1969(Part 1)

Mr Albert Barker, originally from Sheffield but who had been north of the border for over twenty years, had been the “highly esteemed church organist” and choirmaster in Castlemilk West since April 1959. An organ builder to trade, he had been connected with organs for most of his life. In Castlemilk West Mr Barker had also been involved heavily on the Congregational Board and was again the convener of the Building Fund after having given up the post for a year or two.

The Young Wives and Mothers Group had a “wonderful session with many interesting speakers and demonstrations”, and although numbers had greatly increased, they would have liked more.


Despite “rain, rain and more rain” the ladies of the Woman's Guild continued to attend their meetings. The Church of Scotland Woman's Guild decided to realise £2,000 of its capital as a grant for overseas development.


The Women's World Day of Prayer was again held in Castlemilk West.


Rev. Gordon Keir recommended to the congregation the Children's Bible, in colour with over 500 pages, at a cost of 30/-. He had copies in stock in the church.


A letter was received from Miss Jean Grigor, the deaconess, from the Chicago Theological Seminary where she was studying. In it she spoke about the inauguration of Richard Nixon as President, and the huge divided nation of the U.S.A. The crime rate was very high, and the police, on the whole, seemed brutal, especially towards those “with black skins or the bearded-type students”. She also spoke about the reactionary behaviour, especially among the young people, the demonstrating against war and especially Vietnam, against racial discrimination and the rules of the universities. She was struck by the odd clothes and hair-styles and the very free attitude towards sex and drugs. She was amused when asked where she learned to speak English, and at their surprise that she was returning to her own country after spending some months in “the Promised Land”.

Joyce Millar, George Barbour, Margaret Gilchrist, Linda Tough and Marlene Allison were all welcomed as Warrant Officers into the Junior Section of the Boys' Brigade, after an appeal for helpers. There were no offers for the Company or the Senior Section, and another appeal went out for Football Coaches, Swimming Instructors, First Aid Instructors or Drumming Instructors, no need to join as an officer. William Shields, jun. resigned as Junior Section Leader, as he had moved to East Kilbride. Jim Symon agreed to take over. There were about 70 boys, and although there was room for more, any boy must be prepared to attend meetings regularly, dress neatly and above all attend Bible Class every Sunday morning.
A show was put on this year instead of a display, and the camp went to Skegness. Mr McLeod was thanked for “whipping away the springboard without authority” and “repairing it beautifully”.
There were a number of promotions in the Company:   to Warrant Officer, Eric Ashley; to Staff Sergeant, Colin Guy and Ian Millar; to Sergeant, Jim Calderwood, Douglas Ashley and Ian Rough; to Corporal, Alistair Guy, David Braes, Stephen Robertson and Alex. Kidd; to Lance-Corporal, William Campbell, James Barry, Harry Olverman, Alan McKechnie, Hugh Belshaw, Gordon Millar, Albert Vine, Ian Warnock and William Grierson. Queen's Awards went to Ian Millar and Douglas Ashley.


The number of children, aged seven and over, attending the Children's Library in the Church Hall continued to grow. The borrowing charge was 2d per book for two weeks. For teenagers and adults the cost of borrowing paperbacks was 6d per book.


A survey prepared by Dr John Sutherland, formerly of Moray House College of Education, on behalf of the Committee on the Religious Instruction of Youth of the Church of Scotland indicated that of those who became full members of the church before they reached the age of 21, over 85% of men and 87% of women had previously been members of the Sunday School. Of those after the age of 21, 65% of men and slightly over 65% of women had previously attended Sunday School.


The Property Committee planned the redecoration and maintenance of the church for the year. Under the command of the “indefatigable Mr Bill Strain” the whole of the stairway area at the front of the church was repainted and the woodwork varnished. The passageways to the hall at the front and back of the church building were similarly treated, and the hall was to be repainted. Outside, the preliminary work was started on making a concrete path along the south side of the church where a small house for the gardening tools and a cover for the bins was to be erected.


