Yesterday evening we held our first service of Prayers for World Peace in St Andrew’s Tain.

Holy God,

We hold before you all who live close to war and conflict;
and all who live close to the threat of war and violence.
We remember especially at this time, people in Ukraine and Russia.
We pray for nonviolence and peaceful resolutions of conflict.
Give us hearts of hospitality and sanctuary,
forgive us all our hostility and hatred.
Bring all people to the humanity you give us,
and to the reconciliation and healing for which you gave your life.
Strengthen us all to work with you to build justice and peace,
reconciliation and healing,
in our hearts and homes, in our streets,
in all communities, neighbourhoods and nations.
Bless all who live lives for the peace and wellbeing of others,
and make their service fruitful.
In the name of Christ.
Amen.

This Evening, during this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (18th-25th January), almost 50 people met from across the Churches and Denominations in Sutherland and Easter Ross and one or two from further afield. We met as Christians united in a common faith. We met as part of “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (Rev 7). We met “united in the same mind and the same purpose” (1 Cor 1).

We met because before Jesus died, he prayed to his Father:

I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

John 17:20-23

We met for a Service of Unity. We met for a wonderful service prepared by Churches in the Middle East which centred around the Epiphany. We met to pray and to sing, to listen to Scripture and to music and to reflect on Christian Unity.

A huge thank you to everyone who read, who lead and who joined us in a outward and visible sign of our Unity in Christ.

God bless you all.

A great many folk celebrated the Incarnation with us in East Sutherland and Tain this year at six services in four churches over the last few days – people from a range of Christian Fellowships joined us to mark the coming of Christ Light of the world amongst us.

People from Churches in Tain, Easter Ross, Dornoch, Lairg and elsewhere in Sutherland gathered together for a wonderfully uplifting service of lessons and carols this afternoon in St Andrew’s Tain. The readers were drawn from across the Churches, the singing was led by a fine choir (of two) and everyone seemed to be in fine voice, all to the Glory of God.

Goody bags were provided at the end (to make up for the fact that we couldn’t serve seasonal refreshments) and the retiring collection raised £125 for the homeless.

A huge thank you for everyone who made it happen by playing, singing, welcoming, making goody bags, cleaning and decorating the Church. We all look forward to when we can find another chance to sing praises together as the people of God.