Bishopton Parish Church
All Age Gathering
Every Sunday: 10am-11am in the Cornerstone
Starting in Advent - 27th November
Why a new service?
The need for a new diet of worship in another location came initially from increasing difficulties accommodating an ever changing Sunday School, and from a desire for a worshipful presence in the midst of our community, not only outside of it. As we all know, the extension hall at the church is in need of extensive repairs and is lacking space to host growing Junior and Senior Sunday School at the moment, severely limiting capacity for more growth and flexibility.
The Cornerstone on the other hand is a wonderful facility which has been built with great effort and passion, and we believe it should be used especially for the church’s central ministry, which is worship.
The new service will coexist with, rather than replace the traditional service at 11.30am. We are thus attempting to offer more choice in terms of timing, location and style of worship, aiming at being more accessible to everyone in our community regardless of age or mobility. The Church of Scotland has a strong tradition of offering several ‘diets’ of worship to accommodate different people.
Who is it for?
The new service is designed for anyone who wants an earlier Sunday service, with a different format to a traditional service and in a more accessible location. Since the access in the Cornerstone is very good, we are able to extend public worship to those who cannot get into the main church for the 11.30 service due to the lack of access. Many have expressed a desire to be able to ‘walk to church’. People could thus attend different services at different times to suit their own family, work or other commitments.
The Format
The new service is built around an informal approach to worship, where instead of sitting in rows and listening to one person speaking, the worship space is designed for movement, interaction, dialogue and fellowship. Instead of rows of chairs or pews, we will have tables and chairs around them. Children will be at the heart of the service, which is why Sunday School will be moved to this service. Here’s the outline of the format:
10.00 – Gathering song, introducing the theme, creative activities around the tables and/or prayer stations (Children interact with other children and their parents by reading, writing, building, crafting), people move around the space and interact creatively.
10.20 – Round up song, children go downstairs with the Sunday School teachers for more activities, lessons, fun and games.
10.25 – Bible reading and a short reflection on the reading.
10.40 – Discussion and dialogue around the tables on the reflection, with coffee and tea.
11.00 – Participants can help to clear up and pick up their children from the lower halls.
What about child care in the 11.30 service?
In the new format there would be no provision for child care in the 11.30 service. We will maintain Family Services for the first Sunday of the month, mostly for baptisms. Children are always welcome at the 11.30 service, with the extension hall available to parents who wish to take their children out at any point in the service. A speaker mounted in the extension hall could be used to connect the extension hall to the service in the church. A creche could also be made available if there was demand and enough volunteers to help.
Want to know more?
For more details please visit our new All Age Gathering mini-site at bishoptonkirk.org.uk/AllAge - there you can find out more and join our on-going conversation. If you would like to get involved with the new venture please contact the minister either by email -
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or by phone 01505-862161.
Sundays: 10am-11am in the Cornerstone (except first Sunday of the month)
Why a new service?
The need for a new diet of worship in another location came initially from increasing difficulties accommodating an ever changing Sunday School, and from a desire for a worshipful presence in the midst of our community, not only outside of it. As we all know, the extension hall at the church is in need of extensive repairs and is lacking space to host growing Junior and Senior Sunday School at the moment, severely limiting capacity for more growth and flexibility.
The Cornerstone on the other hand is a wonderful facility which has been built with great effort and passion, and we believe it should be used especially for the church’s central ministry, which is worship.
The new service coexists with, rather than replaces the traditional service at 11.30am. We are thus attempting to offer more choice in terms of timing, location and style of worship, aiming at being more accessible to everyone in our community regardless of age or mobility. The Church of Scotland has a strong tradition of offering several ‘diets’ of worship to accommodate different people.
Who is it for?
The new service is designed for anyone who wants an earlier Sunday service, with a different format to a traditional service and in a more accessible location. Since the access in the Cornerstone is very good, we are able to extend public worship to those who cannot get into the main church for the 11.30 service due to the lack of access. Many have expressed a desire to be able to ‘walk to church’. People can thus attend different services at different times to suit their own family, work or other commitments.
The Format
The new service is built around an informal approach to worship, where instead of sitting in rows and listening to one person speaking, the worship space is designed for movement, interaction, dialogue and fellowship. Instead of rows of chairs or pews, we have tables and chairs arranged in a semi-circle. Children are at the heart of the service, which is why Sunday School is moved to this service. The creche in this service is placed in the middle of the worship space, with parents sitting with their children, fully able to participate in the service. Here’s the outline of the format:
- 10.00 – Gathering song, introducing the theme, prayer, Lord's Prayer, and a round up song (usually Fischy Music with sign language).
- 10.15 – Creative activities at the prayer stations (Children interact with other children and their parents by reading, writing, building, crafting), people move around the space and interact creatively. At the end, children go downstairs with the Sunday School teachers for more activities, lessons, fun and games.
- 10.30 – Reflection on the reading of the day.
- 10.45 – After a prayer people are invited to help themselves with coffee and tea and spend the last 15 minutes in conversation and social interaction.
- 11.00 – Participants can help to clear up and pick up their children from the lower halls.
What about child care in the 11.30 service?
In the new format there is only a creche available in the 11.30 service. We will maintain Family Services for the first Sunday of the month, mostly for baptisms. Children are always welcome at the 11.30 service, with the extension hall available to parents who wish to take their children out at any point in the service. A speaker mounted in the extension hall connects the extension hall to the service in the church. We are looking for more volunteers and a coordinator for the creche in the church. Please contact Shona MacPherson for details!
Want to know more?
For more details or if you would like to get involved with the new venture please contact the minister either by email or by phone: 01505-862161.
Bishopton Parish church lies on a knoll just off Erskine Ferry Road to the north east of the village. There has been a church on the site since the twelfth century when one was constructed by the Abbey of Paisley, probably as the site was on the pilgrimage route to Iona. The present building was constructed in 1812 after the first building fell into disrepair.