Following special collections for Tain Food Bank at St Finnbarr’s Dornoch and St Andrew’s Tain last Sunday a good amount of foodstuffs and a cash donation of £110 was offered by the congregations.
As one might expect, the food bank is increasingly busy (especially with fuel prices so high and people trying to factor in the Christmas season too). Further donations to the Food Bank are always welcome, but a big THANK YOU to all who have given so generously so far!
PRESS RELEASE FROM THE NATIONAL CHURCHES TRUST
ISSUE DATE: December 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Images: https://spaces.hightail.com/space/8y0EqKQsJC
St Andrew’s Episcopal Church in the Conservation Area of Tain, Scotland, is at risk of losing its bell tower unless urgent action is taken. After the belfry was inspected, wet rot was discovered – making the tower extremely unstable.
The decaying timbers have made the bell tower unsafe; indoor scaffolding has been swiftly erected to support the beams, but the main door of the church sadly cannot now be used.
As the weather gets worse, further deterioration of the tower is inevitable and it puts the incredible heritage inside this church at risk.
Thankfully, help is on hand. The much-loved Grade B church is to share in a £496,625 urgent funding pay-out from the National Churches Trust.
A £5,160 National Churches Trust Grant will help to pay for urgent repairs to the bell tower, ensuring the church can thrive today and tomorrow. The church also receives a £10,000 Wolfson Fabric Repair Grant from the Wolfson Foundation, on the recommendation of the National Churches Trust.
Once the belltower is made safe again, the St Andrew’s has plans to increase access to the church so that more people can visit the church and enjoy the wonderful heritage and local history the church has to share.
“The National Churches Trust is excited to be able to support St Andrew’s church to enable them to carry out urgent bell tower repairs to their building. Not only will this protect this important heritage, but it will help to keep the church building open and serving local people.”
“Whether seeking quiet reflection, access to community services or a place to worship, the National Churches Trust helps hundreds of churches each year and with the support of local people, keeps them thriving today and tomorrow.”
“St Andrew’s has wonderful heritage inside – including a unique collection of ‘Mousey’ furniture. Once the bell tower is made safe, we are excited for the plans that St Andrew’s has to welcome even more visitors to this historic church.”
“Churches sit in the heart of their communities and provide unrivalled support to local people. We are delighted to continue to partner with the National Churches Trust to help conserve and restore listed places of worship of outstanding historical and architectural significance, preserving these much-loved buildings for future generations to enjoy.”
Rev Canon James Currall, Priest-in-Charge of St Andrew’s, said:
“We are all very grateful to the National Churches Trust and the Wolfson Foundation for so generously helping us to safeguard our wonderful church for the benefit of current and future generations of worshippers and townspeople in Tain and the many who visit our historic Royal Burgh.”
“Members of our congregation, as well as a number of organisations and people in and around Tain have been very generous in helping us to raise a substantial amount of money and this additional significant grant will help towards closing the funding gap and restoring the tower.”
“Once the scaffolding has been removed, we look forward to developing the grounds to provide a prayer walk, with benches for people to pray or sit in quiet contemplation.”
The belltower will be made safe again. This will include dismantling the belfry – retaining the weather cock and bell and salvaging the slate where possible – and then replacing the beams and rebuilding the belfry to the original specification.
St Andrew’s church replaced an iron corrugated church built on the same plot in 1878. The present building was designed by Ross and Macbeth of Inverness in 1887, and it is situated in a beautiful conservation area.
Inside the church, you’ll find many treasures. This includes one of the few unaltered F Hamilton organs that dates back to 1914. There is also a unique collection of Mousey Thompson furniture from Robert Thompson of Yorkshire. These designs can be found on the lectern, the pulpit, the altar rail and even the screen behind the high altar itself. More on the Mousey collection here: https://episcopaldornochtain.org/tain-mousey-thompson/
Forty churches across the UK will stay open and in good repair thanks to £496,625 of funding awarded and recommended by the National Churches Trust in this latest round of grants. Find out about all the churches we’ve helped in this latest round of grants here.
In 2023, the National Churches Trust has so far made over 180 grant awards to churches throughout the United Kingdom, with funding totalling more than £1.4 million.
