“PAST GLORY, FUTURE PROMISE?”

In this series we are looking at former churches which are no longer used as such, and considering their use today.

In North Junction Street, Leith – within sight of the modern Ocean Terminal – you will find the former Norwegian Mission Church, prospering, and still used as a busy meeting place though no longer as a church. The Scandinavian Lutheran Church in Leith opened in 1868 and was the first church of the Norwegian Seamen’s Mission outside Norway. Scotland’s trading links with Norway were particularly strong and in keeping with the philanthropic ideals of the era, the Mission set up – with the sponsorship of local businessmen such as Christian Salvesen – a “home from home” for the seamen "to secure the moral and religious education of Scandinavian seafarers and to give them a 'breathing room' where a fellow countryman was available to lend an ear and give attention."

During the Second World War the Church attracted thousands of members from the Norwegian Armed forces who served in Scotland as well as other Norwegians who stayed in Scotland.

Today a plaque bears witness to this community and reminds us of the intimate links between Leith and the international community of seafarers. There is another curious memento from those times: an inscribed boulder outside the building had been found embedded in the bow of a ship which had run aground and reminds us of the considerable risks taken by those at sea.

The work of the Norwegian Seamen’s Mission continues today under the guidance of Jostein Handal who lives in Edinburgh and travels round the various ports in Scotland supporting his fellow countrymen. It was Jostein who gave me the information about the Norwegian church.

But the building – the former church – is now home to The Leith School of Art, which writes in its prospectus:

“We are housed in the Norwegian Seaman’s Church, close to the port of Leith. The building has a distinctive feel, sustaining a balance between history and the transformation brought about by its current use as multi-purpose studios. We believe it is a special environment, which lends itself ideally to the creative process”

The Leith School of Art is indeed a worthy successor to the Mission, celebrating as it does the power and creativity of the human spirit. Art crosses borders, communicates messages and opens doors, just as seafarers do. To understand this better, you have to know something about its founders, Mark and Charlotte Cheverton, who left secure jobs as art teachers to realize their dream and set up the School in 1988, twenty years ago.

Mark and Lottie were unique and exceptional people, committed Christians, who believed that art expresses something priceless about humanity and the human spirit, and that creative art is within the gift of everyone if only we could see and dare to choose our medium and put our brush to paper. They were truly inspiring, so that when we, their disciples, were faced, full of doubts, with a fearsome blank sheet of paper, we felt empowered to pick up a brush and express ourselves. The results were a revelation, and were the outcome of their belief in us.

You will have noticed that I am writing of Mark and Lottie in the past tense. All their friends and those with whom they had shared their dream were immeasurably saddened when we heard that they died together in a car accident near Wooler on 17^th September 1991. It was a tragic loss, not least because we felt we were only at the beginning and we mourned for what might have been, if only they had lived. However their gift lives on.

The Leith School of Art has continued, under its current Principal, Philip Archer, with committed supporters, and with the Cheverton’s vision as its guiding light. In the past 20 years many hundreds of ambitious students including amateur adults have passed through it, drawing inspiration, absorbing skills and values of excellence, enabling them not only to be better in their chosen profession, but also better people and members of society.

In this, the aspirations of the Norwegian Church and the Leith School of Art join together. I think the Elders would have approved of the venture.

Christopher Davies