Carrubbers Christian Centre, Edinburgh

You will find Carrubbers Christian Centre in Edinburgh’s High Street. It is not really a church in the strict sense of the word, but rather an Evangelical Mission and is a friendly, lively place to visit.

The Carrubbers Close Mission was founded in 1858 but members had no hall of their own, so they met in a meeting house that once was used by a group of Atheists. In 1883 the American Evangelist Dwight Lyman Moody and the Gospel singer Ira David Sankey visited the town and through fund-raising sermons managed to gather enough money for the Carrubbers members to build their own centre.

The mission helps other churches with their fund-raising, Bible classes, giving alms to the poor, visiting the sick and counselling addicts. The board of directors that manage the Centre are members of various churches in the city.

The Centre was renovated in the nineteen nineties and enlarged to make a bigger main meeting area. It hosts several different activities that are well attended: prayer meetings, a play-group for little children, a Youth Club for the 11 to 18 year olds that engages the kids in games, crafts and Bible stories. They organise outings to the local skating rink, football stadium and the Pizza Hut.

On Saturday nights the Centre holds fund-raising rallies and on Sunday mornings they offer a free breakfast to the homeless. The Centre has an excellent café open to everyone, which serves snacks, pastries, soft drinks, tea and the “best coffee in Edinburgh”.