Church Life and Services

A church is not just a building; it's an extended family of people, set within a whole community. You can learn more about our community on the page that deals with our parish, but this page is about our church family itself.

We are a parish church in the Church of Scotland and, until very recently, within the Stirling Presbytery. However, significant changes are taking place in the Church of Scotland just now. The aim is to focus on having "well equipped spaces in the right places". It involves reducing administrative costs and selling redundant buildings and properties. Hence, the number of "presbyteries" (administrative areas) is being reduced from forty-five to about twelve and the existing four "councils" will be merged into two. This should enable us to focus on church planting and the development of about one hundred new worshipping communities in areas of spiritual growth. As part of this nationwide reassessment, Balquhidder Kirk has recently conducted a survey to try and establish the level of community interest and support for the ongoing work of a parish church in the local area. You can see the results in this link: Balquhidder Kirk Survey - April 2022

Our minister, Revd Dr Russel Moffatt, retired at the end of October and Revd Jeff McCormick (of Callander Kirk) was appointed as interim Moderator, pending a far-reaching reorganisation of presbyteries and churches throughout Scotland. Revd McCormick joined us on 20th November to lead our service and meet the congregation for the first time. For the time being, he will normally visit us on the second Sunday of each month. For the remainder of our weekly services, we plan to continue with contributions from the regular worshippers in the Kirk.

The number of people coming to church services, week by week, can vary quite a bit. During the winter, there may be only a handful of people whilst, during the summer months, we regularly have around fifteen to twenty people with the occasional boost from visitors staying in the area. Our "regulars" are drawn from all three of the local villages, Balquhidder, Strathyre and Lochearnhead. We normally hold one service each Sunday, starting at 11:30 a.m. in the Kirk. Outwith the main holiday periods, a small house group meets each week on a Wednesday morning in Lochearnhead for Bible study.

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regular services

Family services are held every Sunday at 11:30 a.m. We don't normally have a Sunday School but arrangements can be made to look after children with some suitable activities in our "Friendship Room" at the back of the church. Parking space is normally available behind the church itself and there is a small car park just before entering the driveway to the church.

Communion is held on the second Sunday in the month, when our service is led by the Revd Jeff McCormick.

It has been our custom to hold a Watch Night service on Christmas Eve and this service usually attracts many visitors as well as parishioners. There is no normally no service in Balquhidder on Christmas Day itself.

St Angus' Day is celebrated in Balquhidder Church at 6:30 p.m. on the second Wednesday in August, following local tradition.

occasional services

On the third Sunday of each month, we hold a rather different style of service known as: "Café Church". The intention is to hold this in one of the village halls at Balquhidder, Lochearnhead and Strathyre. Everyone sits at tables rather than in lines and light refreshments are served. The central part of the service involves discussion of a topic or various questions, giving people the opportunity to get to grips more informally with aspects of Christian teaching and practice.

Harvest Thanksgiving is part of the normal Sunday service in late September or early October. (It's a moveable feast.) We usually support Christian Aid Week and various other appeals throughout the year.

Remembrance Day is commemorated in all three villages at their war memorials but, because of the timing of Killin's service, our minister is unable to attend the service in Lochearnhead so this is usually led by the Episcopalian minister. Balquhidder's Act of Remembrance is held immediately before the Sunday service and a similar service is held in Strathyre, usually at 3 p.m.

Baptisms, weddings and funerals can be arranged by contacting one of the elders.

We participate with other denominations in celebrating events such as the World Day of Prayer.  These include the Episcopalian Church in Lochearnhead and representatives of the Roman Catholic Church who live locally.

Bible Study Home Group

For anyone who would like to look at the Bible more closely, we have a weekly home group that meets in Lochearnhead on a Thursday morning between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. for a closer look at individual books of the Bible. We use published study books to guide our thinking, but the format is fairly free and informal with plenty of opportunity to ask questions and launch open-ended discussions. Our "studies" are not particularly academic and there is no expectation that people will have any existing knowledge or experience of theology. We simply believe that the Bible was written to help us in our daily lives and that it was designed for ordinary people, not "professionals".

At the beginning of 2023, we are about to embark on a look at the life of Joseph in the Old Testament. (He was the one with the "multi-coloured coat" on which the famous musical was based some years ago.) If you would like to join in, either regularly or from time to time, please contact Paul Hicks for further details.

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