So some attending the 150th anniversary celebrations for the Roxburgh Presbyterian Church this weekend might be surprised to realise the church had not always looked as it did today, church elder Hilary Garden, of Millers Flat, said.
It had no spire when it was built in 1880, the spire being added in 1919.
The much-admired stained glass window at the front of the church was also not part of the original church building, and was added after World War 2 as a memorial to those who served in both wars, Mrs Garden said.
She said it was "wonderful" to be celebrating the 150th anniversary of the church, its first minister, the Rev Robert Telford, having been inducted into the Teviot Parish in 1868.
The Presbyterian Church later formed a union with the Methodist Church, in 1969, the resulting Teviot Parish comprising the Roxburgh and Millers Flat Presbyterian churches, and the Roxburgh and Ettrick Methodist churches.
Her mother, the late Marjorie Gilmour, was the first female elder of the Roxburgh Presbyterian Church, and her grandparents and husband’s parents were also heavily involved with the church.
Mrs Garden said "a few" previously undiscovered photos of the Church had been uncovered while compiling the photo display, but more would be appreciated for Church archives.
There was a "big gap" between the good number of early photos and those gathered from 1968 by the late Bettie Lawson, a lay preacher of the church, Mrs Garden said.
She said it was special being able to reflect on the "pivotal role" the Presbyterian Church had played in the Teviot Valley over the last 150 years, and she was confident the Church would continue in good heart.
"We’re a smaller congregation now, but a faithful congregation."
A commemorative church service will be held at the Roxburgh Presbyterian Church on Sunday at 9.30am, followed by morning tea in the adjacent Sunday School building, and lunch, speeches and cake cutting from noon onwards in the Roxburgh Town Hall.
