History of Bennochy Parish Church
Bennochy Parish Church was formed by the union of the congregations from St. Andrew's and St. John's Parish Churches on the 16th March 2010 and worships at the former St. John's buildings.
You can read our recent history by starting below or follow the links on the right to jump to selected years.
The Service of Union was held on the 16th March and was led by Rev. Ken Froude (Moderator of Kirkcaldy Presbytery) with the sermon delivered by Rev. Wilma Cairns (Buckhaven & Wemyss Church) and a narrative of the union timeline given by Rev. Rosemary Frew (Clerk to Kirkcaldy Presbytery).
After the service hot sausage rolls, cakes, tea and coffee were served in a time of fellowship for the new congregation to become acquainted.
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Time of Fellowship for the new Bennochy Parish Church congregation |
At the end of March, the annual Get-Together Tea Afteroon raised £250 for the National Deaf Children's Society.
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Easter Cross decorated with Daffodils |
Easter was celebrated in April with a special Easter Cross decorated with daffodils brought by the congregation. The cross was assembled at the vestibile door as people arrived.
The cross was then brought to the front of the Church by the children and the service led by Rev. David Ferguson who had only previously visited the original St. John's building. David continued to lead Sunday services until the appointment of a new minister in February 2011.
Reviving an old tradition, the Walkers travelled by mini-bus to Falkland and braved the weather to ascend Falkland Hill in the early hours of Easter morning.
Back at the Church, bacon rolls were enjoyed prior to the Easter service.
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The Walkers start the ascent of Falkland Hill on Easter Morning |
Also during April, a new committee was formed to nominate a new minister for Bennochy Parish Church. Associated with the start of this process, the JC Club regained its original name of The Sunday School.
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View pictures of the Easter Flowers |
During 2010, the 20th Kirkcaldy Guides enjoyed many activities starting with the centenary launch of celebrations for 100 years of guiding with a day of activities at Fife College.
This was followed by a full year of activities while the Guides did a 100 challenge to gain a 100 centenary badge.
On the 7th May, we hosted a special visit by our Missionary Partner, Jenny Featherstone who was visiting Fife while home on furlough from Zambia. Members from other Churches in the presbytery were also invited to hear of Jenny's work in Africa.
The week of the 9th started the annual Christian Aid fundraising week. To get the week started, a special all-ticket "Soup and Sweet" lunch was held in the Methven Hall.
At a special service in Dunfermline Abbey on 6th June, the Lord Lieutenant of Fife presented Andrew Bease with the Queen's Badge - the highest award available to a B.B. boy. Andrew has been a member of St. John's and now Bennochy Boys' Brigade for many years.
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Welcome to Doors Open Day visitors |
The 12th of September saw the Church participating in Fife's Doors Open Day for the first time as Bennochy Parish Church. As well as the usual refreshments, music and a slide show of the history of both congregations was shown on the large screen.
During September some new groups started including Ballet, Tap and Scottish Country Dancing classes and a Handbell Ringing group.
This year our shoebox gifts supported the Blythswood Care Shoe Box Appeal. As you can see below, a large number of boxes (128 in total) were filled for distribution across Europe and Asia
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Shoeboxes ready for collection |
The first Bennochy Parish Church Christmas Fayre was held in November and was a great success with noticeably more visitors than previous years. As well as the usual cake, jewellery and Bric-a-brac, a gardening sale offered a selection of plants.
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The Christmas Fayre |
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View more pictures from the 2010 Christmas Fayre |
On Remembrance Sunday, 14th November, the War Memorials from all four Churches which now form Bennochy Parish Church were rededicated by Rev Catriona Morrison. They have now been moved to their new home on the rear wall of the Sanctuary.
The 34th Kirkcaldy Brownie Pack, originally associated with St. Andrew's Parish Church, celebrated their 50th birthday in November with a selection of games from 1960. As well as enjoying a special birthday cake, the girls are also making time capsules and scrapbooks.
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The Brownies celebrate their 50th birthday |
The Advent season was started in style with a service of lessons and carols led by the choir. This also included gifts of toys provided by the congregation for distribution by the Salvation Army to local needy children at Christmas. The picture below shows the selection of toys around the tree and in along the wall.
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The Salvation Army receives toys for Christmas distribution in the local area |
2011
On January 16th, Rev. Robin McAlpine led the Sunday service as sole nominee for the vacant position of minister. A vote was taken after the service which resulted the Robin being offered The Call.
