Church Build

Planning Update - 06 December 2023

A letter from the Elders and Deacons of the High Free Church:

While we may be disappointed at the news regarding the planning application, hope is not lost! In fact, we can know for sure that there is a hope. The Lord provides and the Lord provides at His own appointed time.

We trust in the sovereignty and the provision of God. He gave us so many things that are impossible, yet with Him all things are possible. He gave us a Saviour, born of a virgin, who lived a blameless life. He paid the price of our sins. He healed the sick and raised the dead. He died and rose again.

We commit our building plans to the Lord. And we commit our Deacons' Court and our Property Group to His hands.

God has given us so many places that we have used over the years and it has been a blessing and He strengthens us and has brought us through many challenges. This is one of our biggest, and most exciting challenges, to have a building of our own!

Would you like to help us meet our goal of having our own building? Would you like to contribute to our efforts? Here is how you can help:

Pray! - Our minister Hugh reminds us often that much prayer equals much power, little prayer equals little power, and no prayer means no power. So please pray for us, whether it is for the meetings of the committee, the applications and challenges ahead and current, or even that we will get our building.
Donate! - as well as prayer, financial contributions help a great deal in bringing our goal to fruition.

Wanting to donate to our building fund? This will go live soon!

Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Visitors click here.

Planning your Visit

Attending the High Free

Where and When

We currently do not have a building of our own yet but we are looking to have one built - click here for more information. In the meantime we use Sandwick Hall for our morning services and The Seminary (Francis Street, Stornoway) for our evening services. We also use the Fàilte Centre on Bayhead for our midweek meetings.

We always welcome visitors to our services and we are glad that you are considering visiting us! We know that attending somewhere new or for the first time can be rather daunting, so we have compiled some information below so you know what to expect…

Should you wish to visit our services or meetings and would like to let us know you are coming along, you are more than welcome to fill out the form below - although, whether you contact us prior to your visit or if you just turn up, we will make sure you get a warm and friendly welcome either way!

Name:
Email Address:
Mobile:
Your Message:

Sunday Morning Service
11:00
Sandwick Hall

Sunday Evening Service
18:30
The Seminary

Tuesday Prayer Meeting - English
19:30
Fàilte Centre

Thursday Prayer Meeting - Gaelic
19:30
Fàilte Centre*

Saturday Prayer Meeting - English
19:30
Zoom**

*On the first Thursday of the month it is a joint Gaelic meeting with Stornoway Free Church in the Seminary.

**On the first Saturday of the month this is in the Fàilte Centre.

Accessibility

There is wheelchair access to all venues used by the High Free Church. If required, a first aid kit and wheelchair are to be made available in the following locations:

Sandwick Hall:
First Aid Kit - In the kitchen area inside the door nearest to the main entrance.
Wheelchair - In the crèche room to the right as you enter the building.

Seminary:
First Aid Kit - Kitchen area next to the exit door behind the pulpit.
Wheelchair - In the storage room through the exit midway down the sanctuary
on the left-hand side.

How to find us:

Sandwick Hall, The Seminary and the Fàilte Centre are marked below on the maps.

Sandwick Hall

The Seminary, Francis Street

The Fàilte Centre, Bayhead

Our Service

Our services are at 11am in Sandwick Hall and 6:30pm in the Seminary on Francis Street, Stornoway. During the morning service there is a crèche and, during term-time, Sunday School. Services generally follow this pattern:

Welcome & Intimations
Call to Worship
First Singing
First Prayer (Standing, if able)
Children’s Talk
Second Singing (Children leave for Sunday School)
Reading
Second Prayer (seated)
Sermon
Final Singing
Benediction

At the High Free our readings are taken from the English Standard Version Bible translation.

What to wear

This is up to you. We have some people who wear their suits, some who come smart-casual and some who come in jeans and T-shirt. Whatever you chose to wear you can be sure of a warm welcome!

What to take

All the words for the items of praise are projected onto a screen or hymn books will be given out as you enter the building. Take a Bible with you, a notebook and pen/pencil (if you wish) and yourself.

What about my kids?

We have a crèche available and a Sunday School. Crèche volunteers are in the first room on the right as you enter Sandwick Hall. The Sunday School leave after the second singing.