New to Inverurie? To Scotland? To church? To faith?
Settling into a new community can be challenging. Hopefully some of the information/resources outlined here will be helpful.
New to the area
Firstly, if you’ve never lived in the North East of Scotland before, welcome! The local dialect here is known as Doric, but you’ll find people here from all parts. As long as you know that a ‘fly’ or ‘fly cup’ means a coffee or tea, and that a ‘fine piece’ is a tasty bit of baking, you’ll be fine.
Inverurie is a small market town which sits at the join of the Don and Ury rivers about 16 miles North West of Aberdeen. We are surrounded by the beautiful Aberdeenshire countryside, but are also only around 16 miles from Aberdeen and easy to to reach via the A96, train, or bus.
We’re fortunate here to have a thriving local economy with a busy town centre and high street. We have four primary schools and an academy, a choice of supermarkets, a range of churches and community groups, and lots going on.
Most importantly, it’s a friendly town, whose residents care about it and about one another.
New to church
Once upon a time, no one in Scotland questioned that churches were at the heart of their local communities. Times have changed and for many people the idea of attending church is unusual, perhaps even a bit intimidating.
Probably the most important thing you need to know is that there are no entry requirements! Churches are communities rather than clubs. Like any community, it can sometimes take a while to find the one that feels like a good fit, so it’s okay to try a few different churches.
Like any group or institution we have our regular practices, so here are a few things which might help you feel comfortable walking through the door. You can also find more detailed information on our worship page.
When and where do we meet?
Inverurie West Church is on the West High Street in the centre of Inverurie. You’ll recognise us by the large glass porch at the front. At the West church we meet for worship at 11 am on Sundays. Services tend to be about 45-50 minutes long and are usually followed by tea and coffee.
Occasionally there will be a change in time/location when our minister is on leave or during the summer when we share services with the congregation of Inverurie St Andrew’s. Changes will usually be signposted in our church magazine, on the services page of the website and on Facebook.
Because our church centre is open during the week you can also drop in for prayer or a bit of quiet in the sanctuary when we are open (Tuesday-Saturday 9-3). There are also a range of regular activities during the week
What is a worship service?
This is when we gather for a mix of prayer, bible reading, singing, and a sermon or reflection. Our services are structured and led by our minister and are quite relaxed in style. You can get a flavour by having a look at a recent service online. All ages are welcome and on most Sundays during term time we offer a junior church.
Who can come?
Absolutely anyone. You don’t have to know anyone here, or have any previous knowledge of the bible, or church. All ages are welcome. Most weeks during term times, children can if they wish head downstairs after the first part of the service for some crafts and activities with our junior church team. For those who wish to stay upstairs, we try to keep some activities in our worship play box.
New to faith
One of the most poignant prayers in the bible is spoken by a desperate man who says to Jesus, “Lord I believe, help my unbelief!”
It’s a very human and in some ways reassuring prayer, as it helps us to realise that faith isn’t about rock hard certainty. Faith and doubt often co-exist. One of the great things about the bible is that just about any doubt you’ve ever had about God has probably already been expressed by someone 2000 or more years ago. In it’s own way, it’s a very real book.
At the same time, faith involves a certain amount of commitment. To have faith is to commit to exploring a particular path of belief. Belief in someone or something specific is far more powerful and life changing than a general belief in a concept like love or peace or freedom.
As Christians for example, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus help us define and understand what love looks like. They also help us recognise that peace is something deeper than a mere absence of hostility and to work out how to balance freedom with responsibility.
As such, faith affects how we live, not just what we believe. This is one reason why faith is often easiest to nurture, develop and maintain as part of a believing community. It’s not so that we can police one another, or anyone else, but so that we can grow together and support one another.
Among us, you will find a variety of opinions and beliefs about theology (the study of God); ethics; social and political issues and so forth. But we share a belief in a loving creator God, in his son Jesus and in the work of God’s spirit in and through us.
You can find resources to explore more deeply on our growing in faith page. Or come worship with us and join the journey!