Dornoch Cathedral is not only a place of worship and a sanctuary for many, it is much much more than that. Irrespective of whether or not you attend services, for many of you it’s where you were married, where your children were baptised and where you expect your funeral service to be. It’s a concert venue, it’s been a graduation venue for the UHI, it’s the place where the schools come to for their Christmas service, it’s the heart of the town.

For those of who are saying that it’s none of those things to them, keep reading….

The Cathedral is one of the main visitor attractions in the town. It attracts literally thousands of visitors annually. These thousands of visitors are the people who stay in your accommodation, eat in your cafes and restaurants, drink in your bars and buy goods and souvenirs from your shops.

If the Cathedral were not open as a place of worship it would be shut, end of story. Nobody would buy it or take it on as it is so expensive to run and, because it’s a grade A listed building, it would be almost impossible to get permission to alter or to get a change of use granted.

We are in the sad position of running on empty financially.

Does that threaten the future of the Cathedral? As a Church community no, it doesn’t, we have another building that we can use.

Does it threaten the Cathedral as a building, as a community resource, as a visitor attraction, as a concert venue? Yes, it most certainly does.

As you will know we have been without a permanent minister for some years now. We are now in a position to advertise for a permanent full time minister – except that the permission to do this is threatened by our financial position. Even if permission to advertise is upheld, it would be rare minister who would apply to a church in such a poor financial position.

Currently the Cathedral costs £394 PER DAY to keep open.

Our regular current income is £247 PER DAY.

We are looking at a shortfall of just over £53,000 for 2024.

Our new fundraising committee are working hard to narrow this gap but we need you to help.

Please consider coming along to Gift Day on Friday 31^st May in the Cathedral, 10.30am to 3pm, and giving what you can. Teas, coffees, cakes and fellowship will be waiting for you.

If you can’t join us, you can give online by bank transfer to Dornoch Firth Church of Scotland, sort code 80-06-36, account number 06002380, reference Gift Day, or by sending a cheque made out to Dornoch Firth to Kim McCarthy, Gashagaich, Dornoch, IV25 3NH.

Or donate online here (please choose ‘Gift Day’ when you post your contribution – thanks.)

If a financial contribution isn’t possible, please consider helping us fundraise with either ideas, practical help or moral support – come along for a tea or coffee anyway, you will be most welcome.

The Dornoch Firth Church Youth Theatre group is performing the Jungle Book on Saturday 18th May in Dornoch’s West Church Hall with shows at 2:30 pm and 7:00 pm. All the well-known songs from the Disney original are there but the storyline is very different.

Loggers are tearing down the jungle at a staggering rate:
The animals – and the mancub Mowgli – must flee and seek help from the “man village”. Will help be forthcoming? Will the animals survive? Is there a future? Be there to find out! Entry is by donation.

Graham McCarthy

A simple questionnaire has been developed to allow you to express your views on what we will be looking for in a new minister.  Please take the time to fill this in as soon as possible.  If you are unable to do this online then forms are available at the doors after Morning Worship on Sunday.

[LINK TO THE QUESTIONNAIRE]

Thank you.