Scottish Catholic Observer

St Columba’s Church, Culldoden, near Inverness, will host its first Christmas Carol concert and community singing night on Wednesday December 9.

The programme for our first Christmas Carol Service at St Columba’s (above) is coming together, according to Duncan Macpherson, and it will have a real international flavour to it. Choirs from St Joseph’s Primary School and Bun-sgoil Ghaidhlig Inbhir Nis, (the Inverness Gaelic primary school), will be performing for in English and Gaelic respectively.

Another highlight will be Fr Max and Fr James the newly appointed Nigerian Emmanuelite Fathers, now based in Beauly, accompanying parish priest, Fr Domenico Zanre and as they perform as The Highland Priests. The newly arrived Nigerian Daughters of Divine Love Sisters, from St Mary’s Convent, Inverness, will sing accompanied by the Emmanuelite Fathers in their native Ibo Nigerian language. We also hope to have a Polish group performing in the Polish language.

The evening, from 7pm to 8pm, is free to attend and everyone is welcome to come along and join in the community carol singing. After the carols, festive refreshments will be served, including tea, coffee, mince pies and mulled wine plus juice for the youngsters.

It promises to be an entertaining evening and will showcase the truly international and multi cultural features of the growing church community in Inverness.

The congregation of St Columba’s approached a local contractor in early 2005 with a view to commissioning a new build church on some scrub land in Inverness. The requirement for a low maintenance chapel building capable of extension to accommodate an ever expanding population.