Picture Gallery of the Ministers of Greengairs Parish Church
In 1976, when Greengairs Church was celebrating its centenary a booklet was prepared giving the history of the Church of Scotland and the Free Church in the village and this is reproduced here. It is of course quite dated but it does give the flavour of those first hundred years. It is also fairly long to read online, and if you wish, a text version of this document may be downloaded HERE.
On Sunday, 18th June 1876 the people of Greengairs gathered at 12 o'clock for the public opening of their new Church building. The Reverend Dr. Burns of Glasgow Cathedral conducted the service. So our church here began to make it’s presence felt in the community. At the public opening of the church in Greengairs the Reverend Archibald 0. Brown was Minister. Some mystery seems to surround him for there is no record in the Kirk Session Minutes of him being appointed. At the other end of the story when better records are to be found it appears that quite suddenly Mr. Brown resigned with effect from July 1877, only thirteen months later. The reason for the resignation was that he was appointed to the Parish of Holm, 0rkney, a congregation that later was to receive another minister from Greengairs, namely the Reverend Ambrose Russell. It appears that the Rev. A.0. Brown was settled in the village some time before the church was built and this would account for a longer ministry than that actually recorded.
Greengairs became such a populous place before 1876 that the need for a church began to force itself upon the people. For sometime the Parish Minister, Mr. Brown attempted both by his own and his assistant's efforts to maintain public ordinances in the old Subscription School. These services were often intermittent and everybody felt that something more was needed. After various negotiations the Rev. A. 0. Brown was settled permanently in the village and at once his labours commanded a large amount of success. The Mission was speedily brought under the notice of the Presbytery of Hamilton and a Presbyterial Committee was appointed for the oversight of the Mission. At a meeting of committees, Presbytery and others interested held in the office of Mr. John Rankin, Solicitor, Airdrie, on 19th February 1874, it was resolved to build a church. Colonel Buchanan, Messrs John Rankin, John Murray and John Watt were appointed trustees and a local committee of fourteen gentlemen was appointed. 0f these, five are still connected with the church. A site was granted by Colonel Buchanan and plans in the Norse Gothic style prepared by Mr. A. Mitchell, Architect, Airdrie. Everything was put in train for having the edifice completed before the year 1874 expired. But alas, as often happens, the course of true love never runs smooth. When everything looked prosperous for the infant church the contractor was unable to continue the work and for a time the roofless walls remained untenanted. Although the church building was at a standstill the church was not. When it was first proposed to build the Rev. Mr. Brown reported that the average attendance was 60. At the beginning of 1876 in reply for aid from the Ferguson Bequest Fund he was able to report that the attendance was about 150 and that there were 155 communicants at the April communion. The trouble with the con- tractor caused a very serious extra outlay. In the face of all difficulties and with the help of liberal supplies of money from Colonel Buchanan and Mr. John Rankin the beautiful church was finished early in the summer of 1876 and opened as already stated, on the 18th of June.
By this time the Free Church had come to Greengairs. Already they had won the day. The Reverend Mr. Anderson was appointed to take charge of a Mission Station at Greengairs in November 1872. The foundation stone of the Free Church building was laid on 9th March 1874 and the first sermon preached in the new building on 23rd August in the same year. The Rev. Mr. Houston, who succeeded Mr. Anderson as missionary, was ordained to the charge on 13th of November following. About three years later the Free Church manse was erected.
Up the road, the established church had opened. This was a time of not friendly rivalry between the Free Church and the established church. Yet, on the occasion of the opening of the established church in 1876, many Free Churchmen were known to have attended the opening ceremony, and to note that the collection at that service amounted to no less than £88.17.11½d. How would that compare with today's values? Although now located in the new church the congregation did not increase very much as the population had ceased to grow and almost all those who could be persuaded to attend the church, were doing so.
In July 1877 the Rev. A. O. Brown resigned and the Rev. James Muir was appointed minister of the church on 1st October 1877, and either inducted or ordained in November following. . For the next few years the work of the church continued in a prosperous though uneventful state. Plan after plan was proposed for clearing off the debts but either through the isolated position of Greengairs or some unknown cause, the plans achieved no results. The proposal to hold a bazaar was first mooted during May 1880 and many attempts were thereafter made to inaugurate one but somehow they all failed.
