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St John’s Ministry Team The Revd Markus Dünzkofer Rector 07962 536817 or 225 5004 [email protected] Day off usually Monday The Revd Dr Stephen Holmes Associate Rector 07584 091870 [email protected] Day off usually Monday The Revd Donna Cooper Assistant Curate 229 7565 The Revd Professor Kenneth Boyd Team Priest 225 6485 The Revd Clephane Hume Team Priest 667 2996 The Revd Sarah Kilbey MBE Team Priest 447 2378 The Revd Eileen Thompson Team Priest 315 4928 Amanda Wright Lay Reader & Sacristan 07725 950296 Andrew Wright Children & Families 07801 387434

In this issue REFLECTION 3 From the Rector 4 Advent and Christmas Stephen Holmes 8 From the Galleries Amanda Wright 10 St John’s Symposium: How on earth did Jesus become a god? – a review by Ian Glover 12 Ethical challenge: The Great War and war today Kenneth Boyd 14 Notes from a Wild Garden George Harris HEARTBEAT 15 Tribute to Cecilia Irvine Elspeth Yeo 16 Congregational News 18 New readings for Matins and Evensong Stephen Holmes 20 Faith Development at St John’s Stephen Holmes et al 24 Report of the AGM and Vestry Update Alistair Dinnie 25 The Oak Tree Ian Blair 26 The Development Charlotte Bray 27 Christian Aid News Kirsty MacDonald 28 Forthcoming Events 30 NSM Ministry to the deaf Part 2 Sarah Kilbey 2

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Report on Creationtide Activities Eleanor Harris Walking Group Veronica Harris Review of Eleanor Harris’ novel Rebecca Rollinson

OUTREACH 36 From the Terrace: Cornerstone Bookshop Margaret Leeming 38 Peace and Justice Centre Geoffrey Carnall 39 One World Shop Rachel Farey 40 Just Festival 40 Together News 43 Coffee Rota 44 St Aidan and St Thomas Within the Wardrobe 45 Christmas Services 46 Readings Copy deadline for the February/March Cornerstone: 19 January 2015 Cover image: The New-Born Child by Georges de la Tour

From the Rector... development, which brought not only a new appeals’ manager, but also will bring rather profound changes to our physical plant. And despite the fact that we have talked about it, written about it, and despite the fact that all these changes are necessary for our continued mission and ministry, these changes can make one rather dizzy.

Markus Dünzkofer

Recently, I switched on my TV after a long day only to discover that my cableprovider had changed the look of the interface. How could they have? Why hadn’t anybody told me? What was wrong with the original set-up? I was in shock! Then I was outraged! And then I had to laugh. I had to laugh at myself, because I realised on a rather personal level how difficult change can be. We humans are creatures of habit and change does not come easy. There is a lot of change happening at St John’s: a new rector, a new associate rector, a new curate; all these have influenced and changed ministry, worship, and administration. And then there is the

Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard compares in his book Begrebet Angest this kind of situation to the dizziness one experiences when standing at a deep chasm. We know the chasm is there and have the freedom to avoid it. Often, however, the dizziness makes us stagger and we fall into the chasm despite our knowledge. For Kierkegaard this is unfocused angst, an anxiety that enslaves us and runs our lives. It is the angst that wants to do the impossible: grow and live, while avoiding change. However, for Kierkegaard angst is not just negative. Angst can also be positive if it is used to clearly recognise what is finite and what is doable. And if we learn how to use angst properly it can bring about freedom and possibility. In Advent and Christmas we proclaim as Christians that God came into the world in a wee bairn. The One who created the universe, rules the cosmos, and is beyond time and space, makes Himself vulnerable, 3

fragile, and finite and enters thus into the reality of our fears and anxiety. This is not to say that God gives into fear and anxiety, but God can be found in the midst of it. The changes we are all experiencing at St John’s right now are indeed angstinducing. But because God is with us (Immanuel), we have a choice to either to give into our fear and shy away from life-

giving and life-creating changes, or we can use the angst to discover not only our limits, but also the freedom and possibilities change can bring about. I wish and pray that in the midst of our fears we will discover God-with-us, whose love and compassion will always have the final word. Markus

Advent & Christmas And is it true? and is it true? This most tremendous tale of all, Seen in a stained-glass window’s hue, A Baby in an ox’s stall? The Maker of the stars and sea Become a Child on earth for me? John Betjeman’s poem Christmas, from which this stanza is taken, sums up well the popularity of Christmas in our society and the tension between our secular Christmas and the Bethlehem story at its heart. People often prefer Christmas to Easter and some Christians, me included, have a special love for Advent. Where do the seasons of Advent and Christmas come from and what do they mean? To start with Advent, it is the season of preparation both for the coming of Christ in the flesh at Christmas and for his coming in glory at the end of time. In addition to these two comings of Christ in past and future, St Bernard and other medieval Cistercian monks also speak of a present, intermediate, coming of Christ in grace to the waiting soul. Advent is a preparation for Christmas and in some ways it is like Lent which is a preparation for Easter. It shares with Lent certain distinctive marks in worship such as purple vestments and the omission of the Gloria in excelsis at the Eucharist, but the penitential character of Advent is much less marked and the dominant note is one of joyful expectation. The name Advent is from the Latin ‘adventus’ which means an approach, a coming or an arrival. It was a technical term for the official arrival or manifestation of a king or a god 4

and has a similar meaning to the name of the feast of Epiphany, in Greek ‘epiphaneia’, on the other side of Christmas. The celebration of the birth of Jesus at Christmas is the real adventus Domini (‘coming of the Lord’), but the season of Advent is a preparation for this. For over a thousand years Advent has marked the beginning of the Christian year for Western Christians. Advent begins on the Sunday nearest the feast of St Andrew (30 November) and includes four Sundays. In ancient Gaul there was a long fast before Epiphany, but our Advent is first found in Rome in the sixth century when it included six Sundays before Christmas, although by the seventh century these had been reduced to the current four. The four Sundays of Advent have a special series of Gospels at the Eucharist which are centred on the figures of John the Baptist and the Virgin Mary. Their themes are: staying awake to wait for the Lord (Advent 1); John the Baptist and the message of repentance (Advent 2); John the Baptist and Jesus Christ (Advent 3); Mary, Mother of the Lord (Advent 4). It is interesting to note that these four Gospels present time in reverse, they start with the final consummation of all things at the end of history and move through events in Jesus’ public ministry to stories of the months before Jesus’ birth. The mystery of Christmas can only properly be understood in the light of all this. If you follow the daily services of Advent, there is a distinct change on 17 December when the Great ‘O’ antiphons begin to be sung at Evensong, starting with O Sapientia (‘O Wisdom’). From this time, with the Church imitating children, excitement starts to build up in anticipation of Christmas. The Christmas season has two parts, after Christmas and after Epiphany, but it is really only one multi-faceted mystery that is celebrated: God became human and was revealed to Jews and Gentiles. It is distinct from the other parts of the Christian Year in that it is based on a succession of feasts rather than a series of Sundays. It begins on the feast of the Nativity, Christmas, and ends with either the Sunday of the Baptism of the Lord or on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord (2 February). The two great feasts of Christmas (December 25) and Epiphany (January 6) seem to have originated in the early fourth century. Christmas is first mentioned in Rome about the year 335 AD, and Epiphany first in Gaul before the year 360 AD, although it probably came from the Christian East. The popular idea that Christmas was originally a ‘pagan’ feast is not certain. Christ is the Sun of Justice (Malachi 4:2) and the Light of the World (John 8:12) and it is true that 25 December was the pagan feast of the Unconquered Sun and 6 January was a midwinter feast, but some have argued that the days were chosen by reason of complicated calendrical calculations associated with their connection to Easter. 5

Whatever its origin (and it would be pleasantly symbolic if it were pagan), Christmas commemorates the Incarnation: the Son of God becoming human in the womb of the Virgin Mary and being born at Bethlehem. It was only by being both truly God and truly human that Jesus was able to be the Saviour of the human race, and so the mystery of Christmas is a necessary pre-condition for the great paschal mystery celebrated at Easter. The Sundays after Christmas continue the Christmas theme. Great Christian feasts such as Easter often have an ‘octave’ (from the Latin octava, eighth), a period of eight days during which the feast continues to be celebrated, and the eighth and final day (octava dies) is sometimes marked by special solemnity. The octave day of Christmas, 1 January, was originally a feast of Mary at Rome but soon became a commemoration of the circumcision of Jesus which the Gospel tells us occurred eight days after his birth (Luke

The choir of St John’s dwarfed by 2 (pagan?) Christmas Trees in 2013, photograph by Stephen Todd 6

2:21). This Gospel also tells us that this is when the Lord was called ‘Jesus’ so this feast is called either ‘The Circumcision’ or ‘The Naming of Jesus’. The Epiphany is celebrated on 6 January but can be celebrated on the Sunday after 1 January, as we do at St John’s. As already noted, the word means ‘manifestation’ or ‘appearance’. In the Western Christian calendar the feast celebrates the visit of the Magi or wise men to offer their gifts to the infant Christ, which was the first manifestation of Christ to the gentiles. It also traditionally celebrates the baptism of Jesus by John (the main content of the feast in the Christian East) and the miracle at Cana (John 2:1-11). Today the baptism of Jesus is celebrated on the following Sunday, a feast that was introduced in the Roman Catholic calendar in the 1960s and copied by other churches. Advent and Christmas are thus a sustained meditation on the mystery of Christ’s incarnation and first manifestation to Jews and Gentiles as recorded in the early chapters of the Gospels. The richness of the mystery is shown by the various feasts celebrated and the Gospel passages read. From Advent to Candlemas we are led through salvation history in preparation for the great saving drama of the Lord’s death and resurrection which is celebrated in the Easter season but is present each week in the celebration of Sunday. We enter into this mystery by attending the various services at Church, and there are a great variety of these at St John’s, but it is also good to meditate on the mysteries at home using the Gospel readings for the Sundays and feasts. Stephen Holmes [Editor’s Note: This article is based on the introductions to the seasons in Stephen’s book of commentaries on the Sunday Gospels from the Fathers of the Church, Celebrating Sundays: Reflections from the Early Church on the Sunday Gospels (2012), which is published by Canterbury Press and available from the Cornerstone Bookshop.]

