 Time spent in religious gatherings interfered seriously with the practical routines of the island . Old ladies and children who made noise in church were lectured at length and warned of dire punishments in the afterworld . During a period of food shortages on the island , a relief vessel arrived on a Saturday , but the minister said that the islanders had to spend the day preparing for church on the Sabbath , and it was Monday before supplies were landed . Children were forbidden to play games and required to carry a Bible wherever they went . Mackay remained minister on St Kilda for 24 years . 
