Closing service for Saltoun Church

On Sunday, we held a Service of Thanksgiving and Leave-Taking for Saltoun Church, as it is now being closed as an active church, and entering a new phase of its life. About 120 people came together for this closing service, including former organists, couples who got married in the church, and elders who have since moved away from the parish. A recording of the service can be found on our youtube page.
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East and West Saltoun remain very much part of Lammermuir Parish, just as the other villages that no longer have active church buildings. It is heartbreaking to have to close buildings like Saltoun Church, that have been at the heart of the community over such a long time, and where many important family occasions were marked. However, along with congregations across the country, we are no longer in a position to maintain church buildings in every community, as a result of the decline in membership and income of the Church of Scotland. As a church congregation, we need to cover all costs of the buildings ourselves - maintenance and repairs, insurance, and of course all running costs, without any external or public funding. There have been so many changes in society, which over the past 70 years have also brought a steady decline in church attendance and membership with it. However, we have a strong congregation with a committed membership across all the villages in the parish, and our remaining church buildings in Gifford and Humbie, as well as the Session Rooms in East Saltoun and the Stables in Garvald and Humbie are well used throughout the week. By concentrating our resources on fewer centres, we can serve our community better, and we see how new friendships and a sense of a united congregation continue to flourish in the parish.

In the service, we heard that the first church building in Saltoun was consecrated in 1244, and dedicated to St Michael. It belonged to the Abbey at Dryburgh, to whom the lands and rights in Saltoun had been granted about 100 years earlier. Since the Reformation in the 1560s, Saltoun belonged to the Presbytery of Haddington and the synod of Lothian and Tweeddale. Records show that there has been a minister here since 1568. We heard of Patrick Scougall, minister at Saltoun in the 1650 and 60s, who later became Bishop of Aberdeen, and Gilbert Burnet, his successor, who taught Andrew Fletcher, the Patriot, and later became Bishop of Salisbury, with a seat in the House of Lords. We heard that between 1636 and 1855, 3,933 baptisms took place in Saltoun, about 18 per year, as well as 1,188 weddings, on average three per year. Archived Kirk Session records show that in the 1640s, the session appointed elders to ‘visit the toun’ at the time the sermon was preached, to discover who was absent from public worship. Particular concern was expressed about people who were found in alehouses during the Sabbath. ​

​One striking entry records in 1719 that a formal proclamation by the King, against immorality, vice and profaneness, was read aloud from the pulpit. There are also frequent references to collections for the poor, payments for widows, or small sums given to individuals “in necessity.” In the early 1700s, a collection was held for the Reformed Churches of the great Dukedom of Lithuania, by order of the General Assembly, for repairing churches which had been ruined 'by the sword and famine'. The current church building was built in 1805. Its spire is said to be the highest in East Lothian at 99 feet high - thus avoiding the tax payable at the time on spires of 100 feet or over. You can read more about the history of Saltoun Church here.

Besides the historical records, we also heard of more recent memories of the days when the Tithe Byre across the road was open every Saturday and Sunday for coffees and the sale of baking, plants and crafts, with a tithe going to the church. We remembered many of the people involved at the time. We remembered Sunday School nativities (including the ones with angels toppling off their box) and outings to Gullane Beach, where John Wilson, the minister at the time, would play the children down from the bus with his bagpipes. We heard about fantastic flower arrangements provided by the community for weddings and funerals, about a West End choir at a recent wedding service, about baptisms, and about a few struggles with the ringing of the church bell, even by our Session Clerk John. The children's choir led by Mrs Louden, the then minister's wife, and repairs to the church roof by some of the church members were recalled with fondness. ​

​In a prayer, we gave thanks for the community that has made up the church, and looked to the future, using these words:

For all the saints, who, in times past and present,
have formed a congregation of your people
and have met in this place
to offer their prayers and praises to you,
we praise you, Creator God.
 
For those who came here as children
to learn of you and to be received
within your covenant of grace,
we praise you, Creator God.
 
For the young who have grown in you,
and matured in you,
and have been challenged by your claims,
we praise you, Creator God.
 
For those who have come together in marriage,
have rejoiced in your gift of children,
and have learned to know you better
in learning to love each other more truly,
we praise you, Creator God.
 
For those who have taught in Sunday School,
and for all who have learned
from one another and from you,
we praise you, Creator God.
 
For the ministers, elders,
members of Boards and committees,
for musicians and choir members,
for members of the Guild, of societies and groups,
all who have given their time and talents
for the work and worship of this church,
we praise you, Creator God.
 
For the knowledge that your church continues
and that the work of the people
of this congregation continues,
we praise you, Creator God.
 
For the common life of this congregation,
for the special occasions and the ordinary,
for joys and sorrows, opportunities and challenges,
for all these things and more,
we praise you, Creator God.
 
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now and will be for ever. 

We pray for this congregation of your people:
help us to know that when we leave this place
we do not leave your presence;
and when we go out from this building,
we do not leave the Church.
​And now, in the unity of faith,
in the communion of saints,
in love and goodwill to all,
in remembrance of those
who built and maintained this place,
we dedicate ourselves anew
in the service of your kingdom;
​through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

​While we sang the words of a blessing: 'May the God of peace go with us, as we travel from this place', symbols of our church life at Saltoun were carried out of the church, including communion silver presented to the church by Gilbert Burnet in the 1600s, the baptismal bowl, and the pulpit Bible.

Willie Logan, one of our oldest members, summarised the morning very well: 'This is a sad day, but we need to carry on and look forwards'. Well said, Willie - we look forward to continuing the church life we are building up across our wide parish area now as Lammermuir Church, and we carry on with all the activities happening throughout each week, and our services on Sunday, now all held at Yester and Humbie Churches.