The Kyle of Sutherland Hub was the venue for a busy gathering of Christians yesterday (Tues 27th Feb).  The idea grew out of the gatherings to celebrate the Eucharist at Liz and Buster Crabb’s home in Ardgay, but was the realisation of an earlier dream that Liz and Rosie Baxter had for a Christian gathering at the Lady Ross Hotel/Cafe/Restaurant (which burnt down and was demolished and replaced by the Kyle of Sutherland Development Trust building) in Ardgay.

Hub Church grew from a desire of Christians from different traditions to get together for Prayer and Praise without it being “too churchy“.  And that is exactly what 17 people did yesterday.  We sang, prayed, heard scripture and testimony  and then as all such gathering should do, we retired to the Hub Cafe of tea and coffee and fellowship.  Thanks to Liz and Rosie for organising and Simon for accompanying our singing.

This will be a regular gathering on the last Tuesday of each month at 5:30pm in the Hub.  The form that it takes will vary from month to month.  All are invited, all are welcome, the only requirement is that you want to worship God in the name of His Son Jesus Christ.

Just a small selection …

Yesterday saw a very successful Special Collection for the Food Bank which St Finnbarr’s held in the Dornoch Social Club.  There was a steady stream of contributors, most of whom stopped for coffee/tea and a chat.

A huge thank you to those who contributed and to Marian and the other members of the congregation who worked so hard throughout the morning.  Margaret and Alan’s car will be much relieved when it’s all over and it’s suspension can return to normal:-)

Recently at the invitation of St Finnbarr’s, Dornoch, a small group of women gathered in the Dornoch Social Club to learn about the work of Caithness and Sutherland Women’s Aid (CASWA) which St Finnbarrs Charity Shop has supported with donations for several years. Those present were from the congregation of St Finnbarrs, volunteers from the Charity Shop, members of the Dornoch and District Community Association (DADCA) coffee group and some members of the Dornoch Cathedral Guild.

In an informal and interactive talk, the two speakers Carol an adult support worker and Jackie a child support worker, gave the group an idea of the different forms of abuse which women suffer, how children in a family can be affected and how CASWA supports them.

The physical nature of abuse is probably fairly well known but the speakers emphasised the insidious mental abuse to which many of the women who come to them are subjected. The coercive, dominating and controlling behaviour exerted by partners undermines women and leads to loss of confidence and self-esteem. The increasing role of social media in this kind of abuse was highlighted. Just one example of several we were given was that some women are tracked by their partners mobile phones when they are out of the house. Social media abuse is also a growing problem among young women still at school.

The work of CASWA is confidential and support workers are non-judgemental. Their role is to offer emotional and practical to help to abuse sufferers, to help them decide what to do, not tell them what to do. They then support them and any children involved in following through with their decisions. Although CASWA can no longer fund a safe house for abused women and children they have access to a national data base of organisations and authorities that can provide safe accommodation. If women and any children they may have are at immediate risk of harm they are therefore able to make referrals if necessary.

CASWA is responding to increasing numbers of requests for help. This reflects national trends. In 2016 -2017 there were 58,810 domestic abuse incidents reported to police in Scotland and there are certainly many more which were not reported.

CASWA can be contacted on:

Tel 0345 408 0151 (24 hour answer service)
National Domestic Abuse Helpline 0800 027 1234 (24 hours)
Office hours 9am – 5pm Monday – Friday

or by Email at: info@caswa.org.uk

The Harvest collection in Dornoch raised £100 for the Halo Trust.  A huge thank you to everyone who donated produce and contributed to the collection.

Sunday saw St Andrew’s Church full of people, as we hosted the Easter Ross Inter Church Group in a Songs of Praise for Harvest.  The congregation drawn for a whole host of churches (even some from the other side of the Dornoch Firth), was in splendid voice accompanied by organ and fiddle.  Readings were from Psalm 98, 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 and Luke 12:16-30 as well as John Betjeman’s wonderful poem “The Diary of a Church Mouse” (so apt for celebrating harvest in a church with seven “Mousey Thompson” mice carved into the furnishings).

There were as you might expect excellent refreshments in the hall afterwards and a big thanks to everyone who contributed both sweet and savoury treats, served drinks and helped to clear everything away.  A big thanks also to Caroline and Anna for the music, to those who read so well and those who decorated the church.  The collection raised £80 for the food bank.

Sadly I failed to take any photo to show the crowded church and hall or the excellent food, so you will have to make do with the “musician’s window” in the sanctuary with Miriam (sister of Moses and Aaron who “took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. And Miriam sang to them: ‘Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.’” – Exodus 15:20-22 – after The Lord had led them across the Red Sea in safety), King David (you all know who he was:-) and St. Cecilia the Patron Saint of Musicians (It is written that as the musicians played at her wedding she “sang in her heart to the Lord“).

Yesterday evening, a packed St Andrew’s, Tain saw the licensing of Revd James Currall as Priest in Charge of St Andrew’s, Tain, St Finnbarr’s, Dornoch and St Maelrubha’s Lairg by our Bishop and Primus Mark.  It was a truly ecumenical occasion with clergy, elders and lay people from several denominations from as far west as Gairloch, as far east as Keith and as far north as Tongue.

The splendid music was organised by Jamie Campbell as his ‘swan-song’ before he goes off to Aberdeen University to study Divinity next month.  Jamie gathered together a choir of 18, who gave us Stainer’s Magnificat in F, Jamie’s own Nunc Dimitis in F and Stainer’s “God so loved the world”. The preces and responses were by Alan Knight.

Afterwards we enjoyed a splendid spread in the hall and excellent fellowship.  A huge, huge thank you to everyone who contributed to this wonderful occasion.  This corner of God’s Kingdom now has a new Priest-in-Charge:-)

Blessings
James