Kirkspire

St. Andrew's church is the most beautiful church in India and one of the most ancient. It is 203 years old this year, and its steeple soars 166 feet into the sky. It is in celebration to this tall steeple that our monthly magazine is called ' Kirkspire'. St. Andrew's Church was build for the Scottish community in Madras in 1821 and so in the early years the monthly magazine was brought out as a supplement to "Life and Work" Church of Scotland, Parish magazine of St. Andrew's Church, Madras. It was a very small publication of 4 pages or so, and the contents were - the cover page with the masthead and the name of the chaplain, notices giving information about the services, notes of happenings in the Kirk, in the Presidency of Madras and the wider world, the church registry which recorded births, marriages and deaths and a statement of church accounts. Although St. Andrews did have its newsletters earlier, the magazine in its present form appeared 51 years ago. The Kirkspire comes out on the second Sunday of every month and is placed at the three entrances of the Church. A chairperson and an editorial committee oversee the running of the magazine. The KIRKSPIRE is meant to be a ministry in print for the congregation. It reflects the thoughts, beliefs and aspirations of the congregation. The magazine mostly depends on their contributions instead of borrowed articles from other publications. The first article is always a message from the minister. Then follows articles intended to help the readers in their walk of faith. Poems, jokes and even a medical column find a place in the magazine. The KIRK news is generally presented last. This details all the happenings of the past month including births, deaths, marriages and the activities of the various projects of the church. Recently the printing of photographs too has been included. Apart from local circulation a few copies are sent by post within the country & abroad. Those who have been part of our congregation, but are now away from Chennai appreciate this very much. We thank our Almighty God for sustaining this magazine over the past so many years and for making it an integral part of the ministry of St. Andrew's Church.