Welcome

Welcome, and thanks for 

stopping by
 and visiting our blog!

Welcome to Upper Clyde Parish Church of Scotland.
Feel free to use the tabs at the top, and labels at the side to navigate your way around...
Join us for worship:
any Sunday, at 10.30am, in our primary worship centre in Abington -
or, on the last Sunday of the month, in Leadhills Village Hall at 5pm.
Over the course of the year, generally on a second Sunday, we also have an ad hoc
music and meditation service at Holy Trinity Chapel, Lamington, at 5pm.
There are about 5-6 per year - keep an eye on 'news and events' for the next one...
We'd love to see you.

A brief note about us:
Based in beautiful, rural South Lanarkshire, we cover c180sq miles of river valley and rolling hills.
We are:
farmers, shepherds, blacksmiths, IT consultants, teachers, artists, musicians, in the hospitality industry, scientists, historians, retired, home-makers, at school, still a bit wee for school, curious, friendly, quiet, extrovert, serious, silly, of deep faith and of questions.
Whatever your faith tradition and wherever you're at on your journey of faith, you're welcome.

We're minded to think that God loves everyone, no exceptions.

We'd also love to see you in 'real life' as well - so a map and some directions...

UCPC is located in the rural south of South Lanarkshire, covering an area of c.180sq miles, incorporating 9 villages and surrounds:
Wiston, Roberton, Lamington, Abington, Crawfordjohn, Crawford, Elvanfoot, Leadhills, and Wanlockhead.
The area is one of outstanding natural beauty, taking in the source of the River Clyde, the two highest villages in Scotland - and there's gold in those hills, rolling farmlands, as well as Roman settlements.  Although a rural parish, (our 9 villages fall into both accessible and remote rural categories under the Scottish gov't criteria) we are not isolated: the M74 cuts through the parish providing quick links to nearby towns.

While our main place of is located in Abington ...
[at the top of the hill, Murdostoun Place, ML12 6RY] 
...we seek to be a church presence in various ways within our wider community.

The Upper Clyde Parish Church - UCPC - strives to be a welcoming church, a place for people seeking friendship, acceptance and affirmation and a creative space for the sharing of hopes and fears, visions and concerns. It is a forward thinking church and, since 2018, has been part of an informal parish grouping with Douglas Valley and the Tinto Parishes. We share a community outreach worker, collaborate on several shared projects, and the minister covers occasional services to provide cover for communion and occasional baptisms (DV is in Guardianship and TP is vacant).

UCPC aims to:
*be a place of welcome for all
*be God's people - in worship and work, and wherever we are
*deepen relationships: with God, each other, and the wider community
*encourage, support, and care for one another
*create an environment where questions are welcome
*provide space for people to seek and find God - recognising that, while we may be at different stages on the journey, we travel together in community

Historically, the parish was formed over decades by a series of unions and linkages.
In 2013, the joint linkage of Lowther and Glencaple formally became a union, resulting in the new Upper Clyde Parish. With Douglas Valley and Cairngryffe parishes (part of the Tinto Parishes), we are currently in the process of exploring a further union, in accordance with the presbytery plan approved by the General Assembly of 2024.

The main Charities we support:

Christian Aid
UCPC supports the work of Christian Aid. We hold a Christian Aid Week service in May and there is a special collection during this service to help support the work. Occasional other Sundays are also used for a special collections.

Clydesdale Food Bank
Having made donations annually to the Food Bank via our Harvest Service in October, on behalf of the congregation, the Kirk Session made the decision to move to quarterly giving. On a month in which we have communion, our donations box is placed in the vestibule over the course of the month, and all items donated over the Sundays are then taken to the Food Bank for distribution.

'The Ripple Effect'   formerly known as Send a Cow 
As a collection of rural communities, we are delighted to support the work of The Ripple Effect - rural communities, supporting rural communities. Each year, in conjunction with the five primary schools in the parish, we take time at and around Harvest time to create art and craft which is then used to decorate the church for Harvest festival - we've had the church filled with goats, sheep, bees, and life-sized cows. Special collections through the schools and the church help to raise money and awareness for this great project, and it's great community fun.

Stamp Appeal
UCPC has been taking part in the Church of Scotland's World Mission Stamp Appeal for some years. Used stamps are gathered in, sorted and sold to collectors for cash. The money raised is used to support the work of a project around the world.

Scottish Charity No. SCO17506

checked/ updated July 2024