Dear friends,
I have spoken elsewhere in the newsletter about the official opening of Hamilton Hall. I would like to say something here about the history of additional accommodation in Dalserf. Dalserf Church attractive as it is, is severely limited in terms of accommodation and facilities for anything other than worship. The need for additional accommodation in Dalserf was met in various ways over the years of my ministry in Dalserf. When we first began serving teas we did so in the Mauldslie (centre) gallery. A sink unit was installed in the vestibule of the Mauldslie Gallery to make this easier. Willie and Helen Knox's living room was used for the crèche. In 1994 we were offered a residential caravan which was purchased at the relatively small sum of £250 and was sited where Hamilton Hall is now. This was used for the crèche and for the Big Bible Breakfast Club and the prayer meeting prior to the Sunday service. Dalserf Estate had been approached with a request for a plot of land on which to build a hall. We were given a plot eighty feet by fifty feet on the opposite side of the path from where Hamilton Hall is, on the understanding that if a hall was not built within five years the offer would lapse. In 1996 the Session began to investigate the possibility of a second hand prefabricated structure twenty one and a half feet by at least thirty feet which would cost around £1500 for the basic structure if we carried out the labour ourselves. An anonymous gift of £1100 was available for this purpose. In the meantime it was noted that the "shed" in the village belonging to Dalserf estate was no longer used and the estate were approached with a request to use it as extra accommodation for the congregation. This was graciously agreed to with some conditions to safeguard the concerns of the residents - no parking by users in Kirk Road, no regular meetings of youth organisations etc. The shed was quite unusable as it was, it required a proper floor, ceiling, walls lined, new windows and back door which it did not have. We were fortunate to be able to utilise the services of Community Industries run by the council to give young people work experience. This meant that we had to cover the cost only of materials which amounted to around £5,000. "The Meeting Place" as we called it was dedicated on 31st August, 1997 and was invaluable as the venue for tea and fellowship after the service and also for stalls on Open Day Saturdays. One major drawback was the distance from the church, another was the absence of toilets. It is not at all clear from the Kirk Session minutes why this option was chosen rather than the pre-fabricated building. I can only assume the permanence of the Meeting Place was considered more important than close proximity to the church.
The Kirk Session considered extending The Meeting Place and adding toilet facilities and upgrading for catering purposes. Although this would have cost considerably less than Hamilton Hall it was still unsatisfactory particularly in terms of the distance from the church. The possibility of a building of some description adjacent to the church was reconsidered. Bruce Archibald in particular began to investigate various possibilities beginning with a portacabin moving on to a wooden chalet type building. The Presbytery instruction to install a disabled toilet to serve Dalserf Church gave added impetus to the better alternative to build a new hall and only as more funds began to be available for the purpose and the New Meeting Place Committee was set up, did it become apparent that the fine building we now have was possible, meeting all our needs and more.
It is to be hoped that a goodly number of members will attend the special service, meeting and lunch with Richard Higginbottom on Sunday 3rd February. I think it should be stressed that the meeting which will probably last about half an hour should not be looked at as a church business meeting. We will not be making any decisions and I would not expect people to be using this as a platform to promote divisive views. It is a friendly chat about the congregation with Richard to give him as much information as possible about ourselves. I have deliberately avoided discussing with Richard my own views about the strengths and weakness and issues of the congregation in order to allow his assessment to be as objective as possible. Herein lies the value of this church consultancy - someone with knowledge and experience of the church and of many other congregations taking a look from the outside at our congregation without the personal baggage created by our involvement in the congregation which we all carry and which reduces our ability to be objective.
Yours sincerely,
D. Cameron McPherson
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