The next week at Hilton Church
Sunday 8th November Nitelife meets in the small hall at 7.00pm
Monday 9th November Rhymes Recollected meets in the small hall, 2.00pm – 3.00pm
Tuesday 10th November Over 60s Afternoon Tea at the Anchor Cafe beside the church at 2.00pm All welcome! Free of charge!
Thursday 12th November TNT (Thursday Night Thing) for children in P2 – P7 6.00pm – 7.00 pm Please note: pre-registration is essential – see flyer below for full details.
Friday 13th November Friday Toddlers, run by Hilton Family Support meets in the large hall (rear entrance) from 10.00am – 11.15am.
Sunday 15th November 10.30am Sunday worship in the church and broadcast live on the church Facebook page
All the latest from Children’s Ministry Ukraine
Click here for all the latest news from Children’s Ministry Ukraine. This charity, co-ordinated by Simeon Ewing, is one of the two groups which we’ll be supporting through the Craft Fair on 21st November. (The other is Hilton Family Support)
Hilton Church helps transform lives for good
See below for details of the TLG Conference – please note that this is an on-line event
Hilton Parish Church
Sunday 8 November 2026
REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY
A Remembrance Sunday service was held at 10.30am in the church building on Sunday 8 November. The service was simultaneously broadcast on the Church Facebook page. For the next four weeks you can catch up here.
The Bible passages were Psalm 22: 1-11, 22-24, 27-31 and Mark 15: 25-39, and David led and preach and preached, with Sheena speaking to the children.
‘It is through us that the cry of the forsaken meets the mercy of Christ.’
Here’s a link to David Sim’s outstanding Remembrance Sunday reflection on ‘The Silence That Is Not Empty. It’s an utterly realistic, and therefore hugely encouraging reflection on the God is with us in the darkness, in the silence, in the immensity of suffering. And here’s a link to two of the prayers in which Davud led us in the course of the service.
Here’s the inspiring, practical conclusion of the sermon:
So what do we do with this? Well, two things.
First, we can pray the psalm. When your own darkness comes, you don’t have to produce tidy faith. You can say “My God, my God”, because Jesus did. Bring the whole weight of it. God is close, even when he is silent.
Second, remembrance has to become… well… something. We honour the fallen not only by wearing poppies but by what we do with the peace they bought. I know it can seem impossible. We look at the wars, the climate destruction, the political division, and the problems in our own communities… and we think to ourselves… what can we ever hope to do when we’re so small?
In response, theologian NT Wright asks us to picture a scene: imagine an architect has brilliant plans for the grandest cathedral ever to be built. The architect has invited stonemasons and artisans, jewellers and carpenters to craft every piece.
A stonemason receives his assignment, and he works for months preparing a single piece of stone. He’s vaguely aware that others are getting on with their tasks but has no idea how his small, seemingly inconsequential stone will fit into the grand plan.
But he trusts the architect that the work he has done will not be wasted. That every part matters, and every small work will one day come together to create the masterpiece.
The stonemason is not building the cathedral; he is building for the cathedral!
We are not the ones building the Kingdom, but we are building for the kingdom that Jesus will one day bring fully to this earth. It is a Kingdom that is already breaking in, and we catch glimpses of it.
We are building for the Kingdom in whatever small sphere we have. We do it when we let go of an old grudge, when we speak to an isolated neighbour, and when we simply sit beside someone in tears. And we do it when we extend our hands beyond our own borders (welcoming the stranger, and supporting families caught in conflicts far from home).
It is through us that the cry of the forsaken meets the mercy of Christ.
Here are some wise words from Jim Gordon from Aberdeen which he used at at Remembrance service this morning, shared with his permission.
May the God of mercy and justice give us courage to question assumptions that conflict is inevitable in a globalised, polarised and destabilised world. God help us to see all those structures of violent power, of oppressive ideas, of instilled hostility, as part of that great song of the ruthless, and help us by God’s grace and strength to silence it, –
by persistent, patient actions of peace,
by resilient, responsive acts of reconciliation,
by gentle, gracious words of goodness
by faith-filled, faithful prayers of friendship
by holy, hopeful gestures of healing.
