WITHOUT a monster in sight, some hundreds of people gathered on
the shores of Loch Ness as three congregations hosted the first
Picnic and Praise event by the ruins of Urquhart Castle,
Drumnadrochit.
The three Glenurquhart churches involved were St Ninian's, in
the Scottish Episcopal diocese of Moray, Ross &
Caithness, Glenurquhart Free Church of Scotland, and
Urquhart Church of Scotland. They were joined by visitors from a
wide area of the Highlands, and from as far afield as Northern
Ireland, Orkney, the Czech Republic, and Holland.
The Revd Dr John Ross, of the SEC, tells me that there had been
heavy rain all morning, but "by 7.30 p.m. there was blue sky, and
only a few midges". A programme of music included a talk from the
singer-songwriter Gus Eyre, aged 71, who told the audience that, in
finding Jesus, he found fulfilment, purpose, and joy.
As the choir sang "Be thou my vision", the MC, Farquhar Forbes,
commemorated St Columba's visit to the area 15 centuries before.
And the evening closed in the Scottish traditional way, with a lone
piper on the ramparts of Urquhart Castle - on this occasion with
the wailing notes of "Amazing Grace".