This morning I attended a special service in St Margaret's Parish Church, Dalry to celebrate its 150th anniversary.
It was to Christian martyr St Margaret of Antioch, patron of childbirth, who died aged 15 in 304 AD, in what is now Turkey, that the church was building was dedicated.
The magnificent St Margaret’s church that now stands was built on the site of a much older building which had fallen into disrepair and no longer served the needs of a growing local population.
Construction cost £6,000 and the church opened for public worship on 11 May 1873.
A fire on 03 November 1951 caused considerable damage that was swiftly repaired, with old plasterwork removed to expose the beautiful stonework we now see.
St Margaret’s has played an important role in the lives of thousands of parishioners over the years, and it continues to thrive with the hard work of so many church elders, volunteers and ministers through successive generations.
The participation of previous ministers of St Margaret’s, Douglas Lamb, James Boag and Jim Teasdale, who joined Reverend David Albon in addressing the packed congregation during the service was welcomed with great warmth.