At the end of January, Mr George Drummond accepted the position of Session Clerk and took over from Bill Stenhouse and Ragnar Ingebrigtsen, the previous Session Clerks of St. John's and St. Andrew's who performed their roles for 19 and 13 years respectively. Each received a presentation gift.
A service of Induction was held in the Church on Thursday 3rd February where Rev. Robin McAlpine BDS BD MTh was formally welcomed to Bennochy Parish Church as the new minister.
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Rev. Robin McAlpine is welcomed by Mr George Grant |
The service was conducted by Mr George Grant, Moderator of Kirkcaldy Presbytery, Rev. Alexandra Rosener from Christ's Kirk, Glenrothes and Rev. Rosemary Frew, the Presbytery Clerk. Afterwards a Welcome Social and refreshments were enjoyed by all. The Social was presided over by the Interim Moderator, Catriona Morrison, and included Rev. David Currie, a colleague of Robins from the Church of Scotland Development Office who introduced a short film of Robins hill walking exploits.
Presentations were also made to Rev. David Ferguson and his wife. David led services initially at St. Andrew's Parish Church and then at Bennochy for a total of three years during the two vacancies. The Interim Moderator, Rev. Catriona Morrison, also received one of the large flower bouquets!
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View pictures from the Induction service |
Spring welcomed some special events at the Church with a performance by the Kevock Choir. They performed a range of songs destined to be showcased at their forthcoming concert at the Queen's Hall, Edinburgh. In April, the Taekwondo Club hosted a Family Fun Day to raise funds to help their students attend the European Summer Camp in Rotterdam to be held in August.
The RNLI SOS fundraising day and the Souper Sunday lunches were well attended with funds being raised to support the associated organisations.
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The Albany Church Deaf Choir sing using sign-language |
Easter Sunday saw a special visit by Rev. Alistair Kelly and the Albany Church Deaf Choir from Edinburgh, pictured above. As well as contributing to the service they also taught the congregation how to sing 'Celebrate Jesus Celebrate' using sign-lang uage (as shown in the picture, below).
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The Albany Church Deaf Choir lead the congregation in singing by sign-language |
After the successful renaming of the main hall as the Methven Hall in the past, the other halls were renamed to reflect the history and location of the Church. The small hall became St. Andrew's Hall, the new hall was renamed the Elgin Hall and the small kids room became the Meldrum Room.
On the 11th June, the Church participated in a 'Readathon' to celebrate 400 years of the King James Bible. Churches throughout the Kirkcaldy Presbytery read certain sections of the Bible during a three hour period. Readings were performed at the Church and at the homes of congregation members.
During July, a series of joint services were held with the congregations of Bennochy, Abbotshall, Linktown and St. Bryce joining together in weekly rotation. The service at Bennochy was held on the 17th July.
A new innovation to Bennochy was an outdoor barbecue on 28th August (previously an annual event at St. Andrew's Church). Unfortunately the summer weather turned cold and windy so although the food was cooked in traditional style beneath the trees in the garden, it was consumed indoors!
This years Harvest Service also collected a wide range of non-perishable items for local distribution as shown below.
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Donations for the Harvest Service - distributed locally by The Salvation Army |
The Church was also decorated for the special service which included a wheel barrow and set of tools!
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Decorations for the Harvest Service |
A Halloween Party was held in the Methven Hall for members of Bennochy and Pathhead Churches Boys' Brigade with a Christmas Party being arranged at Pathhead Church Hall for December.
The second Bennochy Parish Church Christmas Fayre was held in November and continued the trend of ever increasing visitors. The hall was buzzing with buyers and the halls were busy with refreshments.
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Santa and his little helper at the Christmas Fayre |
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View more pictures from the 2011 Christmas Fayre |
A new feature for 2011 was a special "Songs of Praise" style service in November in which hymns and songs were selected by the congregation. Those chosen were given the opportunity to explain the reasons behind their choice as an introduction to each song.
On the 1st December, the Kirkcaldy Presbyterial Council held their annual guild carol concert at Bennochy Parish Church. This was the first time this event was held here with guild members from around various Kirkcaldy Churches attending.
The annual Gift service for local children was attended by Major David and Grace Arnott with Mrs Eleanor Robertson from The Salvation Army. Toys donated by the congregation were uplifted for distribution to needy families over Christmas.
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Donated toys are sorted for uplift |
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Grace Arnott and helpers from The Salvation Army collect donated toys for local distribution |
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