The River of Life Church has been successful in purchasing the former St Mary’s Greyfriars’ Church on St Mary’s Street and the Church hall across the road too.
The existing congregation held its final service last Sunday, with a packed sanctuary. They ‘passed the baton’ to the River of Life, who will continue Christian worship there from this Sunday, 29th September.
Pastor Mark Smith said, “We’re incredibly grateful to the congregation of St Mary’s Greyfriars’ for their generosity, warmth and helpful attitude towards the River of Life, over the past 20 months that we’ve been using their Church hall for our Sunday services.
“From the moment we moved our services from our initial building at the railway station, our numbers have steadily grown. This move to own the hall and the magnificent Church too, comes at the perfect time. We feel it’s a real privilege to continue the great work of St Mary’s, over almost two centuries. Our services may have a different style, but the message is the same – the good news of Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.
“We’re planning to immediately make use of the Church sanctuary for our 11am Sunday services. Our ‘Kids Church’ and ‘Little Wonders” children’s activities will continue in the hall with fun, games and learning.
“Everyone’s warmly invited to a Grand Rededication and Celebration event on November 21st in the Church, to usher in a new season in the life of this beautiful building.”
St Mary’s Ghas purchsed reyfriars’ outgoing session clerk, Anne Mackie, expressed her appreciation that the Church will continue to be used for Christian worship; “It’s been a hard period of difficult decisions over the past few years and our congregation have been amazingly patient and supportive though this time. It is sad to see the end of an era, but the knowledge that the River of Life will bring new life to our mission and make good use of the building is a great consolation to us all. We’re delighted to pass it on to a new generation and hopefully many more generations to come.”
The River of Life Church is a locally based independent Christian Church, spreading the good news of Jesus Christ across generations, cultures and backgrounds since 1988. It’s a member of the Evangelical Alliance and an active member of the Dumfries Christian Network of local Churches working together.
