On the 3rd August 2023 Montrose Trinity Church of Scotland will come into being. It is a union of the three Church of Scotland congregations in the Montrose area: Dun & Hillside, Montrose: Old & St Andrews and Montrose: South & Ferryden. The Union will be served by a team of three full time staff. Two ministers of Word and Sacrament and a Ministry Development Staff post. On the 3rd August that team will be the serving ministers of Old & St Andrews and South & Ferryden, Rev Ian McLean and Rev Geoff Redmayne respectively, and a families’ worker in Shona Barakat. The Presbytery Mission Plan also allows for an Ordained Local Minister (OLM) and Rev Ian Gray is expected to continue in that capacity. The two sitting ministers are both due to retire within the next few months so the team will see some changes as those vacancies are filled.
Much has been said about buildings closing and of losing a minister but this is the time to look to the positive. Initially not much will change across the constituent congregations. There will services of worship each Sunday and the usual activities will carry on (or resume after a summer break). Longer term though this is about the opportunity to reset our focus as the people of God on proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ to the folk of Montrose and district. We should look positively on the creativity and energy we can bring collectively by working as a team (both staff and the people of the constituent congregations) across the area. The questions we will be asking as we head into union are 1) What ideas for mission action can we spark in each other and 2) What can we do better together that we struggled to do alone?
The service of Union will be conducted by the Moderator of the Presbytery of Perth (itself a relatively new union of five former presbyteries) on the 3rd August 2023 at 7.00pm in the building of the current Old & St Andrews congregation. We look forward to the new beginning of service and mission to the people of Montrose and area that this affords.
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