The Rev. Mr. Muir having been appointed to a charge in the West Indies resigned in August 1884 and the Rev. William Green was ordained on 13 November 1884. After his induction the church continued in its steady, prosperous career and arrangements were made for having a bazaar to aid church funds. For a moment, let us look at the Rev. James Muir. It is interesting to note that early in the Rev. James Muir's ministry a new Precentor was appointed at a salary of £8 per annum, while the Church Officer was paid £5 per annum. In 1878, grants were received in the form of £500 from the Baird Trust, £200 from the Ferguson Bequest Fund and £195 from the Home Mission Fund. These were lodged in the bank, to the credit of the Building Fund. The Minister's stipend seems to have been £80 per annum and this was before there was a manse. This was paid quarterly until 1879, when it was agreed to change to monthly. On September 1st, 1878, a daughter was born to the Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Muir. She was baptised Mary Davina McBride Sloan, by the Rev. John McGavin Boyd on October 17th. A second daughter was born on September 3rd, 1880 and named Isabella Baird Forbes. In 1882, twins were born on October 7th, a boy named Dugald Baird and a girl Jessie Reid, taking her mother's name. The twins were baptised by the Rev. Pearson McAdam Muir. The names of the three daughters are to be seen on the present baptismal font, which was gifted in memory of their father and mother. The family lived at Riggend Cottage for the manse was not built while they were in the district. The Rev. James Muir made considerable efforts to have a manse built but two things were against this. There was an accumulated debt as has already been stated of nearly £1000 because of the expense of building the church and trade was experiencing a recession. Plans for clearing off the debt suffered many blows until Mr. Muir left.
The Rev. William Green was minister of the parish church for only about 3½ years but during this short time some notable changes took place. For sometime Precentors had come and gone but in January 1887 a harmonium was presented to the church and the first harmoniumist was Mr. John Thomson of Rawyards who was appointed on a three months trial at a salary of £9 per annum. On three days, the last two of 1886 and the first of January 1887, the great Bazaar was held with the astonishing income of £800. Imagine the present day equivalent value of that! £230 of this sum was used to form the nucleus of an endowment fund. A scheme of monthly collections towards endowments was also started. There was also talk about Stand Cottages as a residence for the minister but to quote one Kirk Session minute, "After a long conversation and many suggestions, no conclusion was arrived at". Mr. Green went to Grantown, Strathspey, in March 1888.
In the vacancy that followed there seems to have been prolonged indecision. No less than twenty-two candidates showed their interest in the charge. Finally, a meeting of the congregation chose the Reverend Alexander Macrae from a list of four.
It seems that the Free Church manse, having been built and occupied for a long time before the "Auld Kirk" manse, also got off to a good start with ministers' families. The Rev. Alex. S. Houston, previously mentioned, was father to three children while in residence there, daughters in 1878 and 1879 and a son in 1881. Three other children were born in the Free Church manse, a daughter to the Rev. David B. Muir in 1898 and daughters to the Rev. Robert Corke in 1920 and 1922. The Rev. Mr. Houston left Greengairs to go to Australia in 1881. This village must have been the "jumping-off" point for many far distant travellers, as it continues to be.
The Rev. Mr. Brown was minister of the Free Kirk from 1882 to 1897. Records bear testimony that Communion season was a most prominent occasion, "And they appointed the usual special services: Fast Day on Thursday 27th and Preparation Services on Friday 28th and Thanksgiving Services on Monday 1st of May". This was apparently the regular procedure in those days, while the Rev. Thomas Brown was minister of the Free Church in Greengairs. He died early in 1897 after some fifteen years in his congregation. Later that year, Mrs. Brown and family gifted a tablet to his memory, which is now in the Vestibule of our church building here. Before the year was out, the Rev. David Baird-Muir was inducted to the charge. His ministry was much shorter for he was called to London Road Free Church, Glasgow, in the autumn of 1900. He was in turn succeeded by the Rev. Samuel Mathers in the spring of 1901.
There is an interesting note about that time that the Deacon's Court resolved to get an estimate to lead water into the manse, but the biggest step forward in modern trends for that date came in 1902 when a pipe organ was installed valued at £180.
In the Parish Kirk, the Rev. Alexander Macrae was ordained on Tuesday, 24th July 1888, and very soon after that, work was begun on the long-awaited Manse. It was completed the following year at the cost of £500. Mr. Macrae was called to the Crown Court Church, London, in 1892, preaching his farewell sermon on December the 25th. At a soiree the following day he was presented with a purse of sovereigns and a silver cigar-case as a parting gift.
