Former Bainsford Parish Church - now part of Grahamston United Church

12/05/2026

There will be no further post to this page. Please follow Grahamston United Church from now on.

12/05/2026

09/05/2026

LOCAL ACTIVITIES IN BAINSFORD & LANGLEES FROM 11th May

WHAT’S ON IN BAINSFORD COMMUNITY HALL:

For Bainsford Community Hall booking enquiries please contact Joan on 07341 628324 or email [email protected]

MONDAY to SATURDAY: HIDDEN TREASURE CHARITY SHOP: Lots of quality items can be bought for reasonable prices in Bainsford Community Hall on David's Loan, currently open every day apart from Sundays. Open from 10am every Monday to Friday, closing at 4pm, apart from Wednesdays at 1pm, and Saturdays open from 11am to 3pm. Come and see what's available to buy at great prices. All profits are distributed to local community groups.

MONDAY: MONDAY CLUB. This group meets each Monday, from 1.30pm to 3.30pm. Over 60s welcome for a time of fun, conversation, music in a warm and welcoming environment, with refreshments. Annual membership is £7, and each week costs £3 to cover refreshments and entertainment. New, and old, members very welcome.

MONDAY: ZUMBA with ANNE MARIE: This group meets each Monday at 6pm. Contact [email protected] for details.

TUESDAY: BAINSFORD “SNOWDROP CAFE”: open each Tuesday from 12.30 to 2.30 in Bainsford Community Hall for a sandwich, a cuppa and a blether, with occasional entertainment. Supported by Strathcarron Hospice. Want to know a wee bit more, call Jayne on 01324 826222 Ext: 592 or [email protected]

TUESDAY: 8th FALKIRK GIRLS’ BRIGADE have now closed until the early autumn. For more information contact Linda on 07813 247658 / [email protected]

THURSDAY: MAINLY PLAY: The Parent and Toddler Group in Bainsford Community Hall every Thursday morning from 10am to 11.30am. Contact [email protected] for more information. Not on during the school holidays.

FRIDAY: BAINSFORD HALL “SOUP GROUP” COMMUNITY CAFÉ is usually open from 12 to 2pm. Home-made soup, filled rolls, cakes, endless cuppas and good company for a blether or a game of dominoes: bring your knitting or other crafts if you like. Want to know a wee bit more, call Andrew on 07743 726013

FRIDAY: 8th FALKIRK BOYS’ BRIGADE: Meet in Bainsford Community Hall each Friday. Anchors (P1-P3) 6.15 to7.30, Juniors (P4-P6) 5.45 to 8pm and Company Section (P7-S6) 7.45 to 9.30. New members welcome. For more details contact Elaine on 07805 195306 or Sandy on 07803 708119.

SUNDAY: MADE BY THE FORGE: is on each Sunday apart from the last each month. This table-top gaming group meets from 1pm to 4pm in Bainsford Community Hall. Any children or young adult interested is most welcome to come along. Further information from Stacie on 07392 296044.

WHAT’S ON ELSEWHERE:

MONDAY: GUIDES & BROWNIES: 1st Bainsford Guides and Brownies meet on Mondays in Langlees Primary School. Contact Jenny on 07879 402186 if you want more information.

WEDNESDAY: WALKING FOOTBALL: Weather permitting, this group will go ahead on the Astroturf next to the Dawson Centre each week from 10.15 to 11.30. Men and women of all ages are invited to come and try this slower version of the Beautiful Game. This should help you to improve your physical, social and mental wellbeing. Tea, coffee and biscuits afterwards. Access to the Astro pitch will only be possible from the north while refurbishment work is going on to the Dawson Centre. Want to know more, call Andrew on 07743 726013.

WEDNESDAY: RIVERSIDE CAFÉ: Every Wednesday morning (during school terms) Dawson Community Church (next to the Soo House) open their doors to welcome people from the local community for teas, coffees, hot chocolate, etc and home baking from 10am to 12 noon. Relax And enjoy the homely atmosphere in this warm space with free Wi-Fi.

