The Church of Scotland will sell St Laurence Church, Forres unless an alternative future is found

A local church has held what could be its final ever religious service – 118 years after opening its doors to its first congregation.

St Laurence Church at 129 High Street, Forres has been closed for good by owners Church of Scotland (CoS) and will be sold unless a working group can come up with a viable alternative for community use.

St Laurence Church from Gordon Street.Picture by Morag MacDonald

A CoS spokesman explained: “Nationally, the church is going through a monumental period of change. In the West Moray area, which is now part of Clèir Eilean Ì – the CoS in the Highlands and Hebrides – a mission plan has been approved to enable congregations to make best use of their resources.

“The Forres area’s historically high number of buildings and linked charges are no longer sustainable. The changes will help lay the foundations for realistic new expressions of ministry, while ensuring all buildings are suitable for the needs of mission in the 21st century.”

Local congregations have united to create ‘Team Ministry’ charge West Moray Church of Scotland, with two ministers based in Forres and Kinloss.

“St Laurence and St Leonard’s have a history of sharing facilities,” explained the spokesman. “To operate these two large buildings in such close proximity is no longer missionally or economically justifiable.

“The local presbytery planning committee, with the help of a toolkit produced by the national church, has determined that St Leonard’s is more suitable for ministry now and so has taken the decision to close St Laurence.

An Easter Sunday service at St Laurence Church.Picture: Daniel Forsyth

“Whilst this will bring sadness for those who have personal or family connections, the Team Ministry approach will mean that the people of the church will remain present across the wider area, including in the thriving pioneering ministry in Forres.”

St Laurence Church’s maintenance and security will remain the responsibility of West Moray Church of Scotland until a new owner is found. CoS is welcoming approaches from Scottish charity groups interested in buying the building for the benefit of the community.

tsiMoray has been working with the CoS to encourage groups to come forward with ideas.

A tsi spokesman said: “There was a positive response to our call for people to come forward to support the project. A small group of community members is looking at the possibility of forming a working group with the ultimate aim of bringing the building into community ownership.”

The final service of praise and hymns at St Laurence’s Church, led by local lay reader Mrs Jean Forbes and attended by 187 people, took place on Sunday, December 29.

The spectacular stained glass windows by designer Douglas Strachan were placed in the 1930s.Picture: Daniel Forsyth..

The CoS spokesman said: “Many attendees with memories of times both happy and sad had returned to say farewell to St Laurence as a place for regular worship. The service was followed by fellowship, with many staying on to listen to organist Alistair Hardie while enjoying refreshments.”

Member of the congregation and author of pamphlet ‘Forres Parish Church of St Laurence: eight centuries of Christian worship’, Norman Thomson, was there.

He said: “The service started with the old Scottish metrical psalm ‘I to the hills will lift mine eyes’ and concluded with ‘Your hand O God has guided thy flock from age to age’. A final poignant flourish was Alistair’s organ rendition of William Walton’s Coronation March ‘Crown Imperial’. As the last notes faded away, so the last minutes of St Laurence as a house of prayer retreated into history.

“There has been hurt and anger at the CoS’s abandonment of what is arguably the finest public building in Moray.

“However, the possibility of it emerging as a hugely significant community asset raises hope that, as a result of repurposing, more people will come to appreciate both its beautiful architecture and the nationally important collection of stained glass windows.”

The original St Laurence Church on the same site was replaced at the start of the twentieth century.

Norman confirmed that Kirk Session records show that plans to replace the “uncomfortable and insanitary” predecessor church date back to 1895, nine years before the first foundation stone of the present building was laid.

Local grandees and land owners contributed £1100 towards construction of the new building. The remainder of the eventual cost of £9600 came from the congregation themselves via years of fundraising.

Eventually, local man Donald Smith – eventually Lord Strathcona – provided the £1600 required for the foundation stone to be laid and the project to proceed.

Norman said: “One misconception is that the building now reverts to town control. On the contrary, the CoS will demand that an as yet undisclosed purchase price, likely to be of the order of £200,000, be found by a combination of grants and fundraising, so that there is a sense in which after 120 years, a wheel has come around full circle as new challenges arise.”

The CoS spokesman confirmed: “Any money released by the sale will remain with West Moray Church of Scotland to allow it to continue sharing the Gospel message with the people of Moray.”

The Culbin Singers farewell Christmas Concert.Picture: Daniel Forsyth

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Image Credits and Reference: https://www.northern-scot.co.uk/news/town-s-biggest-church-closed-for-worship-after-118-years-371028/