St.
Columba's congregation, as part of the Church of Scotland, traces
its Presbyterian roots back to the Reformation in 1560. Going back
only to the early years of the late 19th century, with the Burgh of
Stirling expanding far beyond the old town wall, the congregation
had moved down from near the Castle to the North side of Murray Place,
by this time the thriving centre of the town, and where they were
known as the North Church. But trouble, long brewing, was coming to
a head - the right of a congregation to call its own minister, rather
than having foisted upon them the choice of the landowner, was being
lost. In 1843 matters came to a head. At the General Assembly of 1843
ministers who insisted on that right, finding that it was definitely
to be denied to the church, simply walked out, nearly 500 of them,
including Alexander Beith, our minister. This was the Disruption,
and this was the founding of the Free Church of Scotland. Known now
as the Free North Church the congregation soon established its material
and financial basis and by 1853 was worshipping in the church they
had built in Murray Place across the road from their old church.
In
1900 the Free Church (with some abstentions) joined up with the United
Presbyterian Church to become the United Free Church of Scotland and
this congregation became the North UF Church. Before that, however,
one of our members, Mrs. Ellen Peter who died in 1890, left money
in her will to build a new church further south, nearer the homes
of the majority of the congregation. This gift, with its conditions
- the new building to be used for Free Church worship and to be known
as the Peter Memorial, being the principal ones - was accepted by
the Deacons' Court but now of the United Free North Church, it entered
into possession of the present building in Park Terrace.
The next church union, even bigger then the 1900 one, was in 1929,
but one event may be noted before that. In 1908 the Craigs Church,
and old Cameronian or United Reformed Church, which had become too
small for separate existence, united with us, bringing to us their
tradition of inflexible loyalty to the 17th century covenants with
their repudiation of any state control over the Church
In 1929, at last, the differences between the parish church, as it
was known, and the U F Church became reconcilable and the churches
united. The Church of Scotland was one again. As there was, in Stirling,
a North Church, as a parish church, we changed our name from the U
F North Church to St. Columba's Church - a change of name but not
of substance. So St. Columba's continues with the same Presbyterian
constitution and worship of God as in Dr. Beith's day (but with the
services mercifully shorter to cater for our reduced stamina compared
with our predecessors!)
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