Amen.
Here are links to websites which Duncan has recommended we explore:
The Bible Project
The Bible Society
The London Institute for Contemporary Christianity
Here are links to David Sim’s posts on ‘Medium’
All posts
New posts:
Love your enemies. No exceptions (July 20 2026)
The unfolding word: Listening for the heartbeat of the sacred text (August 3 2026)
Faith>Belief (31 August 2026)
Nature speaks of the divine (9 September 2026)
Beyond nature – encountering the divine (14 September 2026)
Blessing: why spiritual defiance starts with your words (11 October 2026)
Highland Foodbank would appreciate our help: Harvest Appeal, 2026
Inverness ‘Warm Spaces’
A number of venues across Inverness have opened their doors through the week to offer a warm welcome and bring people together in the local community. Enjoy some Highland hospitality and make new friends. Additional support is also available at some venues.
Here’s a link to a list of these ‘Warm Spaces’ with the times they are available.
Hilton Parish Church works very closely with Hilton Family Support, helping to make a difference in the local community. Click the links below to explore.
Click here for the latest Hilton Family Support Newsletter.
Click here to donate to Hilton Family Support
Giving to Hilton Parish Church
If you would like to give towards the work of Hilton Parish Church, here are a few ways in which you can do it.
(1) The most beneficial way of giving would be through a monthly standing order which would enable the congregation to have a regular and predictable monthly income:
Sort Code: 80-91-26
Account No: 00444375
Account Name: HILTON CHURCH
(2) You can also give through the Give.net link below
(3) Free Will Offering Envelopes – we are conscious that many may wish to continue with this scheme putting money aside each week, and we look forward to receiving these offerings when the crisis comes to an end.
(4) If you would like to give offerings through cheque, these can be made payable to Hilton Church and posted to: Hilton Parish Church, 4 Tomatin Road, Inverness, IV2 4UA
Please note that if you are a tax payer Gift Aid is applicable for all of the above and this can increase our income by 25%. If possible, please complete a Gift Aid declaration (available here or from the church office) and return it to the church office.
We thank you for your support of the ministry of Hilton Church.
Our latest Facebook posts
David's Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession from Sunday's service
Inspired by Present on Earth, 1995 WGRG, Iona Community, Glasgow G2 3DH, Scotland. Concluding Trinitarian prayer adapted from 24/7 Prayer.
God of grace and peace,
on this Sunday of remembrance, we bring you our thanksgiving:
that our silence is not empty, and no cry of anguish is lost to you;
that you do not hide your face from the afflicted, but in Christ entered our deepest darkness to meet us there;
for the gift of peace and the fragile freedom we enjoy;
and for all who in times past and present have put the needs of others before their own.
LORD, IN YOUR MERCY, HEAR OUR PRAYER.
O Christ the Healer,
by your wounds others are made whole,
by your tears sorrow is washed away.
Come with kindness
to all who carry wounds (seen and unseen);
to those who carry the quiet ache of bereavement,
to those who live with trauma, illness, or frailty,
and to all who today need your touch, your time,
or who simply need to know that you remember them.
LORD, IN YOUR MERCY, HEAR OUR PRAYER.
O Christ the Peacemaker,
stubbornness condemns us,
unsure as we are to walk the road that leads to peace.
Fulfil in our time the prophet's vision:
teach nations to beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
Show us the humbler, braver path,
where we learn war no more,
and by which our warfare may be turned to welfare.
LORD, IN YOUR MERCY, HEAR OUR PRAYER.
O Christ the Liberator,
the chains of death and fear could not hold you,
yet prejudice, oppression, and false divisions continue to ensnare your world.
Where humanity cries out against inhumanity
and where the earth mourns the scars of our neglect,
deliver all from evil.
LORD, IN YOUR MERCY, HEAR OUR PRAYER.