The congregation received a letter from Miss Jean Grigor, the deaconess, where she told them about a weekend in which Nessie and John Lawrence had driven down from Canada to be with her in Chicago. She intended to visit them in their new home in Rochester, U.S.A on her way home. She also told of a week's holiday she had when she went to visit Bob and Martha McDill, about which she had heard so much from the people of Castlemilk, and their two girls. While she was there , Bob had been installed at a special service as Associate Pastor of his church. His twin brother, George, was the preacher, and she met him, his Croftfoot wife and their wee son. On 7th June she was leaving Chicago to drive with two fellow students to San Francisco, where she was to take an intensive course of training in Chaplaincy in a large state mental hospital for eleven weeks.


The Garden Fête took place on the 31st May when the Queen, Moira Phynn of Arnprior Quadrant, a member of the Junior Bible Class, was crowned. The admission for adults was 6d and for children 3d.


The Stewardship campaign, Impact '69 was a modified version of what some churches had undertaken, and the cost of it was £261 as against £1,000. The cost was one reason for the modified version, and there were “reservations about coercing members into making hasty commitments”. However, as a result of the campaign, attendances at church over the winter months were higher than usual despite the inclement weather and a high incidence of illness. Offerings rose over the first three months of the year by 20%. Most organisations increased their membership, more especially the Woman's Guild and the Young Wives and Mothers. More people offered to help with the Gardens and Property Committees, to deliver the church magazine, to visit the sick and aged, to help in the crèche on a Sunday morning, and the sale of “Life and Work” almost trebled.

The congregation having repaid £13,174 over a period of about thirteen years, decided to continue to fund-raise and put the money into a reserve fund to provide for increased accommodation.


Mr Albert Barker was presented with “a small souvenir” to mark his ten years as organist and choirmaster of Castlemilk West, and in that time it was estimated that he must have sat through close on 1,500 services.


Rev. James Millar completed his sixth year working in Castlemilk West in a congregation of 1,200 and a parish of around 15,000 people.

Miss McNaughton, the first deaconess of the church, and who now worked in St. Columba's Church in Glenrothes, was warmly welcomed when she paid a surprise visit to the evening service in April.



A gift of £100 was received from Mrs Henderson, widow of Mr James Henderson. Both had been members of the church and had lived in Holmbyre Terrace.


Miss Jessie Sinclair of Arnprior Road, a Sunday School teacher for a number of years and latterly leader of the Beginners' department took up a post as Assistant House Mother in Cathkin Children's Home.

Mrs Clifton, a member of the church was to be seen helping out in the crèche, and this lady was “an inspiration to all”, as she was in a wheelchair.

Mr Bob Galloway and his family left the congregation to go to Inverkeithing in Fife.



The Men's Association joined the Glasgow Churches Bowling Association and played on the Corporation greens over the summer. Unfortunately, although enjoying the outdoor bowls very much, they finished 6th from the bottom.


Mr John Smith was the President and Mr Charles Rough was the Secretary of the Men's Association.


Alistair Angus, James Symon, Joan Sherriff, George Barbour, Margaret Gilchrist and Marlene Allison, all of the Boys' Brigade, were promoted to Lieutenant. Mr Belshaw, a parent, joined Mr Piggott in looking after the boys in the Junior Company in the Gym on Wednesdays, and Les Warnock rejoined the Company as an officer.


A pupil from Glenwood Secondary, Bruce McGrath(17) of Glenacre Terrace went on an educational trip, sponsored by the Rhodes Trust, to Canada. He visited the St Lawrence Seaway and many other places of technical and scientific interest.


Rev Gordon Keir left Castlemilk West after one year to go to work in East Kilbride, and the congregation welcomed back Miss Jean Grigor.


Mr H. Logan of Glenacre Terrace, the convener of the Gardens Committee thanked those who had helped with the church grounds, especially Mr Bill Sutherland of Glenacre Drive who had been mainly responsible for the colourful display at the main entrance. Mr Logan was himself thanked for his work over many years.