Category: Church services

On Saturday 8 January 1966, a service of Opening and Dedication for the new sanctuary for Craigsbank Parish Church took place. This was a long anticipated moment for the congregation and indeed for all who lived in the parish.

Those officiating on the day were…

• Rt Rev Archibald Watt,Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
• Rev Thomas Maxwell, Moderator of the Presbytery of Edinburgh
• Rev George Paterson, Secretary-Depute of the Home Board
• Rev Robert Murray, Clerk to the Presbytery of Edinburgh
• Rev James B Donald, Minister of Craigsbank
• Mr W.P. Addley, Assistant Minister of Craigsbank

In a lovely detail from the order of service the following appears:

The congregation being assembled, the doors shall be closed two minutes before the hour at which the service is to begin. The Moderator of the Presbytery shall request entrance to the Church by knocking three times on the main door and say these words of Holy Scripture:

Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them and I will praise the Lord.

The door shall be opened from within by the Architect who shall deliver the keys of the Church to the Moderator of the Presbytery, saying:

In token that this building has been erected for the Church of Scotland I deliver to you the keys thereof, and pray you now to dedicate it to the worship of Almighty God.

The Moderator of Presbytery shall answer:

In the name of the Church of Scotland we accept the keys in tocken of the trust committed to us. We are ready to proceed to dedication.

Passing within the inner door of the Church the Moderator of Presbytery shall pause and say:

Peace be to this house, and all who worship herein.

Peace be to those that enter, and to those that go out herefrom.

Peace be to those that love it, and that love the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

This was followed by the singing of Psalm 100. before the keys were laid on the Communion Table, the ‘Holy Table’.

On the following day, the first service took place at 11.00am led by Rev Leonard Small. A second service took place at 6.30pm led by Rev WM Dempster, Secretary to Huts and Canteens Committee.

Previously, on the laying of the foundation stone on 22 February 1964, The Scotsman had commented:

‘The building is of interesting design, being square in shape with a stepped floor so that the congregation are seated round the communion table, which is at low level in the centre.’

They also mentioned that, ‘there willl be no visible windows, the light being reflected through apertures at roof level’. Of course this was to change at the request of the congregation and the one, beautiful stained-glass window (by artist Ruth Dodds) added, flooding the sanctuary with colour and light on the rare occasions when the sun shines at the right moment. The window had been gifted to the hall church by the Social Centre in 1954.

On 1 January 2026, Craigsbank Parish Church and Corstorphine Old Parish Church united to become Corstorphine Old and New Church. We are delighted to be an extended family with our near neighbours and look forward to sharing faith, worship, outreach and social times together.

At present, services continue in the three centres of worship – Craigsbank, East Craigs and Old Parish – on the dates and times shown on the home page of this site. A change of times and rota of worship is expected around Easter of this year and in due course decisions will be made on the future use of the buildings.

At the same time, the new united church is pressing ahead with pioneering ministry to the west of Maybury. This is a fast growing area of the city and we are already enjoying occasional gatherings in the school or in the golf club, and organising family events during school holiday periods. It is hoped that more regular worship will be offered in this area later in the year but at the moment, the pioneering team is getting to know the area and those who have now moved in to the new housing.

Over the next few months we will gradually build a new website for the united church and restructure our communications. It is our hope that we will be able to deliver a monthly email newsletter and a printed magazine three times a year.

Join us as we go ahead in prayer as Corstorphine Old and New.

A huge THANK YOU to all who came along to our fun afternoon at Maybury Primary School yesterday. It is a long time since we had last seen rain pour down in the way that it did but it did not daunt you. We had a great time – the children enjoyed the craft activities, the adults the chat, the singing and the (slightly too difficult!) quiz.

All friends and neighbours in the new-built West Craigs, Turnhouse, and Maybury communities are invited to an hour of Christmas Carols and festive family fun at Maybury Primary School tomorrow, Sunday 7 December at 4.00pm. Hot chocolate, mince pies and a happy, warm festive welcome awaits.

See you there!

Cafe Church at Craigsbank on Sunday was the scene of some Long Service presentations to elders who have helped the congregations through the best of times and the difficult times, always positive and always supportive. The thanks of the congregation go out to you all.

Congratulations to:

Years Service	Ordained	Name
42	20.03.1983	John Baker
39	01.06.1986	Alan Kennedy
35	17.12.1989	Julie Wilkinson
34	31.03.1991	Ian Ridland
32	05.12.1993	Christine Laurie, Marion Cockburn
30	03.12.1995	Anne Currie

Anne, Christine, Marion, John and Julie all received their certificates on Sunday.

Please find below a letter from Rev Alan Childs confirming the results of the vote on Union between Craigsbank and Corstorphine Old Parish at last week’s service.

