Communions
January—Fifth Sabbath, Inverness. February—First Sabbath, Dingwall; third, Stornoway; fourth, North Uist, Kyle of Lochalsh. March—First Sabbath, Ullapool; second, Ness and Portree; third, Finsbay, Lochinver; fourth, Kinlochbervie, North Tolsta. April—First Sabbath, London, Breasclete, Portnalong and Fort William; third, Greenock; fourth, Glasgow; fifth, Wick. May—First Sabbath, Kames and Oban; second, Scourie; third, Edinburgh and Broadford. June—First Sabbath, Tarbert, Applecross; second, Shieldaig; third, Lochcarron, Glendale, Helmsdale, Dornoch and Uig; fourth, Gairloch and Inverness. July—First Sabbath, Lairg, Raasay and Beauly; second, Staffin, Tomatin and Tain; third, Halkirk, Rogart, Flashadder and Daviot; fourth, Achmore, Bracadale, North Uist and Plockton. August—First Sabbath, Dingwall and Vancouver (Canada); second, Portree and Stratherrick; third, Bonar, Finsbay and Laide; fourth, Vatten, Thurso and Stornoway. September—First Sabbath, Ullapool and Breasclete; second, Strathy; third, Tarbert and Stoer; fourth, Applecross. October—First Sabbath, Tolsta, Lochcarron, Fort-William; second, Gairloch and Ness; fourth, Greenock, Lochinver; fifth, Wick. November—First Sabbath, Oban and Raasay; second, Glasgow and Halkirk; third, Edinburgh, Dornoch, Staffin and Uig. December—First Sabbath, London.
London Communion Services
The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, London Congregation, St. Michael’s Hall, Eccleston Place, opposite Victoria Coach Station, Buckingham Palace Road, London, S.W.1. In connection with the dispensation of the Lord’s Supper on Sabbath, 3rd December, 1961, the following services have been arranged (D.V.) to be conducted by the Rev. A. F. MacKay, M.A., Inverness, and the Rev. Donald MacLean, Glasgow:—Thursday, 30th November, 7 p.m.; Friday, 1st December, 3.30 p.m. (Gaelic) and 7 p.m. (Fellowship Meeting); Saturday, 2nd December, 3.30 and 6.30 p.m. (Prayer Meeting); Sabbath, 3rd December, 11 a.m., 3.30 p.m. (Gaelic), with an English service in Bridewell Hall simultaneously, and 7 p.m.; Monday, 4th December, 3.30 p.m. (Gaelic) and 7 p.m. For the benefit of those living in outlying districts it may be stated that all the week-day services will be held in the Bridewell Hall, London City Mission, Eccleston Place, and only the Sabbath services in St. Michael’s Hall.
Ordination and Induction at Evelix, Dornoch
The Northern Presbytery met on Tuesday, 12th September, at 6 p.m., at Evelix, Dornoch, to ordain and induct Rev. Alexander MacPherson as pastor of the joint congregation of Dornoch and Rogart. The congregation has been vacant since the death of Rev. F. MacLeod in May, 1956, and on this occasion the church was filled to overflowing with friends who took advantage of a dry though cold afternoon to attend from distant parts of the country such as Wick, Lochinver, Inverness and Dingwall. The Moderator of Presbytery, Rev. D. B. MacLeod, a son of the previous minister, presided and preached an appropriate sermon from the words in Matt. xiii, v. 3: “And he spake many things to them in parables saying, A sower went forth to sow,” and in his remarks which were followed attentively by the crowded congregation, Mr MacLeod spoke of the true gospel minister as divinely commissioned to proclaim the message of salvation which is described as the Word of God, a treasure which the Lord places in earthen vessels that the glory of redemption may be the Lord’s; he considered the hindrances which make the work of the ministry of the Word unfruitful, such as the devil who devours the seed sown by the wayside in which he finds an ally in man’s fallen nature, the offence caused by the trials and persecution which arise because of the word, and the cares and pleasures and riches of the world which also make the word unfruitful; finally, the assured success of the gospel depended upon the divine promise that His word would not return to Him void and the unchanging character of the purposes and the kingdom of Christ which would eventually prevail.
