Thurso is as far north as you can get on the UK mainland. It is a town of eight or nine thousand on the north coast of Caithness. There is nothing but sea between Thurso and the North Pole. That does not stop St Peter’s and St Andrew’s parish church (Church of Scotland, that is) having an extremely elegant website and an assured approach to the Christian faith. The minister, David Malcolm, ‘has a passion for revival’ and the church believes that it is time to stop talking about what God has done in the past and to consider what God wants to do today.
What the Scots often call the English Church (Scottish Episcopal, that is) in Thurso shares its minister with Wick. Looking after the two churches is Ellie Charman, with Bishop Mark Strange, Primus (top man that is) of the SEC, having overall supervision during a vacancy. Bishop Strange ministered in England before moving to Scotland to become a bishop.
Thurso Baptist church is a church led by Stuart Macdonalld that loves the Bible and is keen to make disciples. It added an extension to its building in 2012.
The Highland Christian Church is a Pentecostal church in Thurso led by Andrew and Catriona Tait that sets a high value on sharing the Christian faith with newcomers.
Further north still are the Faroe Islands. There are 18 of them. British troops occupied the islands during WW2. Readers will probably not be surprised that on most days the Faroes are overcast. To keep their islands together, schemes for making under-sea tunnels linking the islands haves a high place on the agenda. Most of the population (52,000) belong to the Evangelical Lutheran church. It has its own bishop and cathedral and is an established church proud of its identity. There are 14 parishes; ten surviving wooden churches remind the Faroese of their history. A new church in Toftir has been called an architectural masterpiece. A significant Christian group in the islands is the (Plymouth) Brethren.
Yet further north we come into the land (well, floating ice actually) of the bears (polar). Nelson, you may remember, was attacked by one. I am told they are left-handed or left-pawed. That does not make them northpaws.
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