Dear Craigsbank church members and friends

What a remarkable moment in the story of our congregation. I want to offer heartfelt thanks to every one of you following the outcome of the recent unification vote. Both Craigsbank and Corstorphine Old congregations voted – almost unanimously – to move forward as one united church family under the new name Corstorphine: Old and New.

The voting numbers were as follows, distinguishing between the votes of the Sessions (a few weeks prior) and the Congregations (Sunday past):

Sessions votes
	Craigsbank	Craigsbank	Cor.Old	Cor.Old
	For	Against	For	Against
Basis of Union (excl pa 7 re. ministers)	16	0	17	0
Par 7 ministers in Basis of Union	16	0	19	0
Basis of Team Ministry	16	0	17	0
Congregations votes
	Craigsbank	Craigsbank	Cor.Old	Cor.Old
	For	Against	For	Against
Basis of Union (excl pa 7 re. ministers)	85	1	78	5
Par 7 ministers in Basis of Union	85	1	79	3
Basis of Team Ministry	82	4	78	5

This is an encouraging sign of faith and hope for the future. It reflects a spirit of openness to where God is leading us – a willingness to embrace change not so much as a loss, but as an opportunity for growth, deeper fellowship, and renewed mission.

These results did not appear overnight. They are the fruit of years of General Assembly instructions, local Presbytery implementation, much patient prayer, dialogue, and discernment. I want to pay special tribute to our Steering Group members, whose integrity and thoughtful leadership have been invaluable throughout the process, and to our Kirk Session elders, who have given so much time, care, and wisdom to guide and support both congregations through every stage.

And I want to thank you, the congregation, for your gracious engagement and your faithfulness. You have attended meetings, asked honest questions, listened carefully and kept your hearts open. In doing so, you have made this transition not only possible but hopeful and life-giving.

As we move forward towards uniting formally by 1 January 2026, our shared ministry will take shape in new and exciting ways. Rev Moira McDonald will continue serving primarily as parish minister for the established communities east of Maybury Road, and I will serve as Pioneer Minister, focusing on the developing neighbourhoods to the west – helping to build community, nurture faith among new residents, and, in time, plant a new worshipping congregation there. Together, along with you, we will form a Team Ministry – working collaboratively across the whole of Corstorphine: Old and New parish to realising the Kingdom of God in both familiar and emerging places.

There will, of course, be much to work out in the months ahead, like structures, services, shared activities, but we can do all this with confidence that God’s Spirit has already been at work among us. The generosity, faith, and unity shown through this process give me great hope for what lies ahead. Keep an eye out for next week’s scheduled monthly Westoverland online newsletter when we will be set out in more detail what the unification process will probably look like.

Thank you again for your faith, patience, and participation through these significant years. I feel privileged to serve alongside you in this new season of ministry, and I look forward with genuine excitement to all that God will do in and through us in the years to come.

With every blessing and warmest thanks,

Alan Childs

As our eleven week Alpha course for young people drew to a close we wanted to mark it in a memorable way. On the final Sunday evening (the eleventh evening running over the summer months), we enjoyed a pizza supper together at Craigsbank in the hall and then headed into the sanctuary for Communion, around the Communion table, by candle light. It was very moving and very memorable for all who were there.

The Alpha course has been a privilege to be involved with. As those hosting the sessions we felt nervous at the beginning and challenged throughout but more than anything, we found great hope for the future in the meeting of such thoughtful, thought-sharing young folk.

Your copy of the Bulletin will have reached your letterbox by now. Not on the mailing list? Sign up by getting in touch with Sarah, our church administrator.

But you can read it online too! Or download it here. The magazine was a bumper issue this time so we’ve split it in two for easy down-loading. Scroll down to find both.

(A shorter version of this article will be in our late summer edition of the Bulletin)

Our Café Church service on 29 June was jam packed with lots of music, memory making, faith and companionship. Many of our congregation and friends attended to mark our musician, John Patterson’s, final Sunday with us (for a while).  John insists he won’t be gone forever and he has found, in us, a church family he wants to continue to be part of. John has made the difficult decision to step back from his role as church musician to allow him the chance to have more of a work/life balance. Working five days a week in his full-time job and two days a week with Craigsbank and East Craigs Parish Church has given him very little time to spend with his family, friends and hyperactive collie dog – Tess. 

Our café service celebrated John in different ways.  We had a beautiful duet sung by Emma and Jenny.  They chose “For Good” from the musical Wicked and left many of us with slightly damp eyes.  We all joined in with Abba’s “Thank You For the Music” which John wasn’t expecting but seemed too fitting to leave out.  John chose the song “Friends” for the two of us to duet on and I didn’t cry – at least not then…. We finished with a Fischy Music song, “Doo, Doo, Doo” sung by the singers and Finn, Rose and Holly from the Junior Music Makers with everyone else joining in.  There was so much love and laughter in the room, it was a joy to be part of.  It was wonderful to have many of our musicians joining us too.  Scott was on the drums, Al played the fiddle and Kyle was on the guitar.  With me on bass and guitar and John on the keyboard we created a great celebration band.

