ABOUT - Clackmannan Parish Church

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Our Story
A place of worship seems to have been founded where our present church stands. or thereabouts, around 680 AD when St Serf passed through the area and established places of worship in the small communities along the Hillfoots. Whether these were primitive buildings or simply consecrated gathering points is not clear, though small wooden worship booths are likely.

The first record of a clergyman was one 'Robert, Curate of Clackmannan' dated 1195. He was almost certainly seconded from Cambuskenneth Abbey near Causewayhead and is thought to have been the chaplain to King Alexander II. It is very likely that, by that time, there was a stone church on the site. In the 1240's, the Pope was concerned that many churches still retained their Celtic consecration. He sent a Papal Legate to England to encourage the proper dedication of church buildings there. The Legate was not sent to Scotland, which had a seperate hierarchy, but the instructions came north and the Bishop of St. Andrews, David de Benham, spent the years 1245 to 1249 dedicating 140 churches in his care. They included great buildings like St. Giles in Edinburgh, St. John's in Perth and St. Michaels's in Linlithgow, the very last one he dedicated, on 24th August 1249, was Clackmannan.

That church lasted for almost another 600 years, although the Kirk Session records of 1795 say that it was in a poor state of repair and hardly fit for worship. It was then that, under the ministry of Dr Robert Moodie, plans were drawn up to build the present Church. It was constructed around the old building, which was used until the present building was at roof level. The foundations of the old church are still beneath the present building, the gallary pillars resting on them. When the church was dedicated in 1249, it was dedicated to St. Serf, but the present building, dedicated in 1817, was called St. Andrew's on the Hill. However, there were divisions in the church in 1788 and 1843, which saw two other congregations being formed in the town. The Relief Church was formed in 1788 and the Free Church in 1843. These both continued until 1932 when they joined together again. At that point, while others gave up their buildings, St. Andrew's on the Hill gave up its name and became, as it is today, Clackmannan Parish Church.
Our Minister
Austin began his ministry journey when he was 22. After studying Economics at Alma College, he spent a year serving as a youth minister in Richland, Michigan. Austin then earned his Masters of Divinity degree, and finished the various examinations and questions on the floor of Presbytery to become an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church USA. Austin has since felt the call to ministry pulling him to Scotland and has answered this call. After serving in Kinross for his year and a half of Familiarization, he took the call as sole pastor to Clackmannan linked with Sauchie and Coalsnaughton. Arriving in March of 2024 Austin and his wife Alicia have been warmly welcomed by both congregations.
Rev Austin Wicks
Our Worship Group
We have a Worship Group of several members who were trained by our Previous Interim Moderator, Rev Jim McNeil and Rev Ray Gaston.

Members of the Worship Group work in teams to conduct services on a Sunday when our current supply minister is unavailable.

We also have one member of our Group who has been fully trained and qualified to take funerals.
How We Operate
Clackmannan Parish Church Linked with Sauchie and Coalsnaughton Parish Church on 11th May 2023. We are part of the recently formed Perthshire Presbytery in The Church of Scotland.  Both churches continue to worship in their own repective places of worship. Historically in the early 18thC the villages of Sauchie and Coalsnaughton were included in the geographical parish boundary of Clackmannan. However, as reported to the Committee of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland on Church Extensions by Thomas Chalmers on 28th May 1835, a church was already under construction in Sauchie. Eventually, Sauchie was formed into its own parish in 1877. In many ways Sauchie has historically been considered as the daughter church of Clackmannan and it is significant that once more we are linked together.

Being part of a Presbytery means we have a Presbyterian Church Government, which means the minister and an elder representative from each congregation in a Presbytery meet together to oversee the work of the church in the local Presbytery area.
 
The Church of Scotland has the vision of being a church which seeks to inspire the people of Scotland and beyond with the Good News of Jesus Christ through enthusiastic worshipping, witnessing, nurturing and serving communities.  As the national church, each congregation has a pastoral responsibility for its parish.  Should residents in a particular area require the help of a church or a minister, the local church and minister should be contacted.  
 
Clackmannan Parish is bounded on the south by the River Forth, from the mouth of the Black Devon to Kennetpans.  From there the Parish reaches the county boundary along the A977 Kincardine to Kinross Road at Kilbagie, and up to the Gartarry Roundabout, turning east on the A907 Dunfermline Road, as far as Brucefield, turning north to enclose Forestmill, before coming back along the south side of the Gartmorn Dam, south down Hilton Road and back to the River Forth.
 
