Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

New-look Muirhead kirk hosts first service since £70,000 transformation

The Rev. Donna Hays led the first service in new-look Muirhead church. Pic: Steve MacDougall/DCT Media.
The Rev. Donna Hays led the first service in new-look Muirhead church. Pic: Steve MacDougall/DCT Media.

Muirhead Church has ushered in a new era after a major project to strengthen its place at the heart of the community.

Almost 180 years on from its founding, the kirk has undergone a near £70,000 transformation.

And it welcomed the congregation back to enjoy a Palm Sunday service in the new surroundings.

The Rev Donna Hays, minister of Fowlis and Liff and Lundie and Muirhead said it has been a significant project.

“Over the past couple of years we have sold the churches at Lundie and Liff,” she said.

“Although we are still using Fowlis, we recognised that we needed a more modern space.

“What we wanted to create in Muirhead Church was a resource for the community to use.”

Kirk pews snapped up by locals

The traditional church pews were stripped out and sold off to help finance the renovation.

“They were very popular with people in the area, and one has even found its way into a Dundee café,” said Donna.

“We had an exceptional project manager in Walker Hodgson, a member at Fowlis & Liff.

“And he also used some of the old pews to make the new steps in the church.

Muirhead church
Muirhead Church. Pic: Steve MacDougall/DCT Media.

“This new space allows us to hold all sorts of groups.

“And it will help us build on things we have been running, such as our successful holiday club.”

Donna added: “The other important thing is the IT equipment that has been installed.

“We still have a fair presence on Zoom every Sunday when we stream services for those who are not able to come to church.

Special guests

Sunday’s service brought two special visitors to Muirhead.

James and Robert Lester are the sons of the Rev James Lester, who was the Minister at Muirhead from September 1950 until his death in 1977.

Muirhead kirk
The Rev Donna Hays with Robert (left) and James Lester, the sons of former Lundie minister the Rev John Lester. Pic: Steve MacDougall/DCT Media.

A memorial to him which was installed in Lundie Church has been installed at Muirhead.

The 12th Century kirk at Lundie was sold at auction for £40,000 in November last year.

Its kirkyard is the final resting place of Admiral Duncan, who led the 1797 defeat of the Dutch in the Battle of Camperdown.

Million pound 21st century makeover for Forfar’s Big Kirk