Darragh Sean being Baptised by Simon …
… and they are both still smiling afterwards!!
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The Narrow Gate
St Finnbarr’s now has a smart, freshly painted gate and handrail – thanks Joanna and Caroline.
Charities Shop – Distribution of Funds 2021
St Finnbarr’s Charities Shop has recently distributed £12,500 in donations to various groups and charities. As usual these are mostly local groups based in East Sutherland but this year two, Maggies and Mikeysline, which have centres in Inverness have been included. They both work with vulnerable groups throughout our area, one in cancer care and the other in mental health support.
The complete list of charities and groups supported is listed below:
- Alzheimer Scotland (for local use),
- Caithness and Sutherland Women’s Aid,
- Dornoch Beach Wheelchairs,
- Sutherland Care Forum,
- Support in Mind Scotland (Golspie Gatehouse),
- Mikeysline (Mental Health especially Suicide – has drop in and appointments in Inverness including evenings, also text-based support. all ages),
- Dornoch Academy School Library,
- Friends of Oversteps,
- Historylinks,
- Maggies Highlands,
- Meadows Patient’s Comfort Fund,
- Bradbury Centre,
- CALA (Care and Learning Alliance – Stepping Stones, Brora),
- Connecting Communities (Helmsdale based but serves all E. Sutherland, older people at home, community support, meal delivery),
- CAB,
- Lawson/Cambusavie Memorial Hospital Fund,
- Migdale Hospital Comfort Fund.
The hard work and dedication of the volunteers means that the Charities Shop is now open Monday to Saturday 10am-1pm. The continuing Covid restrictions mean that we are only able to have a very small number of customers in the shop at one time and we would like to say thank you to our customers who wait so patiently in a queue to come in. The Charities Shop would not be so successful without the many donations of goods to sell and the support of our customers both returning and new – thank you. We look forward to seeing you in the shop.
Northern Pilgrims’ Way launched
Today the Northern Pilgrims’ Way was launched with a dedication service in St Duthac’s Collegiate Church in Tain. Bishop Mark led the service, Jamie Campbell was at the organ and Rev Lizzie Campbell sang the hymns and an anthem and Rev James Currall read the lessons. The Lord’s Lieutenants of Ross-shire (Joanie Whiteford) and Sutherland (Monica Main) were in attendance along with a number of representatives of the Churches.
During the service, an information board was dedicated and the members of the congregations were given blessed cockle shells and candles as symbols of the pilgrimage, but in his address Bishop Mark gave strict instructions that the shells were to be given to pilgrims on the way, that those present encountered in the coming months. He also warned that launching the Way was only the beginning of something and not the end.
You can watch the service on Youtube below:
The original pilgrims were not just trying to get from A to B. The trials and tribulations of the journey were part of the experience, as was calling at recognised holy sites along the way. Modern pilgrims want to feel that they are following in the footsteps of these previous generations. So re-creating a pilgrimage route is not as simple as looking at a map and working out the shortest way from one place to another.
The Northern Pilgrims’ Way is what is known in the trade as a braided route. In other words, it offers the pilgrim alternative tracks between the start and end points. While some routes have more history attached to them than others, all are genuine pilgrimage ways through the North of Scotland.
In our time, pilgrimage is being revived in many denominations. Indeed, it is a feature of most main religions and seems to answer a deep-seated need within us to re-connect with the creator of our world and to work out our own place in this creation.
Further events are planned in the coming months at Thurso and at Kirkwall where the route ends.
- 3rd July 2021 in Old St Peter’s Kirk, Thurso at 12:30pm
- 20th August 2021 in East Church, Kirkwall at 12:00noon
Our Brothers and Sisters in India
Dear Friends
A number of you have asked about charity support for India.
Rev Dr Hamilton Inbadas has written this piece for your information
Situation in India
As you are aware the situation in India continues to be worrying. When you hear journalists say that the real number of infections and deaths are far higher than shown, that is not an exaggeration. The past few weeks have been difficult for us too. Almost daily we kept hearing about hospitalisations, ICU admissions and deaths of people we have studied/worked with and those whom we know.
Our parents on both sides managed to get the second doses of the Oxford vaccines just before our villages hit an acute shortage of vaccines. That is a relief. The number of infection seems to be stabilizing. But as we well know even if this signals the turn of the tide, there is still a lot to deal with for the next few months, at least. Please continue to pray.
Several of you have asked if there is a charity I could recommend for making a donation. The Christian Medical College in Vellore, South India is a teaching hospital that provides excellent care for anyone regardless of religion or caste. CMC also has clinics in rural areas where otherwise there would be no access to medical care. Grace and I had the privilege of working as palliative care chaplains there for several years.
If you wish to make a donation, please follow this link. Donations are received through Friends of Vellore UK, which makes transferring funds easier:
https://givecmc.org/covid-19/?fbclid=IwAR0IdQpxcAoLJcbSFLRWm9yU1ghMu5ymaAp6pXfPi4Fn6Jc1THhqSF_4bJM
Blessings
+Mark
HRH The Prince Philip – RIP
Gracious God, giver of all life,
in whom our earthly course finds its fulfilment:
we give you thanks for the life of Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,
for his service to this nation, the Commonwealth, and humanity,
in war and in peace,
in the pursuit of knowledge,
and in his example of reverence for your creation.We give thanks for the encouragement he offered to the young,
and for his faithful support for Elizabeth our Queen.We pray that, as you receive him into your presence,
his family and all who mourn may know your comfort
in the assurance that death is swallowed up in victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God,
now and in eternity.Amen.
Will no-one stay awake
They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. And he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.’ And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. He said, ‘Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.’ He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, ‘Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour? Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to say to him. He came a third time and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.’
Mark 14:32-42
Today is Ash Wednesday
This cartoon is in the Church Times this week:
SEI February 2021 Newsletter
Rev Alice Moira Grigor, who retired to Cromarty in 2015, died on 27 December 2020 aged 71. She served as Don Grant’s Diocesan Advisor during his training and Don writes of her:
“Her stories and examples of parish situations were a delight as well as being informative. She could talk for Britain, meaning that our meetings were never less than two hours and often more, though they were always too short.“
At her funeral on 8th January, Patsy Thompson, a neighbour and the Warden of Lay Readers in Moray, Ross and Caithness said:
“Priest, relative, neighbour, friend – in every role Moira was a true force of nature. Everyone who knew her emphasises her powerful energy and stamina, her courage, her generosity, her skill as a cook, her love of fine art and music, and her sense of style.“
Patsy has also said:
“Moira had enough energy to power the national grid. I miss a strong, vital theologian friend, someone to cross swords with about church and mission; someone who introduced me to Wentworth’s jigsaws and taught me how to do lockdown with a much better grace.“
You can read Rev Ann Tomlinson’s full piece about Moira and all the other news from the SEI in the February 2021 SEI Newsletter.
Scottish Episcopal Church - Dornoch, Lairg, Brora, Tain & Tongue 