O Christ the Stranger,
you meet us when we are not ready for you;
you sit with those society ignores or fears;
you knock on the door we are hesitant to open;
you say the word we are reluctant to hear.
Come, where you are kept at arm's length
and take the hand that needs to hold you.
Let us be still for a while…
Bring before God the name of someone who is hurting, or a situation that feels unresolved.
We don't hold them before a distant God, but before the One who walked through the darkness before us, and who refuses to leave our side.
* * *
LORD, IN YOUR MERCY, HEAR OUR PRAYER.
Lord Jesus Christ,
we believe that you are God;
we believe that you are true to your promise to answer the prayers of your people;
Father, help us to live this day to the full, being true to you in every way.
Jesus, help us to give ourselves away to others, being kind to everyone we meet.
Spirit, help us to love the lost, proclaiming Christ in all we do and say.
Amen.
Image by Myriams-Fotos from Pixabay
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
'Meet us in our sorrow, and flood our hearts this morning with your steadfast love, so that we may live with hope.'
The first of two of David's prayers from Sunday's Remembrance Service
Prayer of Adoration and Confession and the Lord’s Prayer (Ps 90)
An adaptation of Psalm 90 for Remembrance Sunday.
Lord God, through every sorrow and across every generation, you have been our refuge and our true home.
Long before the mountains rose from the earth, long before the world was shaped, you were God, and you love us with an everlasting love.
A thousand years vanish before your eyes like a single breath in the cold.
And so we can come before you today with open hearts and deep gratitude, clinging to your steady presence even when everything else around us shakes.
* * *
We stand before you carrying the real grief and shame of our broken world.
You see right through us: you see our hidden motives, our coldness of heart, and the bitter divisions we nurture.
We look upon the appalling tragedy of war: the young lives cut short, the homes destroyed, the unbearable grief of families, and the terrible ruin caused by human pride and greed.
Lord, have mercy on us!
Forgive us where even we have chosen retaliation over reconciliation.
Forgive us where we have applauded power instead of defending the weak.
And forgive us where we have treated lightly the heartbreaking cost of the peace handed down to us.
* * *
Teach us wisdom, O God.
Help us to see how fragile and precious each human life is, so that we may not waste another day in hatred or apathy.
Meet us in our sorrow, and flood our hearts this morning with your steadfast love, so that we may live with hope.
Do not let the sacrifices of the past be in vain.
Take the frail work of our hands and use it to build justice, and set our hearts on fire with a passionate longing for peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Image by Tep Ro from Pixabay
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
'It is through us that the cry of the forsaken meets the mercy of Christ.'
Here's a link to David Sim's outstanding Remembrance Sunday reflection on 'The Silence That Is Not Empty. It's an utterly realistic, and therefore hugely encouraging reflection on the God is with us in the darkness, in the silence, in the immensity of suffering.
hiltonchurch.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/2026-11-08-Website-Copy-of-Service-Remembrance-Hil...
Here's the inspiring, practical conclusion:
So what do we do with this? Well, two things.
First, we can pray the psalm. When your own darkness comes, you don’t have to produce tidy faith. You can say “My God, my God”, because Jesus did. Bring the whole weight of it. God is close, even when he is silent.
Second, remembrance has to become… well… something. We honour the fallen not only by wearing poppies but by what we do with the peace they bought. I know it can seem impossible. We look at the wars, the climate destruction, the political division, and the problems in our own communities… and we think to ourselves… what can we ever hope to do when we're so small?
In response, theologian NT Wright asks us to picture a scene: imagine an architect has brilliant plans for the grandest cathedral ever to be built. The architect has invited stonemasons and artisans, jewellers and carpenters to craft every piece.
A stonemason receives his assignment, and he works for months preparing a single piece of stone. He's vaguely aware that others are getting on with their tasks but has no idea how his small, seemingly inconsequential stone will fit into the grand plan.
But he trusts the architect that the work he has done will not be wasted. That every part matters, and every small work will one day come together to create the masterpiece.
