Our vision which is encapsulated in our logo 'DOVE' - Development
Of the Vision Enterprise is derived
from the objective that people hear clearly the Gospel of Jesus Christ, see the life of
His spirit among his people and come to know the love of God the father.
Welcome
to Cairns
We in
Cairns, recognise an important distinction between religious needs and spiritual needs.
We believe
that everyone has spiritual needs - searchings, longings, questions about what it is to be
human and what life is about - but that not everyone seeks to answer these in a religious
way, or by belonging to a church.
However
they are expressed, we consider these deep spiritual needs to be valid and important in
their own right, and we believe it is our role as a community-committed church, to help
people to voice their questions about life and its meaning and to seek answers to them
whether these answers take a 'religious' form or not
If their
search leads people into the congregation, they will find a welcome, but our concern for
them and our openness to them is unconditional.
Recent extensive modifications to the Cairns buildings have supported
and promoted the physical, emotional and spiritual development of the church: a
7-day-a-week adventure which is reflected in a 7-day-a-week church alive, spiritual,
bright and welcoming, reaching out to serve the needs of the congregation and the
community.
The new entrance in Buchanan Street does not differentiate between
spiritual or community activities; it is the milling space at the centre of the complex
which provides the pivot between the quiet reflective character of the sanctuary, and the
buzz of activity which emanates from the rest of the building.
Our Sanctuary
Cairns is first a place of spiritual care and development. Its
approach respects the various points that people have reached on the journey of faith.
This is focused principally on our Sunday services held in the
sanctuary where an atmospheric space has been created by the rich coloured carpet,
comfortable seating and variable sound and lighting.
Our new seating arrangements allow us to see each other face to face
and to be more conscious of what is going on in each other's lives.
Our Communion services 'in the round' are more reminiscent of the
family meal which Christ shared with his disciples as opposed to the hierarchical three
decks of High Priests, fellow Priests and Laity which is the more common layout of
churches built in the last 3 centuries.
On Sunday mornings the various departments of the Young Church and an
Adult Learning group also meet. On Sunday evenings two age groups of our teenagers meet.
Evening 'Reflections' have been held in the Sanctuary during the
seasons of Advent and Holy Week. On these occasions, the imaginative use of words, music,
candlelight combined with time for quiet reflection have proved very helpful to those who
have come not just from our own congregation but from other churches or no church.
We continue to seek out fresh ways of showing how the Christian message
is alive today.
The Story of Cairns Church
The story begins in 1787 when some stalwart members of New Kilpatrick Parish Church in
Bearsden (then known as Newkirk) decided to break away from the Established Church because
of dissatisfaction with the system of patronage - a dissatisfaction that came to a head
when the patron, the Duke of Montrose, pushed through a very unpopular ministerial
appointment.........