Changes to Cornerstone You will have noticed, we hope, that this edition of Cornerstone has taken on a slightly different look. We are experimenting with a change in font, colours and line spacing in order to make the magazine easier to read for those whose eyesight is not what it once was. We hope that the use of columns in some articles will also add some interest to the layout. As with anything in Cornerstone we’d be pleased to know what you think - comments on the content and style of the magazine can be sent to Marion Goldsmith, the editor, by email to [email protected]. 7

From the Galleries Amanda Wright reflects on three images this time, unfortunately none of these are on display in the National Galleries of Scotland but hopefully these reproductions will help your own reflections.

Advent: Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California 1936 by Dorothea Lange.

For me this photograph encapsulates a particular type of waiting, a waiting without demands and yet not without hope. The mother waits; is she aware of the present moment, is she still responsive to the children who rely on her, does she wait with openness for some sort of future? Those who waited on God before the coming of Christ might have thought they knew what was going to come, what sort of saviour and what sort of saving. Some were less prescriptive. In this present age some may think they know how God in Christ should come to us, what sort of saviour and what sort of saving. Some may hope but not be sure for exactly what. Christmas: The New-Born Child by Georges de la Tour.

During the 1930s in Depression-era USA economic collapse coincided with agricultural disaster. Areas of the country which had been able to support small, share-crop farming became dustbowls, forcing these evicted people to migrate in order to find new sources of livelihood, or just food and shelter. Dorothea Lange was one of an official group of photographers employed to document the plight of these people and also, by their non-invasive portraits, to invite the compassion to justify government spending on the situation. 8

De la Tour worked in the Duchy of Lorraine during the first half of the 17th century. It is likely that he was influenced

by the techniques of the Northern European followers of Caravaggio, especially the effects of light and deep shadow, and so his work often focuses on candlelight in a scene. In this image of a young mother and her snugly swaddled baby, a warm and enfolding light emanates from a candle, shielded from the viewer by the hand of the woman on the left. The light draws us in, making the space into which we are invited feel like a private, intimate place. There is, obviously, a birth in everyone’s life, but this painting seems to be a reminder that each birth is unique, beyond compare. The birth of Jesus is unique while also being deeply ordinary, God’s presence experienced as both beyond us and right here in the midst of human existence. Epiphany: The Adoration of the Kings (detail) by Jan Gossaert. The artist was a Netherlandish painter of the 16th century and included in his depiction of the visit of the wise men to the infant Jesus all the best of the craftsmanship of that region during a time of affluence and influence. The rich clothing, the stunningly valuable gifts are all indicators of the tribute that attempts

to be worthy of this unique child, but this is the Light of the World in the process of being revealed, not likely to be swayed by shiny tokens. Already there are indicators of the nature of Jesus’ presence; the meeting is taking place in a once grandiose building, the roof is gone and the floor tiles are cracked and misplaced. Even the walls look none too steady. Is this a sign that the seemingly stable and unchanging order of the world is already shifting, that the presence of a vulnerable babe is beginning to shake the foundations, to turn the world upsidedown?

Advent, Christmas and Epiphany at St John’s Full details of all our services are listed at the back of this issue of Cornerstone and are also on the enclosed Christmas Card. If you’d like to invite a friend to church over the festive season then additional cards are available in the church porch.

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St John’s Symposium How on earth did Jesus become a God? Ian Glover reviews a day of theology which was held at St John’s on 26 September. Ian was a Presbyterian minister who now worships at St Johns with his partner Nicola, where they are both exploring what they believe. Ian works as a Civil Servant with the Scottish Government in the Equality Unit. About forty people attended the first of a series of theological symposia hosted by St John's and led by Larry Hurtado of Edinburgh University, who delivered two lectures and answered questions (either side of a delicious lunch) before we divided into smaller groups for discussion. The first lecture focused on the historical Professor Larry Hurtado emergence and early expressions of Jesusdevotion in the Christian community, which was described by the Roman lawyer Pliny the Younger as those who "chant a hymn to Christ as to a god". First, Professor Hurtado described the historical setting of this development. The accepted piety of the age was polytheistic - except among the rigorously monotheistic Jewish community. It was in this context that the first followers of Jesus, who were Jewish, began to reverence and worship the risen/exalted Jesus along with God. For many Jewish people, including Saul of Tarsus, this was both unacceptable and blasphemous.

Second, he noted that evidence of the practice of Jesus-devotion emerged very early and with amazing rapidity in the Christian community. The earliest (NT) texts, written within twenty years of Jesus' execution and resurrection/exaltation, express and take for granted (rather than argue for) Jesus-devotion - particularly in those letters where Paul discusses the worship of the church (for example Romans 10:9-13; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 8:1-6; Philippians 2:5-11). 10

Third, he discussed the basis of this practice which had no precedent in Jewish devotional practice. The first Jewish believers began to include Jesus in the worship of God because of their conviction that God required it. God had raised and exalted Jesus, the unique agent of his purposes, so that he shares in God's glory and Name and should, therefore, be reverenced and worshipped along with God (Romans 10:9-13; Philippians 2:9-11). The second lecture focused on the potential implications of the development of Jesusdevotion for the Christian community today.

Professor Hurtado emphasised the prominence/centrality of Jesus in the practice and message of the early church. He noted, for example, early confessions (Romans 10; 1 Corinthians 12; Philippians 2), references to Jesus (such as son, image, word, servant/ child, messiah) and the liturgical practice of the church (hymns, prayers, baptism and the Lord's Supper/Eucharist). The challenge to a more liberal understanding of Christianity is to follow the pattern of the centrality of Jesus, whilst the challenge to a more conservative understanding is to reflect that Jesus is worshipped with reference to God (the Father) and not as a rival or replacement to him. To confess that Jesus is Lord is to glorify the Father. He noted that the multi-cultural nature of contemporary society is close to that of the first century and discussed what the church can learn about expressing the message of Jesus in a culturally relevant and sensitive way, particularly in the shadow of European anti-Semitism. He also discussed the question of the meaningfulness of the NT witness to Jesus as the ‘revealer’ of God. He noted that the NT describes Christians as witnesses who are called to testify to others what they have heard and experienced about Jesus. The work of persuasion belongs to the Holy Spirit. If theology is faith seeking understanding (Anselm) then quite a lot of theologising was done under the leadership of Professor Hurtado. And if you want to develop your understanding of Christianity then look out for the next symposium in the series.

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Ethical Challenge The Great War and war today

Kenneth Boyd

What possible connection is there between the war of 1914-1918 and the wars now raging in Iraq and Syria? ‘War, and the pity of war’, we may want, in Wilfred Owen’s words, to reply. But there is more. The wilful distortion of Islamic teaching that drives the Isis fighters to acts of pitiless cruelty seems a travesty of religion, not least that of the Prophet Muhammad, who in his last sermon told his followers to ‘hurt no one so that no one may hurt you’. But in 1915, Winnington-Ingram, the Bishop of London, urged British soldiers to ‘kill Germans… the good as well as the bad’, claiming that it was the church’s duty ‘to 12

mobilize the nation for a holy war’. The German Lutheran pastor Vorwerk replied in kind, rewriting the Lord’s Prayer to include the phrases ‘Help us in the holy war’ and ‘forgive each bullet and each blow that misses its mark’. Vorwerk and the Bishop were extreme examples (the British Prime Minister referred to Winnington-Ingram as ‘an intensely silly bishop’): but many other churchmen on both sides entertained less extreme versions of the same sentiments, capturing a widespread public mood at the time. As the historian Philip Jenkins, from whose recent book ‘The Great and Holy War’ these quotations are culled, amply demonstrates, what we hear from Isis today is not so very different from what many European Christian leaders claimed, at least at the beginning of the Great War. One significant difference, of course, we may want to claim, is that the religious rhetoric today is more one-sided: the nations who oppose Isis do not march under the banner of a crusade, but in pursuit of peace and justice. Yet we in the West cannot wash our hands in innocence, dependent as we are for our hot water and much else on the oil of Arabia. Mediaeval crusades aside, the

Great War’s final blow to the Ottoman Empire, and the subsequent creation of British and French spheres of influence in Iraq and Syria, destroyed the potential restraints of an Islamic caliphate while at the same time sowing the seeds of instability across the whole region. Clearly the West cannot be exclusively blamed for all of this. It was and is part of an infinitely longer history: but as Karen Armstrong, in ‘Fields of Blood’ her new book on religion and the history of violence observes, quoting Thomas Merton, ‘all of us’ who benefit from the advantages of civilized life ‘are implicated in the suffering inflicted over five thousand years on the vast majority of men and women’ whose forced labour in agriculture, industry and warfare created the economic resources required to sustain life in the modern city. The Great War, the historian Jenkins writes, can be seen as significantly

influencing many other developments, including the destruction of ancient Christianity in the Middle East, growing secularism in Europe, and the origins of the present Israel/Palestine conflict. That war can also be seen, however, as in part responsible for other more positive movements, including the growth of indigenous churches in Africa, making it now the largest Christian continent, and, in reaction to the wartime rhetoric, greater emphasis on a gospel-based understanding of peace, justice and responsibility for the environment. As in 2014 we remember the Great War, those brief hours on Christmas Day 1914, when British and German soldiers ‘emerged from their trenches to fraternize, drink, and even play friendly games of soccer’, remain as a fleeting epiphany of the eternal truth ‘that we must love one another or die’. Kenneth Boyd

