Welcome
We believe that God is calling St James' Church Bishopbriggs
to be a place and a community in which people can:
- find out more about Christianity
- recover their faith
- explore the God- given spiritual dimension of their
lives
- find out how the Bible speaks to men and women today
- respond in praise and thanksgiving to the God who is
revealed through Jesus Christ and the inspiration of
the Holy Spirit
- serve God and their fellow human beings in the ways of love, peace and
justice which Christ taught.
One visitor described St James as the best example of
a modern church building he had seen. Together with a
sense of peace it has a warm and welcoming feel to it,
and this is true also of its people, which is why the
church's tag line is "St James is an inviting church".
St James' ethos is open, inquiring and non-judgemental
with strong emphases on education, the role of music and
on social justice. Visitors are always welcome and the
church is ecumenical in its approach - keen to build bridges
and work together with other Christians. It regularly
plays host to the Bishopbriggs Churches Together group.
Activities
and facilities
- Singing Group Sundays
- Fellowship time over coffee etc after services on Sundays and Thursdays
- Faith Exploration Group on a sessional basis
- Mothers' Union meetings monthly
- Tuesday Afternoon Club for pensioners, October to May
- Annual Spring Fayre in Church grounds
- Ceilidh, quiz night, Burns Supper, occasional concerts
- Arthritis Care Group monthly
- Girl's dancing classes weekly in term-time
- Irish dancing classes weekly in term-time
- Bridge club weekly
- Soundstart - weekly fellowship for new mothers and mothers to be
- Parent and Toddler group, Friday mornings in term time
- Writers' Group meeting weekly
- Hall available for children's birthday etc parties
History
The
congregation of St James the Less was first gathered together
in a rented shop in Springburn in 1875 as a mission of
St Luke's, Grafton Street. The church grew and a building
was erected in 1881 on a site in Mollinsburn Street, Springburn.
However, closure of the brass and steel foundries in Springburn
began a rapid population decline which devastated the
community and threatened the life of every church in the
area.
In the case of St James this was mitigated by those of
an Anglican church background moving into the rapidly
expanding Bishopbriggs and bringing new life to the Springburn
congregation. Together with the effect of Springburn people
moving outwards to Bishopbriggs, the result was that the
centre of density of the congregation was moving North.
By 1974, plans for the Springburn by-pass coincided with
major repair work being needed to the church building
and this led to the decision that the church would have
to be demolished and rebuilt.
The decision was taken to rebuild in Bishopbriggs rather
than Springburn and the new church, designed by Weddell
and Thomson of Glasgow, was begun in the summer of 1979
and dedicated on 20th September 1980.
The congregation celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the move to
Bishopbriggs during 2005. Some pictures and other information on
the celebrations can be seen below.
• Silver Anniversary celebrations
2005 ... the story
• Silver Anniversary celebrations
2005 ... photo gallery
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