Laurence Goudie
The club was started on 6 November 1971, by Kirk Elders Mr. Laurence D. Goudie and Mr. R. Allan as an outreach group of the Bible Class and Senior Sunday School. It offered youngsters in the community a place to spend their leisure time and to support life in the community and encourage its members to help one another. Its aim simply that its members were given the opportunity to live life to the full in Christian fellowship. The club was open to 11-17 year olds, was non-denominational and welcomed all of that age group within the parish and beyond.
The members elected, annually, a president, vice-president, treasurer, secretary and a committee, who in conjunction with the leaders prepared a varied programme of activities. Members ran a ‘canteen’, the profits going towards club funds. A weekly subscription of 10p was levied.
Over the years its programme included: games days, guest speakers, visits to places of interest, community service with senior citizen afternoons (whist, dominoes and afternoon tea), cutting and delivering logs to senior citizens, (courtesy of Gosford estate) within the village. Also visited the residents of the Poplars Home and helped to serve their afternoon tea; entered indoor sports competitions organised by East Lothian Council Education Department. Many fund raising activities were held to enable the club establish a Venture Holiday Programme which ensured that every member was given the opportunity to participate – where family circumstances were such that a member would be unable to participate for financial reasons the Venture Fund ensured that such members’ costs, following consultation with parent(s), were met.
The Venture Holiday Programme included boating holidays at Eastertime on the Norfolk Broads and the river Thames in the years 1972-74. In 1976 and until 1996 the Easter Venture was held at the Badenoch Christian Centre, Kincraig where members were introduced to and participated in hill-walking, skiing, gliding, mountaineering, forest games and visits to places of interest. Additional Venture activities saw members undertaking a mini-cruise to Shetland, a week’s holiday at Scalloway in Shetland meeting with Bible Class members of St. Columba’s Kirk, Lerwick – on this trip members of the Aberlady senior citizens accompanied the group. A weekend break to Holland and a mini-cruise to Stavanger in Norway were also undertaken in the latter days of the club.
Five members of the club undertook leadership training courses organised by the Scottish Christian Youth Workers Group, each attaining high assessment marks and obtaining leadership certificates.
In 1997 the club was closed due to a decline in the interest shown by local youth, at the time dominated by a subversive and destructive gang mentality.
| Leaders | Assistant Leaders | Members attaining S.C.Y.W.G. Leadership Certificates |
| Laurence D. Goudie | Jane Lennie | Nicola Brownlie |
| Ross Allan | Gary H. Johnson | Claire L. Notman |
| Gordon C. Davie | David C. Cluness | David T. Allan |
| William T.A. Craig | Graham K. Muir | Graham K. Muir |
| Claire L. Notman | Gavin P. Holmes | |
| Gavin P. Holmes |