Fortrose Free Church of Scotland
Church Information
Services
Sunday: 10 am & 6 pm (Fortrose Town Hall)
Tuesday: 7.30 pm (Manse in Station Road)
Church Address
Free Church of Scotland, 5 Church Street, Fortrose, Ross-shire, IV10 8TE.
Location: centre of Fortrose on the Black Isle (click on photo above).
Contacts
Rev Sandy Sutherland, Free Church Manse, Station Road, Fortrose, Ross-shire, IV10 8SY.
Telephone: 01381 621404. E: brorasutherland@googlemail.com
Session Clerk: Rev Sandy Sutherland
Deacons’ Court Clerk: Mr William Mackintosh, ‘Beinn a’ Chaorainn’, Raddery, Fortrose, Ross-shire, IV10 8SN.
Aims and Affiliation
The Free Church of Scotland www.freechurch.org currently has over 100 congregations in Scotland, as well as 2 in London and 5 in North America, and sister Churches founded by mission work in India, Peru and South Africa. The Church also has a full time college in the heart of Edinburgh for the training of ministers and other Christian workers and sustains an extensive missionary programme relative to the size of the church.
Fortrose Free Church of Scotland is a congregation of the National Free Church of Scotland—Scottish Charity No. SC 012925. It is a Presbyterian church, dating from 1843, adhering in its worship and doctrine to the position of the Church of Scotland at the Reformation.
The Free Church owes its distinctive title to its historical struggle to remain ‘free’ from state interference in its internal affairs. It has close and active relations with many other Reformed churches throughout the world and stands firmly in the tradition which accepts the Bible in its entirety as the Word of God and, therefore, derives its forms of teaching, worship, ministry and government from it. The main emphasis of our worship is the preaching of the gospel – the good news of a free and sovereign salvation through Jesus Christ alone. Along with the principle objectives of worshipping God and spreading of the gospel of Jesus Christ the congregation also seek to exercise pastoral care and the provision of practical compassion for those in need.
Role of Office Bearers
The government of the Free Church of Scotland is Presbyterian and the congregation is within the Presbytery of Inverness, Lochaber and Ross. The day-to-day running of the congregation is undertaken by the Elders (the Kirk Session) and the Deacons (the Deacons’ Court). The Deacons’ Court’s specific function relates to the material and financial business of the congregation, whereas Elders are charged with the general and spiritual oversight of the congregation. It is accepted practice for the Minister and Elders to also be in membership of the Deacons’ Court.
