CHURCH AGM
Our AGM was held after the morning service on Sunday 25th. November. Reports by Rev. Martin Roff and by the offfice-bearers were accepted, as were the accounts. The following members of the congregation were elected or re-elected to the Vestry:
Janet Adams, Marjorie Wilson (joint secretaries); Sue Munro (treasurer); Gill Austen; Bridget Gordon; Frank Spencer-Nairn; Pat Westall.
A full copy of the minutes of the meeting is available to read on the community room notice board..
QUIZ NIGHT
Our Quiz Night in Balnain Hall on Friday 28th. September, organized by Christine Hart, was enjoyed by all who attended it, and it raised some money for our funds too.
RASPBERRY TEA
Our annual Raspberry Tea was held on Saturday 22nd. September in Balnain Hall. It was a great success, with more than 60 people enjoying scones with cream, raspberry jam and fresh raspberries, and picking up bargains from the stalls, and we raised a good sum of money for Church funds.
Raspberry and cream scones ready for distribution!
Browsing the book stall
enjoying tea
STRATHGLASS GALA DAY
The church had a stall at the Strathglass Gala Day in Sunday afternoon 12th. August in Cannich Village Hall. We saw this as an opportunity for outreach to the community in the northern half of our parish. 
Our stall showed a display of photographs and information about the church and we gave out leaflets about St. Ninian’s and about the Scottish Episcopal Church in general. We also sold photo quiz sheets, where photos of local places were to be identified, with a prize for the winning entry, we sold some marmalade, and we had colouring sheets of Bible story pictures for children. Quite a number of people were attracted to our stall, and we felt that we had succeeded in making our presence known to the community.
VISIT TO ROWAN GLEN
On Sunday 29th. July the congregation and their extended families were invited by our priest, Revd. Martin Roff, and his wife Carol, to their property, Rowan Glen, on the Black Isle. After weeks of hot, dry weather we had a rather rainy afternoon, but after a picnic lunch, the varied attractions of the grounds were enjoyed by young and old alike:
enjoying lunch
A pond in the beautiful grounds
The miniature railway was a great attraction:
Revd. Martin, the engine-driver!
waiting for the train
Reaching the centre of the maze
Sheltering from the rain
Other attractions included a tree-house, a croquet lawn and a family of ducklings!
We all enjoyed our afternoon and thank Martin and Carol very much for their kind hospitality.
FLOWER FESTIVAL
The church was beautifully decorated with flowers for our Flower Festival from 15th. to 21st. July. Each display represented a hymn:
As the deer pants for the water
Lord of the Dance
Daisies are our silver, buttercups our gold
Hills of the north, rejoice
Be still my soul
Give me joy in my heart
For the beauty of the earth
We thank you Lord of Heaven; Immortal, invisible
Bread of Heaven
All things bright and beautiful
Come down, o love divine
Make me a channel of Your peace
Thine be the glory
During the course of the week almost 100 people, some local and some visitors, came to see the displays, and most also enjoyed tea or coffee and a chat with our members in the coffee room, in which there was an exhibition of flower paintings by Bertha Spafford Vester, the grandmother of church member Frank Spencer-Nairn.
CHURCH GROUNDS
On Saturday 19th. May a working party of members of the congregation met to clear up the church grounds, clearing away dead branches and generally tidying up. Their work has left the grounds looking good – a peaceful and attractive place.
MISSION AND OUTREACH
With the church renovations almost completed, we are turning our attention to our real purpose, that of spreading the Gospel and working to help others in Christ’s name. Bishop Mark preached on our duty of Mission and Outreach when he took our Sunday service on 13th. May.
The following Sunday, 20th. May, we held a meeting for all the congregation immediately after the morning service, to discuss what we can do to turn our good intentions into deeds. We were very glad to welcome Revd. Lesley Craddock and her husband Ashley, who contributed very usefully to our discussions.
Several new ideas were put forward; we pray for guidance and strength in putting these into practice.
RICHARD CONSTANDUROS
It is with great sadness that we learned of the death on 18th. March of Richard Constanduros, a staunch member of our church, who was one of the people responsible for our successful bid for Heritage Lottery funding and who worked tirelessly on the church restoration project, despite his ill health. His funeral took place at the church on Thursday 29th. March, conducted by the Most Reverend Mark Strange, our Bishop.
BISHOP’S LENT APPEAL
The Bishop’s Lent Appeal this year was for Barefoot College, a charity working largely in India but also in Africa; it supports projects relating to solar power, water supplies, education etc. and helps communities and individuals take control of their lives and the wellbeing of their communities.
There was a collection box for the Lent Appeal in the church throughout Lent, and we raised over £49.
SEND A COW
In February we raised £83 for Send a Cow, one of the charities we support, which helps supports farmers and country people in underdeveloped countries by providing livestock and teaching farming skills in order to help the people to become more self-sufficient . See www.sendacow.org. Thanks to all who contributed to the collection, and especial thanks to Janet Adams, who raised £33 from the sale of her stained glass ornaments.
KEN CRAFT
The death occurred on 24th. January of Ken Craft, at 102 the oldest member of our congregation. Ken had been an active and valued member of St. Ninian’s for many years, and we have many happy memories of him and his late wife, Olive. Latterly Ken was not able to attend church very often, but we were very please that he managed to come to our Rededication Service last October. Ken’s funeral was held in the church on 6th. February, with Revd. Martin Roff presiding; the church was filled by the many people paying their last respects.