May 1893 saw the induction of the Rev. Robert C. Anderson as minister and so began the first of the Parish Kirk's long ministries. It was marked by several important events. In 1894 the sum necessary to complete the endowment was raised and so in the true sense it became a Parish Church, being "Erected the Church and Parish of Greengairs, Quoad Sacra".
By the turn of the century the membership roll numbered 184. In commemoration of the semi-jubilee a belfry was erected in 1901 and an inscription, though somewhat weathered, still testifies to that occasion. It was also under the Rev. Robert C. Anderson's ministry that the first plans are recorded as having been made for a hall to be built to harmonise with the existing fabric and to be built as cheaply as possible. The first plan proved to be rather ambitious financially so a smaller scheme for a building measuring 27 feet by 20 feet was considered. Mr. John Aitken was asked to prepare an estimate and this was submitted for the sum of £126.10/-. This was to be raised by means of collecting cards, public lectures, sacred concerts and other means. The Junior Choir is reported as having rendered the sacred Cantata "Daniel" in aid of the Hall Building Fund. The hall was officially opened on Sunday 31st March 1907 at 6.00 p.m., when the opening service held there was conducted by the Rev. J. McGavin-Boyd of New Monkland. The Rev. R. C. Anderson was minister of the Parish Church until 1910, a period of some seventeen years. He came to a young and immature congregation. He left it an established branch of the Kingdom and with expanded facilities. He conducted his farewell services on Sunday, 15th May and was transferred to Sinclair town.
The vacancy was again a short one compared with some present-day standards for by the 28th September, the Rev. Charles Peter Grant, MA was ordained and inducted to the charge. Mr. Grant had been assistant to St. Michael's, Dumfries. At a reception in the form of a soiree for the new minister, Miss Jeannie McCracken presented robes and Mr. Thomas Liddell presented him with bands.
The Free Church still had its minister at this time, the Rev. Samuel Mathers. It seems that the new organ installed in 1902 developed trouble quite early in its life, seemingly due to dampness and negotiations concerning this went on for some time. About this time too, there was some concern over the general condition of the Free Manse and repairs were planned. The Rev. Mr. Mathers was minister of the Free Church until February 1909. The new minister came in October of that year. He was the Rev. T. Renshaw Mackie whose ministry in Greengairs lasted some six years. In 1914 there was some talk of uniting the Greengairs congregation with Longriggend. But Mr. Mackie stayed at least until March 1915, after which there appears to have been a long vacancy.
At the annual Lady Table-holders Soiree, in November 1911, it was agreed to supply to each, a bag of pastry costing 2½ d and in addition an extra bag costing about 1½ d containing an apple, a few sweets and a few grapes. About a year later, when the position of organist was again advertised the salary offered was £10 per annum and in addition the organist was to be allowed to hold a benefit concert of his own arranging to supplement the salary. It was in 1916 in the month of August, that the Rev. C. P. Grant left the Parish Church after a ministry of about six years. He had lived here with his sister and did not marry during his time in Greengairs.
It was in December of that year that the new minister, the Rev. James Russell, was ordained, and so we come to one of the ministers well-remembered and still talked of in this day. Mr. Russell had previously been assistant at the North Parish Church, Stirling.
There is a gap in the records of the Free Church to hand by the successor to the Rev. T. Renshaw Mackie. This was the Rev. Kennedy-Adams. Though his ministry was not a long one, he too made his mark and is still talked of. And so the First World War was seen to its close with two stalwart ministers in Greengairs.
In the Kirk Session minutes of August 1918, comes word of the Stanrigg Colliery Disaster. The Free Church records give some of the details of their expression of sympathy for those bereaved, "The morning of the 9th July about 10 o 'clock where nineteen men were lost-fourteen men and five boys". The Parish Church records mention that "The use of the church was granted to the War Work Party for a concert on behalf of the dependants of the Stanrigg Disaster".