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Notes from a Wild Garden The two most conspicuous creatures in our garden since the last entry have been grey squirrels and collared doves. Neither of these species would have been seen in Edinburgh when St John’s was founded. Grey Squirrels were brought from North America in the nineteenth century. I like to watch them, though I would rather not have them living in the roof, and I am sad to think of the red squirrels displaced. They are, I suppose, a constant reminder that we must be extremely careful before we move species across continents. Certainly pets should never be released into the wild. Our waterways are particularly affected by various alien species. Collared doves found their own way here from Asia. The first pair nested in the UK as recently as the 1950s. They combine well-dressed elegance with sociability and a call of notable monotony. The most conspicuous vegetable life just now is all the seeds and fruits. They tend to get eaten fast, which is the whole idea. We seem to have fewer blackbirds than usual but more sparrows. I cut off the sun-flower heads to hang up for feed, but I think a grey squirrel has taken a whole head away to store. A short while ago I recommended a new book by Dave Goulson, formerly of Stirling, now Professor of Biology at Sussex. Called “A Sting in the Tale”, it is highly readable and about bees. In it he mentions how, in a desire for his own natural flowering meadow, he bought a run-down small-holding in Limoges, France. Now I can recommend his next book, “A Buzz in the Meadow”, which is developed from his observations in his meadow. It is very accessible, wittily written and passionate about the need for effective conservation. In particular he stresses how all forms of life, even the ones we dislike, are interconnected. His chapter on bed-bugs is unmissable. I am glad to say that my message – no pesticides in gardens – is echoed by his expertise. The other day I heard him on “The Life Scientific” explaining his research on neonicotinoids. They may not be very toxic to individual pollinators (hence the myth that they are harmless) but they are massively destructive to the ability of hives to reproduce and survive from one year to the next. George Harris

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HEARTBEAT St John’s community at the heart of the city at the heart of the nation

A tribute to Cecilia Irvine later that Cecilia was able to visit his grave.

Cecilia Irvine

Cecilia was a lively person with tremendous charm and strong Christian beliefs. Widely travelled, with a passion for Africa, she had a varied and unusual career. Born in 1923, she grew up in England and served in the WRNS from 1942 to 1945. During this period she met Nigel Irvine, a lieutenant in the RNVR and the son of Sir James Irvine, Principal of St Andrews University. They married in December 1943, but in January Nigel rejoined his ship and four months later he was drowned in an accident in Ceylon (Sri Lanka). It was not until many years

After the War, Cecilia read History at St Andrews and then took several secretarial jobs, including those of personal assistant to Mrs (later Lady) Churchill and John D. Rockefeller III. She loved New York but when she was recommended for the post of administrative assistant to Bishop Stephen Bayne, the newly appointed Executive Officer of the Anglican Communion, it was a challenge she could not resist. His task was to co-ordinate the work of the different Provinces of the Anglican Communion at a time when many former colonies were becoming independent. Cecilia established his office in London and handled the administration; she also travelled to Fiji, Australia and New Guinea to consult with bishops about their needs and resources. Her reports were used in the Anglican Congress in Toronto in 1963, which she helped to plan. In 1966 she became Acting Diocesan Secretary in Zambia and followed this with fieldwork in the African Independent 15

Churches in Nairobi before obtaining a degree in the Sociology of Religion at Union Theological Seminary in New York. The following year, she became a Research Fellow in Aberdeen University. Her studies took her back to Africa, particularly to Zaire (Congo) where she worked on the history of the Protestant missions and of the indigenous Kimbanguist Church. Several publications resulted, including a Handbook of the Protestant churches in Zaire. In 1976 she qualified as an archivist and was later appointed Consultant on Archives to the Eglise du Christ au Zaire. She prepared an exhibition and publication for their

centenary and planned a building to house the Church’s archives in Kinshasa. Family responsibilities brought Cecilia back to Scotland and she moved to Edinburgh, where she was active on her Community Council. The political situation in Zaire prevented her return, but she maintained her interest in Africa; in 1988 she represented St John’s on an anti-apartheid march from Glasgow to London. Friendship and laughter were of great importance to her and as long as she could, she kept in touch with her numerous friends around the world. Elspeth Yeo

Congregational News Welcome to Hector MacKenzie who was baptised at St John’s at the end of September and to Santiago Manrique Surgenor who was baptised at St John’s in mid-November. Best wishes to Anna McLuckie who is singing/playing in the teenager cancer charity CLIC Sargent /Lothian Hospitals’ Carol Concert in the Usher Hall on 17 December. See Forthcoming Events for details. Congratulations to Helen Armes on her recent marriage at St Martin-in-thefield, London to Adrian Harris.

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Anna McLuckie

Pastoral Visitors A very warm thank you to all Pastoral Visitors for the time and care you have generously given during the past year. It is a privilege to serve and care for each other in such a practical way. Stephen has joined the team as our Shepherd – we are grateful to him for his care and attention to all things pastoral. I wish you all a very blessed Christmas and look forward to the New Year with all its challenges and hopes.

A call for Holy Dusting!

I enjoyed my visits to all the local groups of Pastoral Visitors (where we spoke about the pastoral theme of sheep!) and thank the hosts for their hospitality. The conclusion of our review was that this is a good system, an important lay ministry in our congregation, and we look forward to welcoming both new members and new pastoral visitors in the coming year.

I first came across the phrase ‘holy dusters’ in the early 70s and at the time I thought it a rather amusing phrase full stop. Since then I have discovered that quite a few churches call their members (of either sex) who turn up to clean them on a regular basis ‘holy dusters’. A few weeks ago there was a call for volunteers to do a bit of cleaning at St John’s. Over the 2 days about a dozen people turned up (two of them men). Because the church needed to be cleaned as badly as it did, it was quite hard work, though it was fun too. It struck me that St John’s should have holy dusters on a regular basis. The Rector agrees. So if you would be willing to take a turn at helping to keep the church clean, please contact me. What happens now will depend on how many of us offer………

Stephen Holmes

Marjory Currie

Gun Kerr

contact details on inside back cover

Best wishes to Freda Alexander on her reception into the Roman Catholic church. We will miss her at St John’s. Freda says that her journey has been a long one but there is no part of it that she regrets. Her pastoral visitor, Anna Young, will keep in touch with Freda, and we look forward to her joining us at St John’s for special occasions. She will be worshipping at Ravelston Dykes church with her family. Freda writes: Hello Everyone, Thanks for the good wishes which Marion has expressed. I must add a few things. I have had a long journey (since I was a student at Cambridge) and I’m very happy with where I have now arrived. Yet, NONE of where I’ve been in my past is rejected, all is part of where I am now, I’ve loved my time at St John’s and shall continue to follow your future, to pray for you and to wish you well. I’ll continue to pay funds to St John’s and hope to receive the magazine regularly. Anna will remain my pastoral visitor and will keep me up to date – and I look forward to joining you for special occasions. May God bless you all! 17

Readings at Matins and Evensong Sunday choral Matins and Evensong are a very interesting and popular part of the weekly worship diet at our church. Unlike everywhere else in Scotland, and most churches in England, Matins at St John’s has survived the general Anglican transition to the Eucharist being the main Sunday service, ‘the Lord’s own service on the Lord’s day’. Recent research in England has shown that choral Evensong in cathedrals and large churches is becoming increasingly popular, and at St John’s it sometimes draws a large congregation of people who are not regular members.

glorious music sung by the choir and the enthusiasm of our excellent choir, one of the reasons for their popularity and continued existence at St John’s. Another reason for their popularity is that they simultaneously demand little by way of commitment and yet draw one into deep contemplative engagement with God in a manner that is difficult in more noisy worship. This is well expressed by the church historian Diarmaid MacCulloch, who describes the spirituality behind the love of Evensong as ‘the exploration of religion by those who have decided to remain on the fringe of the church, genuinely concerned to pursue their dialogue with God, yet not prepared to demonstrate the degree of commitment demanded by the eucharist. The encounter with the Anglican offices, however infrequent, can provide a place where they can show that they still wish to look beyond the surface of events and say that there is more to human life and creation than the obvious, the every-day’ (History Today 46.6, 1996).

O Lord, open

thou our lips...

