About Project 140
Project 140 is a project to renovate and improve the facilities at Carrubbers Christian Centre at 65 High Street, Edinburgh. The High Street in Edinburgh is otherwise known as the Royal Mile, the historic street that runs between Holyrood Palace and Edinburgh Castle and is the administrative and legal centre of Scotland.
The Royal Mile is now one of the prime tourist attractions in the country but has been home to Carrubbers Christian Centre in its various forms since the middle of the nineteenth century. The building at 65 High Street itself was built in [1884] with subscriptions raised by DL Moody, the famous evangelist. We have named the work “Project 140”, reflecting the fact that 2023 marks 140 years since Moody laid the foundation stone and 2024 marks 140 years since the building was opened. They worked quickly in those days!
The building was renovated in the 1980s and is now in need of a thorough renovation and, in places, remodelling. The church meeting in the building is thriving and growing and we wish to be faithful to the Gospel history of the building. Project 140 will, God willing, set the building up for the next 50 or more years of Gospel work in the Royal Mile.
Project cost and fundraising
We estimate that we will need to raise around £1.8m to carry out this project. We aim to raise these funds from 3 different areas:-
1) Selling our Manse and using existing cash savings
2) Raising funds from our carubbers family, alumni, and individuals – please click this link to donate
3) Grants from various organistaions and funds
The Core Team
Neil McKenzie is an elder and trustee of the church. He has worked in Information Technology for the private and public sector, and is currently an IT Programme Manager in NHS Scotland.
Pat Ferguson currently serves as Church Administrator having worked as a Senior Administrator in Higher Education, latterly working as a Project Officer in the office of the Principal, University of Edinburgh working on significant capital and corporate projects.
David Johnson (Architect for the Project) is a member of the church and also a conservation accredited architect with and 26 years experience. He is a director with GLM and has a specialism in the adaption and reuse of existing heritage buildings across a broad range of sectors.
Doug Whyte is an elder and trustee of the church. He had a global career as a lawyer in the oil and gas industry and now volunteers in the church as its Director of Church Operations.
Nigel Burgess is an elder and trustee of the church. He has a career in Product Management in the microchip semiconductor industry focussing on audio products. His elder focus in on the finance, building and technology within the church.