Re:Hope Church becomes part of Paisley’s Mural Trail

November 3, 2026

We caught up with Buchan Lennon, Lead Pastor at Re:Hope Church Paisley, to discover how a new mural has given the church’s boarded-up stained-glass window a new lease of life

A few years ago, Paul met up with Buchan Lennon to take some photographs of Re:Hope Church on Gordon Street in Paisley. As Lead Pastor of Re:Hope – formerly known as St Matthew’s – Buchan kindly gave Paul an informative tour of this incredible building.

Built between 1905 and 1907, the church was designed by Paisley architect William Daniel McLennan as an Art Nouveau interpretation of Perpendicular Gothic. A member of the congregation, McLennan was also a contemporary of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and designed the Bull Inn on New Street.

But Buchan had a problem. One of the church’s beautiful stained-glass windows needed replacing. The cost? £23,000 – a huge sum of money for a church to try to raise. So, to protect the building and ensure the safety of the congregation, the window was boarded up.

Now, however, the church has a new stained-glass window alternative. As Buchan puts it, “we found the solution to our £23K challenge”.

And that solution has made Re:Hope Church the latest stop on Paisley’s ever-growing mural trail.

Buchan explains: “You may remember me saying that as a church, we just couldn’t justify paying that amount for a window, when £23K could be used elsewhere, but I love our alternative.

“The idea for the mural came about four years ago. We were looking for a solution given the reinstallation of the stained glass was just too expensive.

“Paisley has a lot of really impressive murals, so we explored the option of creating one ourselves. We discovered a mural artist called Tef 94 – real name Scott.

“Tef 94 had created some fantastic Still Game murals [and recently painted the Pokémon murals at The TCG House in Paisley], and the one that caught my attention on his Instagram account was his mural of Isa.

“Having explored his social media profile, I noticed he had a Jesus mural pinned. So we reached out and were able to collaborate on this special project!

“The meaning behind John 3:16 is a reference from the Bible. In the New Testament it says, ‘For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.’

“John 3:16 is about love that costs something. It’s the idea that God loves this world, despite all its brokenness, pain and mess, so much that He gave His own Son, Jesus, to make a way for us to know Him.

“It’s a reminder that you are loved, your story isn’t over, and there is hope beyond what you can see right now.

“Our faith is built on the belief that life is about more than simply existing, that we were made for a relationship with God, and that through Jesus, even death isn’t the end.

“It’s an invitation to discover a love that doesn’t give up on you, a hope that holds you through the hardest moments, and the promise of a future with God where pain and death no longer have the final say.

“So our mural tells the message that Jesus’ love cost Him His life. He sacrificed His life for us, for you, so that we could be in relationship with God on earth and in heaven.”

What began as a costly problem for the church has become something quite different: a striking piece of public art.