Our annual sell-out Burns Supper was a great success this year.
A four-course feast was prepared by the hospitality team and our sincere thanks go to them. The attention to detail on the tables was beautiful, the food prepared and served piping hot would have been applauded in any restaurant and the lightness of the meringues for pud was just perfect. And there was even home made tablet with the coffee – the perfect finish to an outstanding meal. All on the team were grateful that there was a new dishwasher but somehow Anna still found herself in the sink for some hours!
Before and after the meal, our Singers (led by John) entertained us with traditional songs and then the Highland Dancers from Manor School of Dance took to the stage to the delight of everyone present. They were a joy to watch and made good use of a stage that has been graced by generations past and present across the Church and community.
But you know, more than anything, it was the delight that we found in each others’ company on the evening that made it just so special. Friends old and new.
Lunch Club: Wednesdays at 12.30pm in Craigsbank Chancel Hall – fortnightly. A hot bowl of soup and a generous serving of friendship.
Fellowship Group: Thursdays at 2.30pm at the East Craigs Church Centre – fortnightly
Network: Monday evenings, fortnightly, for evenings of conversation and informative talks – 5 February, ‘Life after Westminster’ – John Barrett and 19 February, ‘Ronald McDonald House’ – Julia Coley
Moving forward: Support group for widowed men: Wednesdays at 10.30am at the Corstorphine Community Centre
Winter Wednesdays: A warm welcome for an hour of peace and quite beautiful music-by-candlelight. This is an opportunity for quiet contemplation in the warm surroundings of Craigsbank Sanctuary. Our last Winter Wednesday of the season is scheduled for 21 February at 7.30pm in the Craigsbank Sanctuary.
Toddle Tots: for parents, grandparents and carers with their toddlers and babies Wednesdays 10.30am in the Craigsbank Hall
Corstorphine Dementia Group: The Jubilee Club meet daily (Mon – Fri) in the Hall behind Carricknowe Church and the ‘Teatime Club’ meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month in St Thomas’s Hall. This Club is for members and their carers.
Toastie Thursdays
Our weekly ‘Toastie Thursdays’ lunch-gathering for Craigmount High pupils is hosted in the Craigsbank hall. The goal is to offer Christian hospitality to the children in the parish high school. The catchphrase for the Toastie Thursdays is ‘The best welcome of the week’. At the moment we host about 300 pupils every Thursday. This is a collaborative partnership between our congregation and the Corstorphine Old Parish.
Making Music!
The Singers: weekly practice in the Craigsbank sanctuary on Thursdays from 6.45pm – 8.00pm
Junior Music Makers for young children: Craigsbank sanctuary weekly on Thursdays from 5.30pm – 6.30pm, whilst the parents have a coffee and a blether in the Iona Room.
New members for both groups always welcome.
Eco Group – Our immediate environment and global events
Our Eco Group are pleased to be planting trees again on 7 Feb at 1.30pm at Craigievar Park. All are welcome to give a hand. Remember your wellies and to dress appropriately for the weather on the day. Contact Anne Currie at anneicurrie@yahoo.co.uk for more information.
The team have been active on our behalf in other ways too:
Over the Christmas period our church and church centre have been busy, noisy, welcoming and happy, contemplative places to be. In addition to the many indoor activities (which included concerts, candlelit evenings, carol services, gift services, School services, a Christian Aid lunch, a service of remembrance and our wonderful Messy Church and Junior Music Makers Nativity) the area surrounding East Craigs has been transformed through Bulb Planting. And our Eco Heroes have represented us at Parliament protests. All of this on top of our regular thought-provoking services.
Our musician and singers, hospitality group and Eco team have been particularly busy but none more so than our minister, Alan Childs. We are grateful to each and every one of them.
Our Christian Aid Christmas Appeal, including Hunger Lunch, raised an excellent £833, including Gift Aid. Many thanks to all who donated so generously and all who helped at the Hunger Lunch
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.
Once a month, on the cold, dark months of the year, we host an evening of music and quiet contemplation at Craigsbank. These cherished evenings offer warmth and friendship, and time to reflect in candlelight.
We are blessed with some very strong musicians at Craigsbank and this evening-hour, during winter, is a free event that uplifts all who attend for the days ahead.
Two more dates for the Winter Wednesdays remain:
24 January
21 February
Start time 7.30pm CRAIGSBANK SANCTUARY
Pop the dates in your diary now. These events are not to be missed.