Moving into 2024, National Churches Trust will continue to help churches through our extensive grants programme. Grants are available for churches of any Christian denomination that are open for regular worship to fund urgent repairs, maintenance, installing toilets or kitchens and feasibility studies to develop projects. Full details are at: https://nationalchurchestrust.org/grants
Yesterday evening a packed St Andrew’s, Tain was treated to a stunning exhibition of virtuoso organ playing. Jamie Campbell was giving a recital to help raise funds for the St Andrew’s Belfry Tower repair appeal, and what a recital it was. Jamie introduced each set of pieces in his own informative and humorous style and I for one learned a great deal. (the programme can be found in this post)
The audience made up of people from 9 months to over 90 years old, listened spellbound to a varied programme of old favourites and newer pieces, including an improvisation on “Yes Jesus loves me” by Jamie himself composed in the last few days.
There were splendid refreshments at the interval when the kitchen team managed to get everyone fed and watered in a very short time,
Behind every good organist there has to be an attentive and organised page turner, and Molly did an excellent job, ensuring that each score was ready when it was needed and turning the page at the merest nod from Jamie.
To cap it all almost £800 was added to the repair appeal.
An enormous thank you to Jamie and Molly, to everyone who helped to get things ready, keep things running smoothly and clear away afterwards – these things don’t just happen – and to all those who came along and contributed so generously.
The ceremonies and commemoration on Remembrance Sunday take a wide variety of forms in different communities.
In Tain this morning we started with an Act of Remembrance and two minutes silence at 11am and after our Eucharist, joined the parade from the Parish Church to the war memorial in the Collegiate Church where many wreaths were laid.
This afternoon in Brora we prayed for peace and for healing.
Over two hundred people gathered at the war memorial in Dornoch this morning to remember the fallen. As a testament to all that unites us, leaders from the four churches in Dornoch led the service together.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
A fantastic Autumn Concert at St Finnbarr’s Dornoch last night! A great band of musicians and a super audience made for a lovely warm glow on a cold November evening – we had to turn the heating off – in a church in northern Scotland – who knew? Thanks to all who took part and to those who came to watch – God bless you Xx
On Thursday 26th October, the Lord Lieutenant of Ross-shire unveiled a Blue Plaque on the House in Esther Place in Tain where the architect Andrew Maitland lived for 40 years whilst he designed a large number of civic and domestic buildings in Tain and around Sutherland and Ross-shire.
The proceedings in St Andrew’s Church started with a talk and film about Andrew Maitland and his sons by Hamish Mackenzie, the author of a book on the Maitlands work (A Highland Legacy: The Maitlands of Tain). Maitland designed the Sheriff Court, the Royal Hotel, the Parish Church, Tain Station, the Tain Picture House, Knockbreck Primary School and many of the larger domestic houses in the Tain district.
The talk was followed by refreshments and fellowship amongst the 40+ members of the audience, who then made their way down Hill Street to Esther Place for the unveiling.
It was a very uplifting event and the rain thankfully held off and umbrellas were not needed.
ST FINNBARR’S CHURCH, DORNOCH – Tuesday 17th October at 12 noon
The Scottish Episcopal College of Bishops has endorsed a call from the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem for a day of prayer and fasting tomorrow for the situation in the Holy Land.
The College’s statement reads as follows:
The College of Bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church today echoed a call from the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, along with the Anglican Communion, for a global day of prayer and fasting on Tuesday 17 October.
The Primus, the Most Rev Mark Strange backed the call saying: “I know that across the Scottish Episcopal Church in recent days many have prayed for an end to violence, have prayed for healing for the wounded and traumatised, and have prayed for the dead in this conflict. I commend Archbishop Hosam’s request, alongside the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, for a global day of prayer and fasting tomorrow.
“I will be attending my local church to pray. And the College requests that those who feel able to do so also make space in their day to pray so that in the words of our brother in Christ Archbishop Hosam: ‘we can pray together with one heart and spirit.'”
ALL ARE ENCOURAGED TO COME ALONG TO ST FINNBARR’s AT 12 NOON TOMORROW!
Scottish Episcopal Church - Dornoch, Lairg, Brora, Tain & Tongue 