North-east residents have been invited to attend the final ever service at Woodside Parish Church on Easter Sunday.
The building on Church Street will close its doors for the last time on April 9 after 174 years.
The congregation is to unite with High Hilton Parish Church on Hilton Drive to become the Hillside Parish Church from April 10.
Both congregations voted for the union in January, extending on the Hilton and Middlefield merger established in 2021.
The changes are part of the Church of Scotland mission plan to reduce the numbers of buildings it has within each region.
As the final service at Woodside Parish Church grows closer, session clerk Malcolm Maclennan has shared an open invite for all to attend.
He is hopeful that those with any connection to the church, which was built in circa 1849, will turn out next month.
“It would be great to see anyone with a connection, those who were married or baptised at the church, to come back for the last service,” he said.
“We’re not moving out of the area, we just have a new home and we’re looking forward to being with friends from High Hilton.”
Bringing congregations together
The church has not had a full-time minister since Reverend Markus Auffermann left in 2020.
Since then, guest ministers have stepped in to lead services, including Colin McAlister who will lead worship on Easter Sunday.
Last year, it was reported that the Presbytery of Aberdeen and Shetland was struggling with limited resources and a lack of ministers to serve its 38 churches across the two areas.
Church of Scotland instructed the presbytery to create seven parish groupings to bring congregations together, such as Woodside and High Hilton.
Work began on a mission plan after the changes were proposed in 2021 with the aim of churches being able to grow and evolve.
A total of 10 churches, including Woodside Parish Church, were earmarked for closure with the buildings likely to be sold by the Church of Scotland.
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