Category: News

Memories of a good friend

We were greatly saddened to hear of the death of Rev Robert Kerr, at the age of 70, who served this congregation as Community Minister from 1980 – 1983 (and as student minister before that from 1978 – 1979). Robert and his wife Anne were great friends to the congregation, with many close friendships continuing long after they emigrated to Canada including Donald Clark and Doreen Henderson who visited them there. And of course, George & Liz Grubb.

Robert and Anne were married in 1975 and moved into East Craigs in the summer of 1980 to take up the newly created post of Community Minister. He had a good and fun-filled working relationship with Rev George Grubb and was heavily involved in the Young People’s group. The highlight of that involvement was a wild minibus trip to Mull where the group conducted a service in the local church, tamed the local minister’s garden and burned an unwanted organ.

He was also the first chaplain to the newly formed Boys’ Brigade Company at Craigsbank in 1980.

Robert moved with his young family from Edinburgh to Vancouver and then on to become the ordained minister of the church of St Columba in Parksville, a city on Vancouver Island, in 1989. He retired in April 2016. 

Robert and Anne last visited Craigsbank in May 2019 when they joined us for tea after the service and also went for a meal with the ‘not so young’ people’s group. You can just about make him out in this photograph, with the red jumper.

He is survived by his wife, Anne, and their two sons James and Philip.

The following appears on the website of the Knox Presbyterian Church:

The Reverend Robert Kerr died on August 3rd.
Robert served the congregation and community at St. Columba Presbyterian Church, Parksville from 1989 to 2016. He was known to many through his service in Presbytery, Synod and General Assembly work. His wisdom and humour will be greatly missed. As a man of deep faith, we have comfort knowing he is in God’s eternal keeping and presence. A memorial service will be held at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Campbell River on August 31st at 11am. 
Please pray for comfort for Anne, and their children James and Philip.

We hope to relay this memorial service onto the big screen at East Craigs at 7pm on the same date. Further details to be announced at Sunday services beforehand and on our website.  Should you wish to follow this from the comfort of your own home, you can get a link by emailing tpchurch@telus.net with the subject “Funeral Zoom”

We are still experiencing problems with the Church office phone. While we work towards a permanent fix, you can reach the office on the following number:

Tel: 07902 256110

The following regular activities will be taking a break over the summer weeks:

Craigsbank Toddle Tots – Last meeting for this session, 26 June. Resumes Wednesday 21 August 10.30-12.00

Toastie Thursdays – Resume Thursday 22 August

Junior Music Makers and the Singers groups – Resume in August – exact date tbc

Our heartfelt thanks to the leaders of these groups. We wish you all a relaxing summer ahead!

Anyone walking in Fauldburn Park, East Craigs, will spot a handsome new bench.

Huge congratulations to our ECO Group and especially to Anne Currie for all her hard work securing this new bench for Fauldburn Park. Time to take a load of and watch the world go by.

Purchase of the bench was kindly supported by Edinburgh Airport Community Fund. The park ranger helped to choose the best spot.

Our Summer Community Picnic on the afternoon of Saturday 22 June was a great success. It was held in Fauldburn Park at East Craigs and we were blessed with a great turnout of families and perfect weather for our afternoon of fun and games.

Anne sends her thanks to all for covering every eventuality and for the extra support of Tim, Harry and the Good Samaritans who were ‘on call’ at the crucial time!! 

Fun kids activities included:

Football Challenge; Touch Rugby; Parachute Games; Treasure Hunt; Rounders and Races.

Edinburgh’s fundraisers are on day two of their major annual campaign to support vulnerable communities around the world.

Craigsbank and East Craigs held a coffee morning as part of Christian Aid Week 2024. The baking was outstanding and our thanks go to the organisers and all who attended. A full report on money raised will follow.

Money raised during Christian Aid Week will help the organisation’s partners empower vulnerable communities to find practical and sustainable ways out of poverty.

This year’s appeal – from 12-18 May – is focussing on work in Burundi, one of the most densely populated and poorest countries in Africa. Heavily reliant on agriculture, it’s also one of the least prepared to combat the effects of climate change, including droughts, floods and landslides. The global cost of living crisis has intensified the challenges: more than 70 per cent of the population live in poverty and more than half of children are chronically malnourished.

