'Inspirational' Highland presbytery visit for Moderator

Highland church members are "inspiring" in the way they show the extravagant love of God, the Moderator of the General Assembly has said.

Rt Rev Rosie Frew said she was "humbled and excited" to see first-hand how they serve their communities and share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

She made the remarks after completing the second leg of her Cleir Eilean Ì presbytery tour, which provided her the opportunity to offer encouragement to church members and the different groups, projects and businesses they support.

Mrs Frew, who was joined by her husband Dave, said: "Our two visits to Cleir Eilean Ì have been enjoyable and inspirational.

"We were accompanied on both ‘road trips' by presbytery moderator Rev Janet MacKellar and we've gone from being complete strangers to great friends.

"The presbytery is very fortunate to have someone with such passion and commitment at the helm for the year ahead."

The Moderator's itinerary in brief.

Day one

• Starting point was Kingussie Parish Church where the linked congregations of Kingussie, Laggan and Newtonmore gathered to celebrate 100 years since the rebuilding of the church following a fire in 1924.

Day two

• A visit to Highland Hospice in Inverness to meet staff and volunteers followed by lunch with staff and volunteers at Inverness Foodstuffs, which works to address homelessness, food poverty, social isolation and food waste.

• The Moderator met members of Ness Bank and Old High St Stephen's churches to hear about their aspirations for the future and later staff at Beechwood House and Nevis House, drug and alcohol recovery centres run by CrossReach, the operating name of the Church's Social Care Council.
• She attended a civic reception in Inverness Town Hall hosted by Provost Glynis Campbell-Sinclair who welcomed representatives of local churches, businesses and charities along with local councillors. It was an opportunity to say 'thank you' to all who serve the local community in elected office and by volunteering.

Day three

• The Moderator visited Nairn Old Parish Church and St Ninian's Church to learn more about two new outreach projects. One addresses food waste though the Foodnest, a store with a fridge for surplus produce which can be accessed by the community anytime between 8am and 8pm. The second is a community garden being developed in the extensive church grounds with a learning space for sharing and teaching skills.
• A visit to West Moray Church in Moray to hear about a union of eight churches into a new team ministry with an urban and a rural minister along with mission churches, followed by dinner with members of the presbytery who gathered in Strathpeffer for their annual in-person meeting.

Day four

• A second presbytery meeting with online participation and the guest speaker was Rev Tommy MacNeil, minister of Martin's Memorial Church in Stornoway, who used the story of Jairus to inspire, challenge and encourage members,
• Rev Ken Ross, a Church of Scotland mission partner assigned to Clèir Eilean Ì and based at Zomba Theological University in Malawi where he serves as Professor of Theology and Dean of Postgraduate Studies, was a guest online speaker. The presbytery has raised £3,000 to sponsor a theology student in Zomba and he talked of the importance of training transformative leaders for the church and wider society and how financial support will allow the student to focus fully on their studies.

Day five

• A Guild get together in Lochcarron as members from as far afield as Caithness, Skye, Dingwall, Alness and Dornoch gathered for fellowship, food and worship.
• Mrs Frew and Mrs MacKellar spoke about their respective paths to ministry and experiences on the way.

The Moderator said she was warmly welcomed everywhere she went.

"We were humbled and excited to see the church in action in so many different ways, and communities coming together to care for the most vulnerable," she said.

"Most moving were the trips to the rehab centres - King's Court in Tighnabruaich and the CrossReach centres in Inverness.

"These projects made me so proud of the love, care and compassion shown by followers of Jesus.

"We've celebrated long service and commitment and we've heard of the particular challenges of rural ministry, multiple linkages and a presbytery that covers 42% of the land mass of Scotland.

"These challenges are being faced with determination and creativity.

"In Inverness, the Provost laid on a civic reception and we were able to express our thanks to many church leaders, charity workers and elected representatives for their service.

"I've handed out postcards everywhere I've gone reminding everyone of God's extravagant love for them and encouraging them to show that love creatively and imaginatively to neighbours nearby and far away."

Mrs MacKellar said it was "encouraging and inspiring" to travel around the Highlands with the Moderator and her husband.

"Each and every church, charity and project we visited so clearly demonstrated the mantra ‘you matter' to those they serve," she added.

"From the Highland Hospice to the little food shed in the garden of Nairn Old, people were sharing the love of God to all people, some of whom had found themselves in difficult and challenging times.

"Our thanks go to the Provost and Highland Council who allowed us to say ‘thank you' to so many of those congregations and charities serving the Highlands."

Mrs MacKellar said the Moderator's attendance at the annual Presbytery conference in Strathpeffer was a source of encouragement.

"We gathered to share with one another our joys and challenges and to listen to our keynote speaker, Rev Tommy MacNeill, who inspired us to consider ‘what have you got?," she explained.

"Then he told us, ‘just take what you have, your five loaves and your two fish and put them before God and watch him perform miracles'.

"Little is much when God is in it."

The Moderator visited the Argyll and Lochaber areas of the presbytery in July.