Both services are part of the ‘divine office’, the daily prayer of the Christian community which uses psalms, readings and prayers and has its roots in ancient Jewish practice. This became the preserve of clergy, monks and nuns, but the genius of Thomas Cranmer’s English Prayer Book was that it became again the prayer of the people, at least on Sundays although many households used elements of Matins and Evensong each day. In Scotland this Prayer Book ‘office’ was used by Reformers such as John Knox and Matins and Evensong were used in Scottish University chapels under James VI and Charles I. The core of the services is the psalms, but part of what makes them attractive is the 18

So, there is a tension between the daily office, which the clergy like, and the Sunday choral office loved by the choir and those on the edge of the church. There is also a division between those for

whom the Sunday choral offices are an additional ‘framework’ for the Eucharist and those for whom Matins or Evensong is the sole Sunday service. The psalms and readings at Sunday Matins and Evensong follow a cycle different from that used at the Daily Office but the readings, taken from the Church of England, are often disconnected from each other and from the seasons of the church being celebrated. From Advent we will thus be trying out a new cycle of readings at choral Matins and Evensong, which will be reviewed after a year. At Matins the main reading will be the gospel of the day, as used at the Sung Eucharist. From Advent until Trinity this will be followed by a short commentary on this gospel from an Early Christian writer and on the Sundays after Trinity we will use the Old Testament readings related to this gospel provided for the Sunday Eucharist (the Revised Common Lectionary ‘Track 2’ readings; the ‘Track 1’ semicontinuous Old Testament readings will be used at the Sung Eucharist’). This should mean that those for whom Matins is their main Sunday service get the main gospel of the day plus a commentary on it, thus answering the desire for sermons at Matins, and those for whom it is a contemplative preparation for the Eucharist can have a preliminary reflection

on the day’s gospel, a sort of ‘lectio divina’. The radical change is having non-Scriptural readings, but it will be made clear these are different and it is really not a radical change. Up to the sixteenth century Sunday Matins always included the gospel of the day and a commentary on it from the Fathers of the Church and this has been maintained in monasteries to the present day. At Evensong we will be using the ‘Narrative Lectionary’. This has recently been developed with preaching in mind and each year follows the Bible story from creation to the early church, fitting in with the seasons of the Church’s year (there is a four year pattern with each year using a different gospel – for 2014-15 it is Matthew). It includes some of the main stories from salvation history and aims to show the breadth and variety of voices within Scripture. As each Sunday has a self-contained passage it is good for visitors while the narrative structure takes regular attenders through salvation history. As it only provides one lesson, the other reading will be from the New Testament epistles.

and our mouth shall

shew

forth thy

praise

It is hoped that this will make the readings a more appreciated part of Matins and Evensong. Stephen Holmes, Associate Rector 19

Faith Formation at St John’s There are various opportunities to explore and question our faith in the company of others at St John’s. Long established groups include the Sceptics, who meet once a month after the Sung Eucharist to discuss the sermon with the preacher, and the Growth Group who meet on the second Friday of the month with a guest speaker to consider a topic where our faith interacts with the modern world, recent subjects have included feminism in the Disney film ‘Frozen’ and Christian leaders of the American peace movement. Two new initiatives in 2014 have proved popular. The St John’s Theology Symposium is a joint project with Edinburgh University School of Theology (New College) and brings a world-leading theologian to St John’s to present recent research on a central theme of Christian systematic theology using lectures and discussion around a common meal. This September about fifty people from Scottish Universities and Churches gathered to be guided by Professor Larry Hurtado FRSE around the question ‘how on earth did Jesus become a god?’ The next Symposium will be after Easter with Professor David Brown FBA of St Andrews on Revelation and Art. The Pilgrim Course is an exploration of the basics of Christianity in eight six-week courses. About twenty of us explored the first course and it was an excellent experience. We intend to run the next course after Easter in 2015. (See a review by Romy Langeland later.) In Advent we will be entering the year of Mark and over the next year we will be hearing Mark’s Gospel at Sunday Matins and Eucharist (with a bit of help from John as Mark is so short – a very early tradition says that St Mark’s nickname was ‘stubbyfingers’ which either refers to his hand or to his economical style).

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Some interesting and useful Christian books for the New Year An excellent short introduction to Mark’s Gospel is, Rowan Williams, Meeting God in Mark (SPCK, 2014, £8.99) ISBN 9780281072507. For those wanting to go deeper probably the best commentary in English is Morna D. Hooker, The Gospel According to St Mark (Contimuum, 2001, £36.99) ISBN 978-0826460394 33 NB Print on demand. The best theology book I have read over the past year, and one that deals with art, poetry, history, doctrine, feminism and charismatic prayer groups in a very clear and accessible way, is by the Anglican priest and theologian Sarah Coakley, God, Sexuality and the Self: An Essay ‘On the Trinity’ (Cambridge University Press, 2013, £16.99) ISBN9780521558266. Read it and you’ll never again think the Holy Trinity is boring. Another good book is by our last Symposium speaker, Larry Hurtado, How on Earth did Jesus become a God?: Historical Questions about Earliest Devotion to Jesus (Eerdmans, 2005, £16.99) ISBN 9780 802828613. Three fascinating autobiographies have come out of Anglican priests who transcend boundaries yet have made their own a radically orthodox Christianity. Richard Coles was a gay activist and a member of the pop groups ‘Bronski Beat’ and ‘The Communards’ in the 80s and is now a country vicar who presents Radio 4’s ‘Saturday Live’. His Fathomless Riches, Or How I went from Pop to Pulpit (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2014, £20.00) ISBN 9780297870302 is a modern version of Augustine’s Confessions. It is disturbing that he first encountered evil in the Anglican monastery where he was training for the priesthood but nice to know his conversion happened at Evensong at our Cathedral in Edinburgh. Rachel Mann is a transsexual priest and poet who is a vicar in inner-city Manchester, her Dazzling Darkness (Wild Goose, 2012, £11.50) ISBN ISBN 978-1849522410, is a theological meditation on her unusual life. Finally, the best of a good crop is Leaving Alexandria (Canongate paperback, 2013, £8.99) ISBN 978-0857860743 by our own Richard Holloway. 21

There are also some good novels that explore Christian themes, without being ‘Christian novels’. Angels and Men (SPCK, 2014, £9.99) ISBN 978-0281072309 by Catherine Fox is a sort of ‘Brideshead Revisited’ for Durham University with a vicar’s daughter as the hero. The Merrily Watkins series by Phil Rickman is a set of twelve novels about a vicar and exorcist in the Diocese of Hereford, not as profound as Angels and Men but the chief exorcist of the Church of England has commented that they give an uncannily accurate depiction of the sort of things ‘deliverance ministers’ encounter. These all contribute to showing that Anglican Christianity is vibrantly alive in Britain. All can be ordered from the Cornerstone Bookshop. Stephen Holmes

Review of the Pilgrim Course Around 15 people attended the six sessions of Pilgrim, facilitated by Stephen Holmes. This course, ‘Turning to Christ’ is the first of eight courses prepared by a group of clergy and academics. It is intended for those who want to know more about what it means to be a Christian, but also for those who want a refresher and want the opportunity to think through what being a Christian means in everyday life. The booklet is designed to lead the group through the session but also has sufficient material for further reflection. Each week there is a question based on the baptismal prayer, so for the first week this was ‘Do you turn to Christ?’ and later on ’Do you repent of your sins?’ This would then be followed by a reading and reflection followed by sharing of the 22

significance of key words in the passage. The sequence each week was a reading and a short video, silent reflection and small group discussion. The group discussions were the heart of the evening, giving each of us the opportunity to talk as frankly as we felt able about our doubts and certainties and questions in a safe setting. Although we use the words each week in our services, many of us may not have thought recently about what we mean and it was very helpful and constructive to open up some of the issues. The discussions about sin and evil were especially interesting- they opened up some huge debates which unfortunately could not possibly be satisfactorily concluded in the short time we had, but were extremely thought provoking as a starter!

There will be the possibility of carrying on with more of the modules of this series in the New Year and that prospect was welcomed by those who attended this one. It was hugely helpful and important to have Stephen leading us, as he had on a number of occasions to dig us out of deep confusion! It is a real opportunity to open up some of our concerns and to hear how others are understanding those same ideas. It is surprising how much diversity emerged and this was refreshing and energising. Romy Langeland

some of the ideas from Rowan Williams’ lectures of this time last year. There were then various workshops. I was enthralled by Ian Paton (Rector of Old St Paul’s)’s Praying with Icons and engrossed when Frances Burberry (formerly from St John’s and now at St Ninian’s) introduced us to the labyrinth. Other workshops helped people explore contemplation and imagination, and John McLuckie led a session on music and silence. There was also a quiet room where people might look at creative ways of expressing what people had experienced in and through the silence. Marion Goldsmith

Advent Calendar He will come like last leaf’s fall. One night when the November wind has flayed the trees to bone, and earth wakes choking on the mould, the soft shroud’s folding.

Adventures in Faith Festival of Prayer Day This was held this year at the Methodist Church in Nicolson Centre on 8 November. It was a quality event organised by the Diocesan Spiritual Development Group, and it was sad that no one from St John’s availed themselves of it apart from The Editor of Cornerstone. Gero McLoghlin, the Jesuit Province Promoter of Ignatian Spirituality, gave a lecture on silence teasing out

He will come like frost. One morning when the shrinking earth opens on mist, to find itself arrested in the net of alien sword-set beauty. He will come like dark. One evening when the bursting red December sun draws up the sheet and penny-masks it eyes to yield the star-snowed fields of sky. He will come, will come, will come like crying in the night, like blood, like breaking, as the earth writhes to toss him free. He will come like child. Rowan Williams 23

Report of St John’s AGM 2014 Just short of seventy members of the congregation took the time to turn out for our AGM on Monday 10 November. Thank you to all who came or sent apologies, it's very heartening that so many in the congregation take such an active interest in the running of the church.

Alistair Dinnie

AGM's are a strange mixture of the formal and informal. This year in addition to adoption of reports such as the annual accounts (the formal bit), we had updates on the Development and the raffle draw for Claire Williamson's picture of St John's (congratulations to Sue Goode on being owner of the winning ticket).

