Sherbooke–St Gilbert’s
Parish Church of Scotland
Sherbooke
– St Gilbert’s Parish Church serves the west end of Pollokshields
and Dumbreck areas of Glasgow.
It emerged from the union of the former Sherbrooke and St Gilbert’s
Churches, which in their way represented something of the ecclesiastical
history of Scotland from the early Victorian period through to 1929
(the Union of the Presbyterian Churches in Scotland).
It was a period when buildings were erected with a sense of grandeur
moving away from the stark simplicity of puritan architecture.
The building stands on its very prominent site to tell the passer-by
that the community believes in God. It is, in itself, part of that witness
to the community’s belief and faith.
Our primary function is to serve God in the immediate neighbourhood.
We do this by gathering for worship and as a consequence going out into
the world to offer fellowship and service.
Our worship is varied from the formal acknowledgement of a Remembrance
Service to the excitement and joy of child-led worship. It is there
to help people see God; to experience the variety of ways in which we
find God in word, music and space.
Exercising a ministry to the homes for the elderly, the local school,
the housebound and the hospitalised, fulfills the practical ministry
of the church. It is a shared with both minister and congregation taking
on these tasks.
As a church we are conscious of our duty to support others who are
not within our immediate area and so we have a long connection with
the Lodging House Mission and the Glasgow City Mission, both caring
for men and women who are homeless or struggling with life’s issues.
Our church buildings are home to a thriving Playgroup, Cubs, Scouts,
Rainbows and Brownie Packs. We share with Pollokshields Parish Church
the work of the Guides.
We run a Young Church group for our younger people on Sunday mornings
and during the week we have a Guild group, a Young Woman’s Group
and a Badminton Club.
It is the only public building in the area and is used by others on
occasion. One aspect of this use, which has developed over the years
since the renovation after our disastrous fire of 1994, is that of a
concert venue given the fine acoustics and space for large numbers of
performers.