Discussions began before the end of the year between the two churches concerning the erection of a memorial for the fallen of the Great War as the world was then beginning to settle down after the Armistice. For the year ending 1918 the Free Church reported 125 members on the Communion Roll and 144 scholars in the Sunday School. :
There was also communication between the two churches with regard to the holding of a special United Mission about this time. A combined meeting was held on 10th March 1919 and the campaign held the following month. The Free Church records show a lengthy list of new members received both by Certificate and by Profession of Faith, after this effort. This seems to have been a period of particularly close co-operation between the two congregations. By the end of 1919 the Reverend Kennedy Adams of the Free Church was called to Harthill, so breaking up the partnership.
Representatives of the churches played a major part in the arrangements for the erection of a suitable War Memorial in the village. The first meeting was held on 27th November 1918, with representatives of all the public bodies in the Parish present, including the Open Brethren, the Roman Catholic Church, the Shepherd's Lodge, the Women's Work Party, the Orange Order and a large number of influential gentlemen. The memorial, however, was not finally erected and unveiled until 21st May 1921. The reason for this long delay was not that subscriptions were slow in coming but that the negotiations to fix a site were very protracted. There were many different proposals at different times for what seems to have been nearly every possible site in the village. As late as October 1920 there were three proposals before the committee and the final decision to erect the monument in the Parish Church grounds was made on the Chairman's casting vote. By this time the railings to go round the memorial had been ordered but the church grounds, at that time, had their own railings and the committee were left with the problem of disposing of what was no longer required. MAJOR W. B. Rankin unveiled the War Memorial, erected in the Parish Church grounds. Buglers sounded the Last Post and Reveille Messrs Stewarts & Lloyds Cadet Pipe Band played a Lament. Wreaths were placed and no less than three addresses given by Captain Watt, Mr Robert McLaren MP and Mr Duncan Graham, MP. The hymns, 'O God of Bethel’ and ‘O God our help in ages past' were sung. The Reverend Mr Russell gave the Dedicatory Prayer and the Reverend Robert Corke, votes of thanks. It was noted that it had been impossible to get a Firing Party owing to the disturbed state of the country at that time. The successor to the Reverend Kennedy Adams in the Free Church was the Reverend Robert Corke who came early in 1920 There is mention of his first Kirk Session meeting and a letter having been received about the Hungarian Relief Fund. One wonders - does the world situation really improve much? In September 1923, it was agreed to begin united evening services with the Parish Church, so relationships became closer.
The following month, there is this report on the religious census of the area, as follows:
Parish Church
Number of Parents 225
Under 20 years of age 327
Over 20 years of age 85
United Free Church
Number of Parents 157
Under 20 years of age 230
Over 20 years of age 53
Brethren (Approx.)
Number of Parents 48
Under 20 years of age 86
Over 20 years of age 23
No church Connection
Number of Parents 45
Under 20 years of age 67
Over 20 years of age 13
No figures were taken for Roman Catholics. On these figures, then, there were 1.359 people in the district, plus Roman Catholics at that time. The numbers do not represent the actual rolls of the respective congregations but will include adherents. Mr. Corke was called to Thornton and so his connection with Greengairs was broken in February 1925. There was a great deal of activity at the Parish Church during the year 1926. At the Jubilee Celebrations in June former ministers - the Rev. R C Anderson, the Rev C.P. Grant, conducted services and the following week, the Rev. E. Sherwood Gunson of New Monkland and the then Moderator of the Church of Scotland General Assembly, preached. There was a Commemoration Soiree on 17 June. The church had been completely redecorated and by the end of the year a system of electric lighting dynamo and batteries was installed A special Jubilee Fund was raised and grew substantially. A photograph was taken with all the office Bearers with the minister, Mr Russell, a copy of which is still to be seen to this day.
