Project 2023

We installed timeline boards across the rear of the sanctuary for the Garden Party on Saturday 10th June 2023, showing a narrative in text & images of the development of the church across the first 100 years. You can click on the image to see the full set of boards. These include a link to audio recordings of people's stories across some of these years, which are available on the slider below under video/audio oral histories.

We are in the process of producing a 2023 book, marking our 100 years as a baptist church in Cathcart. This is integrated with a visual timeline and audio recordings of stories remembered, which will be released during our Garden Party on Saturday, 10th June 2023. For now, here are our earlier books produced in each of the previous 25 years periods of the church's life here.

Click on the photos of people below to hear some of their stories

Margaret Beattie, remembering across 1958 - 1990s

Growing up in the 1980s/90s within the church

(photo of baptism in 1988, described within the stories)

video - describing CBC

Ian Grant, remembering from 1976 - 2000

(Treasurer, within the period mid 1980s - late 1990s)

Rev. Chris Brown, minister, 1976-1983

Rev. John Smith, minister 1985-1998

Rev. Chris Withers, minister 1999-2009

Dave, Jim, Chris & Alan, remembering stories from the 1980s - 2000s

Project 2023 - celebrating 100 years of Cathcart Baptist Church.

Out of our work with Psalm 98 across our 98th year as church here in Cathcart, within the book4project, we began to give shape to a new song. As a collective act, on Sunday 21st November 2021 we gathered and laid down our fingerprints across a linen stave, marking out notes, with additional notes given through zoom photos and paper prints sent in and a thumbprint note from the church in Castlemilk, where our stories have interwoven in past years. The patterns and rhythms of these coloured notes across the linen stave were developed within our worship team, who have written a new song, born out of reflection and prayer around psalms 90-100 (book4 project). This new song 'God's Love Endures Forever (In This Church We Will Stand)' was first shared within the morning service on Sunday 23rd April 2023 in our 100th year. If you click on the top image you will see an interview with Peter Stuart and Aaron Martindale who wrote the song, and if you click on the second image the song will play. May you be blessed in this as we have been.

(click image to play)

The making of this beginning at our 98th anniversary service in November 2021 is here in video podcast

23rd April 2023 marked the release of the Cathcart Baptist Church centenary tartan. I took inspiration for this pattern from the colours of the church garden, centering the red and white of our beloved cherry blossom trees. For me, the red and white are symbols of Christ and the cross representing his purity and the blood that ran red. Our church began 100 years ago on a steading (represented by the green box). By bringing Christ and the church into this 'steading', the past 100 years have injected colours, showing the joy of the church in the community. The sett (pattern) is exactly 100 threads per repeat to represent the 100 years of our church family. These photos show the inspiration photos from the garden and the whole process of weaving from warp frame to finished piece.

video intro to designing the tartan - click on image to view

Abigail Watson

Project 2023: WALK|SEE|GIFT

psalm | 100 | year

book4

Psalm 98 Sing to the Lord a new song… (& towards psalm 100)

A chance to share in the singing of a new song of thankfulness, to hear the earth shout for joy, the seas resound, the rivers clap their hands and the mountains sing. A project of ‘walking with’, attentive to what is around us and to others around us, alert to the voices of where we are, to walk as an act of noticing the small, attending to what surrounds us and who we are in this moment. Still enough to hear the new song and to gift it on to the next generation, whatever age they are.

The walking can take place anytime and anywhere, in the city, in the mountains, by the sea. You can take up the project individually or in group walks, extended climbs or short walks along the beach, once or many times across the next two years. It is for all ages.

Walk

record the walk, note it on a map, digitally record it, draw a personal map

See

notice what is around, in the moment – write notes, record stories, emotions, thoughts – gather in writing, photos, painting, drawing, making – however much or little you are able to do

Gift

pass the gift of these moments of new song onto the next generation, whatever age they are, the gift of noticing here God’s creating love in the place where you are, amongst the people around you – we will gather up these gifted moments over the coming two years to 2023 and make of them a gift for those who will take up the song

launched autumn 2021

You can print out these postcard images to guide you:

This project – regen100 - intends to rework our gardens and community buildings towards regenerative practices of living well locally, with a minimal carbon footprint, where our community and facilities open up for people and the local ecology to heal, renew and flourish.

These regenerative practices, echoing other approaches across the southside of Glasgow, are being developed within our 100th year as a faith community located in Merrylee, in the wider setting of Cathcart. Over the last 10 years we have become a significant local hub for community groups to grow and develop, within an area where other facilities have been closing.

We are developing this project to provide a setting for our church community that continues to provide hope and opportunity for those around us to flourish and to undertake this provision in ways that are sustainable and healing of the place where we are.

Details of the project are here.

Joy. Sheer joy, with rich and deep roots in our life as church here in Cathcart, as we mark 100 years. So many friends, so many stories, so many good things done. Thank you so much to everyone who was a part of this glorious, sunny, celebration of a day, whether it was in planning, in preparing, or making, or planting, or singing, or weaving, or baking. or sharing, or playing, or simply being there and making the day so deeply resonant of who we are as people held in the love and grace of God and the friendship of Jesus and each other across 100 years. Thank you.

#blossoming

Click on the image below to see a video of the day!

...and the celebration of our new song written for this year - 'God's Love Endures Forever (In This Church We Will Stand), click on the image to play

Our book4 project is running from 2013 through to 2023, marking our journey from years 90-100 as a gathered church here in Cathcart. We take psalms 90-100 from Book 4 of the psalms and map our years to the words across these ten years, to finish in year 100 and psalm 100 in 2023. This video gathers the words through to 2022. Given on the first Sunday of the year they provided a focus across the year to the November celebrations.