200 Years of Fintray Church celebrated in spectacular new stained glass window
Fintry Church was the venue for a special dedication service on Friday to mark 200 years of worship within the current building.
Around 100 people including all the children from Hatton of Fintray school along with Lord Lieutenant Sandy Manson, Aberdeenshire Provost Judy White and local councillors were welcomed by Rev Sheila Craggs, the Minister of Fintray, Kinellar, Keithhall, Church
To commemorate 200 years a stunning stained glass Celtic cross was designed in collaboration with local school pupils.
The stained-glass panel, made by Distinctive Stained Glass in Hatton of Fintray, is contained within a unique elm ‘light box’ cabinet, designed and crafted by Lethenty Cabinetmakers, Kinellar.
Rev Craggs said: “It has taken us a while to get to this point, but we are delighted that we can celebrate 200 years of worship in Fintray Church in such a unique, community-based way.
“It is wonderful to see just how the children’s ideas inspired, not only the stained-glass panel, but also the surrounding wooden cabinet and the final result is both uplifting and moving.”
Design ideas were sought from Hatton of Fintray school pupils in the early summer and their posters currently enjoy pride of place on the walls within Fintray Church, where their influence on the final design can be clearly seen in this community project.
The school’s involvement in the project is also marked by elements of the school logo being incorporated into the wooden cabinet.
Fiona Smith, Headteacher of Hatton of Fintray School is delighted that her pupils have been integral to the whole enterprise.
She said: “Our pupils were delighted to be able to be part of this historically significant project, which gave us an opportunity to work together with the wider community, which we had lost touch with during the period of Covid.
“The children took inspiration from around our beautiful village in their stained-glass designs and you can see these shining through the final creation.
"They were all rightly proud of the work they have put into the final project.”
It was also an occasion where the rare St Medan's Cup was also put out on display.
Normally kept within a bank vault, the silver cup has an inscription "Holie Communion, Fintray 1633 Revd Adam Barclay, Minsiter" and which tradition says is much older and was originally in the form of a skull which was carried aloft around the district by the priests of the time as an icon of St Medan and was processed for the purposes of bringing down rain, or clearing up the weather as circumstances might require.
Indeed with a clear day and an outside temperature on Friday of 17C on November 11, there may indeed have been a blessing on the occasion.