Another formal part of the meeting was elections to Vestry and the role of Lay Representative. Eden Anderson was elected for a further term on Vestry and Jill Duffield is our new Lay Rep – congratulations to both. St John's constitution allows for one further place on Vestry so if there is anyone who'd be interested in finding out more about the role, please do get in touch. The message coming out of the financial and development presentations was one of challenge. St John's has been budgeting a deficit on its general spending for some three years now, and we still have a significant gap to make up in our development fundraising. Should we be down hearted? Well, the message from our Finance Committee, Development Fundraiser and Rector was ‘No. Concerned, yes but not down hearted’. We will be implementing a financial stewardship campaign as of Sunday 16 November. Also, over the forthcoming year,Vestry and the General Purposes Committee look again at the Church's organisational structure to check if our mission, organisational resources and means are consistent with each other.

Alistair Dinnie

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Vestry Update Following the conclusion of our congregational Development discernment process in August, September's Vestry included a meeting with the Development Architects – LDN – which gave members of the Vestry an extremely valuable opportunity to reacquaint themselves with the detail of the proposed design and how the project will be managed. Vestry also agreed to establish a small sub-group specifically to work with our terrace users as we progress through the next few months. This group has now been set up and will be meeting with Terrace users soon. September's meeting also agreed Charity Committee's recommendation of beneficiaries for our charitable collections over the next year. In October, in addition to a further update on Development planning and

fund raising (now a standing item on Vestry agendas), Vestry discussed proposals for a stewardship campaign. Conscious (and very appreciative) of the commitment made by many congregation members to our Development fund raising, St John's has held off making an appeal for increased giving to its general fund. It was felt though that we could not hold off any longer and that given Vestry's decision to commit general reserves in excess of nine months running costs to the Development, the two are inextricably linked as any money taken out of general reserves to fund budget deficits is money we will not be able to commit to the Development. This campaign was launched on Sunday 16November and will run for the next few months. Alistair Dinnie

The Oak Tree - a reflection The oak (quercus robus), also known as the English or Common Oak, is undisputedly Britain’s greatest and definitive woodland tree. It is a symbol of strength and longevity. Shipbuilders of the past relied on it for the quality of wood, as did furniture makers. The tree was often planted and the thinned to a fairly wide spacing in order to encourage it to proliferate. Ian Blair 25

Thanks everyone for your support and enthusiasm at the AGM. For those who were unable to come, the exciting news is we have reached 63% of our target (£2.2m) in income and pledges. A significant amount has come from St. John’s, through donations and fundraising, so thank you again. Congratulations also go to Sue Goode, who won Claire Williamson’s beautiful painting in our raffle. We are entering a very positive season for the Appeal. Instead of autumn, it is feeling more like spring! Of course we have a long way to go, but following the Vestry’s decision to progress, there has been a surge of enthusiasm, demonstrated by the many activities filling our calendar. These include cake baking, arts and crafts, an auction and a tower abseil to name a few. For more details please see the website. The AGM also introduced a new member of the appeal team: the ideas box! This sits next to the display in church. Contributions to the appeal do not have to be financial (although of course those are welcome). For example, it would be helpful to know the resources we have available to us; volunteers, raffle prizes, skills, networks etc.

Sue Goode receives her prize painting

The form is on the website and next to the box. With the growing events, we are aware of how we use our staff and time. My focus as Appeal Manager will still be on major gifts as most of our money has come from these since September 2014. I will still help gather ideas and co -ordinate events. Vicky and Mo, together with other willing volunteers, will then help with the planning and administration for these. You will also start to see more publicity and marketing as we move towards the more public ‘season’ for our appeal. We hope to see some of you at our upcoming events and look forward to reporting more growth and flowering in the coming months! Charlotte Bray, Appeal Manager

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News Many thanks to everyone who has been involved in the recent Christian Aid events - the Quiz Aid night, which had excellent direction from quiz masters Stephen Holmes and James Crerar, raised £330 – a great result. The Autumn Sale of Art and Scottish Books was held at St Andrew’s and St George’s West in October, culminating in the annual Saturday Coffee Morning. Generous donations and expert and enthusiastic work from the volunteers resulted in an impressive result of £6,845. After a reserve for ongoing expenses, £5,000 is being given now, which will be matched by the Government and result in £10,000 for Christian Aid.

whats-happening-near-you/events.aspx You can also find ideas on the website for Christmas gifts, in ‘Present Aid’, from a child’s school materials to a floating garden for a Bangladeshi family. Please note too that the UK Government has pledged to double every pound donated (up to £5 million) to this year’s Christmas Appeal, which focuses on helping to deliver vital healthcare to mothers and babies around the world.

Report of St John’s AGM 2014 November’s Growth Group welcomed Crispin Longden, who gave an informative and interesting talk about Christian Aid including an innovative project in Kenya which has helped local farmers to increase their crop yields significantly through timely weather forecasts sent to them by SMS text messages. Upcoming events include a service of Thanksgiving for the work of Christian Aid, which will be held on Sunday 7th December at 6.30pm in St Andrew’s and St George’s West church and will be led by Kathy Galloway. You can find full details of events around Scotland on the Christian Aid website at the following link: www.christianaid.org.uk/scotland/

Crispin Longden

If you’d like more information about Christian Aid please speak to one of the Committee - Helen Tait, Eden Anderson, Marion Ralls or Kirsty Macdonald. We’d be happy to tell you more about Christian Aid and let you know how you can get involved. Kirsty Macdonald 27

Forthcoming Events Silent Prayer Crowds of people pass St John’s on the way home from work after we have closed the doors in the afternoon. As an experiment, St John’s will be open for silent prayer and contemplation on Thursdays in Advent (4, 11 and 19 December) between 5.15pm and 6pm. Each session will start with a short introduction and end with a brief prayer. Come along and experience the peace of God in God’s house during the busy run-up to Christmas. We hope to continue this in the New Year. For further information contact Stephen Holmes, Carole Clarke or Andrew Wright. There is also a silent prayer group which meets in the chapel on two Tuesday afternoons each month between 3.30 and 4.15pm (e.g. Tuesday 9 December, see the weekly notices). Just turn up, but if you want more information contact Tony Bryer, tbryer.wpcscotland

Letters to Aberlour A theatre production supported by St John's Church and just Festival which will take place at St John’s on Wednesday,3December,7.00pm Friday,5December,7.00pm Wednesday,10December7.00pm and Saturday,13December,12:00 Letters to Aberlour is a new theatre production by New Strides Theatre which draws upon the letters that ‘old boys’ from the Aberlour Orphanage wrote to the orphanage during the First World War. The letters show that these soldiers considered themselves members of a single extended family, and the staff treated them as such. Other families might have had three or four members involved in the war, while the Aberlour Orphanage shared the experiences of hundreds of family members. In the letters the Aberlour soldiers express their concerns not only for their fellow ‘old boys’ serving in the war, but also for what is happening ‘at home’ in Aberlour. They write about the war

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and their longing to return to Aberlour. Taken together the letters provide a powerful narrative of the First World War which is both poignant and moving. Romy Langeland, who was Chief Executive of Aberlour from 2001 to 2007, writes: This play was staged recently at St Margaret’s church in Aberlour. It was incredibly touching – young actors speaking words written a hundred years ago by these young men that served on the front line. The turnout from the village was huge, demonstrating the local affection and respect for the role the orphanage played. The war memorial at St Margaret’s, which identifies each of the lost 62 boys by name, was re -dedicated on 16 November by Bishop Strange, Bishop of Moray.

Lothian Hospitals' Carol Concert CLIC Sargent charity Wednesday 17 December 7.30pm The concert is conducted by Neil Houston, an Edinburgh conductor and Head of Music at Moray House and accompanied by John Kitchen (organ) and Thistle Brass (leader Matthew Chinn). Anna McLuckie who trained at The City of Edinburgh Music School (competed in BBC1's The Voice) and is now at the Royal Northern College of Music will sing. Tickets: £18 | £16 | £10 Children £5 (Upper Circle only)

Oliver The Social Committee are organising an outing to see The Southern Light Opera Company perform Oliver! at the King’s Theatre on Saturday 7 March (matinee performance). Tickets will cost £19. If you would like to go please speak to Fiona McLuckie or Ian Stevenson during coffee on Sundays or telephone Ian on 332-2651 – closing date Sunday 15 February.

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Lent Lecture St John's Lent Lecture: Saturday 21 February, 3.30pm in the church hall. Professor Tina Beattie, Director of the Digby Stuart Research Centre for Religion, Society and Human Flourishing at the University of Roehampton, will speak on 'What is Man?': understanding the human person in the light of feminism, Christianity and sexuality. Professor Beattie is a Roman Catholic theologian born in Zambia of Scottish descent. She has written on Catholic theology and psychoanalytic theory, gender and sexuality, the cult of the Virgin Mary, theology and art, atheism and religion and women's rights. Well-respected in international theological circles and regularly appearing in the media, she has challenged Roman Catholic teaching on issues such as contraception, same-sex marriage and women's ordination which has led to her being prohibited from speaking in Roman Catholic institutions in San Diego, Bristol and Edinburgh.

Ministry to the deaf (part 2) mention in Part 1 of this article in the last Cornerstone.

