Grahamston United Church mark 50th anniversary

When the congregation of Grahamston United Church met for its inaugural service on January 9, 1972 it was deemed to be an “ecumenical experiment” which would be reviewed after a couple of years.

However, five decades later it is still going strong and it was marked on Sunday with a time of anniversary worship.

Seen as a bold, radical and pioneering initiative, Grahamston United brought together four churches: Grahamston Parish, Grahams Road, Falkirk Methodist and Trinity EU Congregational, of three different denominations – Church of Scotland, Methodist and Congregational (now United Reformed Church) – to worship initially in two buildings and ultimately one.

Grahamston United was further expanded in 2018 when St James Parish joined.

Sunday’s service was led by Reverend Anne White, Grahamston United locum minister; The Rt. Hon the Lord Wallace of Tankerness, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland; Reverend Paul Whittle, Moderator United Reformed Church Synod of Scotland; and Rev. Mark Slaney, District Chair of the Methodist Church in Scotland.

Amongst the invited guests were Reverend Robert Philip, former minister of Grahamston United; Janet Craig, wife of the late Rev. Maxwell Craig who was one of the original ministers; Reverend Edward Sykes, Superintendent of Forth Valley Methodist Circuit; Reverend James Todd, Moderator of Falkirk Presbytery; Reverend John Bremner, Ecumenical Officer of the United Reformed Church; and the Very Reverend Dr James Simpson, former Moderator of the Church of Scotland and minister of Grahamston Parish Church.