A Church of Scotland congregation in Orkney has celebrated the donation of a beautiful tapestry specially commissioned for their new building.
The project to build the Milestone Church in West Mainland was a major undertaking for the then-minister the Rev Andrea Price.
She has since moved on to St Columba’s in London, but returned to Orkney recently with her husband Neil to see the so-called Milestone tapestry take pride of place in the new building.
It was created by Leila Thomson, a renowned Orcadian tapestry artist. The Milestone Tapestry is the first time she has focused on the west mainland and it captures the beauty, spirituality and history of the parishes whilst retaining her unique style and insight.
Mr Price, who is one of the General Trustees of the Church who manage the Kirk’s estate, said they raised the money for the tapestry because of his own personal milestone – his 60th birthday in 2011.
Instead of birthday gifts, he received generous contributions for the art work. With the help of gift aid on the donation to the church, they had enough money to commission local artist Leila Thomson to create a tapestry reflecting the church’s special place in the centre of the community.
“Leila is in great demand, and there’s a five year wait for her work,” said Mr Price.
“We left the design up to her, and I put it out of my mind. So all of a sudden in January, the phone rang and it had arrived. It’s a marvellous design, and every time you look at it you can see something new – the wind, the clouds, the sky, the sea all represent other things in the community and Orkney. It’s wonderful.”
Mrs Price, on her first visit back to the building, says it’s wonderful to see what three congregations coming together in the new church have achieved with the space.
“Leila has put the icing on the cake with her interpretation of life and worship in Orkney,” she added.
“It stands out and hits you in your heart.”
The Rev David McNeish, who moved to Orkney in January to take up his first charge at the church, said: “It just manages to catch something of the beauty and the spirituality of this part of the mainland. It’s marvellous.”