A shortlist of three contenders for the name of the new congregation which will be formed when those of St John's and St Andrew's eventually unite to form a single congregation has been selected.
At a joint meeting of the Kirk Sessions of St John's and St Andrew's, held at St Andrew's church on Monday, 18 August, Elders considered 21 suggested names which had been submitted by members of the congregations in recent months.
The Shortlist
- Carluke: Forest Kirk (Church of Scotland)
- Carluke: St Columba's (Church of Scotland)
- Carluke: St Luke's (Church of Scotland)
Just as St John's is known, officially as Carluke: St John's (Church of Scotland), the new congregation would be known locally by the part underlined.
Forest Kirk - This was the name of the original church in "Carlouke" which was located in the Forest of Mauldsly, or Forest of Clyde. In a newspaper article from the 1930's, relating to the sale of Maudlsie Castle, this is found:
St Columba's - St Columba was an Irish abbot and missionary credited with spreading Christianity in present-day Scotland. He founded the important abbey on Iona, which became a dominant religious and political institution in the region for centuries.
He played a major role in the politics of the country and so is especially relevant in this year of Referendum.
St Luke's - Forest Kirk was thought to have been dedicated to St Luke. The old name for Carluke parish was Eglismalescoch, which is derived from the Gaelic for "the church of St Lesc". "Lesc" is assumed to be a corruption of "Luke". In 1793, the church was moved to Kirkstyle (now Carluke) and appears to have been re-dedicated to St Andrew. Our present day St Andrew's is directly related to this church.
A joint congregational meeting will be held on Sunday, 2 November 2014, to allow the members of both our churches to vote for the final choice of name.