CHURCH UNION: At Assembly level this was being discussed, before the time of the vacancy in the Free Church after the departure of the Rev R Corke. There is no record of a Session Meeting between December 1925 and April 1926 but a new minister, the Rev John Lennox was in charge by the latter date. He was to be the last minister of the Free Church in the village. During the winter of 1926 joint evening services were held between the two congregations. During the summer, open-air services were held. The last Kirk Session minute of the Free Church is dated 14th June 1931 and records agreements for the uniting of the two congregations on the evening of the 17th of June. The story of the Parish Church has not reached that stage, though it was during the ministry of the Rev. James Russell that the Freewill Offering was instituted in the parish Church. It had come up for discussion early in February 1920 but was not finally accepted until June 1928, when the total offered weekly amounted to £1.76d There is no record of how many members this represented but it would certainly be a minority. Another innovation of Mr. Russell's ministry was the use of individual Communion Cups in October 1930. A fund to bring this about had been building up over a period. About this time, Mr Russell's health had been giving him trouble and the Kirk Session appointed his son Ambrose to assist him. Mr. Ambrose Russell was a Divinity Student when appointed as Church Missionary. Following the union at Assembly level, of the two leading churches in Scotland, there was discussion about the name of the two churches in the village. The final decision was that they should be called Greengairs and Greengairs East. The Rev James Russell presided at this last Annual Congregational Meeting in January 1931. A month later, on February 24th, he died and was buried in New Monkland cemetery. Mr. Ambrose Russell, who had graduated by that time, MA continued to conduct church services during the vacancy. It was inevitable that procedure along the lines of union followed between the two congregations. The 17th June 1931 appears to be the date when the union of the two congregations was consummated. The Reverend Mr Lennox was appointed to carry on with services until 1st August. The new congregation was officially named GREENGAIRS UNITED PARISH CHURCH.
During the vacancy at this time a number of changes took effect. Arrangements were made to have the pipe organ transferred to the West Church, as its buildings were to continue to be in use. Negotiations to dispose of the former U. F building were started. In place of the previous Deacon's Court of the U. F. Church and Committee of Management in the Parish Church, the united office bearers became the 'Board' under the new constitution, with one third of its members due to retire annually. The combined membership of the congregations rose to the three hundred mark, It was October of that year before a new minister was to be elected, He was chosen from a leet of three, receiving 90 votes out of a possible 149.
On Wednesday, 16th December 1931 the Reverend Hugh Watson, BA, DD was inducted as the first minister of the united charge. He was to establish a new record as the longest incumbent. Attendance at the first Communion Service of the united congregation was 148. The Rev, Hugh Watson carried on for some time the difficult task of steering a congregation with two different backgrounds, through peaceful channels. When the Session Clerk, Mr. David Miller, resigned on being appointed Headmaster of another school, Mr.Watson took over the Clerk's duties, protem. He continued to do this extra duty for many years On 6th February 1938, three new Elders were ordained. Two were Mr. James Logan and Mr. Alex Menzies, now Session Clerk. In January 1939, there is a report concerning the formation of a Company of the Boys Brigade in the congregation. Thirty boys had been enrolled under the Captain Mr. Robert Dorman. Suggestions of this had been first made in the summer of 1926 and representatives of the Airdrie and Coatbridge Battalion had approached the Kirk Session but nothing further was done at that time due to the rather unsettled times. The only other time that this BB Company appears in Kirk Session records is 1947 when there is an entry to the effect that it was "Agreed to inform Mr, George Kerr that the horse used by the BB Company was not now required and we would gladly let any BB Company who wanted one or needed one, have it free of charge". The schoolmaster following Mr. Miller was Mr. Dempster, who became Clerk to the Board by 1939. More names of our present Office Bearers begin to come into evidence. Mr. Chalmers is admitted by certificate in October of that year and Mr. David Provan in April 1941. Mr Hugh Curran joins in October 1942, and on 6th September that year among new Elders ordained appear Mr Chalmers, Mr. Provan and Mr John Pollock. At sometime after the union of the two congregations in Greengairs in 1931 the Free Church organ was moved into the Parish Church building.
The record of this is not clear but by 1935, when some repairs were required to the organ, an electric blower was added. Previously the organ had been hand pumped. Negotiations over the sale of the former U F Church were protracted. The Plymouth Brethren asked for use of the building at one time but this was not granted due to uncertainty as to whether the Board had power to grant that. Eventually, by June 1938, we find record of a cheque being received from the County Buildings for £103.18.8d for the sale of the building. During the period of the second World War the church buildings suffered damage from the effects of a stray enemy bomb, though record of the date of this has yet to be uncovered. It was not until 1946, however, that major repair work seemed to have been necessary. The roof was strengthened and the church renovated, necessitating services being held in the hall. It was not until the 8th of June 1947 that the church was reopened. About the same time enquiries were being made about a permanent Communion Table and it was decided to obtain one and this was dedicated on Sunday 19th October 1947.