Clackmannan Church operates under the Model Deed of Constitution.  This means that leadership and spiritual matters are dealt with by the Kirk Session - that is the church elders meeting together as a group.  The minister is "Moderator" (or Chairman) of the Kirk Session.  He is also the ‘teaching elder’ whereas the others are 'ruling elders'. The Secretary of the Kirk Session is the Session Clerk.  Currently we have 15 ruling elders, all of whom have districts and visit the congregation.  Issues such as property and finance are taken care of by the Congregational Board.
 
Along with their leadership role, the elders have a pastoral responsibility to the membership and to the parish. Most elders are assigned a district, which is a geographical area, in which our members live.  The elder is available to all the residents in that district, and can be available to give pastoral help when needed.

Pastoral Care
To support the minister and elders in their pastoral role, the congregation has set up a Pastoral Care Team.  Their responsibility is to visit on a regular basis those who feel they need that little bit of extra support and encouragement.  The team are always looking for someone to visit, so if you would like them to call and are a resident in the parish, please drop them a line.  We are eager to visit parish residents who are in hospital or residential care.  If you know of someone who would like us to visit, or to drop them an encouraging card, please get in touch.

Finance and Property
Financial and property matters are dealt with by our Congregational Board which is chaired by the minister and consists of 9 elected members of the congregation along with 9 elders.  The Session Clerk is allowed to attend Board meetings but would have no voting rights should the circumstances arise.


How To Belong
Do you have to be a member to attend Clackmannan Church?     The answer of course is "No."  

It is possible to just attend, and get involved in the life of the church without becoming a 'member’.  However, many people do become members of the church because they want to get involved to the very fullest extent in the life of the church. Non-members are restricted in the degree to which they can serve. For instance, you cannot be an office-bearer, or vote in a church meeting, unless you are a church member.

So how can you become a member of Clackmannan Church?

The first step is to come along to church on a Sunday morning and introduce yourself to the minister, (or ask one of the elders to introduce you).  If you have never been a member of The Church of Scotland before, and you feel at home among us, an Enquirers' Class (often called a Communicants Class) will be held when the vows of membership will be explained and discussed.  Following that series of classes, you will be asked to take vows in church (we call that 'profession of faith') and by so doing will be admitted to membership.

What if I'm already a member of a Church?

If you are already a member of a congregation of the Church of Scotland and want to transfer your membership, ask the Session Clerk or Minister of your current church to send your Certificate of Transference, or "lines" to our Session Clerk, whose name and address are listed on our contact’s page.
If you are a member of a Church other than the Church of Scotland, or if you're not sure if you are a member of a church already, or have lost your "lines", please contact the Minister or Session Clerk for advice.
Our Sunday School
The Sunday School will run each week but will be off during the school holidays.

The Sunday school begins at 11.30 am in Church when a short segment of the morning service is dedicated to the children and young people, and for about 15 minutes the Church Family worships God together, parents and children alike.
 
Thereafter, the children and teenagers are taken by leaders to the church hall, which is located just off High Street.  Parents and carers collect their children from these halls at the conclusion of the service, around 12.40 pm or later.

Sunday School runs following the same pattern as the Clackmannanshire school term dates.
Teaching Time

For our Sunday school teaching time we use various teaching materials depending on the lesson being taught.  Each age group is promised activities which are lively, interactive, and Bible-based. With words, pictures, music and activities, we try to help parents to teach the children to know God for themselves.

We hope to show, in practice as well as in teaching, a responsible and Christian way of daily living. Children may take home activity leaflets and are encouraged to finish them with parents help if possible.
Programme

Over the last few weeks we have been learning about what part music plays in our regular services. This has been very interesting and joyous. In recognition of this we had lots of fun making a poster and wanted to share it with you.

We are still a very small group each week so would welcome new faces to join us. We have children from nursery through to high school aged.

We look forward to lots of fun and hard work to.

If you would like your child to be part of our Sunday school, bring them along to the church service any Sunday morning.  You will be asked to complete a registration form for safeguarding purposes. You can collect them from the appropriate church hall indicated above.  Or, why not just come along to our service and wait for them?

From Time to Time

From time to time we hold services in which all ages come together.  Our children and young people usually play some part. Parents are particularly welcome at these.
Parties are arranged at the end of each school term.  

End of year report for 2024
Clackmannan Parish Church of Scotland
High Street
Clackmannan
Clackmannanshire
FK10 4JG
Scotland

Tel +44(0)1259 720583
Email: office@clackmannankirk.org.uk

Charity Registered in Scotland  SC002324
We are a Church of Scotland congregation and believe that God has called His people in Clackmannan Parish Church, under His guidance, to be a congregation committed to sharing Jesus' Word and Love with the community.
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