Christian Aid has been working in Burundi since 1995 when it first offered humanitarian assistance to people surviving the civil conflict. Now, alongside local partners, the organisation helps establish Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs). These community-led groups mean people can save and borrow money, making small businesses possible, offering reliable and diverse incomes so families can eat regularly, get medicine when they need it, and build safer homes.

Thirty-five-year-old Aline Nibogora is the chairperson of a VSLA which supports some 25 families in a remote village, in Makamba Province. Aline escaped an abusive marriage only to find herself on the streets begging for a place to stay.

Her life changed when she went to a three-day, Christian Aid-funded community workshop. With a small start-up loan, Aline began trading avocados and peanuts locally. She’s now a grocery wholesaler and living on her own plot of land where she’s building a home for her family. In the next five years she hopes to expand, so one day she can buy a mill. This will provide a source of income without the need to transport heavy goods over long distances.

Christian Aid Week offers seven days and so many ways to make a difference – to find out more, visit https://www.christianaid.org.uk/.

Remember, Christian Aid envelopes will be available at the door before and after the service on Sunday. but click here for a new and easier way to donate to Christian Aid

Every year we encourage you to donate to Christian Aid during the designated Christian Aid week. This year (2024) that week falls on 12-18 May. To make life a little easier, we now have a secure online portal for donations. Click here for a new and easier way to donate to Christian Aid

Today marks the start of Christian Aid Week and we encourage everyone to consider whether they can support the work of this remarkable organisation.

What your donation will do:

• £5 could buy a savings book for a member of a VSLA, setting them up to start their own small business and become finically independent.
• £30 would help a family buy two Jerrycans to collect water from the river to carry back to their farm. Jerrycans provide irrigation to crops, especially during the dry season, maintaining food production for the family.
• £50 would mean a vulnerable family can purchase a water storage tank. Water can then be stored for a few days rather than travelling to the communal water point, allowing instant access to water for washing, cleaning and cooking.
• £100 could help a woman set up her own small business with a starter kit; including money to purchase her first few items to sell. This means she could supply local grocery shops or restaurants with vegetables, set up a roadside shop, or buy maize to sell in bigger markets like Bujumbura.
• £100 could also help buy a family a bicycle meaning easier transport to school, quicker access to medical treatment in emergencies or support carrying produce from farm to market.

There are envelopes at the doors at church services but do remember that we have made it even easier this year. You can now give safely and securely online. Click here for a new and easier way to donate to Christian Aid

Today and tomorrow in Edinburgh, you can attend the Christian Aid Book Sale at Bruntsfield. The George Street sale is not happening this year (it will be back in October in New Town Church, (formerly St Andrew’s and St George’s) but the Christian Aid Book Sale at Holy Corner at Bruntsfield is definitely on. This sale has taken place every year for 30 years. They welcome support from across the city and beyond.

Sat 4 May, 10:30am – noon

Craigsbank Church Hall

Coffee mornings at Craigsbank are legendary. Our bakers are amongst the very best you will find.

Come along and find out for yourself.

Tickets available from Hospitality Team or Church Office (0131 334 6365).

Photographs for creative contemplation on Earth Day

Dear Mother Earth, gift of God, we thank you,
for you are our life, our breath and our blood.
You bear us in your arms and receive us at our death,
and will never refuse us.
The rolling sea in our heart, the mountains in our bones,
the wind in our lungs, the flowing rivers in our blood,
the many-splendored creatures living within us
all sing praise to God and remind us we are of you.

Dear Mother Earth, we confess:
though the forest and desert are our own flesh
we have wounded you,
we have treated you selfishly, as “the least of these.”
We have betrayed our oneness
with the grasses and the hawk, the beetle and the whale.
Even as we use you, we repent;
even as we torture you you forgive us.

Dear Mother of Life,
as you renew the earth in spring, restore our mercy;
return us to our place in the great circle of life;
give us the generosity of your fields,
the humility and wisdom of your small creatures.

Dear Mother God, hear our praise and our confession,
and renew in us the beauty of the earth,
for the sake of all life. Amen.

From a prayer by Steve Garnaas-Holmes, Unfolding Light

At Craigsbank we are always grateful for the commitment of our tiny but mighty Eco Group who do so much. They engage, they plant, they educate, they nourish, they protest and they encourage. They are an example to us all.