The Right Reverend Rosie Frew, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, has visited the ruins of St Mungo’s Church, Cumbernauld, which police imagine was destroyed in a deliberate act.
The church, which had a particular pyramid shaped roof and dated back to the Sixties, was went on fire on the evening of two August.
By the time emergency services arrived on the scene the fireplace was already well advanced. The church burned through the night and by morning was a blackened spoil. Fortunately, nobody was injured.
Speaking to parishioners on the ruins, Rev Frew said that “time shall be needed to grieve, to re-think, to re-imagine, to hunt God’s guidance”.
“You are very much within the thoughts and prayers of members and congregations across the Church of Scotland,” she said.
Also present was Morag Rusk, Session Clerk of Cumbernauld Trinity Church. St Mungo’s entered right into a union with Trinity slightly below a 12 months ago. Prior to the union, Rusk served as Session Clerk to St Mungo’s.
Rusk said, “I used to be alerted just after 8pm by a member of the congregation who was hysterical and told me ‘St Mungo’s is on fire, it’s terrible, I’m heartbroken’. I immediately went as much as the church and just stood the scene for an hour or two with people from the congregation.
“We are absolutely devastated and still coming to terms with it, it’s such a well-loved and unique constructing for the congregation and folks within the town.”
St Mungo’s, in addition to being a centre of religion within the town, was also utilized by quite a lot of local groups, resembling a Gaelic choir and a free café for those battling poverty.
Rusk expressed her hope that the fireplace wouldn’t be the top for St Mungo’s: “I might hope that we will recreate something on the positioning. I do not know what that shall be yet and I do not understand how long it should take however the bell continues to be there within the tower and we have now retrieved some plaques.
“We need to get through our grief but we hope to honour this special place and recreate something in its memory as there may be a lot history for people.”
The police have appealed to anyone with information or footage related to the incident to assist them with their inquiries.
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