Sarah Kilbey

There is a really important aspect to my ministry to the deaf which I did not 30

I don't see my work is just caring for people with hearing loss and, hopefully, empowering them to cope better. Communication is a two way process! If you speak too fast or too quietly, don't face me, mumble, cover your mouth with your hand, with the best will in the world, I won't be able to manage because I need to use my eyes instead of my ears. So there's an enormous amount to be done by way of educating others about what they need to do if the communication process is to work. I used to do a lot of deaf awareness training on behalf of Deaf Action for all kinds of professional groups, and it was so worthwhile. Deaf Action pulled back on this, but sometimes I am

asked to do something similar for different churches. I still give probably two or three talks a week in the winter time for groups like Probus, Rotary, Women's Guilds, retired university staff or doctors, and so on and I really enjoy it. Before I had my two back surgeries I was also very active in professional groups like the Scottish Association for the Deaf and the Cross Party Group on deafness. My work has put me in touch with such a wonderful variety of people who, otherwise, would never have crossed my path. There was John, a retired miner from West Lothian. When I first got to meet him he was so demoralised and had become very withdrawn. He bucked up, h o w e v e r, when I demonstrated a domestic loop for his home, and then he discovered he was even able to use my special phone. He got his house organised very quickly and then joined my Bathgate class where he became the life and soul of the party! He has run the volunteer desk at St John's Hospital audiology department for around 18 years, he's started a hard of hearing club out there and has befriended so many people.

of my classes. Sadly she told me she had had to resign from running the meals on wheels in her area, her Eldership, and being secretary of a local LibDem party. Being with others in the same boat, however, gaining tips about how to manage her hearing aids better helped and supported her and she began to enjoy the class. She never became a great lip-reader but, after eight weeks she told me no one had stepped in to do those three jobs so she had taken them up again! Then she began badgering me about why she had to come in on the train to find the help she needed. I told her I had asked to start a class out there but been refused. She said she knew of several others too, so I gave her a list of her Regional councillors and told her to write and request that a class be started, and get the other people to do the same. Six weeks later I got a letter, telling me to start a Wednesday morning class next term in the community centre, and when I arrived, there was Susan, with 15 other people, all ready to go!

I need to use my

eyes

instead of my ears

Then there's Susan (not her real name), incredibly tense and quite angry about what had happened to her. She wasn't coping at all when she showed up in one

Finally, I recall with great affection Alistair, whose hearing had been badly damaged in the war, and through working as a printer. He also suffered badly from Menieres disease. Alistair spent a lot of time in the bookies, and the pub; the kind 31

of person I might have written off in the past! What worked for him was the personal loop he bought for himself to cope better in noisy situations, and the relaxation techniques I was able to help him with. For sheer good-heartedness, generosity and a kind of sharp intelligence, he couldn’t be bettered. He gave me tremendous help in so many ways, even coming to speak at General Synod once, about hearing loss and the help that was needed. His stories brought the house down, especially the one about the man in the pub who loudly criticised him for being not much good one night. ‘I thought you went to lip-reading, Alistair, you're hopeless’. Quick as a wink, Alistair replied, ‘Aye I do, and if you'd only put your teeth in, I'd manage fine.’ What a perfect way to illustrate that

communication is a two way process! Some of the time my deafness been a real battle I must admit, but often support has come from the most wonderful people, not the least bishops Alastair and Richard, and my own dear husband, so that the isolation I have sometimes felt hasn't mattered too much. It's all been a bit of a surprise, but it’s also been a great privilege which I wouldn't have missed for anything. Maybe it illustrates the truth that St. Paul was trying to get over when writing to the Corinthians, ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard things beyond the mind of man, the wonderful things that God has prepared for those who love Him Sarah Kilbey

Old Eternal Rocks: Creationtide 2014 Creationtide at St John’s this year was on the theme of rocks. On 21 September we had a geology fair after the morning service, when Emma Paterson of Dynamic Earth, Katie Whitbread of the British Geological Survey and St Paul’s and St George’s Church and Christine Thompson, Beverly Borgman and James Floyd of Edinburgh Geological Society provided a dazzling display of minerals, maps, models and expertise. On 28 October members of the congregation were invited to bring rocks they had collected for a ‘pop-up geology museum’ on the high altar, and to write a label with the rock’s story. Christine Thompson returned to help people identify their stones, whose origins ranged from the Lake District to the Holy Land. The best place for minerals is generally in the ground, so on 21 September four members of St John’s Choir along with a Quaker, a member of P’s and G’s, and a dog, joined several thousand people in Edinburgh, and hundreds of thousands around the world, on the People’s Climate March. This coincided with the UN meeting in New 32

York which begins a process leading to the Climate Summit in Paris in December, when it is hoped a global deal on reducing carbon emissions will emerge. This follows the Copenhagen summit a few years ago, when we rang bells and made paper boats, which failed to reach a deal. It is widely agreed that it is imperative that a deal is struck in Paris if there is to be any chance of averting irreversible and catastrophic climate change. The scientific consensus has long been that 2015 is the last opportunity to do this. Please respond to the calls of Ban Ki-Moon and Desmond Tutu to pray, think, write and look out for opportunities to encourage the process in the next few months. St John’s will try to find ways to help you.

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Walking Group 4 December River Almond, Barnton Park Woods and Corstorphine Hill. On tracks and minor roads. Some uphill stretches. (Richard Butterworth 339 1068). 20 December Edinburgh’s Waterfront. A walk along the Waterfront Walkway to Cramond/Cammo followed by festive lunch at the Holiday Inn, Queensferry Road. (Yvonne Jones: 467 9844).

The programme of walks for 2014-2015 is available from the church office or on the noticeboard. The walks in December to February are listed below. Further information will be put up nearer the time on the noticeboards in the church porch and hall. Alternatively contact the walk leader. If you would like to receive this information by email, would like an electronic copy of the walks programme, or for any other information, please contact Veronica Harris at [email protected] or 0131 228 1016.

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8 January 2015 (2nd Thursday) Follow the Braidburn; from Dreghorn Barracks east to Braid Burn Valley Park, Hermitage of Braid and Cameron Toll. (Marjory Currie 337 3833). 17 January 2015 Flotterstone to Torphin. A lowish level linear Pentland walk through a variety of terrain including a new path from Castlelaw to Boghall (Veronica Harris 228 1016). 5 February 2015 Eddleston (near Peebles) to Portmore estate. A round walk mainly on farm tracks, paths, and estate drives. All climbing is gradual or very short. (John Law 445 2427). 21 February 2015 Seacliffe to Tyninghame. A linear coastal walk. We take the bus to start from Tyninghame village and then walk back.

Review of Ursula Eleanor Harris's novel 'Ursula' is a modern re-telling of Trollope's 'The Warden' – the first of the Barchester novels. Here, however, the moral issue in question is not the equitable distribution of church/charitable funds, but rather the global environmental crisis, from the perspective of Ursula, a wealthy widow in the parish of Holy Trinity, Edinburgh (The re-imagined history of Holy Trinity, the church dismantled in 1848 to make way for Waverley Station, is an especially pleasing detail). Those who have already read The Warden will have fun spotting the innumerable echoes and correspondences, from the overall sweep of the narrative down to individual details of characters' lives. I had not read The Warden prior to reading Ursula, but I did so immediately upon finishing it, and the parallels have been very cleverly drawn. There is also plenty here, including many musical name-checks, to bring a smile to anyone who has sung in the unique environment of a church choir. The real issues at stake – environmental crisis, ecosystem collapse and mass extinction – are tackled head-on. Ursula's plight and subsequent crisis of conscience is something with which we should all be able to identify. Yet there is humour here too, and a playful satire on Edinburgh society. Characters are multidimensional and readers can feel empathy with most, if not quite all of them. This is a book which is difficult, if not impossible, to categorise. Music, environmental issues, religion, church bureaucracy, love and the peculiar politics of church choirs are all examined here with wit and incisiveness, but also with compassion and warmth. The tale never becomes a sermon - the path that Ursula ultimately chooses is not presented as a one-size-fits-all course of action for everyone (either other characters within the story or those reading the novel). Instead, perhaps the novel's greatest achievement is that it encourages the reader to engage in careful thought, and to reach their own personal response to this most important of issues. 'Ursula' is available for £2.58 as a Kindle e-book (search Amazon for 'Ursula'). All profits will contribute towards the renovation of Blair House: http://eleanormharris.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/the-spirit-of-glen-doll.html Rebecca Rollinson [Editor’s Note: Blair House is a field centre in Glen Doll, formerly owned by the Edinburgh Academy and recently bought by Eleanor. She plans to renovate and re-open it as a field centre once more!]

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Outreach Cornerstone Bookshop Reviews ‘Walking Backwards to Christmas’ by Stephen Cottrell 9780281071470 £7.99 In his dedication of this book, Stephen Cottrell sums up its purpose as being “For all those who thought they knew the story well.” Using the brilliant, deceptively simple device of telling the Christmas story backwards – from Anna, the prophetess to Moses, to whom the revelation comes that darkness shall be scattered and light forever blaze – the narrative helps us encounter the familiar, as if for the first time, giving fresh insights into its many horrors and uncertainties as well as its joys. An ideal companion through Advent, each reflection is prefaced with a bible reading and concludes with a prayer.