FRIDAY: DAWSON SPORTS ASTRO FOOTBALL & PIZZA may next be on this Friday, 22nd May. Come along at 6.45pm for an organised game prepared to behave in an acceptable manner; foul language, bullying or violent conduct will result in being banned. FREE Domino's Pizza for players delivered just before 8pm. Open to anyone to join in, but mainly for upper primary/lower secondary school age, so older participants should be willing not to play too aggressively. Remember to bring the form for the WhatsApp group when you come next. Access to the Astro pitch will only be possible from the north while refurbishment work is going on to the Dawson Centre. Further info from Andrew on 07743 726013.

SUNDAY: PARISH CHURCH: Bainsford Church is now part of Grahamston United Church, and all services will be in the Bute Street Church building. Please join us for a Sunday service usually at 11.15am each week in GRAHAMSTON UNITED CHURCH, Bute Street, or online at https://www.youtube.com/ led by Rev David Scott.
The Former Bainsford Church page will continue to be updated with several pictures and articles every day; you're welcome to drop in anytime and take a look at what is posted. To contact Grahamston United Church, call 07757 005811 or [email protected]

OTHER BAINSFORD AND LANGLEES COMMUNITY GROUPS: If you would like a mention of your activities to be included in this regular column in the Falkirk Herald and local Facebook groups, please contact Andrew on 07743 726013 or email [email protected]

09/05/2026

We build altars everywhere.
Not always from stone,
not with carved names
or smoke rising into the air,
but we build them all the same.

To success.
To being liked.
To appearing fine.
To having enough,
knowing enough,
being enough.

Altars to revenge
we rename justice.
Altars to being right,
where pride sits stubborn and unmoving,
where winning matters more
than love or mercy.
Altars built from old wounds,
where hurt is handed on
instead of healed.

Whole lives arranged
around things we hope
will hold us together.

And still
there’s a restlessness underneath it all,
a sense that something is missing,
that we keep reaching
for more than this world
knows how to give.

The God we search for
isn't far away.

Not hidden behind perfection.
Not waiting at the end
of some spiritual achievement.
Not distant from ordinary life.

Closer than breath.
Closer than heartbeat.

Every ordinary moment
already held within
the presence of God.

The rush of the morning.
The weariness at the end of the day.
The grief that catches unexpectedly.
The laughter that rises around a table.
The wondering what comes next.

None of it is outside
His reach.

And still
we look elsewhere,
as though achievement might save us,
or noise might fill the ache,
or anger might finally satisfy
the parts of us still wounded.

But God keeps calling us back,
not into fear,
not into performance,
but into life.

Into the realisation
that we are already known,
already held,
already surrounded
by the One
who made us
and has never walked away.

Not distant.
Not absent.
Not unknown.

The God
we’ve been searching for
has been near
all along.

© E Hamilton 2026

07/05/2026

We know the rule.
Most of us learned it young.

Treat others
the way you want to be treated.

Simple enough to say,
harder to live
when we’re tired,
frustrated,
hurt,
running late,
hiding behind screens
and usernames
and distance.

Because modern life trains us otherwise.

Be sharper.
Be louder.
Win the argument.
Get the last word.
Protect your own peace
even if it costs someone else theirs.

We’ve grown used to
quick opinions
and slow compassion.

Used to speaking about people
rather than to them.
Used to forgetting
there’s a human being
on the other side
of our words.

But Jesus pulls us back
to something deeper,
older,
truer.

As you would have them do to you.

Not as they deserve.
Not as the world behaves.
Not as long as they agree with you.

As you would have them do to you.

With kindness.
With dignity.
With room to be human.

Because every person we meet
carries the image of God,
whether we recognise it or not.

The stranger.
The colleague.
The neighbour.
The person online
we’ll never meet.

So before the words leave our mouths,
before the comment is posted,
before we walk away,

we remember.

How we long to be treated
when we’re struggling.
How we hope to be spoken to
when we fail.
How desperately we all need
grace.

And maybe the kingdom
begins there,
in the ordinary holiness
of choosing
to treat another person
with the same mercy
we pray will find us too.

© E Hamilton 2026