Kiltarlity and Kirkhill Churches
News
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Vacancy Update - Sole NomineeFollowing the successful election of Rev. Dr Kobus Smit to the vacant charge of Kiltarlity and Kirkhill by the congregations of both Churches, and the acceptance by Rev. Dr Kobus Smit, the necessary administration procedure has now commenced. It is envisaged that Rev. Dr Kobus Smit’s induction, organised by Inverness Presbytery, will be in the early part of September 2010, which will be followed by Kobus commencing the Sunday services at both Churches in September.Rev. Dr Willis Jones has kindly offered to carry on officiating at all the Sunday services throughout July and August, with his last service being Sunday 29 August 2010. The Kirkhill Kirk Session at their meeting last Tuesday 6 July 2010, accepted this very generous offer on behalf of both Churches. Willis and Pat have indicated that they will vacate the Wardlaw Manse by 16 August 2010 and move their base to their flat in Nairn.  Sunday School Prize-GivingsKirkhill Sunday School concluded on Sunday 20 June. Margaret Birkbeck presented the children with books in acknowledgement and appreciation of their participation in the Sunday School programme. Willis also presented Margaret with a flower bouquet in thanks for all her dedication to the Kirkhill Sunday School.Kiltarlity Sunday School's prizegiving was on Sunday 27 June, with Pat presenting the prizes to the children. A bouquet was also presented to Pat in appreciation of all the support she has given to the Sunday School. Kiltarlity's last Sunday School of term will be on Sunday 4 July. Donation to the Wardlaw Church Refurbishment FundAvril Marr has very kindly agreed to donate 10% of her picture sales to the Wardlaw Church Refurbishment Fund during the Highlands Open Studios 2010 week. The ‘Art around the Firth’ week is 24 to 31 July 2010 inclusive. Avril’s studio is open between 10am and 5pm, and then 7pm to 9pm Monday to Saturday; and 12 noon to 5pm and 7pm to 9pm on the Sunday (25th). The studio is located at Eileanreach House, Newtonhill, IV3 8RN.Directions: Leave A862 (Beauly / Kiltarlity to Inverness road) at junction beside the gallery at Drumchardine (just before the Great North Inn). Follow the road as it winds uphill for about a mile, until you reach a staggered junction. Turn right, and Eilanreach House is the first property on the right hand side. Refreshments after Service - KirkhillOn Sunday 30 May, so many of the congregation in Kirkhill remained for tea and coffee that Suzie Dobson was led to observe "Wouldn't it be great to have refreshments after worship during these summer Sundays?" Suzie was willing to begin the experiment, with assistance from Lisa Quinn, Russell and Lucy Dobson. A rota has been prepared and placed on the bulletin board in the entry to the Kirkhill Church. You are invited to indicate which Sunday you would like to assist. The more the merrier! Our genuine thanks to those who have already helped, those who will help, and those who have stayed after church to enjoy the company of other members of the church. Any donations will be passed on to the Bana Trust.Kirkhill Gala Day - 30 MayOn Gala Sunday, 30 May, the Kirkhill Church was well filled as we blessed and inaugurated the launch of the Kirkhill Gala. Thanks aplenty to the members of the Celestial Choir and members of the SWRI Choir as they joined to sing two anthems entitled “Jubilate Deo” and “You Raise Me Up.” An ensemble from Kirkhill Primary School also sang “I'd Do Anything” and “Dreamer.” What beautiful young voices they were! It added real elegance and spirit to the occasion. Thanks to Rory Dobson and Alasdair Morrison for their guitar playing, Chris Watt for his puppetry and Chris Ford who directed the school choir and read one of the lessons of the day. Thanks also to our own Mary Robb for her delightful organ playing and her direction of the joint Celestial / SWRI choirs. It was a wonderful morning as church and community signalled that we belonged together and that we look forward to future opportunities for co-operative efforts.Notes from Kiltarlity and Kirkhill Deacons' Court and Kirk Session MeetingsA Joint Kirk Session meeting for both Kiltarlity and Wardlaw churches was held at Kiltarlity Church on 27 May 2010. A summary of matters discussed at this meeting can be found here.Summer Rally of the Inverness and Nairn Guild - 25 MayThe Summer Rally of the Inverness and Nairn Guild was held at Wardlaw Church on the evening of Tuesday 25 May, with representatives of all Guilds in thearea in attendance.Willis had invited Craig MacRitchie to play the pipes outside the church to welcome the Inverness and Nairn Guild committee and the congregation of approximately 150, and Craig’s piping was commented upon most favourably. Willis gave a welcoming address, and then handed over to the current Guild committee who conducted the rally. The guest speaker was the Christian author, Irene Howatt, who was extremely approachable, and who gave a most inspiring address on the theme "It’s not fair…" including a plea to support the various Guild projects. Mary Robb played the organ most beautifully, with the congregation in good voice. The service was followed by tea, sandwiches and home baking at the Kirkhill Community Centre – this was very well attended and enjoyed by all. Many sincere thanks to all who helped us to host this rally – helping during the church service, providing flower arrangements, supervising car parking at the church and the hall, setting up the hall, providing sandwiches and home baking, serving teas, washing up and sweeping up afterwards! The