WORSHIPPING AT Holy Trinity has always required a certain degree of effort.
First you have to find it -easier now with the website (www.holytrinitydunoon.co.uk) which gives directions – but still tricky for the newcomer. Then, if on foot, it entails walking up a dauntingly steep driveway If coming by car that same driveway includes an almost hairpin bend – you just pray you don’t meet a car coming the other way – culminating in a small and much too crowded car park.
The visitor may be tempted to linger and take in the magical surroundings of this little church, maybe listen to the birdsong a moment. But there are more potential hazards to overcome: the summer midges up there are ferocious and follow you into the church; if it’s raining you must scuttle in briskly to avoid sitting damply dripping for the next hour (there is heating but it’s not wonderful); if it’s hot and you’re dressed for summer you can guarantee you’ll feel chilly once inside and if it’s cold and you’re dressed for winter then that’s just dandy but don’t expect to take off your coat.
But you’ve made the effort. You’ve overcome the hazards and you’ve arrived in the beautiful little church that is. Holy Trinity atop the holy hill of Kilbride, and surrounded by the graves of many who worshipped there in the past. Here you will find peace and holiness that infiltrates the damp and pockmarked walls – those very walls are steeped in the prayers of so many gone before. There is a numinous sense of the presence of God.
Before the present pandemic, this is what the worshipping community at Holy Trinity came for, and this is what has been lost with the closing of the church during the lockdown.
However, the Church cannot be simply the building; it must be the people – the worshipping community. When he broached the idea of online worship through the wonders of Zoom, Rector David Railton never imagined for a moment it would be so successful. Many of the congregation are very elderly, some have no access to the Internet. What were the chances of getting more than a handful of regular worshippers together?
Well, it appears nothing is impossible with God.
The live online services hosted from David’s study and attended by folk in their living rooms, studies, kitchens and bedrooms include Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer and Compline during the week and Sunday morning
Services of the Word or Holy Communion in Spirit. They are attended by up to 60 folk – most of the regular worshipping community and several from places afar. Some dial in by landline phone, some have shaky internet connections but determinedly persevere, those with computers, iPads or mobiles use video through Zoom. There are several octogenarians rapidly becoming expert Zoomers!
This is the new normal for Holy Trinity. Anyone can join in – contact the rector David on 01369 702444 or email rector® holytrinitydunoon.co.uk to be sent an invitation. It’s great.
Dinah Tennent
Printed 1 May 2020
