It’s survived nearly 900 years… now church’s Sunday service has fallen silent

• Birnie Kirk in Elgin has closed its doors to Sunday parishioners 

They came with purpose, moving slowly where ancient feet once trod to bear witness to the passing of history.

Some walked with sticks while others leant heavily on friends or relatives, their greying hair glinting in the pale November sun as they made their final Sunday ­pilgrimage to Birnie Kirk.

For almost 900 years the church’s stone walls have weathered bitter Scottish ­winters and the worst our nation’s tangled and bloody past could throw at it while offering spiritual shelter to its parishioners.

Historians generally accept that Birnie Kirk, four miles south of Elgin on the Moray Firth, has been in continuous use for longer than any other religious building in ­Scotland. But not any more.

Yesterday, its present – and final – congregation found themselves ­gathering for Birnie’s last ever Sunday worship after 883 years.

After nearly a millennia of use, Birnie Kirk near Elgin, Moray, will no longer be a regular place of worship 

Having survived our nation’s major religious and military flashpoints since the time of King David I, Birnie Kirk is facing closure as the Church of Scotland seeks to balance the books in the wake of falling congregations and rising running costs.

The news that Birnie’s usual congregation of around 20 parishioners will now have to worship at a church in Elgin has been met with anguish and many turned out for one last show of defiance.

By the time the church bell ­signalled the start of the special ‘Thanksgiving Service’ there wasn’t a seat to be had as more than 100 souls – including several youngsters born in this century – packed within its thick stone walls. Walls, we were reminded, that would once have resounded to voices praying at various times in French, Gaelic, Scots, Doric, English – and Latin.

After all, the church was ­originally built in 1140 by Roman Catholics, before being converted to use by Episcopalians and latterly the Church of Scotland.

For stalwarts, like kirk elder Gill Garrow, the church’s rich history alone ought to have been enough to save it.

Birnie Kirk minister Paula Baker and worshipper Catriona Monro

Birnie Kirk held a final service

Mrs Garrow, 68, who grew up in the area, said: ‘Today’s service was very nice, but I am upset that the Church is acting like this.

‘They say they are going to place the church in a trust and it may become a museum, but it has been a working church for 900 years and it should stay a working church – it needs life breathed into it.

‘They don’t understand what Birnie Kirk means to this community – they are breaking up a community where people look out for each other’s needs. This is our spiritual home and when we joined the Kirk we never thought it wouldn’t be there for us.

‘And considering how long this church has been here, it’s just indecent the speed with which the church is trying to close it down.’

Built on a suspiciously ancient-looking mound which now serves as a graveyard, Birnie has ­certainly been there for a very long time.

Archaeologists say they have found evidence to suggest Birnie was a centre of Roman power and an important pre-Christian settlement inhabited by the pagan Picts.

Two substantial hoards of Roman coins have been found nearby and an earlier church dedicated to the Irish ­missionary St Brendan is thought to have given Birnie its name.

It became the first acting cathedral in Moray, predating the much grander Elgin Cathedral and is older than both Glasgow Cathedral and St Giles in Edinburgh.

Almost two centuries of wear and tear would have taken its toll on the fabric of Birnie Kirk before the Battle of Bannockburn took place in 1314; another two hundred years would pass before Mary Queen of Scots was born in 1542. It would be a full 600 years before the Jacobites met their fate in 1746 at Culloden – less than 40 miles west of Birnie.

For those attending the final Sunday ­service, ancient history is only part of why Birnie Kirk remains dear to their hearts. ‘I first came here to Sunday school as a 16-year-old girl and I am 89 now,’ said May Denoon, as she enjoyed a cup of tea and some home-made scones and biscuits in the church hall after the service.

‘I got married in this church and my husband Jimmy is buried in the churchyard. It has deep ­personal ties for many of those who pray here.’

One of three generations of her family to be represented ­yesterday, Mrs Denoon was accompanied by her daughter, Wendy Fiske, and grandson, Scott, 23. Like many his age, he admits he is not a regular church-goer. 

He said: ‘It’s quite hard. In the past, Sunday was a day of rest but these days a lot of young people are having to work shifts over the weekend which means attending church might not be such a priority.

‘I’m not sure you have to go to church to have faith, but, for the older generation, they have c­ontributed to this church all their lives and it doesn’t seem ­particularly fair to close it down.’

Catriona Monro’s father, the Reverend Ronald Torrie, was ­minister here for 30 years from 1956 and the church’s St Columba stained glass window is dedicated to his memory.

She said: ‘I think he would have found today’s service desperately sad. He would have fought hard to keep the Sunday worship going.

‘But then, in his days that would have been a simple matter. I can remember a game we played as children was to count the number of cars parked around the road on a Sunday morning and it was usually around 70.

‘People did go to church more in those days, so it’s difficult.’

Mrs Monro, whose husband Brigadier Hugh Monro is Vice-Lord Lieutenant of Banffshire, said her years as an Army wife taught her the value of a Christian community, adding: ‘I would urge other wives to join church activities to stop them feeling lonely.

‘We are always talking about the importance of good mental health these days, and I always find singing hymns such a tonic.’

The final congregation gathered yesterday for Birnie’s last ever Sunday worship after 883 years

The final service had included many hymns which held special significance for many in the congregation.

‘They are hymns which have been used at weddings and funerals and other occasions,’ said Paula Baker, who has been a minister at Birnie for 16 years.

‘Many people had a hand in this final Sunday service and I hope they found it fitting.’

A Church of Scotland ­spokesman said it was hoped that some midweek services could still be held at Birnie from January but in a statement confirmed: ‘It is proposed that Birnie Church will cease to be a place of worship by August 2027 and be released and the continued use of Birnie Church Hall will be reviewed on an annual basis.’

Sunday services will transfer to Elgin Parish Church but not all are sure they will follow.

Valerie Regan, 64, said she felt ‘disheartened’ by the closure, adding: ‘I feel that this building should be cherished, not cast aside.’

During the service, the congregation were urged to remember an inscription that once adorned an old gate at the kirk and which read: ‘The Old Order Changeth Yielding Place To The New.’

After nearly 900 years, there were many in those pews who fervently wished that wasn’t true.

Source: Read Full Article