Inverness church pitches tent for summer services under canvas as it works towards a permanent home
An Inverness church is holding services under canvas as it works towards getting a permanent home.
The congregation of St Columba Church of Scotland has met at Drummond School since the sale of its Victorian church building in Bank Street.
In the long-term, the plan is to build a new church on land in Drumfield Road in Holm.
But in a bid to be more visible to the area’s expanding community, the church has invested in a tent for weekly services and other events at the site over the summer.
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Rev Scott McRoberts is minister of St Columba whose parish stretches from the southern suburbs of Inverness to Dores on the shores of Loch Ness.
"We felt that this is the time to do it because we very much hope that, in a couple of years' time, there will be a building going up so we can be much more physically present and visible," he said.
"Partly it is about showing the community that we are here because we are quite invisible because we do not have our own building and this is a way that we can be visible and show that we are here.
"I think the nature of the tent itself, being in the open air, with open sides, is creating a bit of curiosity and will allow people to check it out a bit."
He hopes it will dispel some preconceptions.
"Sometimes people picture church as an older building with an organ but we have never been that," he explained.
"I don't think we would like to do something for the sake of novelty but there is something about showing that church is not necessarily what people remember church as.
"We have had the field a long time and having the tent in that space and connecting with families in the area who know us from our schools work, but have never been to the church, just brings us a little bit closer to those people we are already connecting with."
It will also host community events within the church, including a ceilidh on Sunday June 22 and a community barbecue on Sunday June 29 with both events starting at 12.30pm.
"We have tried a few community events there over the years and this is building on that but doing it a bit more consistently and regularly,” Mr McRoberts added.
"Our intention with that has always been to tell our community that we are here for the long haul, and this feels like a tangible step towards physically being able to do that."
Other events may follow before the tent is pitched for the final time on August 31.
By that time Mr McRoberts hopes that the experience will not only have had an impact on the local community, but on the congregation.
"It takes a lot of people to put the tent up and take it down and when the church serves together, it really binds us in a lovely way.,” he said
"But we also hope more people in the community will see our church and come along and check it out, so we hope that by the end of August more people will feel and be welcome amongst us."
Once completed, the minister hopes the purpose-built church building will also provide a welcoming environment for the community.
"Being in Drummond School for 12 years now has taught us a lot about the value of having a very open, accessible and flexible space," he said.
"That will inform the kind of building that we want to have.
"Our building team is looking at something that feels very invitational, very useable, very flexible, and can be used by the community as well as the church.
"That is a key reason for doing the building project at all because arguably we could worship in a school building or a tent or anywhere else.
"But the reality is that this south-west corner of Inverness doesn't have all the community space it needs with all the new housing going up and we want to be part of the solution to that.”
