Church by Ferry

This morning was after the night before, which in itself was not that many hours. However, last night was well worth every moment of the long day and the short night that followed.

The morning was not as early as the previous day’s start, but it was normal Sunday start fro me at 0700. The getting up was easy, because this morning I was going to church by ferry! The ferry left Kirkwall Harbour for Shapinsay, just a short journey of about 25 minutes, but it would still be a cold crossing if you were stood outside on deck, especially if you were wishing to take pictures.

The crossing was uneventful, but the curiosity of the other passengers as I sat in the middle of the them was getting the better of them. Until Jack walked in and said how please he was to see me joining the Peedie Kirk (URC) Congregation for the Join Service at Shapinsay Presbyterian Kirk. In church, curiosity is all consuming passion, once it gets going. No doubt in my mind that Jack filled them in on who I was, what I was, and what I was doing here.

(Peedie Kirk URC is in vacancy, well only just (not even declared yet), but the fact remains they are minister-less and feeling rather on their own. The Elder’s of the church I guess are having to look to themselves and the congregation will be be expecting them to guide them through the process of looking for a new minister.I know their out-going minister will help them in part to see the process of creating a church profile of their ministerial needs into a time of coming. In many ways Peedie Kirk and myself are in a process of renewal and looking to see what God is saying to each of us about our respective futures...)

We were meet at Shapinsay Ferry Terminal by a fleet of cars and taken the mile or two to the solid looking grey build church, standing above the harour, looking towards Kirkwall. Coffee and busicuits were served. It was at this point that my glasses decided to break won’t more. This my spare pair was in Kirkwall in my car, so blu-tac came the the the rescue and that held my lose screw - no not me with a lose screw - and lens in place.

The service started at 1030am and was followed by lunch and cakes, washed down by more tea and coffee. Then it was back to Kirkwall on the 1330 ferry. When I got back to my car, I discovered that I had not locked it, but everything was there, just as I had left it. There is a saying amongst car mechanics, that you always know when people are going on holiday, because they want the door locks on their cars mended. Well, my car door locking system works well, but I kept on forgetting to check my car was locked when I left it. I was going clearly native...

The afternoon in Kirkwall on a Sunday is often very quiet and I felt after such a long day yesterday that a quiet afternoon catching up on sorting images and blipfoto journaling was in order. So, went to Judith Glue’s Tea Rooms for a cuppa and a slice of their Lemon Cake, near St Magnus.

Then it was back the Craigiefields to rest and change later that evening to finally catch a sunset from the top of Wideford Hill. From 2030 onward the sun begins to descend and the clouds broke apart to reveal their specially patterns of colour. The ground was bathed in yellow light that brought shadows and illumination to the ground in equal measure. The wind was even stronger u on this hill that towers over the surrounding countryside and Kirkwall and Finstown alike. Farmland and roads are in miniature relief, with tractors and cars looking more like the scale of ‘OO’, micro-scalextrics, moving a predetermined track invisible to the eye. Wideford Hill stands at approximately 1200 feet.. At this height the temperature is a lot cooler here than down at sea level, well in the wind it felt more like 4C or 5C, so there was a chill factor. However, the landscape before you was well worth the need to wrap up warm and step out on the car.