en Diocese of Edinburgh, Scottish Episcopal Church http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org © Copyright 2000 - 2010Church Community Builder. All Rights Reserved. http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=1 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=1&article_id=102 Donate online » Music, in all its forms, is a strong feature of worship at St Peter's. The Church is proud of its musical heritage, with a robed choir leading many of the services and maintaining the tradition of Mattins and Choral Evensong on a monthly basis. Read more » Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:55:22 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=1 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=1&article_id=74 () { img = document.getElementById("clustrMapsImg"); img.onerror = null; img.src="http://www2.clustrmaps.com/images/clustrmaps-back-soon.jpg" mce_src="http://www2.clustrmaps.com/images/clustrmaps-back-soon.jpg"; document.getElementById("clustrMapsLink").href="http://www2.clustrmaps.com" mce_href="http://www2.clustrmaps.com"; } img = document.getElementById("clustrMapsImg"); img.onerror = cantload; Feedjit Live Blog Stats Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:55:22 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=1 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=1&article_id=188 Daily Offices - Said in the Church Tuesday - Friday. [N.B. Not Mondays] 9.00am: MORNING PRAYER 5.00pm: EVENING PRAYERThursday 11th March 2010 11.00am: HOLY COMMUNION 1929 Prayerbook p.326f & 285f. SUNDAY 14th March 2010 MOTHERING SUNDAY 8.30am: HOLY COMMUNION (Scottish Communion Office). 10.45am: FAMILY EUCHARIST 6.30pm: SERVICE OF HEALING & WHOLENESS All welcome Tue, 9 Mar 2010 07:45:40 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=1 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=1&article_id=177 UPLIFTING CHRISTIAN music and singing, live dramas and a warm community are all a part of what makes our church a special place! Read more Revd Canon Fred Tomlinson (Rector) Revd Frances Burberry (Associate Priest) Church Office / Rectory: +44 (0)131-667 6224 Hall booking enquiries THE NEW TELEPHONE NUMBER FOR HALL BOOKINGS is now 07879 350466. Please leave your contact number, and the return call will be made in the evening. Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:08:57 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=24 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=24&article_id=164 Sermon begins with the lighting of a single match There is always something evocative for me about the lighting of a match and not blowing it out immediately. It reminds me of tales my father used to tell about it being unlucky to be the third person to have your cigarette lit from a single match. It comes I think from the 1st World War. A sniper would see the first cigarette being lit, take aim while the second was being lit and then fire at the third. For me, the problem is that by this time my fingers are being burned! I start my sermon like this today because this image of the match burning itself out is how one commentator describes the encounter between Jesus and those who would not accept his message of new life. Naturally our Gospels help us to focus Sunday by Sunday on those people who are healed by Jesus or who are fed by him, or who like Zacchaeus respond to him with a complete change of heart and change of life. Yet this morning we're focussing at first on the no doubt many people who did not respond positively to Jesus, who rejected him. We're thinking about the people in his own home town of Nazareth, and even on members of his family, who say "who is this?" and "who is he trying to be?" As our commentator says, Jesus is holding out his light and his power to them, just as if he were holding out a lighted match to them. They however do not accept it - instead Jesus eventually has to drop the match and walk away with his fingers burned. He leaves them to go and shine his light somewhere else. Sadly, it is as if you or I were to hold out our match to a pile of wet sticks - the flame is strong but there is nothing to catch fire. Jesus' words of power and healing are rejected. It's easy to be scornful of those who rejected Jesus and his teaching, but I remember one person once asking me, among others, are you so sure you wouldn't have been among them? Is there nothing in you that would have been outraged at his words, nothing to rub you up the wrong way and send you off shaking your head? Or again, what about when people speak Jesus' words to us today; when others, perhaps the most unlikely people, the people we hardly give a second thought too, challenge us in our self-centredness or our hardness of heart? Do we find it any easier to hear them? Do we find ourselves, "offended by all things new"? Are there "no-go areas" for us? Remember, if we don't listen, if we don't take the light which is held out to us, Jesus moves on to shine his light elsewhere. He is not interested in half-hearted responses - already while we're thinking about it Jesus has moved on and is looking around for people who will listen and who will respond to him. Today in the second part of our Gospel reading we see Jesus indeed moving on and sending out his disciples in pairs to extend his reach, to take his light to even more people in the surrounding towns and villages. Note that the disciples' mission is an embodiment of Jesus' mission. Their authority lies in the message of love and forgiveness and healing and hope which they carry. Will people reject them and this message as Jesus has experienced rejection? Jesus urges them to take the risk, and to set out trusting that their hearers will recognise that the message being brought to them meets their needs. As these men set