After the protracted affair over the War Memorial for the first Great War, things were much simpler following the Second World War. Following a special service on the afternoon of Sunday, 29th of June 1947, when the Airdrie District of the Orange Order paraded to Greengairs Church, the new names on the Memorial were unveiled by Major Ferguson. Mention has yet to be made of another memorial connected with the church. At a much earlier date a plaque was erected inside the church building in memory of the Reverend James Russell. This tablet was unveiled by Mr. Ambrose Russell on Sunday, 17th December 1933, when the Rev E. Sherwood Gunson of New Monkland church conducted the service. The Reverend Hugh Watson would have celebrated his jubilee in the ministry about 1956 but he retired from Greengairs after the autumn Communion in 1953, having completed some twenty-two years as Parish Minister. He settled in Ireland Only six months elapsed between the retiral of the Reverend Hugh Watson and the appointment of his successor.
The Reverend Joseph Ross Ingram came to Greengairs, and in fact there was no Communion during the vacancy, in as it fell between the autumn and the spring periods. The new minister, who came from a two year assistantship in Dundee was ordained in Greengairs Church on 7th April 1954, and started off at the deep-end with a marriage, a double baptism. Easter Services and Communion, within his first three weeks. During the vacancy, the Interim Moderator the Reverend John Waddell produced several issues of the news sheet. This had been so well received that in the summer of 1954 Greengairs Church purchased a Roneo Duplicator and the first issue of a monthly newsletter was published. In August extensive repairs were carried out at the manse during the vacancy when more than half of the rooms and passages were modernised and redecorated. A programme of more extensive improvements in the church property was envisaged and a Social Committee formed to organise functions to raise funds. After initial success the committee did not function long but part of the funds raised were used to pay for the cost of painting the church hall and improving the vestry. Before the winter of 1955 considerable and very necessary repairs were carried out externally on the manse.
The Boys Brigade Company and Life Boy Team were started in November 1954 and a new Junior Choir put on a Nativity Play in the church that Christmas. The young people's organisations made good beginnings. After Mr John Allan died in December 1954 it was decided to add a number of new Elders to the Kirk Session. A service of ordination took place on Sunday 20th of February 1955, when Mr. James Ramsay, Mr Thomas Mathieson and Mr. William McKendrick were ordained, and Mr. Frank Hughes admitted to the Elder-ship. The annual meeting of the congregation a few days later was marked by the great interest taken by all concerned, in the number of vacancies to be filled in the Congregational Board.
Enthusiasm was such that no less than sixteen nominations were made for six places- Mr R. E. Bristow, Mr. H. Curran, Mr. R. Gardner, Mr. A. Menzies, Mr. W. Provan and Mr. T. S. Dingwall were elected to serve for varying periods. In July of that year after a member by member visit from the officebearers, the congregational WFO Offering system was drastically revised. The initial response was extremely encouraging with over 60% of the members taking up envelopes. Comparisons of the monthly offering totals proved the wisdom of this new effort. It took only six months of this effort to raise the status of Greengairs Parish Church to be self-supporting for the first time in its seventy-nine years of history. The church celebrated its eightieth anniversary by launching out on its most ambitious scheme. A fund was opened to extend the Church Hall to an adequate size for its now busy organisations. A company of the Girls Guildry had also been formed in 1955, in November of that year. The manse had a telephone installed for the first time in the same month, just in time for the first ever baby born in the Parish Church manse, in December. He was named Bruce Ramsay Ingram. In April 1957, the first bricks were laid for the new hall Much work had to be done and most of this was done by members of the congregation themselves. It was a hard and difficult task but three years later, in 1960, the church at last had a new and very modern hall. In 1961 the Rev. J. R lngram left Greengairs to be come a Padre in the RAF.
The Rev. T B Fleming then became the new minister for the next four years. During his ministry the Carnegie Organ from the Free Church, which was transferred to the Parish Church at the time of the Union, was sold and another organ installed. A wrought iron lamp, to be placed above the pulpit, was made by Mr David Walker, the local Blacksmith and dedicated by the Rev. T. B. Fleming. The Rev T. B. Fleming then left Greengairs to take up his new appointment as minister of Ardeer Parish Church in 1965.
The next minister to occupy the manse and minister in Greengairs U. P. Church was the Rev. J. Mackay whose ministry only lasted from 1966 to 1968. Mr. Mark Dougal was ordained to the Eldership during this time. The Rev. J. A. Guthrie was the next minister to occupy the manse from 1969. 1974. Prior to Mr. Guthrie taking up his ministry in Greengairs in 1969 the manse underwent extensive renovations and central heating was installed. To allow the work to be carried out, a loan was negotiated from the Church of Scotland Finance Body in Edinburgh and repaid over a period of five years.
