The departed congregation finally purchased the former manse and a new one was identified and bought.”
On Easter Sunday 2013, Mr Duncan gave his final sermon in the village of Garelochhead, where he and wife Ruth had spent 24 years bringing up their family of three.
That same evening he gave his first sermon at St George’s Tron to a room full of mainly fellow ministers.
He added: “I started with a 7pm service because I knew the only people who would come would be the people from Glasgow presbytery who had pledged their support. Some of them were ministers who were giving their own services in the morning.
“So for the first nine months I had that great support – although it felt a bit daunting to preach to a congregation that sometimes included as many as 10 ministers.”
The minister also quickly became aware that unlike in Garelochhead, the city centre was busy all hours and possible new parishioners were a diverse group.
He saw there were homeless people, asylum seekers and marginalised groups as well as shoppers, tourists, and in the evenings revellers.
It was then he realised that he had to change the ethos and role of St George’s Tron.
He added: “A city centre church has to have different gates and doors so different people can come in.
“City centre congregations are gathered so that is a challenge. How can we be a welcoming community? How can we be a place that meets people where they are?”
Mr Duncan began bringing new people into the church by hosting events in partnership with other Christian agencies, and through establishing a regular Sunday worship.
He also restarted a midweek lunchtime service for city centre workers.
He added: “Over the first year a group of people emerged who made it clear they saw St George’s Tron as their home.
"They wanted to throw their lot in with the congregation. By my first anniversary there were 12 of them.”
Artist-in-residence Ian Campbell has just embarked on an ambitious 24- painting project that will depict scenes from the Gospel of St Luke in a Glasgow setting.
A ‘New Glaswegians’ Bible-study group is also aimed at easing the isolation of arriving in a new city for refugees and asylum seekers.
On Friday and Saturday nights the Glasgow Street Pastors use the church as a base for their ministry on the streets, as well as for a ‘SafeZone’ in the building itself, where they can bring people who are vulnerable and in need of safety.
Mr Duncan’s wife Ruth is also involved in worship and volunteers in the café, their son Stuart, 29, is a church elder, worship leader and part-time café supervisor, and daughter Beth, 28, also works in the café.
Staffed by a mix of paid staff, volunteers and work experience trainees, the café serves low-cost food and any profits go to supporting the work of Glasgow City Mission and Bethany Christian Trust.
As an experiment Mr Duncan began a café church service on Sundays, where church members are invited to eat together before a 1pm service.
It quickly grew from eight or nine people and today it draws a group of up to 50 people.
Mr Duncan said: "We are not saying we will do this forever, but for the time being it is working.
"Most churches have a shared history. We had none. We were in essence a group of strangers. So for us to meet and eat together was a big step forward in developing relationships and building community.”
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