On the the eve of the Coronation – 5th May 2023

Service of Prayer and Praise 

on the the eve of the Coronation

Their Majesties Charles and Camilla

The clergy and congregation of

St Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Tain

invite you to join us on

Friday 5th May

at 7:30pm

to pray for Their Majesties

and for all who have roles in the 

Coronation Ceremonies

at

Westminster Abbey

Waiting and Watching

After the remembrance of the Last Supper at which +Mark washed the feet of members of the congregation, we moved to the Garden where we wtched and waited with our Lord.

This morning we walk the way of the Cross in Ardgay/Bonar Bridge in witness to His Passion, we reflect on His final hour in Brora this afternoon and this evening we relive His Passion again in Tain in a service of Tenebrae, with Communion from the Reserved Sacrament.

Walk of Witness on Good Friday (7th April)

The walk will consist of Eight stops, with a variable amount of walking between them. There is room for at least a few cars at each stops and so it will be possible for those who cannot or do not wish to walk the whole route to participate by adjusting the amount of walking required to suit their needs.

The walk will start in the car park adjacent to Kincardine Church in Ardgay and will end at Creich Church in Bonar Bridge, where there will be Hot Cross buns and tea/coffee available. The walk itself will commence at 10:15am and we should arrive at Creich Church by about 11:50am.

At each stop, there will be a Reading from Scripture, a short Reflection and a Prayer As we leave heading towards the next stop, we’ll sing a hymn. We will carry a large rough wooden cross throughout the walk.

The stops are as follows (time are rather approximate):

  • Kincardine Church car park (@10:15)
  • Ardgay Hall car park (@10:35)
  • Drover’s stone near Ardgay Station (@10:45)
  • ‘Stonehenge’ just the Ardgay side of the Bridge(@11:10)
  • Garden adjacent to the Caley Cafe(@11:20)
  • Car Park behind the Bonar Health Centre(@11:30)
  • Grassy area just beyond the Bradbury Centre(@11:40)
  • Creich Church car park(@11:50)

Services for Holy Week and Easter

DateTimePlaceService
Palm Sunday
2nd April
8:30am
11am
11am
4 pm
Lairg
Dornoch
Tain
Brora
Liturgies of the Palms and Passion
Liturgies of the Palms and Passion
Liturgies of the Palms and Passion
Liturgies of the Palms and Passion
Holy Monday
3rd April
10am
7pm
Zoom + Tain
Dornoch
Morning Prayer & Reflection (SPB)
Stations of the Cross
Holy Tuesday
4th April
10am
7pm
Zoom + Tain
Brora
Morning Prayer & Reflection (SPB)
Evening Prayer and Benediction
Holy Wednesday
5th April
9am
10:30am
7pm
Zoom + Tain
Dornoch
Tain
Morning Prayer (SPB)
Eucharist & Reflection
Stations of the Cross
Maundy Thursday
6th April
9am
7pm
Zoom + Tain
Dornoch
Tain
Morning Prayer (SPB)
Mass of the Lord’s Supper
followed by the Watch in the Garden
Good Friday
7th April
9am
10:30am
2pm
7pm
Zoom + Tain
Bonar/Ardgay
Brora
Tain
Morning Prayer (SPB)
Walk of Witness
Good Friday Reflections
RS Communion + Tenebrae
Holy Saturday
8th April
10am
8pm
Zoom + Tain
Tain
Morning Prayer (SPB)
Easter Vigil & First Mass of Easter
Easter Day
9th April
8:30 am
11am
11am
4 pm
Lairg
Dornoch
Tain
Brora
Easter Eucharist
Easter Eucharist
Easter Eucharist
Easter Eucharist

For the Zoom details if you wish to attend weekday Morning Prayer online, contact Canon James

World Day of Prayer – tomorrow 3rd March 2023

Original Artwork by Hui-Wen

May God give us the wisdom and courage to tell the stories of faith that transform lives. 

Services

BroraSt Columba’s Episcopal Church, Victoria Road, Brora2:00pm
DornochOversteps Care Home, Earls Cross Road, Dornoch

West Church Hall, Sutherland Road, Dornoch
11:00am

2:00pm
Tain AreaKilmuir & Logie Easter Church Of Scotland, on the B817 at Kilmuir3:00pm
LairgLairg Church of Scotland, Church Hill, Lairg7:00pm

All are Welcome at any of these services

For once you were darkness,
but now in the Lord you are light.
Live as children of light – for the fruit of the light
is found in all that is good and right and true.

