St Paul's, Rothesay

I was at St Paul's Episcopal Church in Rothesay this morning for communion.

St Paul's fits neatly into a tiny corner on the Rothesay sea front and like most Episcopal Churches in Scotland dates from the mid 19th century.

In the Argyll & Bute on line history of this church I love the reference to the "twenty most respectable people" who were worshipping in a private house in Rothesay in the 1830's and who persuaded the Bishop of Ross & Argyll (as the diocese then was) to find a priest for them.

That description I suppose was needed so that they could differentiate themselves from 18th century Episcopalians who came to be regarded as anything but respectable as a result of their enthusiasm for the Jacobite cause which resulted in the forcible closure of many Episcopal chapels after the "45 .

Dean Samuel Hood (commemorated in Deanhood Street in Rothesay) arrived from Dundee in 1838 and ministered to the island congregation for an incredible 34 years. He oversaw the building of a wooden chapel on the site and then this church, and made sure it was fully paid for before its consecration in 1862.

There have been a succession of Rectors since then, of course, and today it is a joint charge with Dunoon.

I first went to a service here at some stage in the late 1970s when I had a University friend living in the town and teaching at the local school and it is good to have it as my local church now, albeit I have to take a ferry to get there. But I also have a choice as Holy Trinity Dunoon is only slightly further, and the route there is all by dry land !