Our History

Our church has a valuable history, one which has impacted the church nationally.

Our story is one of struggle for principle and freedom to express it. The 'Stewarton Case' exemplified this when the Church of Scotland was taken to the Court of Session to stop it forming a second church and parish in the town. When the Court ruled against the Church's right to act freely on the matter the Church of Scotland was split in two. One third of the ministers and elders walked out of the General Assembly of 1843 to form the Free Church of Scotland.

As one of those who left, our tradition is Free Church. We have been a congregation of the Secession Church (1825-39); the Church of Scotland (1839-43); the Free Church of Scotland (1843-1900); the United Free Church of Scotland (1900-29) and the Church of Scotland from 1929 until the present.

You can see from this that we have always wanted churches to come together as part of the One Church of Jesus Christ. We have taken a lead in drawing the churches more closely together and in forming the Stewarton Council of Churches (Stewarton Churches Together).

The Church of Scotland has a principal of being 'reformed yet always reforming'. True to that principle we try to be open to God's ways of expressing Himself through His Church in these days. There has been a stronger emphasis on the direct work of the Holy Spirit amongst us, a new shaping of ourselves to enable members to channel their gifts into all aspects of the work and an increasing freedom in our worship.

The Church of Scotland traces its roots back to the beginnings of Christianity in Scotland, but its identity is principally shaped by the Reformation of 1554.

Courts and assemblies of the Church of Scotland

As a Presbyterian church, the Kirk has no bishops, but is rather governed by elders and ministers sitting in a series of courts. Each congregation is led by a Kirk Session. The Kirk Sessions in turn are answerable to regional presbyteries (Irvine & Kilmarnock). The supreme body is the annual General Assembly, which meets each May in Edinburgh. The chairperson of each court is known as the 'moderator' – at the local level of the Kirk Session, the moderator is normally the parish minister; Presbyteries and the General Assembly elect a moderator each year. The Deacons Court is an elected body of members with responsibility for the financial and propoerty matters of the church.

Here you can read about the church that changed the nation and returned home twice. This historical sketch was written in time for the 175th anniversary of the congregation by our former minister Rev Dr Samuel Hosain.

(Adobe PDF File)

Returning Home Twice