There was a palpable sense of relief and thankfulness in Uist on Saturday when windswept brothers and sisters in Christ, from across Uist and beyond, assembled in the comfort of An Caladh, Balivanich, for the induction of the Rev Seòras MacGillivray to the Free Church pastoral charge of South Uist and Benbecula.
The service was led by the Rev Callum Macleod, Moderator of Presbytery for the event, who, along with his wife, Catherine, had, with customary foresight, arrived in Uist a couple of days ahead of Storm Amy. Callum based his sermon on Galatians 1:15-17, focusing on the gospel of Christ and the credentials for ministry. Drawing interesting parallels with the experiences of both Moses and Elijah, Callum explained how the Apostle Paul was chosen, called and commissioned, and he encouraged those present to rejoice that God still organises His church, still calls individuals to serve Him, still confirms them in His grace, still sends them out with gospel treasure and still provides reassurance of His presence with them.
After the formal induction procedure was completed, and due to the unavoidable absence of the Rev Iain Thomson, who had served the congregation as Interim Moderator, it fell to the Rev David Ferguson, North Uist, to address both the newly inducted Minister and the congregation. David aptly based his remarks on the Book of Exodus and on the experiences of Moses and the children of Israel as they journeyed together through the wilderness, reinforcing the fact that God is always in control.
Presenting Seòras with a gift from the congregation, local elder, Mike Townsend, confessed that the congregation had dreamed of this day, but had scarcely dared believe that it would come to pass. He commended both Seòras and Sarah for their humility, sincerity and servant-heartedness and marvelled at the goodness of God, who does immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.
After warm induction greetings from absent friends and family members were read, and a gift given from the sister congregation in North Uist, Seòras and Sarah were called to cut a celebration cake marking the fact that, in Gàidhlig, a ministry induction is known as a ‘marriage/pòsadh’. Seòras took this opportunity to express the family’s gratitude to those in Presbytery who had made the induction service possible, especially to Callum for coming over from Lewis to progress the formalities; to those coordinating the event behind the scenes; to the congregation and the community for their warm welcome; to those who led and carried the congregation in the vacancy and also to those who supported the leadership so willingly during that period. He drew his speech to a close by commending a portion of thanksgiving and prayer from Thessalonians 1:2-9 as a suitable model for moving forward together.
The fifty or so folk present were then treated to a wonderful meal, generously provided and prepared by a family in the congregation. In keeping with the congregation’s desire to praise God for his goodness, the day’s celebrations were drawn to a fitting conclusion with the singing of Psalm 117: ‘God is faithful now and ever; Hallelujah, praise the LORD!