Ephesians 5:8-9

Ash Wednesday Services – 22nd February 2023

Ash Wednesday Eucharists next week on 22nd February 2023, where the imposition of ashes will be available for those who wish, will be held as follows:

  • 10:30am – St Finnbarr’s, Dornoch
  • 6:00pm – St Andrew’s, Tain

Both services will be followed with a short introduction to the Lent Self-Study materials (“Opening the scriptures: setting our hearts on fire”) for those that are interested.

(Please note that there will be NO Thursday midweek service at St Andrew’s, Tain on 23rd February)

World Day of Prayer – 3rd March 2023

Original Artwork by Hui-Wen

I Have Heard about your Faith

I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power” 

(Ephesians 1:15-19)

May God give us the wisdom and courage to tell the stories of faith that transform lives. 

One of the World Day of Prayer Guiding Principles is that ‘Prayer is rooted in listening to God and to one another‘.

The theme of the worship service “I Have Heard About Your Faith,” based on the letter to the Ephesians, is an invitation to active listening, which is the ground of our prayers. Following the example of the letter (1:15-19), where the author praises the church for their faith in Jesus and love toward all the saints, the service this year makes this personal through the witness of the saints with stories from the lives of women in Taiwan.   

The service shares the letters of encouragement sent to women who faced suffering and injustice. Their stories of faith concern issues that are shared by women and girls around the world and that continue to challenge us to prayerful action. They remind us of the urgency to protect the environment and have a nuclear-free homeland; to be aware of the gender stereotypes women face when challenging the traditional role in the workplace or in the family, and to care for the healing of the victims of verbal and sexual abuse.

It also encourages us to think about the hidden struggle of the essential workers, who during the pandemic, had to balance work and family in a vulnerable economic situation both in Taiwan and elsewhere. The sisters, who prepared the service, thank God for the natural resources of their island and pray for wisdom in face of the political isolation of Taiwan in the international community. They ask for our prayers. 

Services Locally

BroraSt Columba’s Episcopal Church, Victoria Road, Brora2:00pm
DornochOversteps Care Home, Earls Cross Road, Dornoch

West Church Hall, Sutherland Road, Dornoch
11:00am

2:00pm
Tain AreaKilmuir & Logie Easter Church Of Scotland, on the B817 at Kilmuir3:00pm
LairgLairg Church of Scotland, Church Hill, Lairg7:00pm

All are Welcome at any of these services

For once you were darkness,
but now in the Lord you are light.
Live as children of light – for the fruit of the light
is found in all that is good and right and true.

Ephesians 5:8-9

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 18-25 January 2023

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is traditionally observed from the 18th to the 25th January – the octave of St. Peter and St. Paul. It is also customary to have at least one service to which Christians from all Churches and Fellowships are invited.

Accordingly there will be a service in St Andrew’s Church in Tain at 3pm on Wednesday 25th January.

St Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Manse Road, Tain

Wednesday 25th January at 3pm

All welcome to join together in Unity

For this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity we are guided by the churches of Minneapolis as we seek to explore how the work of Christian unity can contribute to the promotion of racial justice across all levels of society. Through this resource, the CTBI writers’ group has also focussed our attention on the 30th anniversary of the murder of Stephen Lawrence, which falls this year. The work of restoring hope through justice undertaken in Stephen’s memory continues to inspire and change lives for the better.

As we join with other Christians around the world for the Week of Prayer we pray that our hearts will be open to see and hear the many ways in which racism continues to destroy lives, and to discern the steps we can take as individuals and communities to heal the hurts and build a better future for everyone.

Services on Sunday 1st January

On New Year’s Day – the Feast of the Naming of Jesus,
there will be just two services:

8:30am at St Maelrubha’s, Lairg (in Lairg Parish Church)

11:00am a Joint service at St Finnbarr’s, Dornoch.

There will be no service at St Andrew’s, Tain

Malcolm Guite wrote this lovely sonnet to mark the Feast of the Naming of Jesus:

I name you now, from whom all names derive
Who uttered forth the name of everything,
And in that naming made the world alive,
Sprung from the breath and essence of your being.
The very Word that gave us words to speak,
You drank in language with your mother’s milk
And learned through touch before you learned to talk,
You wove our week-day world, and still one week
Within that world, you took your saving name,
A given name, the gift of that good angel,
Whose Gospel breathes in good news for us all.
We call your name that we might hear a call
That carries from your cradle to our graves
Yeshua, Living Jesus, Yahweh Saves.

Malcolm Guite – From his collection “Parable and Paradox” published by Canterbury Press