Our building is open daily for private prayer, but the new hall is used by a wide variety of groups. Building a new hall, at a cost of almost £350,000 in 2009, we were determined that the new facility would be available to community groups for functions, staff training, conferences and bread and butter daily use. It was named St Augustine’s Community Hall, for that is what it is.

Users are part of the St Augustine’s family, as we work together to build a better community in the centre of Dumbarton. We have all sorts of groups in residence, many caring for the marginalised, with little or no resources. Other groups can pay and help to keep the hall running for those who can’t!

We enjoy conference facilities in a three-roomed facility, plus office, and can provide a projector and laptops with internet connection. The kitchen can cater for large and small groups alike.

Amongst others, our bookings include:

• Alcoholics Anonymous
• Narcotics Anonymous
• Alternatives (Drug Intervention and Recovery Programme)
• Amnesty International
• Lennox Children’s Trust
• Slimming World
• The Richmond Fellowship
• Age Concern
• Dumbarton United Football Club
• Karate Club
• Community Carers Groups
• Circle Scotland
• Local Drama Group

And much more, depending on the season!

On Fridays we serve lunches to the community at an affordable price (Noon -1.30pm), and Saturday Coffee Mornings are always there come rain or shine! (10am – 12)

In August 2010, the Rector wrote:

It was when we were getting together the Community Fair, that there was a realisation of all the various groups who are  now using our hall. Some pay and some don’t, according to their means, but whether they do or not, it is important to see them as part of the St Augustine’s family.

Of course, Circle Scotland, in the person of Janet Rae, share an office with Kenny and that is working out well. Many of Janet’s contacts are now released from prison and she is helping them rebuild family life in the community. She needs our prayers andsupport.

There are other groups, too, which are commercial in nature and pay us a fair rent. These include the Slimming Club on Monday and the Karate Club on Tuesday and Wednesday, which, if nothing else, takes youngsters off the streets and teaches them a constructive discipline. The Drama Group which meets on a Sunday afternoon seems to be develop-
ing and expanding, and it seems to me that community drama has to be encouraged and supported.
(We know how worthwhile the DPT is in keeping folk off the streets….)

The Diocese and the Province of the SEC have used our premises for training sessions and committee meetings. Dumbarton Churches Together also use our hall for their meetings.

Dumbarton United Football Club, which organises various youth football teams and initiatives, meets regularly, and we are pleased to support them.

However, it’s some of the other groups that are of, perhaps, greater interest.

The new school term will see an Out-of-School Care Club beginning, and we should be overjoyed to help provide that service.

The Richmond Fellowship, dealing with various client groups with mental health issues runs various drop-ins and support groups during the week. A new women’s group has been formed recently to add to their letting hours.

The Carer’s Centre, providing support for “carers” in our community also run various groups, providing counselling, support, and alternative therapies. This is a big undertaking, and due to the fact that the Carer’s Centre in Church Street has now had to close, we seem to be taking on more and more of the sort of work that was going on there before their
closure. Anyone for Reiki? Massage? Aromatherapy?

Narcotics Anonymous now run two groups weekly, and AA are still present on a Thursday evening.

Alternatives use our premises for staff training and also for an occasional support group for families of drug misusers.

The Community Council and Lennox Children’s Trust use our facilities for their meetings, and they, too, are very welcome, tackling child poverty issues and making a difference.

Organisations are catching on to the fact that we provide excellent conference facilities, and there have been various enquiries about that.

We still seem to have enough space to hold our own events, Friends, Cursillo, and Friday Soup and Saturday Coffee, a vital part of our ministry, continues to go ahead.

As the new season begins to get underway, more groups and charities will join us. It’s still early days.

What we need to do is avoid the temptation of an “Us & Them” mentality. We need to be working towards a St Augustine’s family situation where we feel we share in each other’s work and concerns, and be unafraid to promote the fact that there is a spiritual element to this family which prays for it all and in fact upholds the whole operation in prayer.

Forming strong links and friendships is vital, and may actually help us to invite some of our non-church family to services and other congregational events. This is Service. It’s also Mission!