Dornoch Cathedral

As the church bells ring on Sunday mornings, Allene, Jim, Steve, and I walk through an ancient graveyard to worship at Dornoch Cathedral. It has gathered people together since 1224, but is surely more welcoming now than ever before. This week, The Very Reverend Dr. Susan Brown, Chaplain to the Queen in Scotland and Minister of Dornoch Cathedral, Church of Scotland, prayed that as we came together with our own cares and worries, we would also consider the cares and worries of others. After two weeks of sybaritic living in Dornoch, my attention needed to be directed to the needs of others. The pillars of this church have been in place for eight centuries; I needed that perspective. The stones of the walls, which have survived assault and fire, reminded me of the strength that this building and this community represent.

Dr. Brown begins each service with an “all age talk,” a broader interpretation of a “children’s sermon.” Two weeks ago, she startled us all by demonstrating four ways to peel a banana:

1. from the top
2. from the bottom (like monkeys do)
3. snapping it in half
4. springing it open with a quick overhand throw.

With the attention of all ages totally captured, she helped us see that there are many ways to pray. Here are the ways I was inspired to remember:

1. from the top (praising God first and foremost)
2. from the bottom (listing our transgressions and making amends)
3. praying succinctly (getting on with a prayer without delay)
4. a quick “God help me” to acknowledge God’s sovereignty and ready succor

Fifteen days later, we’re still talking about banana prayers. On August 11, she gave me yet another idea to take back to First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach, Florida.

The theme was Sharing. In her “all age talk,” she asked, “What can you give away and yet have more of?” To answer, she took a sheet of paper labeled “God’s Love,” cut off one corner and gave it to a child. Behold! She now had five corners. Then she demonstrated how by further cutting the corners, she could give more, and still have plenty. She then tuned her phone to Spotify and played Malvina Reynold’s “The Magic Penny,” a song I used to sing with my Children’s Choir at Cherrydale Methodist Church. Even the hand motions came back.

The sermon that followed was based on Luke 12: “³³ Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Perfect for all the golfers in town for the Carnegie Shield Tournament at Royal Dornoch. I was glad I had donated to the charities sponsored by the annual “duck race” the day before, marking the conclusion of Dornoch Festival Week.

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The hymns we sing at Dornoch Cathedral are familiar. As we sang Love divine, all loves excelling, I noticed that many in the congregation knew it by heart.  A newer hymn we sang a week ago, to the tune Regent Square, had special appeal for this former children’s choir leader:

You are called to tell the story,
passing words of life along,
then to blend your voice with others
as you sing the sacred song.
Christ be known in all our singing,
filling all with songs of love.

2. You are called to teach the rhythm
of the dance that never ends,
then to move with in the circle,
hand in hand with strangers, friends.
Christ be known in all our dancing,
touching all with hands of love.

The window shown above by Alison Kinnaird is a memorial to former cathedral organist Stuart Anderson (1941-2001). I think it illustrates that hymn very well. Alison Kinnaird also designed and engraved the two newest windows on the North porch. [Click to enlarge and study.] The theme of these windows is “Dance.” Together they represent East and West, Dawn and Dusk, Male and Female, and Land and Sea. Both windows feature a central figure surrounded by flora and fauna of the local area.

Roddy McLean plays piano and organ, directs the choir, and creates wonderful music within the cathedral’s marvelous acoustics. The ladies who volunteer to assist visitors let me play Bach Preludes on the piano after 4:00 pm. On August 13 I attended a concert in the cathedral by Martha Howard, soprano, and Matthew Lazenby, pianist and organist. Martha sang three opera arias; Matthew played four organ pieces, and together they collaborated on Scottish folk favorites–so lovely. Here is a snippet from Matthew’s rendition of an organ piece by Michael Praetorius.

Nina and Roger left us last Friday to explore the Western Isles. We had spent our first week together at 10 Gilchrist Square (the garden featured on Highland Gardens). During the second week we four were together at Castleview apartments, still close to the Cathedral. Sensing how much Dornoch Cathedral means to me, Nina gave me this lovely tile to say farewell. Now we are back on Gilchrist Square with Allene and Jim. The days are getting shorter. Coming home from Lisa’s last Wednesday, I captured this image and sang “Goodnight” to the Cathedral.