out in their pairs, no doubt more than a little anxious, unsure of what their reception will be, it strikes me that they have something to say to us this morning, something with which to encourage and inspire us as we too in our day seek to respond faithfully to the call of Christ not only to live the Christian life, but to be his ambassadors. Firstly, the disciples set out with empty hands - "take no bread, no bag, no money in your belts; wear sandals, but don't take two tunics". Often in the church we focus on what we don't have - not enough money, not enough people. However what we do have are the words of eternal life, a message as relevant today as ever it was. Going out with empty hands is no hardship - it makes us focus more on our message. Secondly, the disciples set out that day in joy and simplicity. There is nothing so infectious as faith well-lived. To be someone who simply tries to take Christ at his word, and to seek to live and proclaim that new life daily in simplicity is to experience not only wholeness in our lives, but to enable others to experience it too - remember faith is caught, not taught. No need for clever words or complicated theology - simplicity and yes, vulnerability will do just as well. For the disciples, their powerlessness was key to their success. It is the people visited who have the power - power to hear and respond, and as always things happen when people discover in themselves the faith and courage to live life in a new way. Lastly, the disciples go out in twos - in other words they work collaboratively to share God's work. It's no wonder that Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons go out round the doors in twos. They have learned the value of working together and the encouragement and help which comes from that. Hear at St Peter's at a deep level we've discovered that too - a task shared among us blesses us not only in the completion of the task, but in the joy of serving and working collaboratively with others. Today may the God who has given us his Son to follow, and his Spirit to inspire us, engage us in ministry to one another and to a society and community around us which desperately needs to hear the message of his great love for them. From bouncy castle days to home visits, from recitals and concerts to the encounters which you and I have with people every day, may God use us in this church community to tell of his love for his people and really invite them to respond and become part of the adventure. To him be glory and dominion in the church and in the world now and for evermore. Amen. Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:32:39 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=24 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=24&article_id=159 Picture the scene with me if you will. You are on an observation platform overlooking Niagara Falls. The sound is deafening and you are awestruck at the movement and the rush of water as millions of gallons tumble to the depths below. For a time you focus on the main flow of the water, on those places where the power of the tumbling river is at its strongest. Yet after a while you begin to look at those places where the rock face is exposed and indeed where there are little crevices in the rock. One crevice especially catches your eye. It is saturated with water and although there is a tiny pool there, the vast majority of the water just bounces off it and down into the depths below. Now this image of the crevice in the waterfall is one which is used by the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams to describe the activity of Christian stewardship. Picture yourself for a moment, he says, as that crevice in the waterfall. The water which flows over you and bounces off you is the life and the love of God. You couldn't just hold on to it for yourself even if you wanted to - the flow and the force is too strong. Instead you find yourself strangely sharing in what God is doing as the flow bounces off you to other places, you just can't help but share and participate in this process of diffusion. God is the great giver, and this giving is a great movement, a spreading out, an energy of sharing. More than that, God the giver has turned you into a giver as you help to deflect and share God's life and goodness with others. Rowan Williams asks us then to go beyond fairly static images of God giving and our responding. He has no time for questions like "what have I received?" and "what shall I give?" Instead in his image here to receive is not to have a possession, it is rather to be caught up in God's stream of action, caught up by something which descends upon you, passes on and draws you in. God gives us his own life so that we in turn can become givers, passing on an intensity of outpouring. Think of how far all this is from any notion of "feeling and obligation to respond" which can so often be associated with stewardship. What we're talking about here is stewardship based on gratitude, not a sense of obligation, not a sense of being in any way under a debt. After all, real generous gratitude can never have anything to do with calculating what I owe. If Anne buys me a stunning present for my birthday, something I've wanted for a long time, it's not really on for me to say "Oh well! I suppose I'll have to get her something really big now. I wonder how much my present cost?" If I were to do that, you rightly wouldn't think much of me as a husband and partner. Think then of all the life and the love which God pours out on you and on me spontaneously and freely every day in the same way. That life, that act of giving, is not given as a possession for our ownership, rather it is life to be shared and passed on. There is what Rowan Williams calls a restlessness about it - it's rather like money