The stonemason is not building the cathedral; he is building for the cathedral!
We are not the ones building the Kingdom, but we are building for the kingdom that Jesus will one day bring fully to this earth. It is a Kingdom that is already breaking in, and we catch glimpses of it.
We are building for the Kingdom in whatever small sphere we have. We do it when we let go of an old grudge, when we speak to an isolated neighbour, and when we simply sit beside someone in tears. And we do it when we extend our hands beyond our own borders (welcoming the stranger, and supporting families caught in conflicts far from home).
It is through us that the cry of the forsaken meets the mercy of Christ.
(Copyright free image from Pixabay)
1 CommentsComment on Facebook
Get in touch
Contact Details
Hilton Church is at 4 Tomatin Road, Inverness IV2 4UA
Tel:
01463 233310
email:
office@hiltonchurch.org.uk
The Care Team
The Care Team’s role is to provide help and support in various ways for people of all ages in the congregation. These could be a home or hospital visit, a meal in time of crisis, or a listening ear.
If you, or anyone you know needs help in this way, please contact
Church Office: 01463 233310
The next week at Hilton Church
Sunday 8th November Nitelife meets in the small hall at 7.00pm
Monday 9th November Rhymes Recollected meets in the small hall, 2.00pm – 3.00pm
Tuesday 10th November Over 60s Afternoon Tea at the Anchor Cafe beside the church at 2.00pm All welcome! Free of charge!
Thursday 12th November TNT (Thursday Night Thing) for children in P2 – P7 6.00pm – 7.00 pm Please note: pre-registration is essential – see flyer below for full details.
Friday 13th November Friday Toddlers, run by Hilton Family Support meets in the large hall (rear entrance) from 10.00am – 11.15am.
Sunday 15th November 10.30am Sunday worship in the church and broadcast live on the church Facebook page
All the latest from Children’s Ministry Ukraine
Click here for all the latest news from Children’s Ministry Ukraine. This charity, co-ordinated by Simeon Ewing, is one of the two groups which we’ll be supporting through the Craft Fair on 21st November. (The other is Hilton Family Support)
Hilton Church helps transform lives for good
See below for details of the TLG Conference – please note that this is an on-line event
Hilton Parish Church
Sunday 8 November 2026
REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY
A Remembrance Sunday service was held at 10.30am in the church building on Sunday 8 November. The service was simultaneously broadcast on the Church Facebook page. For the next four weeks you can catch up here.
The Bible passages were Psalm 22: 1-11, 22-24, 27-31 and Mark 15: 25-39, and David led and preach and preached, with Sheena speaking to the children.
‘It is through us that the cry of the forsaken meets the mercy of Christ.’
Here’s a link to David Sim’s outstanding Remembrance Sunday reflection on ‘The Silence That Is Not Empty. It’s an utterly realistic, and therefore hugely encouraging reflection on the God is with us in the darkness, in the silence, in the immensity of suffering. And here’s a link to two of the prayers in which Davud led us in the course of the service.
Here’s the inspiring, practical conclusion of the sermon:
So what do we do with this? Well, two things.
First, we can pray the psalm. When your own darkness comes, you don’t have to produce tidy faith. You can say “My God, my God”, because Jesus did. Bring the whole weight of it. God is close, even when he is silent.
Second, remembrance has to become… well… something. We honour the fallen not only by wearing poppies but by what we do with the peace they bought. I know it can seem impossible. We look at the wars, the climate destruction, the political division, and the problems in our own communities… and we think to ourselves… what can we ever hope to do when we’re so small?
In response, theologian NT Wright asks us to picture a scene: imagine an architect has brilliant plans for the grandest cathedral ever to be built. The architect has invited stonemasons and artisans, jewellers and carpenters to craft every piece.
A stonemason receives his assignment, and he works for months preparing a single piece of stone. He’s vaguely aware that others are getting on with their tasks but has no idea how his small, seemingly inconsequential stone will fit into the grand plan.
