Father Nigel's Stole

Main fabric is hand-woven silk.

This stole was commissioned by St Michael's congregation as a leaving gift for Father Nigel Zimmermann who served the church as an honourary assistant curate for two and a half years.  The tartan (lining and appliqué) is the Maclean of Duart as Fr. Nigel has Maclean ancestry.  The two sides of the stole have swirling celtic spirals as a common theme symbolising the River Ness which flows very close to the church.  On one side, rising from the "waves" is the steeple of St Michael's Church, with the St Michael cross above.  The other side of the stole depicts the first written record of the sighting of the Loch Ness Monster - when St Columba visited Inverness some 1400+ years ago a fierce monster was seen to rise from the river and attack a man.  St Columba raised his staff and instructed the monster to "return to the depths and never harm man again".  The cross above is based on Maclean's Cross on the isle of Iona - the island where St Columba founded his monestary.

The fringe is hand knotted, combining the fringed ends of the tartan, the hand-twisted ends of the silk and hand-twisted gold yarn used for the stitching.