“We are God’s masterpiece, created anew in Christ Jesus to do the good things he has planned” (Ephesians 2:10)

Welcome to the home of Kirkhill and Kiltarlity Churches. We are two rural congregations in the Highlands who are committed to living in the love of Jesus and making that love known to all in our communities. We are a family who love having fun together and honouring God in the way we live.

Our Sunday morning services are at:

• 10am in Wardlaw Church in Kirkhill
• 11.30am at Kiltarlity Church in Kiltarlity

Listen to recent sermons.

Download the latest edition of The Anchor (Autumn 2016).

Message from our Minister – Rev. Jonathan Humphrey

We have been blessed with some really warm and sunny late summer weather these last weeks, so I feel a bit reluctant to proclaim that autumn has arrived! On the other hand it does seem a long time since early July when Kate and I were in Italy with our older son. Compared with holidaying in the UK, going abroad for your holidays usually means focusing a bit more on signs, especially if you are driving.

But even when signs are in a language we can understand they can sometimes be unintentionally humorous (see photo on the left), or confusing if a mistake has been made (as in this one on the right). Occasionally what is written on the sign can be clear enough but the meaning is not clear as in the photo of the road signs lower down.

Over the next few months our churches have been asked by Inverness Presbytery to put together our five year action plan. We are busy getting started on this task and plan to hold congregational meetings in Kirkhill 2.15pm-4.30pm Sunday 9th October, and at the Kiltarlity village hall from 11.30am on Sunday 30th October. These meetings are an opportunity for our congregations to get together and contribute to the plans. The lessons from these road signs is that we need to be as clear as we can be about setting our objectives. We don’t want to be vague and ambiguous and we want to reflect as best we can what God is saying to us at this time. One of the scriptures I have been reflecting on a lot recently is Proverbs 29: 18. In the Authorised version (aka the King James Version) of the bible, this passage reads: “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he”. The word “perish” here in today’s terms would mean something like – “losing it.” Or “to lose the plot!” In the English Standard Version of the Bible, the word “vision” is rendered – “Prophetic Vision (or revelation).” I think this is more than just semantics and believe God is saying something important to us here………………

Our plans must be guided by His vision – the specific things that He says we should be doing in these next years. We could try to do things on our own, but I’m sure it wouldn’t be long until we “lose the plot”! So we need to connect with God’s plans for our communities and parishes.

I would encourage you to pray, and if you are able, join with others in prayer on Monday nights in Kirkhill Church at 7.30pm. This prayer time is for both churches, and it would be great to see both represented. Also come to the congregational meetings and share what God has placed on your heart for our churches, not just for the next 5 years, but for the next 10, or 20. This is about more than just maintaining what we do now. It’s asking how best the church engages with our communities, so that we are thriving in 20 years time. As we are challenged by Psalm 78: 4, let’s all be part of:

“telling the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord”

Jonathan