Who We Are
The Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland – the RP Church – has been a recognised part of the Scottish church for a long time and, although it is the second oldest Presbyterian Church in Scotland, it is really as old as the Church of Scotland itself.
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Although it springs out of the Scottish Reformation in the 16th century, its more immediate roots are found in the ‘Covenanters’ – those men and women of the 17th century who fought to protect the church from the tyranny of the state. They were sometimes called ‘Cameronians’ in honour of one of their most prominent preachers and an outspoken critic of the monarchy, Richard Cameron – who, incidentally, had a famous Scottish Regiment named after him too (The Cameronians).
It is now widely accepted that these Covenanters, through their principled stand and their writings, didn’t just secure the freedom of the church from state tyranny but also helped to limit the power of the monarchy by advocating a constitutional monarchy such as we now have.
Several thousand of these Covenanters could not accept the terms on which the church in Scotland was re-settled in the so-called ‘Glorious Revolution’ under King William in 1690. Consequently, they chose to remain outside the re-constituted Church of Scotland and commenced a parallel existence which has continued to this day. This existence was originally in local groups meeting for worship and fellowship but, in 1743, they formally organised as the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland. For more information on the origin of the RP church, see here.
The RP church was once much stronger than it is at present and it was strongest in central Scotland, Ayrshire and the Borders. Although it took root and spread in other countries, it began to enter into what became serious decline in Scotland from the late 19th century. However, the Scottish RP Church is now, thankfully, seeing renewed growth and is part of a large and growing global family of RP churches throughout the world – these include the churches in Ireland (which has a Training College), North America (which has around 100 congregations, a Theological College and an Arts College), Japan (again, with a Theological College), India and France – as well as an extensive work in an area of the world where sensitivity is required in connection with publicity.
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The Glasgow congregation is a new RP congregation which began meeting in the Thornwood Primary school in 2011. However, in 2012, and with God’s evident help and leading, we were able to obtain the Church of Scotland building on Gardner Street, Partick.
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At present, we have four sister RP congregations here in Scotland:
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Our newest congregation is Brikama RPC in The Gambia:
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To find out more about the work of the church around the world, you can visit the RP Global Alliance website:
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What We Believe
As a church, we are committed to the Bible as our rule of faith and living. We are also committed to the historic Christian faith as it has been expressed in the ancient Creeds of Christendom and in the truths contained in the great Confessions of Faith which sprung up in Europe with the Reformation of the 16th century. Our main doctrinal standard is the historic Westminster Confession of Faith, drawn up by leading theologians from all parts of the British Isles, in the 1640’s.
This means that we are committed to believing in, amongst other things, the absolute sovereignty of God (Father, Son and Spirit), a created universe, our fall into sin, our consequent alienation from God and exposure to his condemnation and final judgment, the saving and complete work of Jesus Christ in dying for sinners, the necessity of faith in Christ in order to experience salvation, and the reality of both heaven and hell.
Because of the importance of its message, we believe the Bible is the most important book you could ever read and that the person at its centre – Jesus Christ, crucified 2000 years ago – is also the most important person you will ever encounter. After all, if the Bible is true, we will all encounter him one day.
What We Do
As a church, our main duty is to worship God together. We meet for this twice on Sundays at 11:00am and 6:00pm. We have all age groups present and you will be warmly welcomed.
When you come in, you’ll be given a Bible and a songbook (our songbook consists of the songs contained within the Bible which God has given us to use in worship, known as ‘Psalms’). The Minister will lead us in worship which will include congregational singing, prayer, reading the Bible and preaching.
After the service, there are light refreshments in the lower hall and you can stay and meet the folk who are there. You can also to speak to the Minister or to one of the Elders if you wish.
If you have under 12’s, they can attend the Sunday school (running concurrently with morning service) where they will be taught in a relaxed environment by our teachers – who all have disclosure certificates. There is also a crèche for the younger children.
After the Sunday evening service, the congregation meets for an informal time in our lower hall where there may be questions for the Minister or, perhaps, someone will tell how they became a Christian. In any case, you are warmly invited to stay for that.
On alternate Sunday afternoons, there is an informal class, led by a qualified musician, for learning to sing Psalms and there are also regular youth meetings and congregational meetings on alternate Sunday nights after the evening service.
There is also a Kids Club, usually on the first Thursday evening of the month, for children aged P5-S2.
The congregation is busy with outreach and other activities which are announced as they happen.
Where We Meet
The Gardner St. church building, located at the foot of the steepest street incline in the West End of Glasgow, is in the busy area of Partick. There is a large and cosmopolitan student community in the area due to the nearby location of the main Glasgow University buildings.
For those who like such information, the church building has been around a long time. It was built in 1906 and designed by H & D Barclay – well-known architects best known for designing the municipal buildings at Greenock, the University of Strathclyde’s Royal College building in George Street and a host of Glasgow schools including Albany Academy (later, the Gaelic School) in Ashley Street, Hillhead High and the Glasgow Academy at Kelvinbridge.
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The church was built to serve the growing Gaelic speaking community of Partick and was originally called Partick United Free Gaelic Church. From 1929 until 2011, it was part of the Church of Scotland and called Gardner St Church of Scotland. Some of the remnant of that congregation joined with us when the Church of Scotland ceased to hold services there.
Since we purchased the building, we have substantially renovated it and, through some imaginative planning, created new rooms where there was previously empty space. This work of renovation is ongoing! It’s best to come in and see for yourself…