From the Minister’s Desk

A Day of New Life: Baptisms at the North Baths

On Sunday 26th July 2026, East Caithness Church and the rest of Wick gathered at the North Baths for a service none of us will soon forget. Before a large company of witnesses, family, friends, and members of our church family, we baptised Ricky and Jay into the faith of Jesus Christ.

There was something fitting about the setting. The North Baths, so familiar to this community, became for an evening a place of holy encounter; waters that have long served the daily life of our town were turned, however briefly, into a picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ itself.

The Why of Baptism: Acts 2:36-41

On the day of Pentecost, Peter stood before the crowd in Jerusalem and declared the heart of the matter plainly: "God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified" (Acts 2:36). The people were cut to the heart and asked, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter’s answer was direct: "Repent and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).

That exchange gives us the shape of what happened at the North Baths.

• Baptism follows repentance. It is not a badge earned, but a response given; turning from the old life towards Christ.
• Baptism marks forgiveness. Ricky and Jay went into those waters carrying the same need every one of us carries and came up bearing the same promise: sins washed away in the name of Jesus.
• Baptism is the gift of the Spirit, not just a symbol of our decision. Peter does not present baptism as something we do for God, but as the place where God meets us with His Spirit.
• Baptism is for you and for your household, and for all who are far off (Acts 2:39). What we witnessed was not a private moment between two individuals and God. It belongs to the whole community, called and gathered by the Lord.
• Baptism is a public act of belonging. Peter’s word to the crowd was to "save yourselves from this crooked generation" (v.40) Baptism marks a visible, decisive break, witnessed by others, from an old life into a new life.

This is why we do not treat baptism lightly, and why it is not merely a family occasion or a nice tradition. It is the gospel enacted in water: death to the old life, rising to the new, sealed by the Spirit, witnessed by the church.

Giving Thanks

We give thanks to God, first and simply, that the day went well. The weather held, the arrangements came together, and above all, the presence of the Lord was evident among us. Many who watched were moved, some for the first time seeing what it means for someone to publicly declare that Jesus is Lord.

We thank God for Ricky and Jay’s willingness to step into those waters before so many witnesses, and we thank Him for placing this first Bath baptism within the life of East Caithness Church, a marker, we pray, of things to come.

Please continue to hold Ricky and Jay in prayer as they begin this new chapter of walking with Jesus Christ and pray too for all those who watched and wondered what it might mean for them.

"And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved." — Acts 2:47

Rev. CLEOPAS TAKAVADA (mobile 07778220452)
Minister, East Caithness Church

Faith & Reflection — The Grace of an Ordinary Harvest

Ecclesiastes told us in July that there is a season for every purpose. August is, in the old rhythm of these islands, the season of Lammastide (a period surrounding Lammas Day which is the 1st of August), the loaf-mass, when the first grain of the year was traditionally brought to church and given thanks for before ever a scythe had finished the field. It is a smaller, quieter festival than Christmas or Easter, and perhaps that is exactly its gift to us. Not every act of faith needs a trumpet. Some need only a loaf of bread and a grateful heart.

Here in Caithness, August still carries something of that older rhythm even where the word "Lammas" has fallen out of daily use. The barley leans in the wind along the road to Lybster. The light, though beginning its slow retreat from the long evenings of June, still lingers generously over the Firth. Boats go out from Wick and Lybster harbours much as they have for generations, and the sea gives or withholds according to its own ancient patience.

"They that sow in tears shall reap in joy." — Psalm 126:5

This verse was written for people who remembered hardship, exiles who had known what it was to sow without any guarantee of harvest. It is worth remembering, this month, that gratitude and grief are not opposites. Some of you reading this have had a difficult summer, illness, loss, worry that will not quieten. The Psalmist does not ask such people to pretend otherwise. He simply promises that the tears and the joy belong to the same field, and that God is faithful to both seasons of the sowing.

This month, we encourage a simple discipline: at the end of each day, name one small mercy you received, however ordinary. A meal shared. A kind word from a stranger. An evening sky over the Ord of Caithness. Let thanksgiving become as habitual as breathing.

Pastoral Care — Held Through the Turning of the Season

We spoke last month of the ministry of remembrance, the deliberate holding in mind of those who cannot easily hold a place in the week-to-week life of the congregation. As summer begins its slow turn toward Autumn, we want to renew that promise rather than let it fade with the long evenings.

If you are living with illness, if travel has become difficult, if caring responsibilities have quietly narrowed your world, please hear this plainly: you have not slipped from view. This newsletter finds its way to you because you remain part of this church’s story, not its footnotes.

Home visits continue through August. If a visit would be welcome, for yourself or for someone you know, a word to the Minister or any elder is all it takes. So too with Communion at home, which remains available to anyone who would like to receive it; the Lord’s Table travels as gladly as it gathers.

"Bear ye one another’s burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ." — Galatians 6:2

The telephone prayer chain continues its quiet work. Requests shared with the Minister are held in confidence and carried daily before God by our prayer ministry team. If August has brought you a worry too heavy to carry alone, please do not hesitate to share it. You were never meant to carry it by yourself.

Church Diary — August 2026

Regular Services

• Sunday Gathered Worship: First four Sundays in two places: Lybster 10:30am-11:30am, Wick, Argyle Square Church 12noon-1pm. (Sundays: 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd August).
• Joint Service and Holy Communion: Sunday the 30th of August in our Lybster Church from 10:30am to 11:30am. (There will be no gathered worship service in Wick on the 30th of August 2026.)

Special Events This Month

• Holiday Club: Our holiday club will run from the 10th – 16th of August 2026.

Church in the Community as Salt and Light

East Caithness carries its story in land, sea, and a long inheritance of faith. As the school term approaches and the shape of daily life across our parishes begins to shift once more, we are reminded that our calling to serve our neighbours does not pause with the season, it simply changes its rhythm.

"Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." — Matthew 5:16

As families prepare for the return to school, and as the harvest slowly gathers pace across the fields around us, we ask you to hold in prayer those for whom this transition brings anxiety as well as anticipation, pupils facing a new year, parents managing new routines, teachers preparing classrooms. A quiet word of encouragement to a neighbour in this season may matter more than we know.

To every reader of this newsletter, whether a regular member of our congregation, an occasional visitor, or someone encountering us simply through their letterbox, the invitation remains the same as it always has. You matter to us. You matter to God who gave us His Son Jesus Christ.