Orkneys, ho!

Stephen Lingwood’s reportage of a new Unitarian chapel and retreat center in the Orkney Islands appeals to me in a lot of ways.

While this would be the most northerly outpost for Unitarianism in the British Isles, the Unitarian Unitarian Fellowship of Fairbanks (Alaska) is father north, and perhaps too the small group in St. Petersburg. The mind reels. Perhaps the Shetlands next?

10 Replies to “Orkneys, ho!”

  1. Scott – congrats on getting into Scribe – you’ve been in my RSS for a while it’s nice to see you’re a part of the community now.

  2. Hi Scott – funny thing is I don’t use it but I’ve been having some ongoing conversations over the past two weeks about making the switch. I think in the end I am going to stick with OSX – I know the UI too well. How about you?

  3. This is wonderful news! The Orkneys are one of my favorite places on the planet — St.Magnus Cathedral, Maes Howe, Scapa Flow, art museum in Stromness, great food, etc. Now I have another reason to plan a return visit.

    For those who want to know more, I found this information at http://users.ox.ac.uk/~wolf1200/chapelonline/HomePage/NewsMayJune06.html :

    Farther afield, what about a complete break at Haughland House, the new Unitarian Retreat House at Shapinsay, Orkney? Full board for 1–4 nights costs £30 per night; full board for five nights costs £140; and full board for 7 nights costs £196. There is an on-going programme of meditation, music, story telling, circle dancing, yoga, reiki, and crafts, and special weekend events throughout the summer and autumn. Email lesleymckeown at hotmail.com for details.

  4. Ole is right that Helsinki and Oslo farther north (by at least a half a degree) than where I think the Orkneys chapel is. Fairbanks is still in the lead.

  5. I am interested in the Orkney Unitarian Church history. My great, great grandfather, Peter Shearer with wife, Mary and 3 children migrated to South Australia in 1852. They came on the Arcadia with several other Unitarians and settled here. Peter’s son David became a quite well known figure here, establishing a farm machinery business in a small rural town, Mannum. He married the daughter of a Unitarian minister. I have wondered why Peter and family left the Orkney Islands. Was it anything to do with their religious beliefs? Are there any publications or sites that could assist me? With regards, Jenny Polotnianka (nee Shearer)

  6. Hello all.
    I’m wondering if anyone knows of a Unitarian Church on Orkney?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.