When public worship was ended, the narrative of steps taken in preparing the call was read and Mr MacPherson answered the questions which were put to him by the moderator satisfactorily, after which the formula was signed in presence of the congregation. Mr MacPherson was then solemnly ordained to the office of the Christian ministry and in name and authority of the great Head of the Church and the Presbytery, the moderator solemnly inducted him to the Dornoch and Rogart charge. Thereafter, Rev. R. R. Sinclair addressed the newly inducted minister at some length on the duties of the pastoral office, particularly emphasising those aspects of the ministerial character which were essential to success in the gospel, and Rev. D. J. Matheson addressed words of counsel and encouragement to the people of the congregation, particularly setting before them the duties which they owed to their minister. Other members present also spoke briefly, Rev. Wm. Grant and Rev. D. M. MacLeod, and as Revs. Alex. MacAskill, Lochinver, and D. A. MacLean, Port na Long, were present from the Western Presbytery, they were invited to address the meeting which Mr MacLean proceeded to do, offering their good wishes to the incoming minister. Several speakers referred in affectionate and friendly terms to the late minister, Rev. F. MacLeod, whose memory is still cherished in the parish. The proceedings were brought to a close with the singing of the concluding verses of the 72nd psalm. Mr MacPherson enters upon this important sphere of his life’s work with the prayers and good wishes of the friends of the church who will follow his labours in the gospel with interest and prayerful hopes that he may be long spared to serve his Master. The day is dark and forbidding and the age one of great declension when iniquity is coming in like a flood and the man of sin regaining his ancient power and authority, befriended and assisted by the ruling powers in church and state. Our people should therefore be earnest at a throne of grace, strengthening the hands of the Lord’s servants and doing all in their power to help forward the cause of Christ in a dark and threatening time.—A. F. MacKay, Clerk.
Ordination of the Reverend D. M. Campbell
Within the Free Presbyterian Church, Stornoway, the Outer Isles Presbytery of the Free Presbyterian Church met and was constituted, on the evening of Tuesday, the 22nd of August, 1961. A large congregation gathered to witness the ordination of another young minister, preparing to labour in our Mission in Southern Rhodesia.
The Rev. Alexander Morrison, North Uist, conducted public worship, and preached most suitably from Nehemiah, Chap. 2, verse 3. “And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchres lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?”
I. Nehemiah was moved not only to mourn and pray—but to deny himself, in leaving a most honourable post, and actually to go to seek the welfare of Jerusalem.
The Grace of God in Nehemiah’s heart caused his love to go out to a place and a people he had never seen in the flesh. That remarkable exercise of grace in Nehemiah’s case had its parallel here to-night.
Here is a young man going out to seek the spiritual welfare of a people he has never seen, in a place hitherto unknown to him.
II. Mr Morrison then enumerated the different kinds of opposition and enemies met by Nehemiah, and made apposite application of these to the Church’s position in the present day.
Public worship being ended, the Moderator gave a brief account of the steps leading up to Mr Campbell’s ordination. Thereafter the usual questions were put to Mr Campbell, and were satisfactorily answered. The Formula was then read, and signed by Mr Campbell in the presence of the congregation. The young minister then knelt down, while the Moderator in solemn prayer to Almighty God, and the hands of the Presbytery on Mr Campbell’s head, did in the Name of the Great Head of the Church, and by authority of this Presbytery, ordain the Reverend Donald M. Campbell to the office of the Holy Ministry, with a view to labouring in the Mission of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland in Rhodesia. On rising from his knees, the members of Presbytery gave Mr Campbell the right hand of fellowship. Rev. Wm. MacLean, Moderator, then addressed the newly ordained pastor, in encouraging, loving, and solemn terms, and, among other things, warned him against the sin of indulging in self pity in connection with any trials which he might meet in his new sphere of labour.
Rev. J. Colquhoun, Convener of the Foreign Missions Committee then spoke to the congregation asking them to look at the events of this evening in the light of God’s Eternal Decrees. Rev. R. R. Sinclair spoke, recalling the many pleasant meetings and experiences he enjoyed during his visit to the Rhodesian Mission. For the encouragement of the young minister he said that whatever trials and privations Mr Campbell might be called upon to endure, he would nevertheless find that work on the Mission Field would yield much joy and satisfaction.—Fraser Macdonald, Clerk of the Outer Isles Presbytery.
Student Received
At a meeting of the Outer Isles Presbytery, held at Stornoway on Tuesday, the 22nd day of August, 1961, Mr Murdo Mackay, M.A., was received as a student studying for the ministry of the Church.—Fraser Macdonald, Clerk of the Outer Isles Presbytery.
Articles Held Over
A number of articles and also our Notes and Comments have been held over to future issues of the Magazine.