Whalsay Kirk

On Thursday I went aboard a ferry to see the island of Whalsay. This ‘bonnie isle’ has a nice old kirk situated on a promontory known as Kirk Ness, connected to the mainland by a short isthmus, wide enough for a single lane over which a car may pass. The kirk was locked, naturally, and no longer hosts worship; closing churches seems to be the contemporary Church of Scotland’s most notable skillset. Thankfully, it is not being left to decay, and an energetic local community group has plans to buy and use it. Quite why they must purchase it, seeing as it was erected at their ancestors’ expense, I cannot say. Nevertheless, it remains an attractive building (few Scots Presbyterian meeting places are) in a wonderfully stunning land and seascape.

Its location set me thinking. Surrounded by water on three sides and approached via a narrow land bridge, the site was surely chosen for security as well as beauty. That said, raiders coming by sea, such as the Scandinavians were wont, would have had little difficulty disembarking, much as they found at Northumbria’s Lindisfarne.

It seems that the Church of Jesus Christ, by which I mean His saved, redeemed people scattered throughout the earth rather than buildings, is always in danger one way or another. Some, like the British Church, are safe from state persecution, but are in danger of invidious ideologies creeping in which nullifies the message. Others face internal divisions on account of enemy footholds and big personalities. Others are endangered by the allure of ritualism or lethargy. Kirk Ness might have been safe from the land but not from the sea; sites atop hills might have been preserved from the sea but not from the land. Whatever our situation, may we guard the truth, defend our witness and hold the fort until He comes.

But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. Revelation 2:25

       D