But he trusts the architect that the work he has done will not be wasted. That every part matters, and every small work will one day come together to create the masterpiece.
The stonemason is not building the cathedral; he is building for the cathedral!
We are not the ones building the Kingdom, but we are building for the kingdom that Jesus will one day bring fully to this earth. It is a Kingdom that is already breaking in, and we catch glimpses of it.
We are building for the Kingdom in whatever small sphere we have. We do it when we let go of an old grudge, when we speak to an isolated neighbour, and when we simply sit beside someone in tears. And we do it when we extend our hands beyond our own borders (welcoming the stranger, and supporting families caught in conflicts far from home).
It is through us that the cry of the forsaken meets the mercy of Christ.
Here are some wise words from Jim Gordon from Aberdeen which he used at at Remembrance service this morning, shared with his permission.
May the God of mercy and justice give us courage to question assumptions that conflict is inevitable in a globalised, polarised and destabilised world. God help us to see all those structures of violent power, of oppressive ideas, of instilled hostility, as part of that great song of the ruthless, and help us by God’s grace and strength to silence it, –
by persistent, patient actions of peace,
by resilient, responsive acts of reconciliation,
by gentle, gracious words of goodness
by faith-filled, faithful prayers of friendship
by holy, hopeful gestures of healing.
Amen.
Here are links to websites which Duncan has recommended we explore:
The Bible Project
The Bible Society
The London Institute for Contemporary Christianity
Here are links to David Sim’s posts on ‘Medium’
All posts
New posts:
Love your enemies. No exceptions (July 20 2026)
The unfolding word: Listening for the heartbeat of the sacred text (August 3 2026)
Faith>Belief (31 August 2026)
Nature speaks of the divine (9 September 2026)
Beyond nature – encountering the divine (14 September 2026)
Blessing: why spiritual defiance starts with your words (11 October 2026)
Inverness Warm Spaces
A number of venues across Inverness have opened their doors through the week to offer a warm welcome and bring people together in the local community. Enjoy some Highland hospitality and make new friends. Additional support is also available at some venues.
Here’s a link to a list of these ‘Warm Spaces’ with the times they are available.
Highland Foodbank asks for our help: Harvest Appeal 2026
Hilton Parish Church works very closely with Hilton Family Support, helping to make a difference in the local community. Click the links below to explore.
Click here for the latest Hilton Family Support Newsletter.
Click here to donate to Hilton Family Support
Giving to Hilton Parish Church
If you would like to give towards the work of Hilton Parish Church, here are a few ways in which you can do it.
(1) The most beneficial way of giving would be through a monthly standing order which would enable the congregation to have a regular and predictable monthly income:
Sort Code: 80-91-26
Account No: 00444375
Account Name: HILTON CHURCH
(2) You can also give through the Give.net link below
(3) Free Will Offering Envelopes – we are conscious that many may wish to continue with this scheme putting money aside each week, and we look forward to receiving these offerings when the crisis comes to an end.
(4) If you would like to give offerings through cheque, these can be made payable to Hilton Church and posted to: Hilton Parish Church, 4 Tomatin Road, Inverness, IV2 4UA
Please note that if you are a tax payer Gift Aid is applicable for all of the above and this can increase our income by 25%. If possible, please complete a Gift Aid declaration (available here or from the church office) and return it to the church office.
We thank you for your support of the ministry of Hilton Church.
Our latest Facebook posts
David's Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession from Sunday's service
Inspired by Present on Earth, 1995 WGRG, Iona Community, Glasgow G2 3DH, Scotland. Concluding Trinitarian prayer adapted from 24/7 Prayer.
God of grace and peace,
on this Sunday of remembrance, we bring you our thanksgiving:
that our silence is not empty, and no cry of anguish is lost to you;
that you do not hide your face from the afflicted, but in Christ entered our deepest darkness to meet us there;
for the gift of peace and the fragile freedom we enjoy;
and for all who in times past and present have put the needs of others before their own.
LORD, IN YOUR MERCY, HEAR OUR PRAYER.
