MEMBERS of Helensburgh Heritage Trust travelled to Luss on the evening of Wednesday April 30 2008 to visit the village's Pilgrimage Centre.
The tour of the centre was conducted by the minister, the Rev Dane Sherard.
The Loch Lomond Pilgrimage Centre was opened by former village minister the Rev Douglas Nicol, then of the Board of National Mission of the Church of Scotland, on September 16 2004.
Mr Sherard said: “The Centre had been constructed out of the ruins of former outhouses at Luss Manse over the previous nine months. The concept had grown out of our thinking through the implications for us of the Church Without Walls report.
“What was our special task? How could we equip ourselves for that task? Luss is often described as ‘the jewel in the crown’ of Scotland’s first National Park. During the course of a year more than 750,000 people visit our tiny village and many of them come to be with us at the Church.
“What we needed, we decided, was a Centre where we could meet with our visitors.
“Using the new-found enthusiasm and willingness to be adventurous which we had gained as a result of our activities during the year out of our Church while it was being restored, and the skills and talents of our Arrochar work-force (who had rebuilt our Arrochar Church), we realised that God had given us the embryo of what we required in the old broken-down premises surrounding the manse.”
The Centre was constructed for around £30,000, and equipped for about £40,000, part-funded by Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire.