ABOUT US
BLACK ISLE EAST CHURCH OF SCOTLAND
MINISTER
Rev. Dr Warren Beattie
Warren and Stroma spent over 20 years in Asia working with churches and organisations in South Korea and Singapore with OMF International: Warren was involved in theological and mission training and latterly Director for Mission Research, whilst Stroma was the International Medical Adviser – responsible for a community of over 2000 adults and children living across East Asia - through an organisational medical clinic based in Singapore.
Returning to the UK, they were involved in All Nations Christian College a residential centre offering degrees in Intercultural and Biblical Studies to students from over twenty-five nations in a community setting.
Now based in the Black Isle, Warren has been working as a minister and teaches on Worship through the Highland Theological College (HTC) part of the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI); Stroma works locally as a GP, she is on the Board of OMF International (UK) and has just stepped down (after nine years of service) as the chair of the board of Friends International - a Christian organisation reaching out to international students .
Throughout their time in Asia, England and returning to Scotland they have connected deeply with local churches and enjoy being in the Black Isle in its distinctive community with its own missional challenges and opportunities – whilst welcoming friends from all corners of the globe to the manse.
If you have any questions about church life or would like to get in touch with Warren, please send an email to:
WHAT WE BELIEVE
Creeds & Confessions
Our congregation belongs to the Church of Scotland. The Church of Scotland draws its beliefs from the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, traditionally described as the "rule of faith and life"; it subscribes to historic creeds like the Apostle's Creed and, after the Reformation, recognised particularly and formally, in the late 17th century, the relevance of the Westminster Confession of Faith.
The Church of Scotland website suggests that "for a brief summary of our beliefs, it is useful to look at the Apostles' Creed,
which is used by many churches in declaring Christian faith":
"I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth, and in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified,
dead, and buried; he descended into hell.
"The third day he rose again from the dead, he ascended into Heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God
the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
"I believe in the Holy Ghost; the Holy Catholic Church; the Communion of Saints; the Forgiveness of Sins;
the Resurrection of the Body; and the Life Everlasting."
This Creed affrims the trinitarian nature of God, the centrality of Jesus in the purposes of salvation - in terms of his life lived in history, his
death and resurrection - and the importance of the Holy Spirit in Christian life and experience; it also reminds us of the central role of the
church universal, the necessity of personal faith - in that all of the affirmations begin with the words: "I believe in ..." - and the far-
reaching and enduring nature of the Christian hope.
TEAM
The Kirk Session is the group of elders who have responsibility for the congregation.
They meet six times a year to give direction to the church: its weekly worship and activities, the groups in the church, the different generations and the pastoral care that the church offers to those in its midst. The Kirk Session is also responsible for the church finances and building.
Jack Kernahan
Session Clerk & Treasurer
Bob Moore
Elder - Explore Groups, Communications &
Avoch Hall
Stuart Tickner
Elder - Explore Groups, Communications &
Community Network Team
Douglas Cooper
Elder - Explore Groups
Bridget Houston
Elder - Community Network Team
Linda Simpson
Elder - Young People's Ministry
OUR PRESBYTERY
Clèir Eilean ì: Highlands and Hebrides
Black Isle East Church of Scotland
Our church has recently become Black Isle East Church of Scotland - a new union serving the villages of Avoch, Fortrose & Rosemarkie and Cromarty and surrounding countryside areas.
Clèir Eilean Ì - The Church of Scotland in the Highlands and Hebrides
As part of a connected process there is a new presbytery in the Highlands and Islands stretching from Argyll in the south up round the west and North-East of Scotland to the Inverness bay area and western Moray..
Clèir Eilean Ì: literally means the Presbytery of the Isle of Iona
- a symbolic title - in the hope that the missional vision of the early Celtic Christians can be an inspiration for today's contemporary context.
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TRAINING IN
OUR PRESBYTERY
Clèir Eilean ì: Highlands and Hebrides
Pathways Training Courses (2025-2026)
Pathways Training Courses aim to develop key ministry skills so that congregational members with appropriate gifts can share more deeply in the life of their own congregations and the wider Church. Candidates need to have the approval of their Minister (or supporting Church Leadership).
Currently there are three Pathways Training Courses (2025-26):
Leading Worship [LW] (Rev. Dr. Warren R. Beattie),
Preaching the Word of God [PWG] (Rev. Hector Morrison) and
Conducting a Funeral [CF] (Pastor Mike Rattenbury).
These are delivered through the Highland Theological College -
University of the Highlands and Islands (HTC-UHI)
as 10-week evening class Modules Tues / Wed evenings
at 7:30-9:00 p.m. online.
The Modules includes Assessments and are followed by related Practicals with input from Ministers in CEI and the relevant Tutors
who are all part of the staff of HTC-UHI.
Pathways Training Courses LW, PWG and CF all have two elements:
Modules and related Practicals:
the Modules invite a cohort of 10-15 people to share in training
through teaching, reading and reflection
supplemented by interaction and presentations;
these Modules are followed by a short series of Practicals -
which take place in local congregations in CEI;
the Practicals are overseen by the Module Tutors and
relevant CEI Ministers under the auspices of
the CEI Training and Ministry Team and HTC-UHI.
The overall experience of Pathways Training Courses
(over a period of 6 months) offers Candidates a solid foundation
to share in and lead key elements of congregational life and worship.
Following successful completion of both elements - the Modules and Practicals of the Pathways Training Courses – Candidates will be accredited within the bounds of the Presbytery of CEI at the invitation of the local Minister of each congregation (recognising that many will likely be ministering within their own congregation or Mission District).
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CEI Pathways Courses with HTC/UHI (2026)
Information & Video on HTC's Facebook site:
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1303984538181179&set=pcb.1303985678181065
https://www.facebook.com/HighlandTheologicalCollege/videos/1899385443951636
OUR BUILDING
Church Building
There has been a Christian presence in Rosemarkie for many centuries , with the current Church building having been constructed in the early 1820s. At the heart of the current design is a central pulpit with sounding-board (above) with seating downstairs and a horseshoe gallery. The Rosemarkie building has been designated as the central building for the new union of Black Isle East Church of Scotland.
Church Renovations - update June 2025
The Church of Scotland Presbytery Mission Plan has encouraged church buildings to be “well-equipped spaces in the right places.”
Following assessments of our church building, the congregation was encouraged to refurbish. Work continues at a measured pace around the improvements to the Rosemarkie building. It has taken around five months to obtain Planning Permission and Listed Building Consent. The Building Warrant process continues.
To keep the building as warm as possible new energy-efficient wall-mounted heaters will be supplemented by a “halo” system specially designed for churches – more effective and economical than the present system – and renewed secondary glazing will also be installed.
These renovations will make the building more accessible and contemporary allowing it to be a more flexible space for worship and congregational community life.
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HRI Munro Archictecture - sketch of projected sanctuary space