help of Beauly and Ness Bank Guilds in providing sandwiches and baking was very much appreciated. Quinquennial Report follow-up visit – 27 MayThree out of the original four representatives from the Inverness Presbytery made a follow up visit to meet the Deacons’ Court and Kirk Session from both churches at Kiltarlity, with the aim of establishing progress on recommendations made at the previous visits in September 2009. Again, both congregations were commended on progress in mission, outreach and giving. All recommendations had been carried out to the satisfaction of the committee.Rev. Reg Campbell, Interim Moderator, took the opportunity to voice concern over the quotes in the Inverness Courier attributed to one or two members of Inverness Presbytery on the subject of the ongoing vacancy, and the inferred status of that vacancy. Rev. Hugh Watt responded that the current Presbytery Plan states that all charges are to remain as is; however, this plan might have to be re-written by the Presbytery Reappraisal Committee should General Assembly proposals involving a reduction of 4 charges in Inverness be accepted. A letter had already been sent from Kirkhill asking for a member of Inverness Presbytery to meet with the two Kirk Sessions to explain the Presbytery Plan, and Rev. Reg Campbell agreed to liaise with Presbytery to arrange a date for this. New Manse CommitteeThere is a new dynamic Committee hard at work amongst us. It is the Manse Committee. There are two members from each congregation who are charged with the responsibility of bringing the recommendations of the Presbytery's Quinquennial Report to completion. The members from Kiltarlity are Ethna Ferguson and Hamish McLennan and from Kirkhill, John Finlayson and Iain Mortimer. They have been examining the Manse both inside and out in order to improve the condition of the Manse.Pentecost Sunday - 23 MayOn Sunday 23rd May, Pentecost Sunday, everybody turned up in red apparel!! As the birthday of the church, all worshippers were treated to birthday cake (Elizabeth McRae at Kirkhill and Cath MacRitchie at Kiltarlity), and wonderful refreshments. Thanks to all of those who made Pentecost 2010 a wonderful worship experience. Chrissanne MacLeod from Crown Church sang two Gaelic Psalms for us. The young people enacted the story of the first Pentecost for the congregation (Acts 2).'Open the Book Team'On Tuesday, 25 May, the "Open the Book Team" presented a Bible to Mrs Chris Ford, the head teacher at Kirkhill Primary School. The team have had a wonderful experience working within the school among both the staff and the pupils. Mrs Ford was unable to be present for the presentation but the Bible was given to the House Captains who were to relay it on to Mrs Ford.Calling Kirkhill Residents - Can you help?Would you consider getting involved with either of the possibilities outlined here?We now have a new sound system installed in the church, which offers improved quality of sound and the facility to record services onto CD. The system does, however, need someone to man the mixing desk during services. Ideally, we would like to establish a rota for this, involving as many interested individuals as possible. Training and support will be given, and you do not need to be an experienced audio technician to do this task. The more people involved, the less impact there is on members of the team being able to sit with their family and friends during worship. If you are interested in a short no-obligation demonstration of the system, please make yourself known to Iain Mortimer, Iain Marr or Rosemary Mortimer after service any Sunday. From time to time, we have a church service or social event that we would like to bring to the attention of Kirkhill and district residents. This can involve a “leaflet drop” – ie we put leaflets through letterboxes. An example would be an information sheet about Easter or Christmas services and events. A few Kirkhill members have already volunteered to deliver leaflets in their immediate area or road, but we really do need more leaflet delivery volunteers! Can you help, even for half a dozen letterboxes – probably 4 or 5 times a year. If you wouldn’t mind doing this, please speak to Rosemary or Iain. Many thanks in advance! Christian Aid WeekThe recent Christian Aid Week collection at Kirkhill amounted to £285 in total, with an extra £47.04 being added to this by means of tax reclaimed via Gift Aid. Many thanks to all who donated so generously.Kiltarlity Church AGMThe Annual General Meeting of Kiltarlity Church was held on Sunday 21 March, presided over by Rev. Willis Jones. A synopsis of the various reports that were presented can be read here.Kirkhill Church AGMThe Annual General Meeting of Kirkhill Church was held on Thursday 25 March. A synopsis of the various reports that were presented can be read here.Access through Tomnacross ChurchyardThe Cemeteries section of Highland Council, Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey are arranging to construct a path suitable for wheelchair access from the main car park through the churchyard to the main entrance of the church. Work is expected to be carried out as early as possible this year.Kiltarlity Church has undertaken to provide a disabled access to the church via the vestry door and will construct a hard surface path from the vestry door round to the main entrance, thereby linking up the two paths. 