Our bulb planters were out in force today at Fauldburn Park in wet weather gear – to provide a touch of Spring sunshine when the time comes. Anne reports that the team were happy to be planting despite the weather. And managed to plant over 1000 bulbs. We’re all looking forward to Springtime displays.
Where were we planting? See the maps below for the sites where the bulbs were planted.
‘A simple shoebox gift packed with love and fuelled by prayer can have a huge impact!’
In the past, our church family has given generously to Operation Christmas Child. Pre-pandemic most of the activity centred around filling shoe boxes and bringing them to the church centres. During the Covid period much of this activity went online and this year, you can purchase and fill a box on the Samaritans Purse website. It’s easy and it’s fast to do.
But of course you can still fill a shoe box yourself if you prefer. Our nearest drop off points are
PALMERSTON PLACE CHURCH EH12 5AA
BLACKHALL ST COLUMBA’S CHURCH EH4 3QU
MORRISONS FERRY ROAD EDINBURGH EH5 2HF
Please note that National Collection Week is 13–20 November 2023. Filled boxes cannot be accepted outwith these dates.
The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to show God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Since 1993, more than 209 million children in over 170 countries have experienced God’s love through the power of simple shoebox gifts from Operation Christmas Child.
Visit the Samaritans Purse Website now to find out what to include in your gift. Bring a smile to a child in need this Christmas.
‘If you pray, pray from your guts, not your lips – offer a prayer that moves in you and through you – one that calls you to reach out to a fearful neighbour, to speak up for peace and calm and the unity of humanity.
“Peace in our world can never come through violence.”
A message from Rt Rev Sally Foster-Fulton, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, on the Israel Gaza conflict
Published on 10 October 2023
Rt Rev Sally Foster-Fulton, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, has issued a statement in response to the outbreak of violence in the Holy Land. You can read it here (below) or on the Church of Scotland website.
Friends,
I reach out to you all, as we continue to grapple with the shattering violence unfolding in Israel and Gaza, and to ask for your prayers and your action.
Across Scotland, our Jewish friends, neighbours and colleagues grieve the loss of loved ones following the devastating terrorist attacks we witnessed unfolding over the weekend, worry for friends and family who have been kidnapped and fear the possibility of increased antisemitism in their own neighbourhoods as tensions rise across the world.
In Scotland, our friends with family in Gaza mourn the loss of loved ones, worry for those unable to find safety or a place of refuge and fear an even more uncertain future.
Together we agonise, yet again, over peace gone to pieces. We desperately try to fathom how we can be any comfort to the members of our global family trapped in the middle of such a barrage of violence and fear. We are appalled by the horrifying levels of brutality and the inhumanity of mass murder scenes of which were broadcast across our screens in horrifying, gut-wrenching detail.
We call for calm and active consideration for the innocent civilians who are suffering in Israel and Gaza. Peace in our world can never come through violence. Peace in our spirits can never come through revenge.
So, what can we do in the face of war?
If you pray, pray from your guts, not your lips – offer a prayer that moves in you and through you – one that calls you to reach out to a fearful neighbour, to speak up for peace and calm and the unity of humanity.
Pray for all those many people injured and those mourning the loss of loved ones and those living in abject fear who await news of family members missing.
Wherever you are, check in on your Jewish neighbours, friends and colleagues.
Wherever you are, check in on your neighbours, friends and colleagues who have family in Gaza.
Wherever you are, be mindful of your words. Tarring with a broad brush adds more fuel to the fire, so be kind to one another wherever you find each other.
The Zulu phrase, Ubuntu, is the theme for my year as Moderator and its challenging truth resonates powerfully today. ‘I am because you are.’ We are one global family. When we look into the face of another human being, God looks out from the windows of their souls. Today, love God by loving each other.
A prayer for peace
‘In days to come … they shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more.’
God, it is said that you are the peace that passes all understanding. We sit now, staggered at how quickly the fragile half-peace we had pieced together has unravelled.
The lessons we have so desperately needed to learn have been laid aside as the instruments of war begin their horrible, haunting reprise. Call us back to our senses.
For the angry, abused and frightened among us, who strike out in a distorted quest for victory, help us find ways to convince that there is no victory to be found in violence.
Peace-making is a daunting path to tread, especially when fear follows so closely behind, so breathe your loving spirit into our hearts and help us walk your way.
We pray ceaselessly for our family in Israel and Palestine, for we are all family and when one part suffers, we are all depleted. Peace in pieces is a collective, shared shame.
God, you are the peace that passes all understanding, so help us understand how to find you.
