Blackhall St. Columba's Church

Beautifully renovated with good lighting, warm wood floors, flexible seating, and state of the art technology for Zoom or YouTube communication. The people managed to overcome the barriers of face-coverings and were most welcoming.
Aug 4th, 2021

Wonderful Easter assembly with our school.
May 13th, 2021

Apr 22nd, 2020

Well delivered erudite sermon by an ordained retiree. Unfortunately, he will not be preaching in the upcoming month of Sundays. This church, with traditional Gothic architecture, is gutting the beautiful sanctuary, ripping out the pews and installing mismatching commercial chairs. Though, they're all the rage, guitars just don't work in this sanctuary! Mismatching chairs will only detract from the sacred space. The C of S seems to have embarked on a widespread program of ripping out pews as if this naive strategy is a remedy for the mass exodus of parishioners. This horrendous process has temporarily moved the sanctuary into the church hall, which is a little disappointing. I can only assume that they have spent all their money on "modernization" and do not have funds remaining for a properly qualified minister. It is ironic that a medium to large size church in the capitol city cannot afford a fully ordained, seminary trained, minister as they have just hired a Mr. versus a Reverend. I am afraid this is reflective of the general decline of the kirk due to overbearing bureaucracy and mismanagement.
Jan 1st, 2021

It is a shame that the Rev. Dr Cole did not speak to anyone to get his facts correct before entering his review. Within the Church of Scotland a new minister is referred to as Mr until they have been ordained. I speak as the newly ordained and inducted minister of Blackhall St Columba's Church, the Rev. Fergus Cook. My stipend, (pay) is paid for from the central church and is on the same scale as every other minister in the Church of Scotland. Accordingly, it does not matter the size or wealth of a Church of Scotland church, they are all equally able to call a minister. As regards the beautiful refurbishment and redevelopment of our sanctuary I can only say this is a matter of taste. The removal of pews will allow for a more adaptable worship space which will allow our primary purpose of 'Glorifying God, proclaiming Christ and serving others. I cannot understand the comment about 'mismatching commercial chairs' as our beautiful matching and bespoke chairs have not at the time of my writing been delivered. I am pleased that the Rev. Dr Cole found the service 'great' and we at Blackhall St Columba's Church would welcome him back anytime. I hope if he is able to return he might introduce himself to me and we can discuss how our beautiful sanctuary has been enhanced by a forward looking congregation which is hoping that it will be able to welcome all. God Bless, - Rev Fergus Cook B.D.
Dec 29th, 2020