From Willie Morrison – Press release on behalf of Old High St Stephens Churches

7 Sep 2008

New lease of life for Inverness Kirking ceremony

NEW Inverness Provost Jimmy Gray joined with minister the Rev Peter Nimmo, fellow councillors and townsfolk to breathe new life into the Kirking of the Council ceremony yesterday (Sunday).

The provost later predicted a “long future” for the four-centuries old ceremony.

The well-represented official procession from the Town House, including councillors, council officials together with many members of local uniformed youth organisations and emergency services, showed such alacrity that it arrived at the Old High Church a quarter of an hour early.

Replying to a welcome to the church from Mr Nimmo, Provost Gray emphasised the importance of maintaining spiritual and temporal continuity through such traditions as the kirking ceremony, believed to date back to 1602.

Mr Nimmo recalled that the first hymn, the old favourite O Worship the King, had been composed by Robert Grant (1779-1838), MP for Inverness Burghs from 1826-30, younger son of Aldourie-born Charles Grant, chairman of the Honourable East India Company, and grandson of Alexander Grant, killed at Culloden while fighting for the Jacobites, on the very day Charles was born.

Mr Nimmo took as his sermon’s theme The Uncommon Good Fund, a reference to the resources of “uncommon good” carried out by selfless volunteer organisations and those who organised and worked for them.

Later, at a reception held in the Town House for those who attended the service, Mr Nimmo remarked: “I thought the kirking ceremony a very positive event.

“I was delighted that this year it generated such a sense of occasion and that the participation of councillors, other elected representatives and members of youth organisations brought something so very special to it.”

Provost Gray said: “I thought the service went extremely well and that the religious aspect linked in particularly well with the council aspect.

“I think there’s a clear link between both and Peter Nimmo outlined this very well. I would say there’s a long future for the kirking ceremony.”

ENDS