My wife and I are active members of a church in Falkirk which is now called Dawson Community Church. If you look at the gates on the way in to the car park, you will see the letters 'DM' clearly displayed - standing for Dawson Mission. On the right hand side of the entrance, there is a plaque with the following inscription:
TO THE GLORY OF GOD
THIS HALL IS ERECTED IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF
MISS DINAH MARGARET DAWSON
OF GAIRDOCH AND POWFOULIS
WHO CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH CARRON COMPANY
FOUNDED THE DAWSON MEETING ROOM IN 1902
THE FOUNDATION STONE
WAS LAID ON SATURDAY 21st MARCH, 1959
"AND THEIR WORKS DO FOLLOW THEM" REV. XIV . 13.
Miss Dinah Dawson of Powfowlis
Who was Dinah Dawson and what is her connection with the church? She was the benefactor who provided financial support for the establishment of Dawson Mission. The hall, which is seen from two roads, was not built then - it dates from 1959. The original site of Dawson Mission hall was in the lost village of West Carron - not far from the present church.
This aerial photo shows the location of the original Dawson Mission Hall (marked with an arrow) in the village of West Carron located beside the massive Carron Ironworks.
West Carron was a small village on the banks of the winding, muddy River Carron. It was built by the Carron Iron Company to house its workers near to the iron works. The mission hall was built right in the centre of this small village. The whole village was demolished in the 1950s to allow for the expansion of the ironworks. This meant that the Dawson Mission hall would also be demolished. The Carron Company provided for a new hall to be built on the present site which is adjacent to the Carronbridge Inn or the Soo House as it is known locally. The present church building is owned by the William Dawson Trust who are the successors of the Carron Company.
Several people have commented on the role Dinah Dawson played in the foundation of the church. My daughter, Fiona is intrigued by the fact that a single lady was playing such a prominent role in the male dominated society of Edwardian Britain. She and her sister were the current owners of the Carron Iron Company. A local historian describes Dinah Dawson as an evangelical Christian in the mould of the Keswick Convention. I believe that God chose Dinah Dawson to do a great work for His glory at the start of the 20th Century. The Keswick Convention had begun in 1875 in a miraculous way and God used a vicar, the Rev. Canon Thomas Dundas Hartford Battersby, to start this great work for God. Twenty seven years later, and 145 miles north, God leads Dinah Dawson to finance and inspire the establishment of Dawson Mission. I believe that God inspired this lady to give generously to the spread of the Gospel in this part of Falkirk.
A photo of the original Dawson Mission in the village of West Carron.
I would like to highlight some things which we learn from the speech which Dinah Dawson gave at the opening service.
It had all started when the Dawson sisters had been introduced to Mrs Stewart, the wife of the lawyer, R.B. Stewart who had begun preaching in West Carron following a summer tent campaign in 1900.
The Dawson sisters were informed of the need for a building where they could meet 'in some degree of comfort' to carry on the work of evangelism and church planting.
Miss Dawson showed that she valued the message of the Gospel - she spoke of the gospel message being brought very near to 'some who did not yet realise how precious it was.'
She explained how the sisters were acting as private individuals in providing the capital for the building of the hall. She wanted to guarantee 'fixity of tenure' which would be difficult to guarantee if the building was provided by the Carron Company who might later need the land for the expansion of the ironworks. This part of the speech is a bit cryptic for the two sisters were major shareholders in the Carron Ironworks who owned the land on which the meeting room was to be built. I suggest that Dinah Dawson was eager to ensure that the meeting hall would not be a temporary structure and she secured this by the terms of her legacy.
She outlined the features of a Christian mission which she wanted to see happening in this wee hall.
Worship
Mutual edification and Bible reading
Sabbath School for the young
Prayer meetings on weekdays
Mothers' meetings on weekdays
Preaching of the Gospel so that 'those who do not yet know our Lord may come to Him and drink of the water of life.'
Discipleship - those who have received Christ and confessed their sins to Him might become true follower of our Lord Jesus Christ.
She spoke of the need for others to join in supporting this work in West Carron.
A group photo of those attending the Dawson Mission
In the next blog, I want to mention another person who was influential in the foundation of the mission. R B Stewart was a lawyer in Glasgow but he was also a preacher. His name is not on the plaque but he, and others, have been used by God to serve the Lord faithfully in their day and generation. Have those of us who attend Dawson Community Church the same vision to reach our community? There have been many changes since 1902 and the methods the Christians used then might not have the same impact. But the need is as great and the power of the Gospel has not declined in any way. Are we prepared to give our time and energy as well as our cash to the work of spreading the Gospel in our locality.
Here is a PDF of the full text of the opening of the Mission Hall and Miss Dawson's speech
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