which is burning a hole in your pocket, you can't help but respond, you can't help but be a giver. As we move towards the "treasure" part of our stewardship campaign next month can I invite you to do a number of things? Firstly, reflect on the image of the crevice in the waterfall. Ask God to let you see in your mind's eye those places in your life where he is saturating you with his love and his life. Open your eyes to those gifts which the divine Giver is pouring upon you. Feel the full flow of God's generosity flowing over you. Secondly determine that like that little crevice you will not even attempt to stop the flow, to hold it and possess it for yourself. Pledge that you will not take God's life and put it in the fridge, or in the bottom drawer. Promise that you will not put it aside for a rainy day, or treat it like a lump of something to be held on to and conserved. Rather let yourself be swept up in the movement, let the generous Giver turn you into a generous giver in all areas of your life. I end with a picture of generosity offered by the Archbishop himself. When he was a curate he had to steer the parish through an interregnum. Just before the new vicar arrived, the bishop rang him up to say, "You will have to call a special meeting of the church council. The man who is coming as the new vicar has just left his wife and you had better explain that to them". So he did, and waited, bracing himself for the worst. The first comment that came was from a very sober-sided churchwarden, an ex-military man, one of the more conservative, middle-class members of the congregation, who shook his head and said, I think this man is going to need all the help we can give him". At that moment, Rowan Williams said, he found himself in touch with the giving God, encountered in a man whose first response to such news as this was generosity. In all we do in our daily living, in our actions and judgements at least as much as in what we give may we too such generosity. Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:32:39 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=24 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=24&article_id=71 Sermon for February 22nd 2009This time last Sunday I was coming to the end of almost a week's silent retreat at Whitchester near Hawick in the Borders. Not only did I enjoy the silence of the house, where even meals were eaten without conversation of any kind, but also at the same time there was the silence of the Borders. Not long after I got there a blanket of snow descended, muffling our steps and seemingly every other sound, so that our inner silence in the house was echoed by what we experienced around us in the countryside. The rolling hills of the border lands had a real beauty about them in their snowy covering.People have asked me what I do on a silent retreat. Well, for a lot of the time I write, sometimes filling pages of A4 at a sitting, just pouring out to God what's in here. Once I get started I can't stop, and what's there on the page is a kind of prayer, an offering to God from my deepest places.Sometimes I read, but less than you'd think, having always been told that retreats should not be a way of catching up on the reading I should have been doing anyway. Often just one book to be pondered over deeply during the week will do. This time I found myself dipping into David Adam's book "Walking on the Edges", and a more appropriate book for a week in the Borders I couldn't have found. In it, he talks about the religious significance of borders and boundaries. In places where the sea meets the land, or where hills rise up from flatlands, these are places of encounter where people look to meet with God, places where the veil between earth and heaven is thin. He reminds us that the Celtic saints often chose to live on borders. He speaks of the two brothers Cedd and Chad. Cedd built his little monastery at Lastingham in North Yorkshire right on the boundary where the rich cultivated land met with the wild moor. According to the Venerable Bede, Cedd lived beside the "high, remote hills; dens of robbers and wild beasts". He and his fellow Christians planted high, standing crosses there, pointing to another kingdom, a heavenly one, not far off but quite near. His monastery was on a border in more ways than one. He felt deeply the presence of the divine very near, and would no doubt have gone along with a woman from County Kerry in Ireland who was asked, "Where do you think heaven is?" She answered, "Heaven is one foot six inches above the height of a man. Heaven, she was saying, is nearby, just over the border, just waiting for us to become aware of it.We know that such borderlands were important for Jesus. So often he was to be found "Dancing on the Edge". Early in the morning, while it was still dark, when he went to pray and meet with his Father, it was to a deserted place, a thin place, that he went. And from being on the edge in his time of prayer, he set out to minister to men and women who were in their own way "on the edge" and at the margins - the beggars, the prostitutes, the outcasts.When we meet him today he has gone with some of his disciples to just the kind of boundary between heaven and earth we have been talking about - a mountaintop, traditionally I think Mount Tabor. And there the theophany indeed takes place as these disciples see their Lord literally in a new light. The symbols of divine encounter are all there: the cloud, the light, the voice, and when these depart they look and there is Jesus. He is still determined to set out on his via dolorosa, his journey to the cross, but now these followers have caught a glimpse of the strange glory which is also part of that lonely journey. The main point of David Adam's book is a very simple one to understand, but so