It was with a spirit of profound thankfulness to the Lord, and an overwhelming sense of joy, that the congregation of Poolewe & Aultbea gathered for the first time in their recently completed new church building for the public worship of God on Wednesday 7th December 2022 and then on Lord’s Day 11th December.

The congregation had been without a permanent church building since January 2000 but in the Lord’s wonderful providence, in 2016 the local elder Mr Murdo MacDonald identified a suitable land site, and plans were commenced to purchase the land and build a place of worship. Foundations for the new building were excavated in January 2020, but the Covid pandemic brought several unforeseen challenges to the project, requiring many revisions to the original timescales.

Mr MacDonald and his nephew Mr Roddy MacLennan worked tirelessly throughout this period to overcome all logistical obstacles, and the congregation are deeply grateful to them for their outstanding efforts in producing a most suitable and commodious building in which to engage in the public worship of God. The roominess of the sanctuary exceeded expectations and can comfortably accommodate seating for fifty.

The church is situated on the main A832, at its junction for the north access road into Aultbea, signposted Aultbea/Mellon Charles. It is easily spotted, having the village war memorial directly in front of it.

The congregation is indebted to the Finance & Sustentation Committee through whom a mortgage loan from Stewardship was acquired to provide the necessary funds to purchase building materials and cover labour costs, and to the wider denomination (and beyond) for the many generous financial contributions received, which have proved vital to the success of this project.

Above all, the congregation is thankful to God who throughout this project has indeed revealed Himself to be Jehovah-Jireh, the God who provides. It is the fervent prayer of the Kirk Session and congregation that He would mightily use this building for His own glory, and that He would powerfully bless the faithful preaching of the Gospel there and be pleased to add to the church daily such as should be saved.

The Deacons’ Court are planning to organise a service to formally open the new Church building sometime in the New Year, DV, and details of this will be circulated when available.

Please remember the small work in Poolewe and Aultbea in prayer, and should anyone wish to make a financial donation to further defray build costs, please forward this to the congregational Treasurer: Mrs Joanne MacIver, 6 Pier Road, Aultbea, Achnasheen, IV22 2JQ or at joanne38lb@hotmail.com