No need to book to attend church on Sunday

A message from Jane (20th October 2021):

It has been agreed by the Kirk Session that with the requirement for physical distancing being removed it is no longer necessary to books seats in advance to join our Sunday morning gatherings.  Some protective measures will stay in place such as wearing face coverings and the collection of contact details as part of Test and Protect, names and contact numbers should be recorded as you enter the building.

There will no longer be a booking system for Sunday Club.

Please also note that from this Sunday entrance to the church can be through either the front or the rear door.

We still need to be mindful of each other as some of us may still want to maintain a bit of distancing and with that in mind we will keep seats in groups of 1’s, 2’s, 3’s etc with a small gap between each group.

The service will continue to be live-streamed via Facebook.

It’s great to be able to make this next step towards returning to normal or ‘a new normal’.

Need some practical help?

If you need some practical help, Hilton Church continues to offer help and support as required. Please phone 01463 233310

It’s great to see that so many community groups have formed both locally and nationally to offer support. At Hilton Church, we are partnering with the Ness-Side Community Support Group which also has many volunteers across Inverness ready to help . Whatever your need – daily chat, shopping, prescription pick up, grass cutting , dog walking , do call and they will help, no matter how big or small. Their phone number is 01463 353015
Covid 19 Ness-side Inverness Community Support Coronavirus

Hilton Parish Church Sunday Worship

Sunday 24th October  2021

A worship service was held at 10am on Sunday, 24th October in the church building. You can catch up here, or by following the link below.

The readings for Sunday were:

Job 42:1-6, 10-17     Psalm 34:1-8, 19-22     Hebrews 7:23-28            Mark 10:46-51

This morning, Judith spoke briefly about COP26, and about EcoHighland 2021, the programme of events involving Inverness churches which will run parallel with the Conference in Glasgow.

Duncan then preached the concluding sermon on the book of Job. In Job’s time, the perspective was that if you lived with God in mind, then you would be protected from catastrophe.  When catastrophe overtook Job, a good man, and his family, he therefore asked ‘Why this? Why me?’ He found no answers, but at close to the end of the book of Job, God speaks to Job, not answering his questions, instead asking him questions which revealed how limited a human being’s understanding of the immensity of God can be.

And Job responds ‘My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.’ (Job 42:5)  There are no answers to Job’s questions – at least no answers he can get his mind round – but it is enough that God has self-revealled to Job. Being the man of faith he is, it is enough for Job to know that God is with him – despite his questions, he entrusts himself to God.

And Duncan pointed out, as Christians we believe that in Jesus (Jesus who himself passed through a Job-like experience of desolation and distance from God (‘My God, my God why have you forsaken me?’) we can have a much closer experience of encounter with God than Job had. In our pain, our agony, our unanswered questions, the God of immensity – and immense love – is not only with us, but within us.

The book of Job was a story people told to help them come to terms with suffering, John says. But we believe that the book is not just a human book, but that it contains whispers from God.  In Job, something about what God is truly like is glimpsed.  And  similarly we approach the life of Jesus not just as a story,  but as an account of a man in whom God came among us and died for us.  And this is the challenge as we face our sorrows: do I believe? Do I entrust myself to Jesus, to God even when it seems counterintuitive because of the level of my pain?

 The Job story (this is still John) has a happy ending (Job 42:10-16) Sometimes in our lives, unimagined joy lies beyond times of darkness.  But we know that there are not always happy endings, at least not on this side of death. However there are always opportunities to choose light rather than darkness. And so in faith, and in hope we travel through the dark valleys as Jesus journeys with us

Please note that Sunday Club, Nitelife and the Hilton Church Toddler Group have resumed during school term time.

EcoHighland 2021

EcoHighland 2021 is a programme for two full weeks of events, around worship, prayer and action organised by churches locally and supported by Eco Congregation Scotland with Inverness Presbytery Church Support.

Don’t miss an interview with Judith Macleod about COP26 and climate change here.

Running from the 31st of October to the 13th of November, these two weeks coincide with the timing of the vital COP 26 negotiations in Glasgow. EcoHighland 2021 gives local churches and surrounding communities -and those who join us online from elsewhere- an opportunity to share the importance of caring for our planet.

The opening service is at Hilton Church on Sunday 31st October at 5pm.  You can book to attend here.

There are more details about EcoHighland 2021 here.

Need some practical help?

If you need some practical help, Hilton Church continues to offer help and support as required. Please phone 01463 233310

It’s great to see that so many community groups have formed both locally and nationally to offer support. At Hilton Church, we are partnering with the Ness-Side Community Support Group which also has many volunteers across Inverness ready to help . Whatever your need – daily chat, shopping, prescription pick up, grass cutting , dog walking , do call and they will help, no matter how big or small. Their phone number is 01463 353015
Covid 19 Ness-side Inverness Community Support Coronavirus