Lugar Heritage Church

Marion Wylie, is the treasurer of Lugar Parish Church and managed the project to open a cafe to compliment the work of the church for the benefit of the community.

We never even had a kitchen in the church so we could not even have a cup of tea after the service, folk really wanted that. We can have one now all right! It is still a church, we have services every Sunday and have weddings, funerals and all the things you would associate with a church. We now also have a drop in every Wednesday where anyone can come for a cuppa and a bite to eat. There's no charge and there are no barriers, anyone can come.

The church building sits back off the main street and does not look much like a church. That is because it was once en engine shed for powerful little industrial pug locomotives as part of an iron works.

As the company outgrew the site the building was gifted to the town as a church and has been in use ever since.

Marion was a teacher for many years in the local school so she is well known and deeply embedded in the community. The school and the church still have very strong bonds so children coming regularly for services and events.

The aim of having a cafe facility in the church is to make it a bigger part of the community, somewhere for people to go, to hold events and socialise in the heart of the village. It is a hub for people to get together.

When the pit at Logan shut it devastated the community, as it did everywhere else. It is important for people to know the history of where they are from. To know where they come from and to have pride in that heritage. We have lots of people in the area with specialist knowledge, Covenanting, all sorts of things.

The aim is to attract groups of all kinds, local history, art, crafts but especially kids and youth groups. A place to foster a new sense of belonging and community for future generations.

The grounds of the church have been crafted into a beautifully tended garden. It is a really peaceful place to sit and is also quite popular with local wildlife. It is not uncommon to see deer grazing there in the morning.

We are always looking for volunteers to help out. Folk can be a bit put off by commitment and some of the paperwork, not because anyone has anything to hide it's just the process. We are always glad to have people around, even if it is just when they can.