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The History of St. George’s Church

20th Century the Final Part

The Reverend Stuart Pryce was inducted to St. George’s on Wednesday, August 27th 1969, arriving with his wife Dorothy and their ten year old twin sons, Robert and Michael.  Coming from the North Parish Church Saltcoats, a parish in a new housing scheme, to St. George’s Church Dumfries, situated in the centre of town and with a widespread congregation, Mr. Pryce soon realised that God had called him to a very different ministry.

When he came to St. George’s, Mr. Pryce inherited cordial relationships between the former minister Mr. Willie Bruce and Mr. John Melrose, minister of Greyfriars.  Both of these men had established a United Watchnight Service held in Greyfriars on Christmas Eve, involving both congregations.

Following the retiral of Mr. Melrose in 1972, St. George’s was visited by members of the Presbytery Union and Readjustment Committee with a view to a union with Greyfriars.  Although this did not come about, both churches worked closely together in the ensuing years and in 1993, it was recognised that St. George’s could continue as a charge on its own.

The summer of 1973 was to prove a turning point in Mr. Pryce’s experience of God. At the home of a friend in America, Mr. Pryce prayed to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and felt aware of a power in his life that he had not known before as the Holy Spirit opened up his life to Jesus in a new way.  This imparting of new spiritual life was to have a profound influence in his ministry as the inward renewing of the Spirit brought about a release and a fresh experience of the love of God.

 Under the influence of the Charismatic Movement, regular meetings for praise, teaching, prayer and ministry began.

 Prayer has always been a primary mark of the saints of God in every generation of the Church and united prayer and personal prayer were encouraged by Mr. Pryce. With Bible study groups already in existence, members began to meet in each other’s homes, and as house groups developed, more time was given to intercessory prayer, sharing and caring for each other.  With the formation of ecumenical prayer groups in the town, members from different churches, including St. George’s, met to pray with each other. Following a ‘Change the World School of Prayer’ seminar in later years, a 10:15am prayer meeting was introduced on a Sunday morning in St. George’s.

St. George’s became a founder member of the Dumfries Christian Council in 1977 and Mr. Pryce served as its first Chairman. In the same year, working alongside other Churches of Scotland, a Sunday School was established in the expanding suburb of Georgetown with John Douglas as the first Superintendent and for some time there was talk of building a church there.

The 1970s also saw the formation of a Young Wives and Mothers Group by Mrs. Dorothy Pryce; the ordination of the first two lady elders into the Kirk Session; the appointment of David McCullough as organist leading three existing choirs and the joy of celebrating Harold Gibson’s 25th anniversary as Church Officer. In 1974, the former manse at 40 Edinburgh Road was sold and the present manse in Nunholm Park was built at a cost of £19,000.

During the 1980s, Festivals of Faith came into being with meetings often being held in our hall. Church of Scotland congregations came together once a month on a Saturday evening to praise Jesus, to share fellowship, to pray with others and to minister to each other.  A new awareness of the power of the Holy Spirit grew from those times. 

St. George’s provided willing leaders and counselors when Dumfries Christian Council organised ‘Mission ’81’ an event held in response to an earlier mission to local senior schools and when Nicky Cruz preached in St. George’s in 1989, counselors were overwhelmed with the number of young people who came forward seeking their Lord and Saviour. 

The Kirk Session encouraged the life of the congregation and parish visitations were carried out during the 1980s, but the scheme that was to have the greatest effect was ‘Reappraisal for Mission.’  It was time for a radical review of St. George’s in the light of the needs of the day. Changes began to take place in Sunday worship and a Mission Statement was prepared.

In the early 1990s, St. George’s hosted many gatherings under the banner of the ‘National Day of Prayer for Revival’, with Mr. Pryce’s encouragement to pray in the Spirit and to tell everyone of the glorious good news of Jesus Christ. It was a great joy for Mr. Pryce as a minister to see someone come to the Lord for the first time and to discover the riches of the Bible.  Members of the congregation were encouraged to take part in ‘March for Jesus’ rallies and in 1991, St. George’s was involved in the Billy Graham Live Link from Edinburgh, providing stewards and counsellors.  A service of prayers for healing was also introduced.  Held once a month on a Wednesday evening over in the hall, this ministry was much appreciated.   The more informal Evening Service was also a source of blessing for many, with a sharing of prayers, praise and Bible study.

In 1991, the Session began to look ahead to the 150th anniversary of St. George’s.  Ideas were brought forward and put into place.  In 1993, our beautiful church was redecorated at a cost of £9,050; a gift day was held and the stageroom in the hall set up as a prayer centre; a logo depicting the dove of the Holy Spirit was designed and used on articles of merchandise; a floral display was planted outside Greyfriars Church; a banner was designed; a Noah’s Ark cross stitch was made; hymns were written by members of the congregation; the Kirk Session and Deacons’ Court were photographed; an exhibition of items relating to our church was on display and a book called ‘The Life of Our Church’ was written and published.

On Sunday, August 23rd 1993, St. George’s welcomed the Very Reverend Dr. Hugh Wyllie of Hamilton as guest preacher on our special anniversary day.  Former ministers Mr. Willie Bruce and Mr. Neilson Peterkin also returned to preach.  St. George’s joined with another former Free Church, Maxwelltown West, in an enjoyable ‘Songs of Praise.’  It was also fitting that the final celebration of 1993 should be shared with friends from the congregation of St. Mary’s, the church which Mr. Mackenzie had left in 1843 to form the Free Church of Dumfries.

Mr. Pryce retired from St. George’s in 1997 and he and his wife Dorothy settled down in Bridge of Allan. Both had made a valuable contribution to the community of Dumfries through Dorothy being a valued teacher and Mr. Pryce’s involvement as a minister with Devorgilla House, the Technical College, the Royal Infirmary, Gates Rubber Company, and Loreburn Primary School, to name but a few. For a time, he also served as Moderator of the Presbytery of Dumfries and Kirkcudbright and Moderator of the Synod of Dumfries and Galloway.

Mr. Pryce served God as minister of St. George’s for nearly 28 years. Forever reliant on the renewing power of the Holy Spirit, the love of God, the living Christ, and the riches of the Bible,  his ministry was one of praying, preaching, praising, worshipping, teaching, caring,  nurturing, encouraging, healing and love.