This afternoon we had a splendid Service of Readings and Carols enjoyed by a fairly full church drawn from right across the area. There were readers from a variety of local churches and fellowships and a dozen favourite carols. Afterwards there was a collection for those in need and seasonal refreshments. It was great to be back to the pre-pandemic form.
A huge thanks to everyone who helped to make it the wonderful afternoon that it was and helped to decorate the Church.
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.
Every Blessing
Mandy & the food bank team
BY JOHN MCCRAE
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
On Sunday we welcomed Aila to the Body of Christ in Baptism.
A joyful and uplifting service of Thanksgiving for the Life and Reign of Queen Elizabeth II in St Andrew’s Tain last evening in the presence of His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant for Ross-shire – Mrs Joanie Whiteford.
Folk from a range of different churches and community organisations contributed and local MP the Right Honourable Jamie Stone and Councillor Alasdair Rhind also took part.
The congregation were in fine voice. The Lord Lieutenant offered some personal reflections on the Queen’s life and on the contact that she had had with the Queen in her official role and Canon James Currall preached.
Over £100 was raised in a retiring collection for the Queen’s Green Canopy fund which aims to plant trees across the UK, but especially in urban areas, as a celebration of Her Majesty’s life and reign.
On Friday on a very wet morning, a group of over 100 people gathered at the Lairg War Memorial to mark it’s 100th anniversary. A cascade of knitted poppies make the memorial a stunning sight and children planted crosses one for each of the 65 names on the memorial (55 from WW1 and 10 from WW2).
Yesterday we gave thanksgiving for harvest in all our services and James preached at evensong at St John’s in Forres, after some wonderful singing by the Gordonstoun chamber choir and the St John’s Church choir .
Almighty and eternal God,
you uphold and govern all things
both in heaven and on earth,
and by your grace alone kings and queens do reign.
We thank you for all the blessings which you have bestowed upon us through our late sovereign lady, Queen Elizabeth, whom you have called from this life today.
We thank you for the wisdom of her guidance and her love of peace, for the care and devotion with which she served her people, for the example of her gracious life.
We pray that you would fill our hearts with gratitude for all these good things, and give us grace that we may use the memory of them as a perpetual call to live according to your will, for the good of all the world, and the glory of your great name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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!
Scottish Episcopal Church - Dornoch, Lairg, Brora, Tain & Tongue 