Dear Friends,
It is now customary I suppose that I write a few words to the Congregation after the Stated Annual Meeting which was held on Wednesday evening 21st February 2024. The Stated Annual Meeting is always a good opportunity for us all to take stock of the year that has passed and also to look forward to the year that lies before us as well. This year it was gratifying to see many more coming to the S.A.M compared to last year when poor weather badly affected the turnout. It was with deep gratitude to God that the Congregational Trustees presented the accounts for 2023. We are particularly thankful that, despite the financial pressures that have come to bear during the past year, that the level of Congregational income has remained remarkably steady.
Once again we were taken through the Congregation’s accounts by our treasurer, Angus Macsween, whose expertise and dedication to the role is invaluable to us as a congregation. Congregational income is remarkably similar to last year, with total income from all sources amounting to £82,013. I don’t propose to go into any great detail of this year’s accounts, as there will be printed copies of the accounts for 2023 available at the church door at both services on the Lord’s day Sunday, 25th February. Our sincere thanks go to Angus as treasurer and the team who count the offering each week for their hard work during the year.
On behalf of the Kirk Session and the Management Committee, I should like to take this opportunity to thank you all most sincerely for your committed and selfless giving during the past year. Again, we thank God for His goodness to us during the past year and that this means we can meet our we can meet our Financial Commitments. We should be under no illusion though that this coming year will be a challenging one in many ways and that once again the Congregation’s finances will come under pressure in several ways.
As in previous years, reports were given at the S.A.M on other aspects of congregational activity. Campbell MacRae gave a comprehensive report on behalf of the Management Committee and Property committee, detailing all that has been undertaken by the various groups under the umbrella of the Management Committee in the past year. Campbell also thanked several individuals (whose names I will not mention !) Those who have served the Lord quietly, diligently and effectively in many areas of the Congregation’s life in the past year. Our grateful thanks to you all.
Gordon Ness also gave a comprehensive summary about the situation respecting the Congregation’s property. Firstly, regarding the successful completion of the sales of Amhuinnsuidhe and Drinnishader meeting houses and the anticipated sale of Scalpay meeting house in the future. The main thrust of Gordon’s report to the congregation centred on the hard and painstaking work and negotiations that have been undertaken regarding the proposed refurbishment of the manse. This has and continues to be an exceptionally complex and difficult project, and has involved Gordon in lengthy negotiations with not only contractors but also church officials at Presbytery and General Trustee level. We hope that we will have positive news to relate to the Congregation in the not too distant future. We are greatly indebted to Gordon, for the tireless enthusiasm he has brought to a very challenging role. I should also like to add my personal thanks for the way Gordon has always been cognisant of the needs of the manse family throughout this project. And additionally, for the determined and skilful way he has pursued this project on behalf of the congregation at the highest levels of the Church of Scotland’s administrative structure.
The coming year and years ahead will in themselves be no less challenging than those we have experienced thus far. At last year’s Stated Annual Meeting, I mentioned that the Presbytery of Uist would cease to exist at the end of December 2023. We are now part of the Presbytery of the island of Iona, the Church of Scotland in the highlands and Hebrides. The Presbytery is easily the largest geographically within the Church of Scotland, covering an area larger than Belgium and only slightly smaller than Switzerland. One of the huge challenges this new Presbytery and the church is facing, is that it will have to be by 2028 self-financing. As can be imagined, this is a massive challenge to a widespread and in places sparsely populated part of the country.
However, I sincerely believe that we must not forget that this is God’s church, and with Him, all things are possible. So our collective focus has to continue to be on God, irrespective of what may be happening in other places. I am truly thankful that I can honestly say that everything spoken about at the Stated Annual Meeting is and was for the good of Christ and His church here in Harris. It is our hope that whatever the future holds, and whatever shape the future church of God in Harris takes, that this will always be the case. In other words, it is imperative that we keep the main thing — the main thing.
Our scripture reading for Wednesday night was a passage from Ephesians 4 where the Apostle Paul emphasises the need for the church to always maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Paul seems to be suggesting to the Ephesians the need for them to remain focused on their primary objective as a church, and that is to know Jesus Christ and to make Him known to others.
‘With all lowliness and gentleness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love, I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,’
Ephesians 4:1-2
Paul continues to counsel the Ephesians by showing them what should be to them the big picture of what they as a church believe and profess, not only regarding God but also their lives as Christian believers.
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Ephesians 4:4-6
Paul could therefore be saying not only to the Ephesians, but to us also to keep the main thing, the main thing. To keep our focus in all things on God, and the extension of His Kingdom in our lives and community. There are many things in life, and even in the wider church, that we cannot influence or change. There are, however, many things we can personally and collectively do to influence for good the life of our church, community, and island. We do this simply by praying as we do in the Lord’s prayer that God’s kingdom will come and that His will be done. In our lives and in the lives of those around us.
With grateful thanks and every good wish to you all in Christ Jesus our Lord
Ian Murdo Macdonald