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history |
The parish of Jura originally covered a very extensive area including many inhabited islands, among which were: Jura, Scarba, Lunga, Colonsay, Oronsay, Gigha and Cara. In 1702, to try and combat the problem of working within such a wide area, the Presbytery of Kintyre ordered that the minister for Jura preach for six and a half months of the year in Jura and the remainder in Colonsay. The extent of the parish boundaries were later reduced in 1726 when Gigha and Cara were disjoined, and again in 1861 when Colonsay was disjoined quoad omnia. The present Jura parish Church was built in 1766, later restored in 1842, and in the 1920's the church was taken over by the trustees of the Church of Scotland who renovated and altered the building. Following the union of the Church of Scotland and the United Free Church in 1929, the parish church was united with the former United Free Church congregation of Jura. The kirk session sat within the Presbytery of Kintyre until the Presbytery of Islay was erected into a separate court in 1836, from which point the parish of Jura fell within this jurisdiction. Following the reorganisation of the Presbyteries in 1976 Jura became part of the presbytery of South Argyle. The kirk session had a continued vacancy between the years of 1988 and 1992. |