Church of Scotland Moderator Lewis visit

Church of Scotland Moderator in Lewis visit 20/8/14

The Moderator of the Church of Scotland’s General Assembly, the Right Rev John P Chalmers is visiting Lewis.

The Moderator and his wife Liz will attend a formal reception tonight, hosted by Comhairle convener Norman Macdonald and attended by Rev Tommy Macneil, moderator of Lewis Presbytery.

Later they will be given a tour of the new Nicolson Institute, the new shared temporary accommodation hostel on Sandwick Road as well as athe Dun Eisdean Care Home and the Lews Castle development.

On Thursday evening, the Rt Rev Chalmers will meet the Lord Lieutenant of the Western Isles, Mr Sandy Matheson, and will inspect the local Army Reserve, Army Cadet and Air Training Corps companies.

The Chalmers are keenly aware of the dangers faced daily by the armed forces - their son, John James, was seriously injured in a Taliban bomb blast while serving with 42 Commando in Afghanistan in May 2011. The blast killed two of his friends.

Friday sees the Chalmers visiting the Harris Tweed Authority, Stornoway Historical Association, Stornoway Port Authority and a number of other maritime interests around Stornoway Harbour.

The Moderator’s main preaching engagement will be at Stornoway High Church of Scotland, Matheson Road, at 11am on Sunday - Rev Chalmers, a Queen’s Chaplain, will take the morning service. Later, at 6.30pm, he will participate in the evening service at Martin’s Memorial.

Next week, he will visit churches, businesses and sites of interest around rural Lewis.

Concluding the visit will be a formal reception by NHS Western Isles and a tour of Western Isles Hospital.

The Moderator normally visits Lewis Presbytery once every ten years so this week’s event is an important landmark for the Church of Scotland locally.