Britain’s Loneliest Sheep

A high-profile new resident arrived in Dumfries and Galloway recently – a ewe once known as ‘Britain’s Loneliest Sheep’. Fiona, as she has been named, was rescued after being stranded for more than two years at the foot of cliffs in the Scottish Highlands. Fiona’s plight hit the headlines after a kayaker photographed her still trapped at the foot of a steep cliff at the Cromarty Firth, two years after a previous sighting. An online petition to rescue her attracted thousands of signatures, before four farmers came to the rescue. Despite protests from an animal rights group, she arrived safely at Dalscone Farm in Dumfries under cover of darkness, and has been there ever since.

So what was it about Fiona that captured the nation’s attention? Quite simply, it was that she was on her own. And everyone knows that sheep aren’t meant to be alone. Yet as a minister I often hear people say: ‘I don’t need to go to church to be a Christian’. Or: ‘I can worship God as I walk in the hills’. Or ‘I just watch services online’. One reason why that’s a problem is because the Bible repeatedly describes Christians as sheep. Most people are familiar with the opening line of Psalm 23: ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’. When Jesus came, he described himself as ‘The Good Shepherd’. He said ‘My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me’. If we see a sheep on its own, we know something is wrong. We should look with similar concern on someone who claims to be one of Christ’s sheep, and yet shuns involvement in a gospel-preaching church. Especially if we work on the assumption that God created sheep for the very purpose of showing us what we are like and what we need. To read the rest of this article written by Rev. Stephen Steele for a local paper, click here.