We're an integral part of the Church Family and meet 50 weeks of the year – the Young Church during term time and the Fun Zone during school holidays. There's information about us further down the page and, for the convenience of everyone, diary dates can be found in the online church calendar.

 - Young Church News -

We hope everyone is enjoying the summer and has managed to find some sunshine during their holidays! 

The Young Church has started again on 17 August with a special Sunday morning event. 

We had Tricky Ricky for Sunbeams, Footsteps and Stepping Stones - everyone from age 3 up to those who are starting in Primary 4.   

For Explorers - primaries 5, 6 and 7 we had Wii Sports

 - Footsteps-

The Footsteps department of the Young Church will be rather different from before!  Mrs Bryce, who has just completed forty years of teaching in the Sunday School and Young Church has decided to retire and I know we will all miss her in the Young Church, although we hope she will come and visit us sometimes!  Moyra Droog has agreed to take over the running of the Footsteps, but if there is anybody who would like to help, either on a weekly, or more occasional basis, please let one of the Young Church Co-ordinators know. Also, if you are a teenager and thinking of doing the Duke of Edinburgh award, helping in the Young Church on a weekly basis, normally with the Sunbeams or Footsteps does count for the service element of the award.

 - Explorers -

The Explorers had a very good year, with high attendances and a lot of fun had by everyone. At the start of the session everyone was given a jam jar and instructions from Unicef  - this is the Jar of Grace.

The idea is that the children (and occasionally kind fathers who want to empty their pockets of loose change) will put a coin in the jar when they have a meal to remember those less fortunate. This year we have got more than last year by raising £65. Thank you everyone.  

A sponsored silence was also held in May to raise money for farm  animals and equipment for people in underdeveloped areas of Africa through Send-A-Cow. Unfortunately only 6 children turned up for this event but managed to raise the grand total of £126.50 some of the items purchased were: rabbits, chickens,  cockerels, a day's farm training, an Eco friendly stove, fodder trees (which stop the cows passing so much methane!) and sheep.

More information can be obtained from www.sendacow.org.uk, Thank you to all those who took part and those who supported them. We are looking forward to meeting everyone in August.  

Moya Justice, Mhairi Wilson, Allyson Munro and Jacquie Mather.

 - Pathfinders -

The Pathfinders’ group has had a busy end to the church year.  On the weekend of 31 May/1 June, we held a 24-hour famine in support of the Nowhere Children of Chennai (formerly known as Madras) in India.  We gathered at the church at 6pm on Saturday, and had a  treasure hunt, using buses to travel around the city in two groups, carrying out tasks such as making a human pyramid in front of the castle and squeezing six people into a red telephone box.  When we returned to the church, we played some games and watched a film about the children in Chennai, before having a sleepover in the church halls.

After church on the Sunday, we headed down to the Hermitage of Braid to take part in a service project, which   involved pulling out plants introduced from abroad which were taking over part of the park and killing off the indigenous plants.  Unfortunately the heavens opened, and it was a very wet and muddy crew which returned to the church to dry off and change into dry clothes. However, before long, 6pm on Sunday arrived, and we all broke our fast by sharing an Indian meal. Thanks to the generosity of friends, colleagues and members of the congregation, we were able to raise £651.45 to support the work that World Vision is carrying out in Chennai.  

On 8 June, the group, shepherded by Meg Lindsay, led both Sunday services,  taking as a theme the need for tolerance and the dangers of allowing our view of others to be coloured by our own prejudices. 

On Saturday 14 June, we held our end-of-session barbecue in the church garden, and were fortunate that it stayed dry for most of the afternoon. We were especially pleased that Katie, Sarah and Robert, who will be moving up from Explorers next session, were able to join us for the barbecue, and we are looking forward to     welcoming them along to Pathfinders after the summer.

On 21 June, we held a farewell party for Meg Lindsay. After a visit to the Edinburgh   Dungeon, we shared a Chinese takeaway in the hall, along with a cake decorated with balloons for Meg. After some games organised by Catriona and Lara, and a quiet time for reflection and prayer, we presented Meg with some gifts (including a pair of racing nuns!), before showing off our talents at karaoke. We are all grateful for the fun and inspiration that Meg has brought to the group during her all-too-short time with us, and we wish her well in her further studies back in the USA.

