Finally! A Picture for the Blog!

St Fergus Parish Church, St Fergus, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

I have been working on getting pictures of St Fergus Parish Church and the area surrounding the village of St Fergus into the blog and onto Facebook. I succeeded in regards to the latter, and now I see that I am successful regarding the former. Here is the first picture I have had on my blog. It is a picture of St Fergus Parish Church. The church building itself dates back to 1850 or so, but there is evidence of a Christian church here in the area from the mid-16th century. The foundation of the earlier church building can still be seen at the village cemetery located between the village and the North Sea. When I get more settled, I will explore the old site to see what I can learn. The clerk of the Church session has given me material to go through about the history of the church. I feel like I am on an adventure! 

I am interested in finding out more about St Fergus the missionary and whether he was caught up in the great missionary movement that flowed out of Iona in the second half of the first millennium of the present era. The great Celtic missionary saint Columba was at the forefront of a movement that swept into Scotland and Northern England from Ireland. Other Celtic missionary saints such as Aidan, Cuthbert, and a host of others proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ and healed the sick. Later the Venerable Bede, an Englishman, wrote a history in the English language of this great missionary endeavor. I am wondering if St Fergus was part of this great Celtic missionary movement. I have a hunch that he was. I expect that St Fergus Parish Church tapped into this stream of rich Celtic missionary heritage! I am eager to find out more. In the picture above of the church, there is a standing Celtic Cross in front of the church. I haven't heard anything about the date of the cross, whether it is ancient or relatively recent. But I will have joy in finding that out! 

Blessings to you and yours,