John’s musical skills will be very much missed but, more importantly, his kind manner with, compassionate care and gentle direction of the Adult Singers will be very difficult to replace.  John approached every singers’ practice with good humour and a calm demeanour.  He challenged the singers to push the boundaries of their comfort zones, often without them realising he was doing it.  How many of us could have imagined singing into recording apps on phones and emailing or WhatsApping files to John so he could blend all the individual tracks to create the worship songs we used during Covid?  He simply explained how to do it and trusted that everyone, regardless of their previous levels of IT skills, would be able to do what he asked of us and his confidence in us encouraged us to rise to the challenge.  Later, once we could meet in person again, the singers learned and performed music by Rutter and Bach as well as pieces in much more modern styles that many of us wouldn’t have considered possible without his guidance and patience.  It often took many weeks (months!!) of practice, breaking every section down and learning them thoroughly before putting it all back together before we were confident enough to sing for our congregation on a Sunday but, with John’s confidence in our abilities, we succeeded.  John fully embraced the new material he was given in the God Welcomes All supplement to CH4 and always chose hymns that were appropriate for the seasons and festivals of the church as well as being beautiful both in words and melody.  We all joined in laughing over “Alan’s Challenge of the Week” when we would be presented on the Thursday evening with an unknown or lesser-known hymn to lead the congregation with on the following Sunday morning.  Alan was never told about us referring to his “challenge” as we were worried he’d up the ante even further!

Junior Music Makers and Winter Wednesdays will now have a break as John was the glue that held these events together.  Hopefully they won’t be gone forever but, for now, we are hitting pause.  John was such a driving force for Winter Wednesdays and his planning and preparation meant that the musicians and singers were able to turn up on the evening to rehearse for the hour before our audience arrived and then just perform.  He instilled the mellow vibe of the evening and everyone, performers and audience alike, benefitted. John’s choice of music for each concert was spot-on every time.  We had regular attendees and occasional drop-ins who commented on how much they appreciated the repertoire that was presented and the atmosphere that was created with the candle-light and simple, quiet music. It was a joy to be part of.

Junior Music Makers was the exact opposite of the quiet, contemplative Winter Wednesdays.  It was a riot of sound and colour!  The different children we had the privilege to work with over the last five years were all wonderful.  They ranged from the shy and nervous to the confident and bold.  Some came to us knowing they were joining in with people they knew, some came knowing no-one initially, they all left having made new friends.  I hope their parents did too.  JMM was a pipe-dream idea of mine that John helped make a reality.  I will always be grateful to him for supporting my whim and standing with me to make it a success, there is no way I could have achieved what we did achieve without him. 

John and I became fast friends during the pandemic.  We hadn’t met until early 2020 and really got to know each other over WhatsApp, email and Zoom!  Thankfully we shared a sense of humour, a love of music and a desire to get as many other people to share our love of music as we were able.  John was easy to work with.  He didn’t make demands and he was happy to try different ways to engage both adults and kids.  Our working relationship was always easy, never strained and I’m convinced that was the key to our success particularly with our Junior Music Makers. 

So, for now, we say au revoir to John.  He will be much missed as our church musician but I am very pleased to be able to assure everyone that he says he won’t be gone from our congregation for ever.  Once he’s had a break, travelled, caught up with friends and family and gone on quite a few very long walks with Tess, he’ll be back worshipping with us on Sunday mornings.  I’m sure he’ll get a very warm welcome when he does.

Ros Morrison

Join us at one of our services over the next few weeks. Our morning services always begin at 10.30am and all are welcome. Do join us when you can.

• 1 February – 10.30am Craigsbank – Communion Service led by Moira McDonald
• 8 February – 10.30am East Craigs – Communion Service led by Moira McDonald
• 15 February – 10.30am Craigsbank – Service led by Alan Childs
• 22 February – 10.30am East Craigs – Service led by Alan Childs
• For services at Corstorphine Old Parish please check the existing website until a new site is created. Corstorphine Old Parish.

• Corstorphine Craigsbank Church – 19 Craigs Bank, Corstorphine, Edinburgh EH12 8HD, 10.30am, on the first and third Sunday of the month. Directions
• East Craigs Church Centre – 8 Bughtlin Market, East Craigs, Edinburgh EH12 8XP, 10.30am, on the second and fourth Sunday of the month. Directions
• Cafe Church – 19 Craigs Bank, Corstorphine, Edinburgh EH12 8HD, 10.30am, on a fifth Sunday of any month. Directions
• You can also watch a shortened version of our service online every Sunday on YouTube.

During our service this morning, we lit our first Advent candle. Join us on a Sunday morning in the run up to Christmas to see us gradually light all the candles in the ring.

And so we continued…