The Stained Glass Windows
You can tour the building on your smart phone, beginning with the stained glass windows at the back of the church.
Visitors to Scots who look carefully at the stained glass windows are sometimes puzzled to find that there are two windows that depict Jesus as the Good Shepherd. (John 10:11)
The reason is that in 1957 the stained glass from the Flinders Street church was installed in Scots Church North Terrace in the west wall. On the west side, moving from north to south, the windows depict Christ the King, Jacob, The Good Shepherd and Saint Andrew. The Chalmers Church windows, in the east wall, moving from north to south, are Suffer the Little Children, The Light of the World, The Good Shepherd, Ascension of Christ and The Good Samaritan.
Many of these were given by families in memory of former church members. An exception is the Elder Memorial Window picturing the Ascension of Christ, which was purchased by congregational subscription in 1898, in memory of Sir Thomas Elder (1818 – 1897).
The most striking, and most recent, windows are those in the north wall. Donated by the McGregor family in 1962, they are the work of Lawrence Lee of London who was one of the three creators of the windows in Coventry Cathedral. The windows depict ‘Nature’, ‘The Glorified Christ’ and ‘Man’. They are of semi-abstract design in rich colours against a pearly white background.
The central window shows the Glorified Christ, in the midst of his own creation, yet acting as priest between humanity and God. Below is the seed bursting into new life, and above a dynamic pattern suggests the energy of the universe. In the left-hand window, ‘Nature’ is depicted by living and growing shapes and colour, while the right-hand window is concerned with the artifice of ‘Man’ within ‘Nature’. The jewels at the base of each window are a reference to the foundation of the Heavenly City (Revelation 21:9-26). The shafts of light that pass through all the windows emphasize the essential order and structure of creation.
The rose window above these shows a beautiful abstract pattern which may be thought of as symbolizing the splendour of the Godhead.
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Scots Church is a stone Uniting Church building on the southwest corner of North Terrace and Pulteney Street in Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It was one of the early churches built in the new city in 1850. It was built as the "Chalmers Free Church of Scotland".
History
A prominent group of immigrants to South Australia (which was only settled by Europeans from 1836) supported the Free Church of Scotland movement. This group called Reverend John Gardner from Scotland, and established "Chalmers Free Church", named after Rev. Thomas Chalmers, the first moderator of the Free Church of Scotland in 1843. Gardner arrived in the colony in March 1850. He immediately initiated buying the land on the corner of North Terrace and Pulteney Street from (then Mr.) John Morphett, appointed English & Brown as architects and builders and laid the foundation stone on 3 September 1850. He held the first service in the new building on 6 July 1851.
The cost of land and building was £2,572 against the estimate of £1,800 despite cost-saving measures which included substituting a shingle roof for slate tiles. The loan to the church, of £1,000 at 12½ p.c. interest, was guaranteed by trustees Capt. William Elder, George Young, George Elder, jun., Charles Matthew and Henry Chapman. The 120 feet (37 m) spire was added in 1858 at an additional cost of £200 and a bell, brought out from England, was donated by (later Sir) Thomas Elder.
The Presbytery of the Free Presbyterian Church of South Australia was formed 9 May 1854.
The Free Presbyterian Church, United Presbyterian Church and the Church of Scotland merged in 1865 to form one Presbyterian Church of South Australia, although a section of the Free Presbyterians led by Rev James Benny of Morphett Vale did not join the union. When the states federated in 1901, the main Presbyterian denomination in each state federated, so Chalmers Church became part of the Presbyterian Church of Australia.
Chalmers Church amalgamated with the Flinders Street Presbyterian Church congregation in 1929, with the new name "Scots Church". The Flinders Street property was eventually sold in 1956, yielding funds to build on the western side of the North Terrace property, using bluestone facings from Flinders Street. The current organ and western stained glass also came from Flinders Street.
In 1977, the majority of the Presbyterian Church of Australia joined with the Methodist and most Congregational congregations to create the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA), the denomination of Scots Church today. Scots Church minister Rev Ian Tanner was elected as the first Moderator of the UCA Synod of South Australia, and then in 1985 became the fourth President of the Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia
The Scots Church building has been on the South Australian Heritage Register since 1986, and is the second-oldest church building in the City of Adelaide.
From: Date retrieved: 9 January 2018 12:00 UTC
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