The preaching of the Word

Sunday services at Dowanvale take place at 11.00am and 6.30pm in the church at 35 Dowanhill Street. Our minister, the Rev Kenneth Stewart, usually preaches, over a number of weeks, a series of sermons from the books of the Old and New Testament.

Prayer Meeting

The prayer meeting meets on Wednesdays at 7.30pm in Dowanvale’s church hall, which is accessed from the side door on Chancellor Street. We pray in adoration to God with confession of sin and thanksgiving for God’s goodness, and we ask God to pour out his blessing on our church and the wider world.  The Word is also expounded during the prayer meetings.

Psalmody Class

The Psalmody Class meets on Sundays at 5pm in the church hall.  We are learning new tunes to accompany Sing Pslams. There is a tea break before the evening service begins.

Children

The crèche is open from 10.45am and meets in the church hall. Children of Sunday School age usually sit upstairs in the church for the start of the morning service. Following the minister’s childrens’ talk and the singing of the second Psalm, the children leave to go down to the Sunday School. There are four Sunday School classes: pre-school; primary 1 to primary 3; primary 4 to primary 7; and the Bible Class for those in secondary school up to the age of 16. All our Sunday School teachers and crèche workers are signed up to the Dowanvale Child Protection Policy and are vetted through Disclosure Scotland.

A Mothers’ and Toddlers’ group usually meets in the church hall on Thursday morning from 10.30am to 12 noon. Please check the news page for confirmation.

Womens’ Meeting

Women from the congregation meet once a month from October to May in the church hall on a Thursday evening at 7.30pm. Various activities are planned throughout the year and, as well as enjoying fellowship over tea and coffee, our primary focus is to raise funds for missionary organisations.

Youth Fellowship

The Youth Fellowship meets in Dowanvale on Sunday evenings during term time (apart from the first Sunday of the month which takes the form of a congregational fellowship). Meetings are normally held in the church hall, and sometimes in the Manse. Around 30-40 students and young people make up the fellowship. The programme is varied and all young people aged from 16 to 30 are very welcome.

Congregational Fellowship

The Congregational Fellowship meets on the first Sunday of the month, following the evening service in the church hall at Dowanvale. Following a sumptuous tea, a guest speaker talks about how God has worked in their life. Recent speakers include Marie-Christine Lux, who has worked in Africa and Peru; Donald Macdonald, who heads up Macdonald Hotels; and Colin McKerracher who is Chief Constable of Grampian Police.

Gaelic Service

A Gaelic service at Dowanvale is held once a month on a Thursday evening in the church hall, which is accessed from the side door on Chancellor Street. The service is for Gaelic speakers and learners from the Glasgow area and people from beyond Dowanvale are very welcome. Tea is served after the service. Please see the news page for details of the next Gaelic service.

Facilities

The church hall is situated in the basement, and was radically remodelled in 2003 under the leadership of Donald Thomson, a builder to trade and an elder of the congregation. We are now blessed with excellent facilities. In addition to the main church hall, we have three classrooms; a fully equipped office; a well-stocked library; a vestry, three toilets and two showers.

Accessibility

The building alterations over the last two years have taken great care to ensure that Dowanvale Free Church caters for all people. In their wisdom, Victorian architects ensured that the main church is two metres above ground level, and the church halls are located in the basement. So many steps! A ramp has been erected from the pavement on Chancellor Street to the side door of the church and a wheelchair lift inside eliminates the remaining steps. A separate passenger lift with wheelchair access links the main church to the church hall below. Disabled toilets are located at the back of the church. For the hard of hearing, a loop system ensures audibility both in the main church and in the church hall.

Catering

At Dowanvale Free Church, we like to get together over a cup of tea and a bite to eat! Congregational lunches are now a regular event; therefore a state-of-the-art kitchen and food preparation area, compliant with health and safety provisions, was installed in 2003. All those who help with catering have qualified for a Food Hygiene Certificate.