Fife church transformed in labour of love to meet 21st century mission needs

A Fife church has undergone a dramatic transformation to ensure that it meets 21st century mission needs.
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Wellesley Parish Church in Methil has been working towards the vision of building a modern, flexible facility for the use of the whole community for the last 10 years.

It has been a labour of love for the congregation and it was delighted when the new Wellesley Centre was formally opened and dedicated by Very Rev Dr John Chalmers.

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It is located next to the church building and original hall.

Celebratory lunch at Wellesley ChurchCelebratory lunch at Wellesley Church
Celebratory lunch at Wellesley Church
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Rev Gillian Paterson, minister, said: "At last we have reached our goal of providing a wonderful facility for the people of Methil as well as our own groups and organisations.

"We have two meeting rooms, a large hall, lots of storage and an amazing catering kitchen which will be a super resource for large community events.

"We always wanted to be at the hub of the Methil community and now we feel that with these amazing projects we will be at the heart of all that happens here.

The centre was formally opened and dedicated by Very Rev Dr John Chalmers. Also pictured: Rev Gillian PatersonThe centre was formally opened and dedicated by Very Rev Dr John Chalmers. Also pictured: Rev Gillian Paterson
The centre was formally opened and dedicated by Very Rev Dr John Chalmers. Also pictured: Rev Gillian Paterson
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"We want to be supportive, encouraging and helpful and these resources enable us to be that as well as a listening ear for people of all ages."

Wellesley Parish Church is a ‘Priority Area congregation’ – a parish which sits within the five per cent most deprived rankings in the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD).

Last month, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland reaffirmed its steadfast commitment to supporting the poorest people in society at the "heart of all that it does".

The Wellesley buildingsThe Wellesley buildings
The Wellesley buildings

It stressed that supporting the most marginalised is the "gospel imperative of the whole Church, not just the Church in the poorest places".

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Mrs Paterson explained that the congregation decided to proceed with a new build rather than an extension to the old church hall - and a fundraising appeal began in the summer of 2014.

Dr Chalmers launched the appeal while he was Moderator of the General Assembly in 2014-15 and returned to formally open the centre at the end of last month.

Construction work began in July 2019 and the project was originally expected to take 40 weeks to complete but it was delayed for a variety of reasons and then the pandemic struck.

Delays and the COVID-19 lockdowns allowed another idea to come to fruition with the opening of the Hope Chest community project - a furniture, household goods and clothing project led by a team of volunteers a,

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It supplies goods on a referral basis to people in most need in the Levenmouth area and it has already helped countless people who are living in an area of high deprivation."

The Hope Chest was officially opened by 10:00am to 3:00pm.

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