Carol Service TOMORROW

We would be so delighted to see you at our Carol Service with our friends from the Roman Catholic Church and The Church of Scotland all taking part. We will be at Christ the King RC church in Brora tomorrow afternoon at 2.30pm. If you love a traditional lessons and carols service, do come along – you will be made most welcome!

Advent Study 2025

Canon James’s Study Group for Advent this year will be based around Henri Nouwen’s reflections on Rembrandt’s famous panting “The Return of the Prodigal Son“.

Henri Nouwen’s book “The return of the Prodigal Son” (Darton, Longman & Todd 1992) is a series of personal reflections on the Rembrandt painting which hangs in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia and the way it allows the parable of Jesus to speak in new ways. It tells of Henri’s encounter with the painting itself in 1986 and his move to the L’Arche Daybreak community. He hung a print of the painting in his new community, and he reflected over time on how he had been the younger (prodigal) son, the elder son and the father in the Gospel story.

The Return of the Prodigal Son is among Rembrandt’s final works, likely completed within two years of his death in 1669. It shows the moment of the prodigal son’s return to his father in the parable, and was described by art historian Kenneth Clark as “a picture which those who have seen the original in St. Petersburg may be forgiven for claiming as the greatest picture ever painted”

There will be four sessions each lasting a little over an hour, at Anna and James’ house at 11 Ferry Road, Golspie on Wednesday afternoons at 2pm on the following dates:

  • 26th November – Introduction to Nouwen’s encounter with the painting and his reflections on it.
  • 3rd December – The Younger Son (the Prodigal)Luke 15:11-20
  • 10th December – The Elder SonLuke 15:25-31
  • 17th December – The Father and some Concluding DiscussionLuke 15:20-24

The sessions revolve around chapters in Henri Nouwen’s book. The sessions will be semi-independent, so all are welcome even if you can’t manage all of them, but there is benefit from being able to piece it all together by engaging with all four.  If you wish any more information, speak to or contact Canon James.

Easter Ross Doors Open Day Weekend 20th/21st September

St Andrew’s Church, Tain

Every September you can explore hundreds of fascinating buildings across Scotland for free. Some open up once a year, some just once in a lifetime. As it is such a diverse region, the Highlands is split into three areas across three weekends. buildings in Inverness, the Black Isle, and Easter Ross are open this Weekend (20th and 21st September

This year’s shared European Heritage Days theme is Architectural Heritage: Windows to the Past, Doors to the Future. This theme celebrates the rich diversity of buildings that surround us, exploring buildings and infrastructure of all styles and scales. In that context, St Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Tain will be open on both days as follows:

  • Saturday 20th September – 10am until 4pm for visitors
  • Sunday 21st September – 10:30am until 12:30pm for worship and fellowship (visitors most welcome) and again 1pm – 4pm for visitors.

On both days, we will offer refreshments and the opportunity to look round the building either using a specially prepared guide booklet or by being shown highlights by a member of the congregation.

There is some very fine Stained Glass by Ballantine and Gardiner, A. L. Ward, W. Wilson and E. B. Souden

The Musicians Window

Mousey Thompson Furnishings

Our lovely unaltered 1914 C & F Hamilton (Edinburgh) organ

and much more.

All are very welcome to visit on either day.

Our entry on the Doors Open Day web site.

Season of Creation 2025 – Study Group

Our Study Group for the Season of Creation (the month of September) this year will be based around material adapted from the Season of Creation Project.

There will be four sessions each lasting a little over an hour, at Anna and James’ house at 11 Ferry Road, Golspie on Wednesday afternoons at 2pm on the following dates:

  • 10th Sept – Ocean Depths and Delights (Job 38:1-18; Luke 5:1-11)
  • 17th Sept – Wisdom in the Creatures of the Earth (Job 39:1-8, 26-30; Luke 12:22-31)
  • 24th Sept – Good News from the Sky (Jeremiah 4:23-28; Psalm 19:1-6; Mark 15.33-39)
  • 1st Oct – The Wisdom Behind the World (Proverbs 8:22-31; Colossians 1:15-20)

The sessions revolve around a study of a two or three Bible passages on each occasion from the Wisdom literature in the Hebrew Bible and from the Gospels and will be semi-independent, so all are welcome even if you can’t manage all of them.  If you wish any more information, speak to or contact Canon James.