Parish Fundraising Golf Day

Meal and Prizes: Saturday 5th October

There has always been a strong link between the Church and Golf in Dornoch and we are very grateful to have access to Royal Dornoch’s Struie Course for a fund-raising golf day in aid or Parish funds. You get a bacon roll on arrival and a meal after golf. There are numerous fourball prizes plus a £500 prize for the first Hole in One. Also, you get your Golf, plus a Meal & Prizes for £70 (Teams of four £280) when the green fee is normally £90. Start getting your team organised and Saturday 5th October in your diary.

For more information: John McMurray, email address johnmcmurray1400@gmail.com, Mob 07801496609

[for application form click here]

Nomination Committee (elected to be responsible for the search for a permanent parish minister)

On Sunday, 7th July 2024, at a Congregational Meeting, the following people were elected on to the Nomination Committee for Dornoch Firth Church of Scotland, with office bearers appointed as noted at their first meeting held on the 9th July.
We wish them every blessing in their task ahead and ask that you keep them in your prayers.

John Calder ( Convenor)
Alasdair Mackay (Vice-Convenor)
Ann Creed (Clerk)
Morag Macaskill
Carol MacLean
Jeani Hunter
Willie MacKay
Kim McCarthy
Susan Messem
John Gunn
Rhona Macaskill
Mhairi Mackay
Tracy Aldridge-Russell

While the Nomination Committee begins its work, Carol Anne continues her ministry as our much appreciated locum minister. We hope that she finds refreshment and rest in her holidays and we look forward to her return.

Notice to appoint Nominating Committee

The following notice was read out at yesterday’s service (Sunday 23/6/24) and will also be read next Sunday:

Notice is hereby given that a meeting of this congregation of the Dornoch Firth Church of Scotland will be held in Dornoch Cathedral on Sunday July 7th at the close of morning worship for the purpose of appointing a Nominating Committee. The service will commence at 11am as usual.
At that meeting, the congregation shall be invited to elect 11-13 people, who are on the Electoral Roll of this congregation of Dornoch Firth Church of Scotland to serve on the Nominating Committee. If you wish to propose anyone to serve on the Committee you may do so at the meeting providing the person has indicated a willingness to serve. Any candidate must have a seconder.
The first meeting of the Nominating Committee is scheduled to take place on Tuesday 9th July at 7:00 pm in the West Church Hall.

The task of the Nominating Committee will be to take responsibility for all the administration, researching of applications, listening to possible candidates whilst preaching and then to nominate one person to this congregation of Dornoch Firth Church of Scotland to be the new minister.

I encourage all members and adherents on the Electoral Roll to attend.

Rev Alistair Drummond

Interim Moderator

WORSHIP ACROSS DORNOCH FIRTH CHURCH OF SCOTLAND PARISH

Minister Led Services across the parish in July

CONCERT: Restoring Scaramella – The Hortus Choir

On Friday, 21st June at 7.30pm in Dornoch Cathedral.  Doors open at 7pm:  ALL WELCOME

Dornoch Cathedral is the venue for a most special musical performance of Obrecht’s Scaramella mass, written in the late 15th century, by the Hortus Choir. Only two of the four voice parts survives intact, the other two having been lost.
However, composer and musicologist Fabrice Fitch, drawing on his extensive knowledge of the music of the time, has painstakingly reconstructed the mass although not precisely as Obrecht originally wrote.
Hortus is a new choir singing one voice per part and specialising in early music. We are very proud to present in this programme the first time that this mass has been heard in the UK for at least 525 years (or possibly ever!).

Royal Troon Open Tickets Donation

A generous Royal Dornoch member has donated 2 tickets for Thursday 18th July. A ticket for Thursday would normally costs £95 but none are available – SOLD OUT.

The anonymous donor wishes the money to go towards supporting Dornoch Cathedral. There is transport direct from Glasgow to The Open.

Email your bid to whookmackay@gmail.com with a closing date Tuesday 25th June unless an exceptionally high offer is made.

Cathedral Concert by Badenoch Chorale

Badenoch Chorale are performing in Dornoch Cathedral on Sunday 9th June at 6.30pm.
Entry by donation to Cathedral Funds.

DORNOCH FIRTH: WHERE ARE WE NOW?

