Reception
The reception is situated in the large open Atrium.
It controls the entrance to the Church and to the Greyfriars Centre.
We have people who staff the reception in the Atrium every weekday.
This means that the Church remains open all day from
about 8.30am each day to 5pm (6pm on Wednesday; 9pm on Tuesday).
It also means there is someone to answer the phone, to take messages and to deal
with Mass Cards etc. We are grateful to the volunteers who undertake this duty and
we are always looking for new 'receptionists' to fill
gaps or to do stand-in duty.
The Church
The Church (originally 'St Luke's') was built in 1975.
The architect was William J. Gilmour, ARIBA, ARIAS, FIArbFFB. It is set
against a background of the New Gorbals and the last relic of it's old industrial past.
The Church is square in plan with the altar and seating set on the diagonal.
The low pitched roof is tilted to emphasise the sanctuary by greater height.
Externally this is given greater emphasis by a fleche surmounted by a teak Cross.
The external walls are of a reddish-brown facing brick; the composite copper roof has
recently been retrofitted with coated metal. Inside the Church laminated timber trusses
and a tent-like form of ceiling gives interest and acoustic correction. The seating, of
Iroko, is arranged to give maximum attention to the altar and the actio of the Mass.
The Church seats 350. The altar itself is a simple structure of white pine on a predella
raised three steps above the congregation. On the same level is the presidential chair
and lectern. The tabernacle is housed centrally on the sanctuary.
The Greyfriars Centre
A complex of rooms and Hall leading off the central Atrium.
The centre is extensively used by the Parish, by the local community,
by the Archdiocese and by groups further afield. The Hall accomodates
160 comfortably and the rooms can take 50, 30 and 25. There is a fully
equipped kitchen and a snack bar. There is also a 'mini-kitchen'
attached for users of the three rooms. Regular uses include:
Lectures. talks, Diocesan meetings, Dances, Baptism instruction,
prayer groups, Bingo, the Assembly of Priests, Line-dancing instruction, family
social, quizzes, Chinese healing exercises for those recovering form drugs, AA programmes,
senior citizens' meetings, A song school, Ladies' Social, First Communion
preparation groups, Jive instruction, methadone users group, Ceilidhs,
Credit Union, Accordian lessons, Pre-marriage instruction, Gorbals Initiative,
Francis of Glasgow, the Secular Franciscans, and the Lithuanian
community. The complex is extensively used by the archdiocese for
Seminars, Training Sessions and Conferences.
St Francis Hall
This is a large hall accommodating 200 situated in Queen Elizabeth
Square. It has a small hall attached for 60 people. There is a
well-equipped kitchen available to both. The hall is used extensively
for Parish events and other groups use it frequently. The kind of
event that takes place there is: dances, family socials, youth
discos, a great annual barbecue with 200 people enjoying a 12 oz
steak with jacket potatoes and all the trimmings, Christmas dinner for
the poor, Bingo, Ceilidhs, Cubs, Scouts and Pipe Band practices.
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