Dear Friends in the Northwest
This Sunday is the twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost. This weekend, there will be a service in Kinlochbervie on Saturday and services in Ullapool and Lochinver on Sunday. Please remember that the clocks go back one hour this weekend! Next Sunday, we will keep the Feast of All Saints; there will be a service in Ullapool.
The Feast of All Souls, the day on which the church remembers the vast company of the faithful departed, and especially family and friends, is on Monday 2nd November. There will be a service at 11.00 a.m. in St Mary’s Ullapool. If you would like a relative or friend remembered at this service, there is a sheet at the back of St Mary’s and which I will also have at other services this weekend. You can also email names of those you would like remembered to me. You do not have to be attending the service to have a loved one included.
I have received a communication from the General Synod Office about The Scottish Episcopal Church’s Legacy of Slavery Project which aims to explore and understand its historical links to the transatlantic enslavement of African peoples. Recognising the profound impact of this history, the Church is inviting clergy, congregations, and members of the public to join in reflection, research, and dialogue about what this legacy means today. It is not about blame or expertise. It is about acknowledging that wealth, institutions, and influence across the Atlantic world were shaped by the stolen labour, knowledge, and lives of enslaved people, and asking how that history continues to echo today. More information is available on the provincial website here: https://www.scotland.anglican.org/legacy-of-slavery-project-exploring-our-past-shaping-our-future/
My grateful thanks to Rev’d David Higgon and Ven John Green for providing cover during my recent holiday, and to David and Rev’d Anne Macdonald for taking the services while I was away.
With love and prayers
Rev’d Clare
Please click the link below for this week’s readings and reflection