At the promotion service on 22 June, we said goodbye to two of our longest serving members, Calum McGillivray and Alistair Grant.  Both of these young men are moving on to university next year, and we wish them well, and thank them for the contribution they have made to the Pathfinders’ group over the last six years.

Pathfinders will start up again after the summer holidays on Sunday 17 August.  We will continue to study readings from Matthew’s gospel during the period leading up to Advent.  We meet during the second service (usually 11am), and are always happy to welcome along any young people of secondary school age.  We also meet up most Thursday evenings between 7.30 and 9pm for a fun games night.  If you would like to find out more about us, please contact Roger Barlee or Malcolm Cutt (via the Church Office), or just come along one Sunday (or Thursday).

 - General Information -

With the exception of “Festival Sundays” the Young Church meets at 9.45am, the same time as our contemporary Worship Now! service.  The children come into church with their parents for the first part of the service which we try to make child friendly and which includes the increasingly popular “Storytime”.

The children listen to the story in church and when the Church Family split into groups they go in to their own departments and follow through the theme with activities suitable for their age and stage of development.  The introduction of “Storytime” is one of our successes. The children enjoy it (as do the adults!) and there is a bit of a stampede as the children rush forward to get their place on the stairs.   

The Young Church is split into 6 groups catering for different ages and the contact details for each group are as follows:- 

For general enquiries contact one of the Young Church Co-ordinators:

As you will see, our Youth Group, Pathfinders meet during the 11am Morning Worship service.  One of the resource rooms behind the stage has been designated a Youth Resource room and just before the summer break, after a lot of careful planning and preparation each Pathfinder painted a section of the wall with their own individual design.   In the last year this group organised a Charity Brunch, took part in the Forth Road Bridge Charity Walk fro Christian Aid and have enjoyed a barbecue and several sleepovers.  So there is plenty to keep them busy!

 - Festival Sundays -

Harvest, Christmas, Easter and Pentecost.  On these occasions there is just the one service at 10.30am when the whole Church Family worship together. 

At Harvest the children and members of the congregation bring gifts of food which are delivered by Pathfinders and their leaders to organisations supporting the homeless. 

In the run up to Christmas, there is a gift service, when the children bring gifts which are then delivered to other less fortunate children.  We also support a Charity Appeal involving the whole congregation.  On the Sunday before Christmas we always have a special service, often a Christmas play involving the children of the Young Church.  On Christmas Eve we have a Family Watchnight Service at 7pm which is aimed at families with young children and is always packed out.  Later on there is the traditional Watchnight service when older children and adults enjoy carol singing as we anticipate the approach of Christmas Day.  On Christmas Day itself we have one service at 10.30am for the whole church family.

Our Easter Celebration is the culmination of a week of ecumenical services with our neighbours in the parish. 

At Pentecost we celebrate together the coming of the Holy Spirit. 

 - Fun Zone -

The Fun Zone operates during the school holidays and all ages meet together.  The children still go in to church for the first part of the service for Storytime but then they all join together in the halls where they can enjoy a wide array of arts and crafts activities. 

 - Leaders -

But none of this could happen without the team of volunteers who make up the Young Church leaders and helpers.  At times it can be hard word but also rewarding and good fun. 

In the past year we have seen a number of new leaders join us in the Young Church but we need new blood all the time.  So if you think you might be interested in helping out on an occasional basis in the Creche, or another Young Church department, in the Fun Zone or if you would be willing to become a leader please speak to one of the Young Church Co-ordinators. 

 - Young Church Collections -

Every week, the different departments of the Young Church have a collection.  The money raised in this way is used for two main purposes:

The Young Church sponsors a child in Ethiopia.  We receive letters and pictures from Yareko once or twice a year, which are circulated around the departments so that the children are aware of the hardships of living and growing up in a developing country. 

In addition, every year, the Young Church support Christian Aid by buying gifts for people in Third World countries – in previous years, these have included cans of worms, 3 pigs and a disaster survival kit. In previous years, small amounts were donated to many different charities, mainly involved with children.  This year, in addition to our sponsored child and Christian Aid, it has been decided that we will support one main charity and the Explorers group are currently thinking about which charity this will be.

 - Child Protection Procedures -

All new volunteers are required to complete the Church of Scotland Child Protection Procedures which involves a Disclosure Scotland Record Check and Jean Broadwood has now taken on responsibility for administering that procedure at Fairmilehead.