425. HUNTLY - Christ Church

Photographs taken by Jeff Lowndes

History

It was during the year 1849 that a piece of land was acquired from the Gordon estates and it was there that the a church was built for the sum of £800 and dedicated Christ Church in 1850, the priest at that time being the Reverend J.F Macdonald.

In the 150 years since its consecration Christ Church has had only 11 rectors, five of them in the 20th century.

The Isla-Deveron Group of Episcopal Churches consists of three churches, Holy Trinity in Keith, Christ Church in Huntly and St Marnan in Aberchirder and are part of the United Diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness within the Scottish Episcopal Church.

The group takes its name from the two rivers in the area, the Deveron which flows through Huntly and its tributary, the Isla which flows through Keith and joins the Deveron near Aberchirder.

The process whereby these three churches came together began in 1951 when Canon Walter Donald, who was Rector of Christ Church, Huntly was asked to take charge also of St Marnan's Aberchirder, when the incumbent there, Reverend Tom Hopkins, left. This arrangement continued very satisfactorily into the next incumbency of the Reverend Cyril Barnes who became Rector of Christ Church in 1967. In the mid-seventies, the Reverend Tom Gooding, Rector of Holy Trinity in Keith retired and, guided by the Rt. Revd. George Sessford, Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness, Canon Cyril (as he had become) was invited by the Vestry of Holy Trinity, Keith to take on a third member of the Group. Revd Loma and Revd David Balfour then looked after Aberchirder, Huntly and Keith from Autumn 2009 until December 2010. Bishop Mark is Rector of the church.
Revd Norma Milne is now the priest looking after Aberchirder and Huntly,
assisted by Revd Eric Nicholson.

SERVICES

Services held at Christ Church, Huntly are as follows:-

Family Eucharist each Sunday at 1030 am.

On the 5th Sunday of each month the service will be a combined one held with other churches in the group and details will be shown on the 'Notices' page of this site.

Check the Notice Board at the church for details of other services and an update of information..