In the season of harvest, Jackie Macadam discovers a number of churches making creative use of property.

FEATURE

YOUTH Cafés and clubs; lunch groups for the elderly; groups designed to help people with dementia and their carers; children’s playgroups and crèches for immigrants or refugees and their children; summer holiday clubs – they’re all taking place in church halls and rooms the length and breadth of Scotland.

Sometimes though, something special is created, using imagination, willpower and determination that draws its strength from the land.

‘Blackhill’s Growing’ is based at St Paul’s Church in Provanmill, Glasgow.

“’Blackhill’s Growing’ is a very successful community growing project which is now mid-way through its third growing season,” says Melanie Hall, Community Growing and Cooking Co-ordinator with St Paul’s Youth Forum. “The growing project came out of a response to tackle food insecurity in an area where vandalism was expected to destroy the project. But through building relationships with the most marginalised, our project continues to flourish. We have three poly-tunnels, an orchard, large chicken coop where we keep a flock of chickens for eggs, lots of raised beds, a coop where we hope to be raising turkeys for our community Christmas dinner and an outdoor woodfired pizza oven with picnic tables.”

“We grow a variety of fruit, veg, herbs and flowers which are sold for donation at our veg barra, used in our community meals and as part of various community cooking activities at St Paul’s, attended by a wide variety of local people in our community,” she says.

“We work with our local nursery, run workshops to build confidence in growing and have an annual Tattie Bag competition where we provide people with all the equipment to grow potatoes in their own gardens. Our emphasis is on helping local people to grow their own food and addressing local food insecurity in a dignified way.”

Kilmacolm Old Kirk in the presbytery of Greenock and Paisley, are involved in helping create a Pilgrim Pathway over the church’s land.

Part of the idea behind the plan is so that the area and the woodlands around it, will be used by youth groups locally to use as an educational resource.

Stuart Wilson, Group Scout leader, 42nd Greenock and District and 1st Kilmacolm Scout Group, says the Scouts are right behind the idea – and keen to help it become a reality.

“Kilmacolm Scout Group has around 100 members spread across Beavers (6-8-years-old), Cubs (8-10.5-years-old), Scouts (10.5 to 14 years old), Explorers (14 to 18 years old) and Adult leaders.

“Working in harmony with nature, learning about the environment and community involvement are at the heart of the Balanced Programme for Scouting, ” says Stuart.

“At each section the young people undertake age-specific challenges aimed towards achieving a Chief Scout Award. These are Beavers (Bronze), Cubs (Silver), Scouts (Gold) and Explorers (Platinum, Diamond and Queen’s Scout Award). For example, Beavers might be asked to learn about the different kinds of birds and wildlife to be found in a wooded area, Cubs might learn about the Countryside Code and discuss why it is important, Scouts would help with a community tidy up or cleaning an area of rubbish and Explorers would undertake leadership skills and know how to organise events for the younger sections. The possibilities are limitless, and that’s before we consider that the Group would just like to use it as an open community space for reflection and leisure,” he says.

“It is our hope that Kilmacolm Scout Group can play a major part in this project in terms of being able to use it, help maintain it and learn from it. It will truly have something for all ages and will build and strengthen relationships between the Group and the local community.

“We are very excited about the possibility of a Pilgrimage Pathway being built at the Old Kirk Manse and look forward to it going ahead.”

The project will create a pilgrimage pathway for the public in Kilmacolm Old Kirk’s woodland glebe – an area of about two acres. Kilmacolm Old Kirk is the ancient medieval parish of the village of Kilmacolm and has been serving the village inhabitants since the thirteenth century at least – and probably even longer than that. The plan is to create a pathway in the church’s woodland area with points of interest for reflection and meditation within the beautiful woodland setting. The woodland will be restored to its natural state and traditional Scottish woodland plants will be planted there. There will an ecological theme to the pathway very much centered on care for creation.

‘Blackhill’s Growing’, St Paul’s Church Provanmill, Glasgow

The founding legend of the village of Kilmacolm is that the great ancient saints of the West of Scotland – St Mungo and St Columba – met and exchanged pastoral staffs by the banks of the Gillburn which runs through the village. The Gillburn runs through the church woodland and the pathway will be themed to reflect Celtic spirituality with its deep connections with the rhythms of the natural world. A bridge will be created across the Gillburn, with one end representing St Mungo and the other St Columba,to commemorate their historic meeting.

Points for reflection on the path will tell the story of Kilmacolm and its spiritual and historical journey.

Helensburgh Parish Church linked with Rhu and Shandon have been working with recovery group ‘Welcome In’ set up under the umbrella of national charity Addaction, which supports people with addiction and other issues in their communities.

Auxilliary Minister, the Rev Tina Kemp described the project: “Welcome In is a safe space for people in the community experiencing addiction and mental health issues, and loneliness, to come and relax, eat and chat.

“Up to 30 people at any one time can attend the weekly café,” she says. “Thereis also a sharing group where people can talk confidentially about issues affecting them and receive support and encouragement. Their ages range from 25 to 75.

Welcome In is a safe space for people in the community experiencing addiction and mental health issues, and loneliness, to come and relax, eat and chat.

“Earlier this year some of the group expressed a desire to make use of our extensive gardens at the rear of The Bridge. The group discussed its plans with the church and minister the Rev David T Young was supportive, and happy to give over a substantial piece of ground for Welcome In attendees to cultivate.

“Several of them put in the hard work of preparing the ground, and planted a range of veg including potatoes, carrots, radishes, courgettes, strawberries, tomatoes and onions which are now thriving. They also planted sunflowers and made a raised flower bed out of planks of wood.

“Much of the veg is now ready to harvest and is being given away to anyone who wants it.”

Fiona Lockhart, Welcome In acting chairperson, says: “Quite a few of our members got involved and many of them love to come and look at the garden. It’s well known that gardening and being outdoors is therapeutic so this has been great for us.”

“The Welcome In folks are a joy to have around and have become very much a part of our community here at HPC,” says Tina.

“We were delighted when they offered to take on a piece of ground and many people who use our facilities comment on their hard work. The colourful raised flower bed is a bonus!

“Being out in the open and taking ownership of this gardening project will I hope encourage those who attend Welcome In and help them to know their presence and their participation is very much valued by us all.”