The Rev Shuna Dicks offers an ‘encouragement for creative thinking’.

I AM now in my 14th year of parish ministry. For the last five years I have been in the leafy suburbs of Aberdeen. Cults Parish Church is the union of two congregations. At the time of their union, they had the vision to use the site of one of the buildings to build a centre of outreach. This was funded by the sale of some of the land on the site to a developer and fundraising by the congregation. A sympathetic architect then designed a building that incorporated some features from the old church building into a modern building that, 10 years on, is a hub of activity not just for the church, but for the community.

The Kirk Centre has a variety of rooms and halls that provide comfortable settings for small meetings, large meetings, fitness classes, Rainbows, Brownies, counselling sessions, Messy Church, The Guild, an over 50s group, bridge and Scrabble groups, a lunch club and the list goes on. We also have a café which is open three days a week. The centre requires a fair degree of management and as a result we employ two part time secretaries, a property supervisor and café managers. The café, incidentally, although managed by a team of managers is then staffed by a large team of volunteers from within and outwith the church membership.

“ What was the site of a church is now a hive of activity, bringing us into contact with literally hundreds of people every week.

At a time when the church is facing huge changes and the prospect of many buildings closing for worship, I offer this as an encouragement for creative thinking around buildings. What was the site of a church is now a hive of activity, bringing us into contact with literally hundreds of people every week. The Kirk Centre has an ethos of welcome and our café customers can expect a warm, friendly team, who will have time for a chat as well as serving delicious cakes and light lunches with top quality fairtrade coffee and tea. Our hall and room users can expect well equipped, comfortable rooms in immaculate condition. It may sound like a community centre, but it is much more than that. It is a place of welcome and outreach from which we can love and serve our community.

Of course, all of this takes management. But the effort is worth it. We are a vibrant, busy church. As I look out from my pulpit (well, lectern) on a Sunday morning I see a committed church community, where all are welcome, and all can play a role. I will see many of the faces I see on a Sunday morning during the week volunteering or attending many of the activities taking place.

It took a leap of faith for the two congregations that came together to form Cults Parish Church to step out and believe that what they were doing was mission. And that has paid dividends. Our church community is built firmly on worship and service that goes way beyond a Sunday morning. We take what we learn together on a Sunday and put it into active service. Our worship continues throughout the week.

To borrow the Guild motto, all we do reflects whose we are and whom we serve. And to borrow again, this time from a favourite book of mine, what has been achieved is a reminder that if you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat. ¤

The Rev Shuna Dicks is minister at Cults Parish Church, Aberdeen.