June 2026
FROM THE MINISTER’S DESK
Summer has arrived in Caithness and with it, those long, golden evenings that make you feel as though the day is reluctant to end. The haar lifts, the hills take on colour, and people who spent the winter months behind closed doors begin to appear again in gardens, on pavements, at the harbour, in the park. There is a sociability to summer that is simply not there in January, and I want to suggest that this is not merely a meteorological fact. For those of us who follow Jesus Christ, it is an opportunity to share the hope that we have in Jesus Christ.
A Time to Step Out
The theme I have been reflecting on as we move into these summer months is simple: step out. Not dramatically. Not with a loudhailer or a sandwich board. But intentionally, prayerfully, and with eyes open to the people God places in our path.
Think about what summer makes possible. A conversation over the garden fence that would never happen through a closed window in February. A walk along the coast where you fall into step beside a neighbour and the talk turns to what really matters. A community event, a village fête, a beach gathering, where East Caithness Church can be present not as an institution holding its ground, but as a family of people who genuinely love this place and the people in it.
Witnessing for Christ does not require a theology degree or a memorised set of arguments. It requires something far simpler and, in many ways, far more demanding: being present, and being willing, when the moment comes, to speak honestly about the hope that is in you. The apostle Peter, the man who once fled from a servant girl’s question beside a fire on the day when Jesus was crucified, stood up at Pentecost and spoke without shame. What had changed? The Holy Spirit had come. And the same Spirit is with us this summer, in every open door and every unhurried conversation.
So, I want to encourage you: let this summer be a witnessing summer. Invite someone to church. Speak well of Christ to a friend who is searching. Serve visibly in your community. Let people see that your faith is not a private hobby confined to Sunday mornings, but the living centre of who you are.
The gates of the kingdom are wide open. Let us walk through them and bring others with us.
A WORD FOR THOSE WHO CANNOT STEP OUT
But I am very aware that not everyone will be stepping out into the summer sunshine this year.
Some of you are housebound, through illness, through frailty, through circumstances that feel heavy and sometimes isolating. Some of you will watch the summer pass largely through a window, and that can be a lonely thing to bear, especially when the world outside seems to be moving and gathering and enjoying itself.
I want to speak directly to you. You are not forgotten. You are not on the margins of this congregation, you are this congregation, as much as anyone who will sit in a pew this Sunday. The church is thinking of you, praying for you, and holding you in its heart.
And more than that: Jesus loves you. Not in a sentimental, greeting-card sense, but with the love of the One who said “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5); the One who, even in His resurrection body, sought out those who were behind locked doors and brought His peace into confined spaces (John 20:19). Your four walls are not beyond His reach. Your quiet days are not hidden from His sight. He is with you in the early morning, in the long afternoon, in the night watch.
If you are housebound and would welcome a visit, a phone call, or simply to know that someone is thinking of you, please do not hesitate to let me know. It would be a privilege to come to you.
Wishing each one of you wherever this summer finds you, the warmth of God’s presence, the joy of His salvation, and the peace that passes all understanding.
Grace and peace,
Rev. Cleopas (Parish Minister-in-charge, East Caithness Church)
“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
— Deuteronomy 31:8
HOPE-THE OXYGEN FOR THE SOUL
There’s a story told of Viktor Frankl, the Jewish psychiatrist who survived the Nazi death camps. He noticed something chilling in the camps: when a prisoner stopped believing he had a future, when hope died, the man himself would soon follow. Not from illness. Not from starvation but from the extinction of hope.
He wrote: “Those who have a ‘why’ to live can bear almost any ‘how.'”
Hope is not a luxury. It is the oxygen for the soul. Hope is not just a feeling. It is a fundamental orientation towards the future that sustains the will to live.
Psychologically, hopelessness is one of the predictors of suicide and it is more clinically dangerous than depression alone.
Physically, there are documented cases of what is called psychogenic death where people dye from despair with no clear medical cause. It is usually seen in prisoners of war. Proverbs 13:12 “Hope deferred makes the heart sick”
THE HUMAN REALITY
We live in a world that is quietly losing hope. You see it in the rise of anxiety and depression. You hear it in the way people talk saying, “What’s the point?” You feel it in a culture that is very good at being entertained, but not very good at being sustained.
People can survive almost anything from poverty, illness, loss or any other challenge if they have hope. But take away hope, and even comfort and safety are not enough.
The theologian Jürgen Moltmann, who himself was a broken prisoner of war when he first encountered the gospel, he said this: “From first to last, Christianity is eschatology. It is hope.”
The Christian faith is not merely a set of beliefs to hold, it is a hope to live from.
WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS
The Apostle Paul, writing from prison, of all places, says this in Romans 5:
“We rejoice in hope of the glory of God… and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts.”
Notice: he does not say hope makes life easy. He says hope does not disappoint; it does not ultimately let you down because it is anchored not in circumstances but in the character of God.
And in 1 Peter 1:3, the resurrection of Jesus is called a “living hope” — not a wish, not a theory, but a hope that is alive, because the One it is grounded in is alive.
THE DIFFERENCE CHRISTIAN HOPE MAKES
There are three kinds of hope people reach for:
WISHFUL HOPE — “I hope things get better.” Thin. Fragile. Weather-dependent.
WILFUL HOPE — “I will make things better.” Admirable, but exhausting. It puts everything on you.
ANCHORED HOPE — “I know who holds tomorrow.” This is the hope the New Testament talks about.
An anchor does not stop the storm, but it stops you from drifting away in it.
Christian hope says: the story isn’t over, the grave isn’t the final word, and the God who raised Jesus from the dead is the God who walks with you through and through.
DONATING TO YOUR CHURCH
You can, at any time give money for the ongoing work of our church.
Account Name-East Caithness Church of Scotland
Bank of Scotland, Wick
Sort Code: 80-09-96 Account Number 00704587
Or we have Gift Aid envelops if you are a taxpayer. The work of the church goes everywhere; we have missionaries overseas, homes and projects in Scotland; every penny counts, so thanks.