‘Scots Worship – Advent, Christmas & Epiphany’ by David Ogston [Johnston McKay Ed.] 9780861538546£14.99 Following on from the success of the first volume (for Lent and Easter), this is a further inspiring and diverse collection of meditations, reflections and prayer written in Scots and English. On each page the poet in David Ogston shines through, constantly catching one unawares with a startling use of simple words making this a treasury to enrich and enlarge the mind. ‘The Ariel Poems’ by T.S. Eliot 9780571316434

£14.99

The Aerial Poems were originally commissioned for a pamphlet series of the same name that first ran between 1927 and 1931. Eliot was just one of the contributors to the first tranche (along with Hardy, Sassoon and Chesterton, among others). He was 36

also the only poet to contribute to each year’s collection. This handsome new publication makes an ideal gift, bringing together, for the first time in a single edition, the six poems written by Eliot along with the drawings and wood-engravings that originally partnered them. ‘Snow’ by Walter de la Mare

9780571305575

£6.99

‘No breath of wind, No gleam of sun – Still the white snow Whirls softly down – As the day draws to a close, a family prepares for Christmas. Outside, the world slowly turns to white… This enchanting edition of de la Mare’s glorious celebration of the wonder of snow is beautifully illustrated by Carolina Rabei. One of the most outstanding picture books to be published this year, it will surely become a classic. ‘Mimi and the Mountain Dragon’ by Michael Morpurgo 9781405269346

£5.99

Michael Morpurgo is a master story teller and this is evident in his latest Christmas tale. “In her castle lair, high in the mountains of Switzerland, lives a terrible dragon. In the village below, lives a brave little girl called Mimi. When Mimi finds a baby dragon in the woodshed one snowy Christmas morning, she makes a decision that will bring joy and peace to the village for ever.” A heartwarming Christmas adventure that all the family can share, it perfectly combines magic, adventure and Christmas cheer and would make an ideal stocking-filler. And looking beyond Christmas… ‘Cry of Wonder’ By Gerard W. Hughes

9781472910400

£12.99

An inspirational and much loved figure in the local community and far beyond, the late Gerry Hughes lived to see his latest book published just days before his death, aged 90, this November. In it, he encourages readers to explore their own human experience as the unique doorway, opening each of us out into the mystery of our present existence. Hughes explores how, by focusing our attention on our inner ‘felt’ reactions to the events of our lives, a vision can be revealed to us of the ongoing transformation into which we are constantly invited. The inclusion of 37

exercises at the end of each chapter make this ideal for group study as well as encouraging personal reflection. ‘Look Well to This Day’ By Tom Gordon

9781849523011

£13.50

In this follow-up volume to his trilogy of contemporary parables for the three-year Church Lectionary, Tom Gordon turns his attention to the day-by-day nature of our living. Through stories, fables, talks of people and places, historical incidents and personal experiences, he encourages you to ‘look well’ to the insights and inspiration you might need. His wisdom and thoughtfulness make this a rich resource to carry with us as we head into a new year. Cornerstone Bookshop is open Monday-Saturday from 10-5 and can order any book in print. Contact them on 0131 229 3776

Peace & Justice Centre As part of the peace movement’s alternative commemoration of the First World War the Centre provided a theatrical event, Divergent Voices, a presentation of documents from the war and reflections on the experiences recorded in them. The script was put together by our Coordinator Brian Larkin and Jane Tallents, and performed by Gerda Stevenson, Crawford Logan, Janie Reid-Baxter and the Gaelic poet Aonghas MacNeacail. Music was provided by Michel Byrne. It was performed first in the Scottish Storytelling Centre, and later in the National Library of Scotland. It is hoped to take it on tour elsewhere in Scotland. It makes a powerful impression. The Centre’s other major project was organising the display in Edinburgh of an 38

exhibition of paintings by refugee children in Lebanon. The exhibition, Light against Darkness, showed how these children, survivors of terrible experiences in the civil war in Syria, saw the world as they would want it to be. The paintings are vivid and colourful, a moving expression of hope. The paintings were displayed in the Methodist church in Nicolson Square and in the Edinburgh University Chaplaincy. They are now being displayed in Glasgow. The paintings are reproduced in a fine book available in the Peace and Justice Centre. The cost, £15, goes to support the project in Lebanon that organises these art workshops. The Centre has already raised £500 for this purpose, so more donations would be very welcome. Geoffrey Carnall

One World Shop We've been very busy behind the scenes at the One World Shop this month as we are packing up lots of stalls of Fair Trade goods for special Christmas events being held at schools, churches, hospitals, town halls, council buildings and even in several high street banks. Christmas is always a great time of year for us as we have such a wide variety of ethical and fair trade gifts for all ages, so do drop in and see the range. For example, we have a number of delicious new gifts for foodies. Ukuva i -Africa's herbs, spices and sauces take inspiration from flavours collected by travellers exploring the tastes of African cooking. Warm island spices from Zanzibar, 'Hot Rocks' chilli salt, and spicy chilli 'Hot Drops' sauces will add a whole new level to your cooking. New from Palestinian company, Zaytoun is our Smokey Freekeh (£2.50) - a young green wheat that has been toasted and cracked. High in protein and vitamin content. It is widely used in Arab and North African

cooking. Za'atar (£3.15 for 80g or £9.95 with 500ml Olive Oil) is a herb mix of wild thyme, toasted sesame and sumac. It is a zesty seasoning, delicious with olive oil on fresh bread, on tomato salads or rubbed into chicken before roasting. Plus the new Caramelised Almonds (£2.50) are highly addictive and a great gift for someone special. Scarves, gloves, hats and jewellery are adorning our shelves just now but it is our colourful fair trade bamboo socks that are selling fast. Designed to let your feet breathe, they have anti-bacterial and anti -fungal properties to keep your toes cosy, fresh and clean. £4.90 per pair. Our handmade Christmas decorations, nativity sets and wide range of stocking fillers are also well worth seeing, coming from India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Palestine.

We look forward to welcoming you in the shop and wish everyone a very happy Christmas and hopeful start to the New Year. Rachel Farey

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At the beginning of November Beata Skobodzinska took over as Director of the just Festival from Katherine Newbigging. Beata has already been working with just Festival as Festival Coordinator. Katherine has been the Festival Director’s for three years and she will be working as Associate Director until the end of January 2015. We wish them both well in their future roles.

News from Together NEXT YEAR

affecting the UK;

Whatever we have thought of the year 2014, we all have the chance to look ahead as the year draws to an end. Some of us make New Year resolutions, some know they won’t be strong-minded enough to keep them. But we all have hopes for ourselves, our church, our country, our world. We asked a few people from our three congregations to give us their



Scotland progress to the knockout stages of the Rugby World Cup in September; 

the major building project at St John’s gets underway as planned and runs to time and budget;

HOPES FOR 2015.

Rev Dr Angus Morrison has a healthy, inspiring and rewarding year as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

Craig Marshall (Church Manager, St Cuthbert’s)

Stephen Holmes (Associate Rector of St John’s )

I hope that

Fears for 2015 include the threat of Islamist terrorism, the return of a cold war with nuclear-armed Russia, the environmental crisis, and an increase in inequality and poverty in our society. My hopes regarding these are not just for effective government policy but for conversion of heart. Without this we’ll just have more failures like the one we have seen in Iraq.



the Together congregations continue to develop and embrace new and existing ways of providing effective mission and witness in the City Centre and beyond;  

Andy Murray wins Wimbledon – again!;

the quality of campaigning for the General Election in May stimulates engagement with and positive debate about the key issues 40

In the church I hope for a renewed appreciation of the mystery of Jesus Christ, new ways of helping our society access this mystery (i.e. a church that spends more energy on mission than on the tea rota) and a removal of the block to mission caused by church discrimination against gay people. In my first year at St John’s I have valued working with the clergy of St Cuthbert’s and STAGW and I hope that ‘Together’ will become more like three congregations closely supporting each other, and sometimes collaborating, in mission and less like three congregations attempting to support an extra ‘ecumenical’ institution. Veronica Crerar (Volunteer at Hadeel, the Palestinian fair-trade craft shop) My hopes for next year would be that peace would get more of a look-in. There seem to be so many places where war is raging with all the terrible loss and misery which that entails. At Hadeel, we heard at first from our friends and suppliers in Gaza of the terror and misery of the attacks there earlier this year. Then a different but equally horrific war grabbed the headlines. But the misery continues indefinitely. In the week I’m writing this, we are remembering the senseless slaughter of the first World War, but celebrating the fall of the Berlin Wall. Perhaps if we learn to love our neighbours more and pray for miracles, my hopes will be fulfilled. Angela Grant (Child, Youth & Family Worker St Andrew’s and St George’s West)

2014 was a fantastic year for me, it was the year I met my boyfriend after a sad divorce and the year I started working again for the first time part time after being ill health retired from Nursing in October 2011. I found peace and fulfilment in my work and happiness in my personal life. My health will

never be good but working has made me “feel” so much better!! 2015 I hope to in my work start a ‘make and share’ nursery, have a week’s holiday club for children, an Easter City Churches Together event and then another Light party in October for the City Churches Together children after the wonderful success of the 2014 one! (This depends on whether my contract is extended after July 2015. I do hope so!) Personally I hope that my relationship with my boyfriend grows deeper and that my family have good health. God put me in St Andrew’s and St George’s West and I KNOW he will be with me in 2015. Bring it on!! Maggie Morley (Convenor of Creative Together) I would like to be able to continue my comfortable privileged life which I enjoy at present in Edinburgh. I want my family and friends to be healthy and happy. But, isn't that also what all of you who are reading this would wish for? Put on my Creative Together hat and I would like to extend the friendship we all share when creating items to sell for charity, to include a more balanced group from all the Together churches. It's a great way to get to know each other better. Be part of our group. Sarah Kilbey (Ministry Team, St John’s) I hope to get thinner in 2015 but, unless I eat less, it won’t happen! So, while I hope, ardently, for peace, I must work, pray, keep informed and support all those agencies striving for peace, doing God’s work. Even more, I must work for peace where I am, trying to get on better with people I find difficult! 41