O Christ the Healer,
by your wounds others are made whole,
by your tears sorrow is washed away.
Come with kindness
to all who carry wounds (seen and unseen);
to those who carry the quiet ache of bereavement,
to those who live with trauma, illness, or frailty,
and to all who today need your touch, your time,
or who simply need to know that you remember them.
LORD, IN YOUR MERCY, HEAR OUR PRAYER.
O Christ the Peacemaker,
stubbornness condemns us,
unsure as we are to walk the road that leads to peace.
Fulfil in our time the prophet's vision:
teach nations to beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
Show us the humbler, braver path,
where we learn war no more,
and by which our warfare may be turned to welfare.
LORD, IN YOUR MERCY, HEAR OUR PRAYER.
O Christ the Liberator,
the chains of death and fear could not hold you,
yet prejudice, oppression, and false divisions continue to ensnare your world.
Where humanity cries out against inhumanity
and where the earth mourns the scars of our neglect,
deliver all from evil.
LORD, IN YOUR MERCY, HEAR OUR PRAYER.
O Christ the Stranger,
you meet us when we are not ready for you;
you sit with those society ignores or fears;
you knock on the door we are hesitant to open;
you say the word we are reluctant to hear.
Come, where you are kept at arm's length
and take the hand that needs to hold you.
Let us be still for a while…
Bring before God the name of someone who is hurting, or a situation that feels unresolved.
We don't hold them before a distant God, but before the One who walked through the darkness before us, and who refuses to leave our side.
* * *
LORD, IN YOUR MERCY, HEAR OUR PRAYER.
Lord Jesus Christ,
we believe that you are God;
we believe that you are true to your promise to answer the prayers of your people;
Father, help us to live this day to the full, being true to you in every way.
Jesus, help us to give ourselves away to others, being kind to everyone we meet.
Spirit, help us to love the lost, proclaiming Christ in all we do and say.
Amen.
Image by Myriams-Fotos from Pixabay
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
'Meet us in our sorrow, and flood our hearts this morning with your steadfast love, so that we may live with hope.'
The first of two of David's prayers from Sunday's Remembrance Service
Prayer of Adoration and Confession and the Lord’s Prayer (Ps 90)
An adaptation of Psalm 90 for Remembrance Sunday.
Lord God, through every sorrow and across every generation, you have been our refuge and our true home.
Long before the mountains rose from the earth, long before the world was shaped, you were God, and you love us with an everlasting love.
A thousand years vanish before your eyes like a single breath in the cold.
And so we can come before you today with open hearts and deep gratitude, clinging to your steady presence even when everything else around us shakes.
* * *
We stand before you carrying the real grief and shame of our broken world.
You see right through us: you see our hidden motives, our coldness of heart, and the bitter divisions we nurture.
We look upon the appalling tragedy of war: the young lives cut short, the homes destroyed, the unbearable grief of families, and the terrible ruin caused by human pride and greed.
Lord, have mercy on us!
Forgive us where even we have chosen retaliation over reconciliation.
Forgive us where we have applauded power instead of defending the weak.
And forgive us where we have treated lightly the heartbreaking cost of the peace handed down to us.
* * *
Teach us wisdom, O God.
Help us to see how fragile and precious each human life is, so that we may not waste another day in hatred or apathy.
Meet us in our sorrow, and flood our hearts this morning with your steadfast love, so that we may live with hope.
Do not let the sacrifices of the past be in vain.
Take the frail work of our hands and use it to build justice, and set our hearts on fire with a passionate longing for peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Image by Tep Ro from Pixabay
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Get in touch
Contact Details
Hilton Church is at 4 Tomatin Road, Inverness IV2 4UA
Church Office: 01463 233310
email:
office@hiltonchurch.org.uk
The Care Team
The Care Team’s role is to provide help and support in various ways for people of all ages in the congregation. These could be a home or hospital visit, a meal in time of crisis, or a listening ear.
If you, or anyone you know needs help in this way, please contact
Church Office: 01463 233310