Queen's Cross Church is a congregation of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

. It is located at the intersection of Carden Place and Albyn Place, at

Queen's Cross Queen's Cross is an area in the West End of Aberdeen, Scotland. It is located just west of the main thoroughfare of Union Street and about from the geographical town centre at Aberdeen's Mercat Cross, Mercat Cross. Queen's Cross itself is the ...

in the heart of

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

's west end business community. It is a short walk from the main shopping areas of the city and several main hotels. The Church united with the congregations of Midstocket Church, Holburn West Church and Rubislaw Church to form Fountainhall Church in June 2023. The church was designated as a Category B

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

in 1967 and was upgraded to Category A in 1984.

History

The Revd Dr Edmund S. P. Jones was minister at Queen's Cross from 1965 until 1983. During his tenure the church experienced a period of significant change and growth: In 1975 the old church manse on Desswood Place was sold and a new manse was purchased nearby on St. Swithin Street; the church facilities were expanded with the construction of a nursery wing in 1971; and the church sanctuary was redesigned and redecorated by architect James Roy for its centenary in 1981. When Dr Jones moved to America in November 1983 he was replaced at Queen's Cross by the Revd Bob Brown, who was minister from 1984 until his retirement in 2008. The church was at the centre of an online protest from fellow Church of Scotland clergy when Revd Scott Rennie, an openly gay minister, was appointed in 2009. Upon hearing of Rennie's new position, the

Westboro Baptist Church The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is an American unaffiliated Primitive Baptists, Primitive Baptist church in Topeka, Kansas, that was founded in 1955 by pastor Fred Phelps. It is widely considered a hate group and a cult, and is known for Prot ...

announced its intention to picket the church in protest. Pastor

Fred Phelps Fred Waldron Phelps Sr. (November 13, 1929 – March 19, 2014) was an American Minister (Christianity), minister and Disbarment, disbarred lawyer who served as the pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church, worked as a civil rights attorney, ...

and his daughter Shirley Phelps-Roper planned to travel to Scotland to begin their protest, however their entry to the country was blocked as the WBC had been banned from coming into the country since 2009.

References

Religious organizations established in 1878 19th-century Church of Scotland church buildings Category A listed buildings in Aberdeen Listed churches in Scotland Church of Scotland churches in Aberdeen {{Scotland-CoS-church-stub

History

See also

References