During the five years of the Rev. J. A. Guthrie's ministry things began to happen. The Chancel of the Church was enlarged under the guidance of Mr Hugh Curran. Mrs. Isobel Provan gifted the carpet to cover the Chancel and Pulpit area and Communion Chairs were covered to match the carpet, this being dedicated to the memory of her brother, David Mason, in 1973. The Minister and Elders donated the ten chairs that now occupy the Chancel. The church underwent a transformation inside, in 1974, when the whole church was rewired and a new lighting system installed consisting of magnificent brass fittings. These fittings were obtained from St. John's Church, Galashiels, which was being demolished. Mr. William Cochrane undertook to be responsible for this work and he and Mr A. Provan and Mr. D. Marshall journeyed to Galashiels to examine the lighting before it was installed. Mr Cochrane then returned to Galashiels and dismantled the light fittings and brought them back to Greengairs. The ladies of the Woman's Guild then proceeded to clean and polish the brass fittings (a formidable task indeed} and to lacquer them. Before they were placed in position. This lighting system completely transformed the interior of the church. At the same time the interior was redecorated to suit the surroundings, in contrasting colours. Flower planters were presented by the Scripture Union and dedicated by the Rev. J. A. Guthrie, and the Men's Club presented a Pulpit Fall. The Vestry was also carpeted and a partition erected to give the Minister a measure of privacy, especially on Sunday mornings. Cupboards were built to house the property of the various organisations and a member of the Woman's Guild presented the church hall with a new fluorescent lighting system, a big improvement on the old lights. Anew Hammond organ was also installed during Mr. Guthrie's ministry Mr. Guthrie also had the pleasant task of presenting a Certificate of Long Service to Mr. James Logan in 1972, Mr. Logan having filled the position of Church Elder for thirty five years. But, alas, the church did not have the benefit of Mr. Logan's presence for much longer, as he died the following year Mrs Logan was also an active member of the church, being President of the Woman's Guild for around seven years. Unfortunately, she too died in 1972. The church lost another Elder in 1972, in the person of Mr. Peter Watt, who died that year. The Rev. J. A. Guthrie ordained to the Eldership, Mr. A. Provan and admitted Mr. D. Marshall in 1972. In 1973, Mr. John Black was ordained to the Eldership. An Entertainment Committee was formed in 1973 with the purpose of organising social functions, which included the annual Garden Fete. This has become the major factor in our fund raising activities and which, during the past few years, has been successful in realising sums in excess of £800 at each fete. The Rev. J. A. Guthrie moved onto the Parish Church of Kirkoswald in 1974. Since then the church has been without a minister but carries on under the leadership of the Rev. P.M. Dawes, Interim Moderator.
Of the present Elders, Mr. R. Nimmo was ordained in 1962, Mr. J. Cherrie in 1965, Mr. J. Brodie in 1965. Last year, 1975, the West Wall of the church underwent vast repairs and this year, 1976, the east and north walls of the church will have similar repairs carried out. The Vestibule had a new floor installed in 1975 and this year it will be redecorated. The family of the late Mr. And Mrs. Logan, Cameron Farm, Greengairs gifted a Pulpit Bible in memory of their parents, who were Elder and President of the Women's Guild. Mrs. C. Craig handed over to the keeping of the Church, the Presentation Trowel that was given at the time of the laying the Foundation Stone of the Greengairs Free Church. On 20th of June this year we hope to be favoured by a visit from the Moderator of the General Assembly, the Right Reverend Professor T. F. Torrance, MBE, D.Litt. DD., D.Theol. who will conduct and celebrate Holy Communion. The service will be led by the Rev. P.M. Dawes, lnterim Moderator, Chapelhall.
The present Eldership in the year 1976 is as follows:
Mr. Alex. Menzies (Session Clerk) Mr. David Provan
Mr. Robert Nimmo Mr. Hugh Curran
Mr. James Walker Mr. James Cherrie
Mr. John Brodie Mr. Archibald Provan
Mr. John Black Mr. David Marshall
Acknowledgements to: Rev. J. R. Ingram, Mr. I. Grant and Mr. D. Provan for the compilation of this history of our church. (1976)