In 2015 I hope my son and one law, both chronically ill, unable improve; so I hope, and will Government compassionate problems faced by those on through no fault of their own.

of my sons in to work, will work for, a about the the margins,

In 2015 I hope for a Government committed to action on climate change, and I will recycle/ compost more; never taking the car because it’s raining: always my bike! Suzie Stark (Ministry Team, St Cuthbert’s, writing on behalf of “Soul Space”) The St Cuthbert’s soul space team hopes: 

that more people discover the ‘peace and inspiration’ of soul space (as one of our regulars put it!); 

that this time for reflection, prayer, action and stillness might be a blessing to those who work in the city centre, a chance to find a quiet centre in the midst of their crowded lives; 

that YOU would check out soul space through our facebook presence (‘cuthbertsoulspace’) and YouTube videos, (Channel : ‘StCuthbertsEdinburgh’ ); above all, that we might welcome you to a soul space event in the very near future! [Church open for this on 1st Wednesday of each month, 12.30 – 2 p.m. and 5 – 8 p.m.] Graeme Glover (Church Manager, of St John’s) I immediately thought about my family when thinking about 2015. When I think about St John's, my biggest hope is that our Development project goes ahead. I sincerely believe it is a good thing. When I think further afield, it is tempting to presume that all will stay the same in the Middle East but I hope that peace will come closer. I hope also for Ebola to disappear. I also hope for justice 42

where we now see boatloads of fellow humans trying to reach Europe. Finally, some less serious hopes: Scotland to qualify for the football European Championships and to win the Rugby World Cup. If you want to celebrate the arrival of 2015, think of joining the New Year’s Watch Night Service in St Cuthbert’s. June Ross (Elder at St Cuthbert’s, Together Homelessness Group) Increasingly communities across the world have been breaking into ever more jagged pieces, so my hope for 2015 within St Cuthbert’s is the role it can play in bringing hope, comfort and belief. We aim to increase our efforts in meeting the needs of those lost, lonely, without faith. We will build on our offers of listening, healing, sharing an understanding of biblical and personal faith, prayer and SoulSpace. To increase awareness of what we can offer we aim to expand our contacts with those in our business and cultural surroundings, and the many who come within our walls for very diverse activities. All these efforts will continue to be based on our long and solid bedrock of action to help those in physical need. At present there are four main strands, viz. The Ministry Team’s contact with Bethany (including the recent launch in Tollcross); frequent night shelters (16 in 2014/15); supplying goods to Fresh Start; the wide-ranging activities of the Together Homelessness Group. Excelsior! TOGETHER EVENTS WW1 Commemoration On November 11th, the centenary of the outbreak of the first World War, Together held a Commemoration in St Andrew’s and St George’s West. This atmospheric evening included readings, meditations and music around the themes of Remembering, Repenting, Reconciling and Rejoicing in Hope.

It was in fact St Andrew’s and St George’s which in 1979 was the first church to hold a joint Remembrance service with the German Speaking Protestant congregation. Now on the 11th, representatives from six Consulates of the nations caught up in the Great War attended the service. Michael Mehl from the German Speaking congregation and Monsignor Philip Kerr, a Vicar General of the Archdiocese, representing Archbishop Leo Cushley, joined members of our three Ministry teams to lead the service. Pastor Michael read from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Letters from Prison (in Tegel) in German and English, and there were two short addresses from Charles Robertson (on the relation between sacrificial death and eternity) and Ian Gilmour (on Can we learn to Hope?). Part of the service dealt with the issue of ‘deserters’ and post-traumatic stress, and was illustrated by a reading from Michael Morpurgo’s Private Peaceful. The whole

service was woven together by music in a series of fine anthems by our three choirs and rousing hymns. This was a sombre but inspiring evening for everyone who came. Christmas Tree Festival This is now a regular and popular feature of the City Centre scene as Christmas approaches. Last year it drew 3,000 visitors and the 40 living trees were all sponsored by local businesses, organisations and individuals. This year it runs in St Andrew’s and St George’s West from Sunday 7 December until Christmas Eve, open from 10 to 4. The trees create a wonderland for children and adults alike, so do come and enjoy it. Food Banks

Our churches will be making Christmas appeals for help to Food Banks in Edinburgh, so be prepared to respond!

St John’s Coffee Rota 7 December G Edgar; P Walliker; J McLeod. 4 January S Brand 14 December M Currie; E Anderson; 11 January M Warrack; L Darke; E Bath. S Kilbey. 18 January E Yeo; S Jamieson; W Wyse. 21 December H Tait; J Rennie; S Goode. 25 January A Usher; E Carruthers; C Legge. 28 December S Brand

More volunteers are always welcome - if you’d like more details please get in touch with Sheelagh Brand on 0131 339 4409

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St Aidan & St Thomas within the Wardrobe A Message from Canon Wishwash Stewardship. Did any concept ever so summarise the God in Man, the Man in God. All your time and talents, your down-sitting and your uprising are a supreme gift, to pass on, as did the just steward, from generation to generation. A Rejoinder from the Rector of St Herbert’s Without (Author of ”Profit Not Without Honour”) Don’t listen to that old fool Wishwash. We need your money, soon and lots. From “The Annotated Hymn Book” Holy, Holy, Holy, [1] Lord [2] God Almighty, All the earth shall praise thy name in earth and sky and sea [3]. Holy, holy, holy [1] there is none beside thee [4]. God in three persons [5], blessed Trinity [6]. 1. The tendency of liturgical forms of all sorts to vain repetition surely cannot mean that God is stupid. Presumably it is congregations who need messages hammered home. 2. Everyday sexism 3. Provided the solar-powered batteries do not land in the shade 4. This supposes either a wide deity or a narrow way 5. John our Bishop recently explained in a sermon of installation that the word “parson” was the same as the word “person”. This line means “God in three parsons”. The Grange is also a nice place to live. Letters Dear Sir or Madam or Both, Why don’t your Pilgrim Trail (see last issue if you haven’t lost it) include the place where my big brother smashed a fruit machine as he was trying to get it to disgorge the jackpot. If he’d managed I bet we’d have given more to the Development. P’raps he will when he gets out. Love from Pittie Slop (Colinton) 44

Advent, Christmas & Epiphany Sunday 21 December (Advent 4) 8.00am Holy Communion 9.30am Advent Choral Matins 10.30am Advent Sung Eucharist followed by mince pies at the Rectory 6.00pm Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols Monday 22 December 6.00pm Christmas in the City Christmas Eve - Wednesday 24 December 4.30pm Christingle Service and Nativity Play 10.45pm Organ Music for Christmas 11.15pm Midnight Mass with Carols Christmas Day - Thursday 25 December 8.00am Holy Communion 9.45am Christmas Communion with Carols 11.15am Service of Readings and Carols (Please note that services today are NOT at our usual Sunday service times.) Sunday 28 December (Christmas 1) 8.00am Holy Communion 10.30am Holy Communion with Readings and Carols There are no other services today Thursday 1 January 2015 3.30pm Worship for New Year’s Day The Epiphany – Sunday 4 January 8.00am Holy Communion 10.30am Sung Eucharist 6.00pm Epiphany Carols

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Sunday Readings Year B

9.30am Matins

10.30am Eucharist

6.00pm Evensong

30 November Advent 1

Mark 13.33-37 Godfrey of Admont

Isaiah 64.1 9 1 Corinthians 1.3 9 Mark 13.24-37

Advent Carols

7 December Advent 2

no service

Isaiah 40.1‑11 2 Peter 3.8‑15a Mark 1.1‑8

Esther 4:1-17 Philippians 1.3‑11

14 December Advent 3

John 1.6‑8,19‑28 John Scotus Eriugena

Isaiah 61.1‑4,8‑11 1 Thessalonians 5.16‑24 John 1.6‑8,19‑28

Isaiah 42:1-9 Philippians 4.4‑7

21 December Advent 4

Luke 1.26‑38 Bede

2 Samuel 7.1‑11,16 Romans 16.25‑27 Luke 1.26‑38

Nine Lessons & Carols

no service

Isaiah 61.10–62.3 Galatians 4.4‑7 Luke 2.22‑40

no service

4 January Epiphany

no service

Isaiah 60.1‑6 Ephesians 3.1‑12 Matthew 2.1‑12

Epiphany Carols

11 January Baptism of the Lord

Mark 1.4‑11 Gregory of Antioch

Genesis 1.1‑5 Acts 19.1‑7 Mark 1.4‑11

Hebrews 1.1‑12 Matthew 3:1-17

18 January Epiphany 2

John 1.43‑51 Augustine

1 Samuel 3.1‑10(11‑20) 1 Corinthians 6.12‑20 John 1.43‑51

1 Corinthians 12.1‑11 Matthew 4:1-17

25 January Conversion of St Paul

Acts 9.1-16 Augustine

Acts 26.9‑23 Galatians 1.11‑24 Matthew 10.16‑22

Acts 22.3‑16 Matthew 5:1-20

1 February Presentation

no service

Malachi 3.1‑4 Hebrews 2.14‑18 Luke 2.22‑40

Haggai 2.1‑9 Matthew 6:7-21

8 February Epiphany 5

Mark 1.29‑39 Peter Chrysologus

Isaiah 40.21‑31 1 Corinthians 9.16‑23 Mark 1.29‑39

1 Corinthians 15.1‑11 Matthew 14:13-33

15 February Sunday before Lent

Mark 9.2-9 Ambrose

2 Kings 2.1-12 2 Corinthians 4.3-6 Mark 9.2-9

Hebrews 12.18‑29 Matthew 16:24-17:8

28 December Christmas 1

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