Old Kirk: Kirkcaldy Trust marks ten years of ownership of historic church

Last Thursday (August 19), members of the Old Kirk Trust celebrated ten years to the day when a small group of local people became the first trustees and unlocked the door of the Old Kirk for the first time as owners.

Their vision was to allow the historic church building to take its rightful place in the heart of Kirkcaldy as a spiritual centre, community venue and heritage centre – serving the local community as the church has done since the seventh century on the site.

Rosemary Potter, chairman of the Trust, said the purchase was made possible by the support of John Sim, son of the former minister of the Old Kirk in the 1960s-80s.

She said: “Since then the support of the community has enabled the continued maintenance of the church and grants from several sources over the years together with donations have fitted the church out with stage lighting, modular staging and up-to-date audio-visual technology.

"We have come a long way since community sponsorship fitted out the building, left empty in 2011, with 350 chairs!

“Pre-Covid we had become a busy community venue with 45 concerts that year including a very popular Organ Recital series. However, Covid hit us badly, like so many others, with nil income during lockdown while insurance payments remain, and the Tower Restoration plans were delayed by the pandemic.”

She said there has been a lot of changes to the building and its use since they first entered the Old Kirk a decade ago, but Rosemary said: “Some things we have cherished and remain.

"The Old Kirk has an eternal element associated with its presence and its tower's long watch over the town through plague, fire, flood, war and recession is a constant reminder of the spiritual dimension to life at the heart of everyday living.

"We have maintained the Kirk's role as church, with regular Christian worship as well as weddings, baptism, funerals, memorial services. We celebrate Christmas, Holy Week and Easter, and we have an organ scholar and Kirkcaldy Orchestral Society based here which has added richly to the life of the Old Kirk.”

This Friday and Saturday Fife Opera hosts its first live performance since December 2019 at 7.30pm in the Old Kirk - Singing into the Future.

Tickets are available online at [email protected] k or by phone from 01592 265499.

Tickets for the following week's concert of Baroque Favourites by Cromlit's Lilt at 7pm on Saturday, September 4 are available from [email protected] or (01592) 265499 or at the door on the night (£5).

Meanwhile, local jazz fans are in for a treat when popular local band Rose Room performs a concert on Saturday, September 25.

She continued: “We are still hopeful of the £450,000 Tower Restoration Project starting onsite in the next month.

" We are also preparing to advertise for four part-time jobs with grant backing we have received.”

Rosemary added: “We are grateful to John Sim, who supported us financially to acquire the church and to all in the community who have helped the Old Kirk reach this mark in the journey; now it is onto the next 10 years!”

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