YOUR VIEWS: Caithness church changes, energy summits and railway excuses
Changes to churches in Wick, Caithness and beyond
Many of you will already know that the Church of Scotland has been going through a deep and sustained review of all of its core purposes and resources for a number of years.
Presbyteries throughout Scotland were tasked with doing this within their local areas. At the same time, we were creating larger, more collaborative Presbyteries so that some of our common tasks, previously done centrally, could be devolved.
For several years, the former Caithness Presbytery worked diligently to try and find a way to provide ministry across its breadth, but could not get a plan agreed amongst the congregations of the county.
Clèir Eilean Ì Presbytery began in January 2024 with finding a plan for Caithness as one of its first priorities. The first draft of that plan is being prepared for the next Presbytery meeting on June 22.
With just 526 ministers across the whole of Scotland, in some places we’re looking at peripatetic team approaches – ordained and lay – as a way to enable local gatherings of faithful Christians to continue to worship within their communities.
Sometimes this will be in church buildings, sometimes in community centres. So many people have deep roots of faith, and while in our shortest memory, that has always been evidenced around buildings and a minister, going back into our longest history, the people of God have known how to worship together, teach each other, be a bright and serving presence in their communities with or without building ownership.
Many congregations across Scotland are being asked to unite with neighbouring congregations to enable ministers or teams to work across larger areas – but in rural areas there will always be an emphasis on the congregations worshipping and living out their faith locally whether we are able to retain our buildings or not. The draft plan certainly envisages both union and team ministry for congregations in Caithness.
The Church has always been about the people more than anything else. It was never supposed to be the buildings, and the stark fact is that because of our history, we now have far too many buildings, and some of them are the most striking and beautiful in our communities. We will miss these buildings which need to close as centres of worship.
While some church buildings will be retained, others will be given a date to work towards for the release of the building. In a few cases, a congregation may be given a little longer to see if, missionally, the life of the congregation can be revitalised.
The buildings will remain in the community, and it is our fervent hope that other organisations will find creative, imaginative uses for them – and where they are really important to the community, a community group may form that can take them over.
In Wick, the proposal is to unite both Church of Scotland congregations and retain Pulteneytown and Thrumster church building as the place of worship. With regard to St Fergus, it is a building with such a presence in the community, that as we go through the months ahead, we must really pray and dream of what it could continue to be for the community, but that ultimately will be a decision for the people of Wick.
Is this a place they want to keep open for themselves? In which case, either an existing group needs to come up with a plan to take it on, or a new Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) will need to form to do so. In either case, the Church of Scotland’s general trustees, a charitable organisation that has to follow OSCR rules itself and which owns all the buildings of the Kirk, needs to be contacted and kept in the loop at every opportunity.
This is because where there is the strong likelihood that there is considerable community interest, they will hold off putting a building on the open market to give an SCIO the chance to form, make a business plan and secure funds. And it’s true to say that St Fergus building is in a better position for this than many of our church buildings nationwide because it is so central to Wick town and because it has already been modernised for multiple uses.
As prayerful discussion continues, the Presbytery of Cleir Eilean I looks forward to learning about and supporting any imaginative suggestions and innovations which will be possible for this beautiful building and to learning of group(s) who have got together and established themselves as willing to take any suitable and feasible initiative forward.
Rev Monika Redman
Presbytery mission planning convenor
Cleir Eilean I Presbytery
Energy summit was a disappointment
The members of the Dunbeath/Berriedale Community Say NO to PYLONS Action Group, are compelled to express our profound disappointment and frustration following the recent “Lets Talk Energy Summit” hosted by Edward Mountain MSP.
The event, which was intended as a platform for public engagement and a chance for constituents to voice their concerns, as well as learn about various energy options, turned out to be a farce. The public’s opportunity to speak was severely limited, with many attendees being cut off mid-question or having their concerns blatantly ignored.
The dismissive attitude was further exemplified by Mr Mountain’s remark “I have never had to throw anyone out of a meeting before but” which cast a shadow over the proceedings. It was evident that Mr Mountain prioritised the comfort of his onstage guests over the voices of his constituents.
Particularly troubling was the participation of Yvonne Crook, chair of Highland Tourism and Highland renewables. Ms Crook’s perspective seemed to align more with corporate interests than the needs of the highland tourism sector. What is renewables going to do for tourism by 2045 in Scotland, we ask! Absolutely nothing.
Ms Crook’s vision to attract “higher value” travellers essentially translates to targeting wealthy tourists which alienates the thousands of regular visitors who contribute significantly to our local economy.
Numerous businesspeople from various tourism sectors questioned Ms Crook, seeking concrete answers. Unfortunately, her responses were inadequate, and she eventually retreated, unable to defend the supposed benefits of this controversial partnership.
It became painfully clear that the true beneficiaries of this alliance are SSEN and similar corporations, which aim to exploit the Highlands as an industrial dumping ground for unnecessary infrastructure.