'Kirkhill' vs 'Wardlaw' Church!Readers may have noted that Kirkhill Church has been referred to as Wardlaw Church in the past few editions. This has come about following the research that was carried out for the sign writing of the new Church notice board. The old board, erected in the early 1960s, referred to the church building as Wardlaw Church. The book "The Kirk in Kirkhill" by C.I.M. Gair and Hugh Barron, published in 1990, makes mention of three places of worship in the Kirkhill parish. The three were: Wardlaw Church, St Mary’s Church and Bunchrew Mission Church.St Mary’s Church at Dukefield was originally built as a United Free Church in 1844, and rebuilt in 1909, and was known as Kirkhill Church. On 2 October 1929, a union between the United Free Church and the Church of Scotland was declared. This union of 1929 created a problem of nomenclature, now there were two churches of the same denomination within the parish. The U.F. Church decided to rename their building at Dukefield "St Mary’s" – a reference to the Gaelic name of the parish, "Sgire Mhoire," or "the parish of St Mary". St Mary’s was sold in 1975 for £5,000 and became a soap factory, and is now a successful art gallery, Inchmore Gallery. Bunchrew Mission Church was sold in August 1989, with planning permission for a change of use to a dwelling house. This just now leaves the one building, Wardlaw Church, as the sole church in the parish of Kirkhill. The book "The Kirk in Kirkhill" by C.I.M. Gair and Hugh Barron is available for purchase at £5 – see Maris Elkin. Kirkhill Elders and Their DistrictsAs mentioned in Willis’s letter, the Kirkhill elders will be visiting church members before the next Communion Sunday in May. The elders, with a rough approximation of their districts are listed below, but if further information is required, please contact Willis Jones, Maris Elkin or Rosemary Mortimer.
Kirkhill Parish Church – Proposed RenovationsA further update on the proposed additions/refurbishment to Kirkhill Church is available here. This contains more detail of what is being proposed and the associated costs. |
The Parishioner ArchivesThe July copy of The Parishioner is now available and can be downloaded here. Older versions are also available:
May
2010
April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 History of the Church of ScotlandOver the past few months we have been publishing a series of articles, sourced from the BBC, on the Church of Scotland. The full list of articles appears below:
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of Scotland 1
Church of Scotland 2 Church of Scotland 3 Church of Scotland 4 Church of Scotland 5 Church of Scotland 6 Church Flowers - KiltarlityYou may enjoy arranging flowers or wish to place flowers in the church for a special anniversary or occasion. Or you may prefer to donate flowers and have someone else to do the arranging.The flower list for 2010 is now on our church notice board for you to enter your name and telephone number against the dates of your choice. Flowers last well in the church and it is feasible to book a two week slot. New donors / arrangers are welcome. Any further information, please contact : Barbara Wilton (741352) or Marie Harvey (741328). A church key is available from Barbara Wilton if required. Grateful thanks to all our flower donors / arrangers who made our church welcoming with their beautiful flowers in 2009. Church Flowers - KirkhillIf you wish to put flowers in the Church on a particular Sunday that is special to you, please enter your name and telephone number against the date(s) of your choice on the flower list calendar for 2010 in the church vestibule. Anne Lyle can be contacted on 831453, if you wish her to choose and arrange your flowers. Alternatively you may give Anne money to buy flowers for “free” Sundays.Should you wish to deal with the flowers yourself, do remember that arrangements are lovely but a simple bunch in one of the church vases will be more than acceptable. Thank you to everyone who contributed with flowers or funds during the last year! The Kiltarlity and Kirkhill 'Celestial Choir' The members of the choir are: Debbie Ross, Avril Marr, Ethna Ferguson, Elizabeth Piesse, Marie Harvey, Margaret West, Pat Jones, Sarah Cameron, Mary Bell, Lynn Fraser, Julie Fraser, Margo Maclennan, Jacqui Wilton, Ellenor Thomas, Wilma Williamson, Maureen Matheson, Jean MacLean, Vivien Reid, Willis Jones, Ian Morrison, George Fraser, Malcolm Fraser, Jock Fraser. Kirkhill Parish HistoryThere are two new books on the Kirkhill parish history and the areas that surround it available for purchase. The books are compiled by Mr H. W. Harrison. Volume one covers the Parish, estates, infrastructure and occupations, whilst volume two covers the townships. The books cost £25 for each volume. Neither Kilmorack Heritage, who have agreed to act as the agent responsible for selling and ordering the books, or Mr Harrison, wish to make a profit from the books, so the Kirkhill Church Development Fund will benefit between £5 and £6 from the sale of each book. Please order from Jim Ogilvie, the Secretary of the Community Council, at 22 Newton Park, Kirkhill or telephone 831316. Please make your cheques payable to either Kirkhill and Bunchrew Community Council, or Kilmorack Heritage.Vacancy ProceduresNominating CommitteeKiltarlity
Web SiteThis web site for our churches was designed and set up by our Interim Moderator, Rev. Reg Campbell. It is now being maintained by a team of people across both churches and they would value any comments that you may have about it. A web site is always in the state of being further developed and it needs your input to make it truly worthwhile. If you have any suggestions for improvement or would simply like some news or events added then please contact any of the web site team listed on the Contacts page.
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