James and Simon are involved in leading Songs of Praise next Sunday evening. It would be great if you could come and support Golspie Gala week by raising your beautiful voices in song! We are singing good old favourites like ‘How Great Thou Art’ and ‘Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer’ – all the tunes will be familiar to you! How fantastic it would be to let Golspie hear that the message of the gospel is very much alive in our area!
Our church family celebrated with Eric Dawson as he reached his 100th birthday this week. With a special cake following the service last Sunday and another cake at a special gathering on Monday (Eric’s actual birthday) we marked this very special birthday of a very special man who we all hold dearly in our hearts. The Lord Lieutenant of Sutherland came along to our gathering on Monday to present Eric with his card from the King and Queen Consort and the gathering sang to Eric and shared tea and cakes. Happy Birthday Eric!
The Reverend Simon Scott has taken up the role of Convener of the Church in Society Committee. Fr Simon is Priest-in-Charge at St Finnbarr’s SEC, Dornoch in the United Diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness. He is a self-supporting minister who has a career in primary education. Having been a primary head teacher for almost twenty years, Fr Simon now works as a senior education officer for Highland Council.
On taking up the position of Convener, Fr Simon said: “As a priest who is employed in a ‘secular position’’ I have a particular passion for the role that the church has in walking alongside others to shape and guide the structures in our society in a way that promotes peace, equity and justice for all.
“I believe ‘the church’ can be a key player in helping to make sure these principles are considered and upheld by those who make the important decisions that affect the lives of everyone in our country, and in particular those decisions which affect the lives of the poor, the vulnerable and the marginalised.”
Fr Simon has a background in expressive arts and enjoys singing with choirs and taking part in other musical activities.
He is also a regular contributor to the Northern Times newspaper, via the title’s ‘Food For Thought’ column.
A huge thank you to all who came along to support The Children’s Society at our Christingle Service at St Finnbarr’s last Sunday. The sight of everyone’s faces aglow in the candlelight was extremely special. Our four part guest choir sang unaccompanied so beautifully, as did our trio of boys who sang Away in a Manger for us.
The special collection for The Children’s Society totaled £301.86. Thanks to all our readers, congregants, our organist and those who gave but could not make it to the service. Our contribution will I am sure make a difference!
In related news – we received the following in an email from Tain Food Bank – again, thanks to all you generous, lovely people.
Just a short email to say ‘thankyou’ to you and all at St Finnbarrs for the very generous donation of food and money for the food bank today.
The weight of the food came to 27.2kg and the £100 will be used to either buy food that we get short of or to help people out who find themselves in fuel poverty.
I cannot tell you in simple words the difference this donation will make to many lives this Christmas time and into the New Year.
Please pass on our sincerest thanks to all concerned.
As we approach the festive season, St Finnbarr’s Dornoch are organising a collection for our local Food Bank. If you would like to support us, please bring donations to the church on Sunday 4th or Sunday 11th December between 10.30am and 11am or on Wednesday 7th December 10am to 10.30am. We are collecting the usual standard food and toiletry items to support people through the holiday period and you might like to include a few seasonal treats. The Food Bank is particularly short of coffee, sugar and biscuits. Please can you make sure any perishable items such as prepacked ham or spreads have a long date and it would be helpful to pack these separately so that they can be kept refrigerated. The Food Bank is currently experiencing increased demand, so your support would be much appreciated. Don’t forget that you can also donate money if you feel you would like to help in this way. We know not everyone will feel they can contribute, but thank you in advance for supporting our neighbours most in need.
On Sunday 18th December at 4.30pm St Finnbarr’s Dornoch will hold a Christingle Celebration Service in aid of The Children’s Society.
If you’ve never been to a Christingle before, please do come along to this very special, informal service which includes lots of carols and a simple all age Christmas message.
We know there is still a wee while to go before this happens, but wanted to let you know well in advance because part of the service includes making an offering to The Children’s Society. In the next couple of weeks special collecting candles and /or envelopes (like the ones below) will be available for you to collect from church and then slowly fill up during advent to then bring along as your offering to support some of our most vulnerable children and young people.
We look forward to welcoming you and presenting you with your very own Christingle to take home!
Earlier this week we were delighted to welcome Oleksii and Igor to St Finnbarr’s Dornoch. Our Ukrainian friends have been regular visitors, performing the most wonderful concerts for us – with a wide variety of music all played on the accordion! Oleksii and Igor were granted special visas to leave Ukraine and enter the UK in order to continue the vital work they do in raising money for the mother’s of Chernobyl (and this year for wider causes supporting the children of Ukraine). Given the ongoing occupation and invasion of Ukraine, the event held a special poignancy for us all. We describe the performance as an act of defiance, showing that the spirit of the people of Ukraine will not be destroyed! The photograph above shows our audience applauding that spirit!
God Bless you Aleksi and Igor as you and your country continue the struggle!
On August 6th our young episcopalians celebrated The Transfiguration with a day full of crafts, games, den building and other activities at St Trolla’s Church at The Crask Inn. We learned about the story of The Transfiguration of Jesus and explored what the story was saying about Him. Special thanks to Beatrice, Elizabeth and Peter who came along to help us. Take a look at the gallery below to see what we got up to!
Our heartiest congratulations to Marian Swanson – a member of our congregation and vestry at St Finnbarr’s Dornoch – as she receives a special community award from the Dornoch Community Council. This prestigious award is presented annually to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to our local community. Jerry Bishop made the presentation on behalf of the Community Council. Many of you will know that Marian is a key player in running St Finnbarr’s Charities Shop, Market stalls and online sales. Marian has supported, led and helped develop many other local initiatives too, but really doesn’t like to be in the limelight. However, given this well deserved award which recognises all that she is and all that she does, we wanted to raise a glass with her – God bless you Marian and may He uphold you in all that you do!
Scottish Episcopal Church - Dornoch, Lairg, Brora, Tain & Tongue 