This morning, after the two minutes silence, Church bells will ring out at St Finnbarr’s Dornoch, St Andrew’s Tain, St John’s Arpafeelie, Fearn Abbey, Nigg Old Church, Dornoch Cathedral and other Churches across the region, as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of VE Day.
Bishop Mark writes:
I was minded last week to make a personal call to the Lead Chaplain at the NHS Louisa Jordan Hospital in Glasgow, Canon Iain Macritchie, writes Bishop Mark Strange, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church.
Canon Iain is one of the clergy in my diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness, and is also a good friend. I wanted to thank him and his colleagues for all the work they were doing in very difficult circumstances. I spoke to him about the churches’ response to the situation and received his letter of thanks to us, which appears below.
Please hear what is being asked of us. As Bishop Kevin said in his sermon on Sunday: “We have closed our churches out of love, not out of fear.” We need to do as we are asked, stay isolated and do our best to beat this virus.
Dear Bishop Mark
I write to express the gratitude of the Scottish Government for the exemplary lead taken by the Scottish Episcopal Church in these challenging times.
The SEC has consistently responded to the advice being given with appropriate and responsible actions and, in doing this, has set a good example for other faith and belief groups to follow.
Specifically, the SEC was one of the first faith communities to instruct the suspension of gathering together for acts of worship. We realise that this has come at no small cost to theological principles but we also see the rich discoveries of other ways of worshiping together and, in particular, we see the valuing of human life and the understanding that care previously expressed by gathering and contact must now be expressed by social distancing.
It is hard to over-estimate the ongoing risk of contagion that, for example, a simple visit to the supermarket represents. The Scottish Government advice is that we limit such contacts to the absolute minimum and the strictly necessary. In doing so, quite simply, we save lives.
With this in mind, can I encourage you, please, to use whatever influence you have as Primus, to thank in particular the clergy of the SEC at this time, for the hard sacrifices that are being made in continuing to have their church buildings closed and in desisting from gathering for worship.
Now is absolutely not the time to be easing these restrictions.
By keeping on doing what we are doing, we continue to value and preserve life and we continue to set the best of examples to our fellow faith communities in Scotland.
With warm good wishes
Beannachdan
Rev Canon Dr Iain Macritchie
Canon for Spiritual Care and Healthcare Chaplains
Scottish Government Advisor on Spiritual Care
“Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ … Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, ‘So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:36, 40-41)
Today is Maundy Thursday, when Jesus met with His Disciples and shared a Last Supper with them. Normally on Maundy Thursday, we meet for a very moving service in one of our Churches and we do a number of things that commemorate that last evening together:
“During supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.” (John 13:3-5)
“While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:26-28)
“Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ … Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, ‘So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:36, 40-41)
The first two of these we can only do when we can be together, but the third is something that we can all do at home – watch and wait and pray with Jesus in His anguish. Normally some of the congregation would gather in St Andrew’s Hall and pray silently in front of the small altar on which the Sacrament is placed, surrounded by greenery and candles.
Tonight, Simon and I will both celebrate the Last Supper alone in one of our Churches, “with the people on our hearts”, but at 9pm, we invite each of you to join us sitting in a suitably prepared space with greenery and candles, to pray quietly for one hour. Praying for our families, our friends, our neighbours, our governments, those who work in the NHS and in other essential services and particularly those in our land and far away who are anxious, unwell or grieving. Pray also for yourselves.
Following the directive from Boris Johnson this evening (23rd March) and updated guidance from the College of Bishops, our Churches will no longer be open to the public for either services or private prayer. So from now on we must all pray at home.
O ALMIGHTY and merciful God, with whom are the issues of life and death: Grant us, we beseech thee, help and deliverance in this time of grievous sickness and mortality, and sanctify to us this affliction, that in our sore distress we may turn our hearts unto thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
ALMIGHTY God, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ went about doing good, and healing all manner of sickness and disease among the people: Continue, we beseech thee, his gracious work among us in all hospitals and infirmaries; console and heal the sufferers; grant to the physicians, surgeons, and nurses, wisdom and skill, sympathy and patience; prosper their work, O Lord, with thy continual blessing; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Sunday is Mothering Sunday and I’ve spent the last two days distributing Mothering Sunday Posies, and you know it would have been worth it for just one of the smiles returned by those who received one, but I’ve had dozens of smiles and feel so blessed.
For the fit and healthy, there are posies in St Andrew’s, Tain and St Finnbarr’s, Dornoch, so please feel free to drop by at some time on Sunday (between 10am and 4pm), to offer a prayer and pick one up (whilst stocks last:-)
Must rush as I have to go out round and about again, no handshakes, no cups of coffee, just a brief chat and a beaming smile at the door – God Bless.
World Day of Prayer services in Brora, Dornoch, Lairg and Tain on Friday. Wonderful ecumenical gatherings that engaged creatively with the material prepared by the Christian Women of Zimbabwe. Prayerful, reflective, thoughful, joyous and uplifting are all words that could be applied to the three services that I was at. Not to mention the food and fellowship that was shared after each of the services. A huge thanks to all those who organised the services, took part in them and most of all to the Christian Woman of Zimbabwe.
Lent has now begun. However, in anticipation of Lent, last night we had a splendid pancake feast, with a challenging quiz to keep us amused, perplexed and stretched between pancakes: Patron Saints, pancake facts, knots, geology and pancakes around the world – no-one was an expert in all of these.
Thanks to the quiz setters, the batter mixers, cooks and all who brought goodies to share.
This week there have been lots of candles:
Firstly there have been single candles, signifying Christ – Light of the World, reminding us of who’s we are and who we serve.
At the Hub service we meditated on Light, surrounded by many candles and were each individually blessed with a candle to take as a symbol of our calling to be a light in the world and to share Christ’s light.
At Candlemas services today in Lairg, Dornoch, Tain and Brora we reflected on the same theme, blessed the candles that we will use this year and were each blessed as we held our own individual candle and then took it home a Light to dispel darkness and fear from our lives, a light to enlighten our minds, a light to brighten dull days and show each of us the path we must travel.
(NB – if these candles arranged on the floor at the Hub resemble the flag of any group of nations, it’s entirely unintended)
Scottish Episcopal Church - Dornoch, Lairg, Brora, Tain & Tongue 