Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Easter

As we enter one of the most sacred and holiest times of the church year, we invite you to enter deeply into the mystery of Holy Week and the joy of the Resurrection. You are welcome to attend any or all of the following services:

Palm Sunday, 1 April
8:30 am - Holy Communion
11:00 am - Sung Eucharist with the Liturgy of the Palms
7:00 pm - Evensong
Monday, 2 April
7:00 pm - Reflective Evening Prayer

Tuesday, 3 April
7:00 pm - Reflective Evening Prayer

Wednesday, 4 April

7:00 pm - Reflective Evening Prayer

Maundy Thursday, 5 April

7:30 pm - Holy Eucharist with footwashing and stripping of the altar

Good Friday, 6 April

12:30 pm - Meditation on the cross

Holy Saturday, 7 April

8:00 pm - The Great Vigil

Easter Day, 8 April

8:30 am - Holy Eucharist

11:00 am - Sung Eucharist followed by Easter Egg hunt in the garden

3:00 pm - Sung Eucharist at St. Moluag's, Eoropaidh

Children in the church....

At St. Peter's we take our little people seriously and we are delighted to be seeing more children arriving each week.We are beginning to think more about how we can make our church a family and child-friendly place of worship. Currently, we're working on establishing a children's church but this takes time, effort and money. We have big dreams and have begun the process of deciding what will work best for our building restrictions and, of course, our children. In the meantime, however, we will be offering activity bags to children who want to join us for our Sunday services. These bags will contain quiet toys, crayons, puzzles and other goodies.

To make this possible we need donations of NEW quiet toys, crayons, colouring books, puzzles and anything else that you think might be appropriate. The age groups are 2-4 years and 5-8 years. After we have received enough donations for 10 bags, we will be blessing these important gifts on Sunday, 15 April at a special service.

Our wee ones thank you in advance!

A Week of Saints...

It began on Saturday with St. Patrick and it continues this week with the Feast Day of St. Joseph on 19 March and St. Cuthbert on 20 March. Both these men have much to offer our faith and our concept of how God works in our lives...

We know Joseph was a carpenter, a working man. The cynical Nazarenes ask about Jesus: "Is this not the carpenter's son?" Joseph was not a rich man, for all he could afford as an offering were two turtle-doves or pigeons when he took Jesus to the Temple to be circumcised. Those with more money would have taken a lamb to sacrifice. 

We know Joseph was a compassionate man. When he discovered that his fiancee, Mary, was pregnant, he knew that the child was not his but was yet unaware that Mary was carrying the Son of God. He planned to divorce Mary according to Hebrew law but he was concerned for her suffering and safety. Joseph knew that women accused of adultery could be stoned to death so he decided to divorce here quietly and not bring shame or persecution to her. 

Joseph was also a man of immense faith, obedient to whatever God asked of him. When the angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him the truth about the child Mary was carrying, Joseph immediately, and without question, took Mary as his wife. When the angel came again to warn him that his family was in danger from Herod, he immediately left everything behind and took his wife and baby to a new country, seeking safety. And he patiently waited in Egypt until the angel told him it was safe to go back.

We know more about the life of St. Cuthbert than we do about St. Joseph. Cuthbert was born in Northumbria in about the year 635. At the age of 17 he had a significant experience. While tending some of his neighbour's sheep on a hill, he saw a light descend to Earth and then return, escorting, he believed, a human soul to Heaven. The date was 31 August, 651, the night that St. Aidan died. From that experience, he decided that God was calling him to something greater and he went to the monastery in Melrose, Scotland, where he stayed for the next 13 years. At about the age of 30, Cuthbert moved to the holy isle of Lindisfarne, where for the next 10 years, he ran the monastery there. When he turned 40, he realised he was being called to be a hermit and so he moved to the more remote island known as 'Inner Farne' where he built a hermitage and lived there for another 10 years. People were unable to leave him alone and they travelled to see him in small boats, for healing and spiritual guidance.

Just after turning 50, he was asked to leave his hermitage and become a bishop. For the next two years he travelled around, evangelising as Aidan had done. And at the age of 52, feeling the approach of his death, he returned to the Inner Farne and to his hermitage and he died in the company of the Lindisfarne monks on 20 March 687.

On Monday, 19 March, we celebrate these two men with a service of Holy Communion. All are welcome to attend.

St. Patrick

Patrick was born around 385 in Scotland, probably near or in Kilpatrick, Dumbartonshire. His parents were Calpurnius and Conchessa, Roman citizens living in Britiain in charge of the colonies. His grandfather and father were deacons in the Christian church. At the age of 16, Patrick was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken captive to Ireland as a slave. Ireland at this time was a land of Druids and pagans. During his captivity, he herded and tended sheep and learned the language and practices of the people who held him. Throughout his time as a slave, he turned to God in prayer. He wrote:

'The love of God grew in me more and more, as did the faith, and my soul was rosed, so that in a single day I have said as many as a hundred prayers and in the night, nearly the same. I prayed in the woods and on the mountain, even before dawn. I felt no hurt from the snow or ice or rain.'

Patrick's captivity lasted until he was 20, when he escaped after having a dream from God in which he was told to leave Ireland by going to the coast. There he found some sailors who took him back to Britain, where he was reunited with his family. Again, he had another dream in which the people of Ireland were calling out to him, 'We beg you, holy youth, to come and walk among us once more.'

He began his studies for the priesthood and was later ordained by St. Germanus, the Bishop of Auxerre, whom he had studied under for years. Later, Patrick was ordained a bishop and was sent to take the Gospel to Ireland. He arrived in Ireland on March 25, 433, and began preaching the Gospel throughout the country, converting many. He and his disciples preached and converted thousands and began building churches all over the country. Kings, their families, and entire kingdoms converted to Christianity when hearing the power of Patrick's message.

Patrick worked many miracles and wrote of his love for God in a document called 'Confessions'. After years of living in extreme poverty, travelling and enduring much suffering, he died on March 17, 461. Today we celebrate his life and work.

The Work Has Begun!

As of yesterday, the restoration has begun on our magnificent 'Matheson' window, a beautiful stained glass window donated in the late 19th century in memory of Lady Matheson. The talented team of Linda Cannon and Rab MacInnes will be carrying out this work and they will be in the church for most of the week. Linda and Rab are both highly experienced and very gifted historic conservators and we are very blessed to have them working on this priceless window. The window will be attributed to a famous Pre-Raphaelite artist so stayed tuned for more news...