A HIGHLAND community is to turn a mothballed church into a new community facility – thanks to cash from South Korea.
When locals in Seoul heard about the buy-out bid for a shuttered kirk in Easter Ross, they raised more than half of the funds needed to transform it into a new social centre.
The £54,000 gift is all down to the historic connection forged by one man more than 100 years ago.
Gaelic-speaking John Ross was born in Easter Rarichie farm in 1842 and served in several Highland churches before he was sent to China by the Scottish United Presbyterian Mission at the age of 30.
A year after his arrival, Ross – who spoke 11 languages – lived on the northern border of a Korea still closed to outsiders but developed a strong interest in the country after meeting Korean traders, going on to create the first ever English primer and grammar guide and the first history of the country in any Western language.
His translation of the New Testament into Korean followed in 1887 in another first. It was instrumental in the spread of Christianity there. Ill health forced Ross to return to Scotland in 1910, where he is buried in Edinburgh and remembered with a sculpture on the seafront at Balintore.
The revamped Free Presbyterian church between that village and Hilton is now to become the John Ross Memorial Scheme thanks to the Pyungkang Cheil Presbyterian Church (PCPC), created as a result of his legacy.
Members visited the region last summer and met with Maureen Ross of The Seaboard Memorial Hall (SMH) in Balintore.
Maureen, whose father and grandfather built the kirk in the 1960s, had worshipped there and approached the Free Church about a change in ownership when she learned it was to close.
She picked up the keys yesterday, telling The National: “I didn’t have any money, we couldn’t afford to buy it so I just told them what I wanted to do and gave a wee spiel. The next thing they were huddled together speaking in Korean and the interpreter said, ‘don’t worry, they’re crunching the numbers’. I got quite excited.”
Funding was completed thanks to a £48,500 contribution from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).
It’s hoped the new centre, which will include an archive of oral tales about the area as well as information about the life and work of John Ross, will bring in visitors and benefit the 3200 local residents.
The Pictish-era Hilton of Cadboll Stone, which dates to around 800AD, will be relocated to the site. Ross said: “To me, it’s just wonderful. A lot of people have prayed about this.
“It’s a lovely contented feeling – in these days, a contented feeling is a great thing.”
Paul Harrington, of HIE, commented: “We are delighted to be in a position to help The Seaboard Memorial Hall finalise their funding package to enable them to purchase and refurbish the old Free Presbyterian Church. The facility will help the community increase tourism levels and provide improved facilities to the Seaboard Villages. Relocating the stone there and with the history and connection of John Ross with South Korea, more visitors will be enticed to come and see and hear about the history of the area and the people.”
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