The Church of Scotland Cumbernauld Old Parish Church
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History - page 5 of 5
Building Interior Kirkyard Ministers Balloch
The Balloch community


The Forge Community Centre set up for worshipHousing began to be developed in Balloch / Eastfield in the late 1970's and as  people moved into the area they looked for a place where they could worship locally.

At that time these areas of Cumbernauld were part of Condorrat Parish and so the Kirk Session of Condorrat looked at ways of meeting this need.


The minister of Condorrat at that time was Rev Bruce McNicol and, along with the Associate Minister Ailsa McIntyre, they began to introduce worship services in the new and growing community.


Birthday cake marking 25 years of worship at BallochThe first worship service at Balloch took place on Easter Day 1982 and so, in addition to the usual significance of Easter Day in the Christian church, it has another special significance for us as it also marks our 'anniversary'.

Ailsa McIntyre was the driving force behind the start of church services at Balloch and the person who got everyone involved at the outset. Ailsa said to many of the congregation, “Just help me out for a short while”, and are we still here many years later!



Forge Community Centre, BallochFrom meeting in people's houses to begin with, our first 'permanent' home was in a 'Portakabin'. During this time plans were formulated for a church building, and land had even been identified on which it might be built. However, these plans fell through and the Forge Community Centre, owned by North Lanarkshire Council, became our new home.



Communion service at BallochThe continued expansion of Cumbernauld northwards in the 1990's (and since then) resulted in a realignment of parish boundaries. Balloch and Eastfield then became part of Cumbernauld Old Parish Church, which is where we are today; the new alongside the old as it were! On 1st April 2007 we celebrated 25 years of worship in Balloch / Eastfield with a church service and social gathering afterwards.


In mid-2018 we were advised by North Lanarkshire Council that they would no longer be able to provide us with a let of the Forge at weekends after the end of September. At the moment of writing, we are still looking for alternative worship arrangements in this part of our parish.



©Cumbernauld Old Parish Church of Scotland; Registered Scottish Charity SC000877