Greg Clarke from SSEN further exemplified the disregard for public opinion. His evasive responses and his attempt to pass off questions to Mr Mountain mid answer underscored the lack of genuine engagement from SSEN. His assertion that SSEN takes public consultations seriously was met with scepticism.
Blaming Ofgem and the Scottish Government for the controversial overhead lines and industrial encroachment on the Highlands was a predictable deflection.
There were various options mentioned for future energy solutions from Highland Fuels, they are a forward-thinking company that is pioneering the use of hydrotreated vegetable oil for various industries, and trials for home heating are ongoing. Kevin Blyth’s questioning of the exorbitant electricity prices faced by the people of the Highlands and his pointed inquiry to SSEN’s Greg Clarke were met with applause from the audience.
This brings us to a critical question: if these new climate-friendly initiatives are as clean and beneficial as claimed, why is our Scottish Government endorsing them with substantial financial support? It appears the Scottish Government believes they can blindside the people of the Highlands hoping we will overlook their true plans, to destroy our land – the people of the Highlands are waking up.
The summit was well attended, with many community members and action groups travelling from all over the highlands, community members were eager to participate in meaningful dialogue. Instead, we were met with dismissive and evasive answers, reinforcing the perception that when it comes to the cost and consequences of these projects, the welfare of the Highland communities matters not.
The summit underscored a disturbing reality: the welfare of the Highland people and the preservation of our natural landscape are being overshadowed by the financial gains of multi-national corporations. It is time the Scottish Government and its elected officials listened to their constituents and prioritise the long-term well-being of our communities and environment over short-term profits and greed.
The Highland people deserve evidence of need, accountability, and transparency from all sectors, who believe they have a right to destroy our land and take away our homes, Actions speak louder than words. It is time the elected members remember who elected them to represent the Highland communities.
Dunbeath/Berriedale Community Say NO to PYLONS Action Group
Tourism not compatible with big energy
After hearing feedback from the Tourism and Renewable Conference in Inverness then listening to Yvonne Crook at the Strathpeffer meeting from Friday evening, I can honestly say I’m disgusted and dismayed that they could come out with the patronising drivel they did.
I can only think they have it in their heads that they hope to portray themselves as Ronald Mcdonald or Mickey Mouse in their attempt to brand the Highlands (and Edinburgh) as something akin to Disneyworld meets Mcdonalds.
Tourism and big energy/investment companies are not and never will be compatible. Tourism in the Highlands is about the wonderful scenery and amazing people working hard in their B&Bs, artisan bakeries, potteries, candle makers to name a few, all unique and special.
They do not need or want this branding lumping them together with the very people trying to destroy the Highlands and as a knock-on effect their very livelihoods.
At Strathpeffer, Yvonne Crook talked about getting repeat visitors and world leaders coming here, I can tell her we already have international repeat customers, we also have world leaders and "VIPs" that come for holidays under the radar to avoid the likes of her and her cronies.
Alison Ellerington
Via email
Excuses on railway
I’m sure everybody is well used to corporations and politicians just repeating their same old meaningless mantra regardless of whether it bears any resemblance to the truth. The idea is that these people come up with an agreed statement and then they simply roll it out repeatedly in the hope that most people accept it as fact.
This morning I read the following from Claire Dickie on behalf of ScotRail. She was attempting to excuse the fact that Highland rail travellers are being charged around double the rate per mile that their customers from the central belt are being charged.
She said: “The revenue generated from fares is essential to allowing ScotRail to run a service which is safe, reliable, and green, and reduce the burden on the public purse but we know that what customers want is a simple, affordable, and easy to understand fare system, and we are doing everything we can to deliver that.”
People who never attempt to get where they’re going by using the trains won’t notice anything amiss with this statement, however those of us who do travel on the railways and have just experienced a nine per cent hike in their already extortionate fares will probably be as angry as I am. A single from Inverness to Dingwall, a 35-minute journey, now costs £8.50!
ScotRail regularly cancel the service between Thurso/Wick and Inverness simply because they don’t have an available conductor. That’s all it takes for travellers north of Inverness to find that their train has been cancelled.
ScotRail will claim that they usually run a replacement bus between the stations in the north, however, because they don’t require the bus driver to let them know where the bus is at regular intervals, customers don’t know how long they’re going to have to wait or whether there is a replacement bus at all.
The majority simply give up and go back home. Ten years ago ScotRail told me, via my MSP, that they hoped to change this by rolling out some new technological solution. Maybe they meant insisting drivers use these new mobile phone thingies to communicate with ScotRail so that they could then inform rail travellers of when the replacement bus was due to turn up. Either way, nothing has changed.
To see the word ‘reliable’ used in Claire Dickies excuse is therefore infuriating.
Alan Roberts
Kinnairdie Avenue
Dingwall
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