THIS is a big weekend for the congregation of Auchterderran/Kinglassie Church.

A key stage in the restoration project of the historic Auchterderran church building has been reached and a special Open Day is to be held on Saturday which will mark the upgrade's completion.

And had the congregation at Auchterderran not suffered a set-back when an infestation of woodworm was discovered as the restoration neared completion, they could have been back worshipping in the church.

The woodworm had attacked the flooring of the 900 plus year-old kirk and many of the pews, plus the pulpit.

However, the work to get rid of the problem is moving ahead fast and the church office-bearers are hopeful that within a few months they will be again worshipping in the historic church building.

It has been a long haul for congregation, but they are a resilient group who have been working hard as a unit to tackle the problems as these emerge.

And on Saturday they invite people to go along and see the amazing difference the £250,000 restoration project has made to the iconic building.

Auchterderran and Kinglassie Church property convener, Ian Hamilton, and fabric and finance committee member, Rosemary Wallace, started the ball rolling many months ago with a meeting with the Heritage Lottery Fund and since then they have received support of £96,800 from the Heritage Lottery Grants for Places of Worship, and the same sum from Historic Environment Scotland plus £48,000 for restoration of the crypt.

Said Rosemary: "We needed to find matched funding and received excellent support also of £5000 grants from the Baird Trust, the Fergusson Bequest and Scotland's Churches Trust, plus support from the Westfield Wind Farm community fund. We thank them all warmly.

"The Quinquennial Report we received from the Church of Scotland made it clear that the church needed urgent repairs and with both the church and the crypt being Listed B buildings it meant that we would have to follow advice on how we should proceed.

"It has been a real team effort from the congregation and we are indebted to the Heritage Lottery and Historic Environment Scotland for their backing and the other groups who are helping make this all possible."

Some of the windows were in a dangerous condition and they were taken away to be replaced. These could not be upgraded because of the way they were made but were copied to the last letter and are now in place.

The Local History Group has come on board to put together an illustrated booklet on the story of Auchterderran kirk and they will launch it this weekend at the Open Day.

During 2016, major repairs to the roof, stonework and windows were carried out. The conservation of this very important historical site was only made possible through the funding channels the congregation were able to find.

Cardenden & District Local History Group, in collaboration with the church and Corrie Centre Youth Group, have produced a 56 page booklet detailing the history and heritage of the Auchterderran Parish and its Kirk, which has some excellent items in it plus pictures from local photographer Bill Mitchell.

The Open Day will see the completely upgraded 900 year-old church ready to be viewed after the extensive project.

It has been a long haul but the end is now in sight as the work to treat the woodworm problem moves on at pace.

Rosemary made it clear that the team work of the Auchterderran congregation has been instrumental in overcoming the problems that have thrown themselves up as the project has developed.

The church has a solid membership plus good community links which have played a part in the project going ahead successfully.

She said: "We have been very fortunate that we have our new church hall which has been able to house our services during the restoration.

"It has been so very valuable and meant that we have been able to worship only yards away from the kirk.

"The congregation members have shown tremendous patience over the long months the project has taken but we are moving closer and closer to being able to hold our services in the church building once more."

During the open day various pictures of groups will be displayed and the church members would appreciate some help in putting names to faces.

For instance there is a picture of the church choir in 1931 of which there is only one name known, but they hope that the members of the public might know a few more.

And there are many more photos to be displayed which people could help identify faces on.

As the work to re-open the Auchterderran church as a place of worship nears completion with the removal of the woodworm, the congregation is excited to be involved in the Fife Pilgrim Way initiative.

Auchterderran, through its natural spring, was a major stopping point for travellers centuries ago and a reason why the church was built on the corner of Balgreggie Road, but now a Fife Pilgrim Way is being established running from Culross to St Andrews and Auchterderran will be on of the elements in it.