Open the door to see the real Free Church

THE prison officer's astonishment tickled Bob Akroyd. The Saughton worker had just discovered that Bob, part-time prison chaplain, was a minister with the Free Church of Scotland. They're often referred to as the Wee Frees and assumed to be a dour lot. "That can't be," said the astounded officer. "You smile!"

"I did have to explain that that's not actually against the rules," chuckles the 42-year-old American, who is minister at one of their four Lothians churches. "People do have a stereotypical view."

It was reinforced in many people's minds last weekend when the first Sunday ferry from Stornaway in Lewis to the mainland took place. The move had been resisted by many on the staunchly Presbyterian Isle of Lewis – the Free Church is the largest but by no means the only Protestant denomination there – and around 20 protesters gathered to sing and pray for the nation "to turn from its wickedness ... and its pursuit of Mammon" as the first boat sailed.

That number was dwarfed by the 200 islanders who cheered as the vessel left, including one chap wearing a T-shirt with Let's Drink On Sundays - his tongue-in-cheek take on an acronym shared by the Lord's Day Observance Society.

The whole scene seemed to sum up not just how outnumbered but how outdated and out-of-touch the Wee Frees – a term church members dislike – are in a 24/7 21st century world and how unlikely they are to survive once modern living catches up with them.

Perhaps surprisingly, a Free Church in the very heart of Edinburgh – at the top of the Royal Mile – is not just surviving but thriving. St Columba's – it shares its name with a nearby Episcopalian church – has seen its congregation swell from just 20 eight years ago to around 150 now.

Minister Derek Lamont says it isn't just full of the elderly from the islands seeking a refuge from city life: "Our congregation only has 15 over 65s – I've only had four funerals in eight years and it's not just a Highland club.

"I'm not entirely sure why we've grown but from day one we have been very committed to hospitality and friendship in the city. I think that's something that's missing in the city – Edinburgh is a great place but it can be very lonely.

One thing the church is very certain about is the importance of a Sunday committed to God. However, far from being a dour day for doing nothing, Free Church members say it can be the most vibrant – if most different – of the week.

Tom Muir, 32, is a teacher at Ross High School in Tranent. He has been attending St Columba's since moved from Bristol three years ago. "It's like a big family, it's very welcoming," he says.

Sarah Warnock, 23, has been attending St Columba's for five years. She says: "For me, Sundays are special. It's the one day on which you can completely rest in today's crazy world."

Her Sundays consist of a morning service at 11.20am, followed by lunch with members of the congregation, which can mean anything from 50 fellow diners in the church hall to a meal at another student's flat for four or five.

She says: "It really does turn into a family. I have never once had a Sunday lunch on my own since I came to Edinburgh." she says.

Sarah deliberately avoids studying on a Sunday, and says as an architecture student at Edinburgh University that's not always been easy – "Especially when the pressure is on and I know other people are in the studio working but I do find that taking that day sets me up for the rest of the week."

It's a view echoed by Bob, assistant minister at Buccleuch Free Church, who says too often those outside the church see Sunday Observance as a negative set of "can't do" rules rather than a healthy break from the rest of the week.

"It is a command but for our good and not to our detriment," says the New Jersey native who arrived in Scotland in 1990 to study Scottish history at Edinburgh University.

"People work long hours, there's a lot of pressure, 9 to 5 Monday to Friday can overspill into evening and weekends. I think a Sunday where you can rest physically and mentally and recharge your batteries is good for everyone – and not just Christians.

"I have been in a situation where I have been working seven days a week, studying and working part-time, and physically you just end up exhausted. I wouldn't want to force people to go to church but I think having a break is beneficial.

"What's seen as a freedom to work and shop, is a bind for other people. If you want to shop, that means other people have to work."

For Derek, keeping Sunday for God and church hasn't always been simple with four children.

"It's been a challenge bringing up kids in the city – for a start a lot of junior football is on a Sunday – so I wouldn't say it's always been easy," he laughs.

"Most 10k runs and marathons take place in the city centre on a Sunday, but that's part of city centre living.

"We do our best to cooperate with what's going on and public bodies are pretty helpful on the whole, and we can't make anyone participate in a day they don't won't to."

It's not the kind of live-and-let-live attitude that the Wee Frees in the Western Isles have a reputation for, but as Bob says: "We live in a multi-faith, multi-cultural city, and the local community's views should be respected."

He says the same should go for the Sunday sailings. "Would it not be reasonable to have some kind of referendum? Leave it up to the people. It's a question of culture and history."

Derek agrees: "There are a lot of people in the islands who wouldn't darken the door of a church who don't want the change in culture that the Sunday sailings will bring, and I don't think it will bring the economic boom some are trumpeting, but Christian faith isn't going to suffer because of it.

"Christian feeling comes from the heart and within and if it can't withstand this then there wasn't a lot of faith there in the first place."

ROOTS GO BACK TO 1843 'DISRUPTION'

THE Free Church of Scotland dates back to 1843 and the "disruption" when more than 400 ministers resigned from the Church of Scotland.

The dispute was over a congregation's right to choose its own minister, free from the interference of local landowners – hence the "free" part of the name.

A majority merged with the United Presbytarian Church in 1900 but those who didn't agree with that union continued as the Free Church of Scotland.

The evangelical nature of the Disruption movement found a particular home in Lewis in the Western Isles in the 19th century

The church currently has 100 congregations throughout the UK, including two in London and a number in Glasgow and the Black Isle as well as 16 in the Western Isles.