A lot of background work has been going on in the new Parish over the last few months. The new Kirk Session has met 4 times and the webpage and Facebook page have been amended to show the name of our new Parish, a logo has been agreed (as below) and new email addresses for the Session Clerk Team and the Treasurer have been completed.  Finance accounts have been merged and a committee structure is being developed so that everyone can play their part. The Electoral Roll has been completed. A Parish Profile is being prepared.

The Kirk Session voted at their meeting on the 22nd April to depart from the Church of Scotland’s position on Ministers in a Civil Partnership or Same Sex Marriage Act 1 2015.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Our next stage is to seek a new minister of Word and Sacrament.
A Nominating Committee of 13 will be appointed in the next few weeks and you are asked to give prayerful consideration around who might be suitable for this role.

The finalised Parish Profile will be circulated to the Kirk Session and to Presbytery for comments in the next few weeks. Once this is done an edict will be read to the congregation on 2 separate weeks, after which the Nominating Committee will be formed.
A Vision and Mission Statement is being prepared.

HOW WILL A NOMINATING COMMITTEE BE FORMED?

The Committee will be formed from representatives from all 3 former parishes. There has to be an odd number on the Committee, up to a maximum of 13. Candidates must be on our Electoral Roll, agree to stand and have a proposer and a seconder, who are also on the roll. There will be a Congregational Meeting held to elect representatives.

Rev. Alistair Drummond will take over as Interim Moderator on 3 June 2024

We hope this information sheet will be helpful in keeping you up to date in our procedure to appoint a new minister to Dornoch Firth Church of Scotland.

GIFT DAY FRIDAY 31st MAY 10.30am – 3pm in DORNOCH CATHEDRAL

Dornoch Cathedral is not only a place of worship and a sanctuary for many, it is much much more than that. Irrespective of whether or not you attend services, for many of you it’s where you were married, where your children were baptised and where you expect your funeral service to be. It’s a concert venue, it’s been a graduation venue for the UHI, it’s the place where the schools come to for their Christmas service, it’s the heart of the town.

For those of who are saying that it’s none of those things to them, keep reading….

The Cathedral is one of the main visitor attractions in the town. It attracts literally thousands of visitors annually. These thousands of visitors are the people who stay in your accommodation, eat in your cafes and restaurants, drink in your bars and buy goods and souvenirs from your shops.

If the Cathedral were not open as a place of worship it would be shut, end of story. Nobody would buy it or take it on as it is so expensive to run and, because it’s a grade A listed building, it would be almost impossible to get permission to alter or to get a change of use granted.

We are in the sad position of running on empty financially.

Does that threaten the future of the Cathedral? As a Church community no, it doesn’t, we have another building that we can use.

Does it threaten the Cathedral as a building, as a community resource, as a visitor attraction, as a concert venue? Yes, it most certainly does.

As you will know we have been without a permanent minister for some years now. We are now in a position to advertise for a permanent full time minister – except that the permission to do this is threatened by our financial position. Even if permission to advertise is upheld, it would be rare minister who would apply to a church in such a poor financial position.

Currently the Cathedral costs £394 PER DAY to keep open.

Our regular current income is £247 PER DAY.

We are looking at a shortfall of just over £53,000 for 2024.

Our new fundraising committee are working hard to narrow this gap but we need you to help.

Please consider coming along to Gift Day on Friday 31st May in the Cathedral, 10.30am to 3pm, and giving what you can. Teas, coffees, cakes and fellowship will be waiting for you.

If you can’t join us, you can give online by bank transfer to Dornoch Firth Church of Scotland, sort code 80-06-36, account number 06002380, reference Gift Day, or by sending a cheque made out to Dornoch Firth to Kim McCarthy, Gashagaich, Dornoch, IV25 3NH.

Or donate online here (please choose ‘Gift Day’ when you post your contribution – thanks.)

Donate

If a financial contribution isn’t possible, please consider helping us fundraise with either ideas, practical help or moral support – come along for a tea or coffee anyway, you will be most welcome.

Dornoch Firth News for June/July 2024

£1 for a packed Parish News. Read of our Easter & 800 Years celebrations. See Master Chef at Meikle. Get updated about the progress within the Kirk Session and all the news and pictures of the Jungle Book concert, BBs, as well as the visit we had from the Moderator, Sally Foster-Fulton. YES all for only £1 this Sunday.
Available at the Cathedral.