Beith Chapel: All That Was Promised
The first meeting of the Beith Branch of the Church (in north Ayrshire), was held in Beith’s community centre on 8 May 1983. The membership was small with only 16 attending.
About four years later, on 26 July 1987, a conference was held in the Usher Hall, Edinburgh. Its theme was taken from Doctrine and Covenants 65:5: “That his kingdom may go forth upon the earth, that the inhabitants thereof may receive it, and be prepared for days to come, in the which the Son of Man shall come.”
It is a theme that the Beith Branch may well have adopted as it embarked on the way to getting its chapel. Building work for the Beith Chapel was due to begin in January 1988, but after rising to the challenge and meeting the criteria for a building, everything came to a halt. Church policy for rural facilities had changed, and budgets were tight. It was a demoralising blow for Beith Saints.
Then, in November 1996, Stake President Robert W Watson of Paisley Stake, received a letter giving formal notification that building work would begin two weeks before Christmas. Brother George Dracocardos (of Area physical facilities) phoned President Weston and advised him that plans for the new building were available. They were displayed in the local library along with a model of the proposed design, to be built by Scott Gibson. Local interest from the people of the town picked up, and suddenly the Saints in Beith realised that they were about to get the Christmas gift of their lives.
Plans were made for a groundbreaking service to be held at the site on 29 December 1996, with President Watson presiding. The dreams of those few members who started off the Branch in 1983 were about to be a reality. The efforts and prayers of members from those early days in the spring of 1983 and through the following years had been rewarded.
For fourteen years, meetings had taken place in members’ homes or an often-cold community centre. Each week, hymnbooks and the lectern had been carried, and each week, wives walked home with their children while their husbands drove around the valley dropping off other members. It all seemed hard at the time, but in hindsight it was a little sacrifice to pay for the beautiful building that was now about to be delivered.
On 29 December 1996 it was a beautiful clear winter morning; the sun was shining in the sky above, and the high church bells pealed, as around 50 members gathered on the building site. The site had been cleared for the groundbreaking, and a golden spade had been provided. Branch President Cairns said how the sacrament would be administered here to the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those present, and they would be a blessed people because of what was taking place. As President Watson dug the golden spade into the cold earth, he hailed it a new era for the Church in the Beith Branch. After the groundbreaking ceremony, President Watson thanked the Lord in his dedication prayer for the wonderful opportunity that the Saints in Beith had been given, receiving a chapel in which to worship—the community would be blessed.
Then, over 30 years later, on 27 May 2018, a realignment of the boundaries took place and the Beith branch was discontinued. The building was put into mothballs. Yet, it may well serve again. In years to come, all will be a distant memory for some old member sitting in the back row of the building, who will be able to say, “I was there”. Those who worked so very hard to make Beith what it is, members and missionaries alike, will not be forgotten.