difficult to make our own. God, he says, is found at the edge of the unknown and it is there, in our own borderlands, that our lives can be lived at their fullest. To live there means opening ourselves up to the new, the strange, the different, and in the process we find we have opened ourselves up to the Other (with a capital "O"), who comes to us each moment of our lives.Seek safety, he says, and you'll get a comfortable God. But live on the edge and find your vision and your life expanded. At the border you always need to stay alert and awake - there is always something going on, some new adventure.On Wednesday Lent begins - what is sometimes called "the growing season for Christians", and a good time to find our borders and let ourselves be stretched. For myself I'm looking for something of the quality of that Borders encounter from two weeks ago to be carried on into Lent. Already one or two adventures are appearing on the horizon. Firstly I'm going along to the launch of the exciting "Street Pastors" initiative where young Christians go out to minister "on the edge" to those who are, as in Jesus' ministry, on the margins. Secondly, having recently described St Peter's as a church in the middle, set between the largest mosque on one side and the largest synagogue on the other, I've agreed to host a meeting of the Three Faiths Group here at St Peter's where Christians, Muslims and Jews meet in friendship and dialogue. I know I feel this is a great honour and I'm looking forward to it. This Lent, God invites you to discover, perhaps for the first time, the frontiers of your own faith. He longs to meet you there, and bids you set out with joy to discover Him there. His invitation is at the heart of this "frontier" poem written again by David Adam: Within each piece of creation, within each person the hidden God waits to surprise us with his glory. Within each moment of time, within each day and each hour, the hidden God approaches us, calling our name to make us his own. Within each human heart, within our innermost being, the hidden God touches us, to awaken us and to reveal his love. Everything, everyone is within God, all space, all time, and every person. The hidden God asks us to open our eyes and our hearts to his presence. Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:32:39 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=24 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=24&article_id=72 2008 11 May 2008 »04 May 2008 »27 April 2008 »20 April 2008 »13 April 2008 »06 April 2008 - Year A: Easter 3 »30 March 2008 »23 March 2008 »16 March 2008 »09 March 2008 - Year A: Lent 5 » 17 February 2008 - Year A: Lent 2 » 03 February 2008 - Year A: Transfiguration » 13 January 2008 - Year A: Epiphany 1 - The Baptism of the Lord » 20079 December 2007 - Advent 2 » Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:32:39 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=26 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=26&article_id=39 If you are interested in hiring St Peter's Church hall then please contact Dan Docwra by:email >> orphone +44 (0)131 668 1538 Mon, 9 Feb 2009 09:49:49 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=21 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=21&article_id=107 Anglican Communion » Lambeth Press (YouTube) » Scottish Christian » Christian Today » BBC (Christian news) » Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:33:38 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=21 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=21&article_id=108 Daily service (BBC LW) - Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu & Fri Choral Evensong (BBC Radio 3) » Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:33:17 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=21 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=21&article_id=80 St Peter's latest magazine » St Peter's latest sermon » St Peter's Singing Club » Bishop of Edinburgh » The Edge » Scottish Episcopal Church » Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:32:46 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=81 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=81&article_id=147 Music, in all its forms, is a strong feature of worship at St Peter's. The Church is proud of its musical heritage, with a robed choir leading many of the services and maintaining the tradition of Mattins and Choral Evensong on a monthly basis. As well as supporting the singing of the growing choir and congregation at St Peter's, the organ has a key role as a solo instrument. In services, as in concert performances, the organ has the capacity to stimulate, to move and to capture the imagination. It is an instrument of both meditation and celebration. The existing organ at St Peter's was installed in 1865. Although maintenance work has been carried out in intervening years, it is now in need of complete refurbishment to ensure that it can continue to contribute to the musical life of the Church for future generations. We are pleased that Geoffrey Coffin of Principal Organs, York, will begin work on the organ during 2008. The total cost of this complex and complete refurbishment is £270,000 of which £220,000 has already been pledged from the church's funds. Please make this exciting project become a reality by helping us raise the additional £50,000 we need. Not just a pipe dream… To help you identify how your gift would be used, we are pleased to offer the opportunity for you to sponsor one or more of the 2,665 pipes that will make up the new organ. Sponsorship Level Examples £25 2' pipe (very high pitch) £50 4' pipe (high pitch) £75 8' pipe (concert pitch) £100 16' pipe (low pitch) £250 Mixture (3 pipes - bright and sparkly!) £500 Reeds (choose to suit your character - bold and brassy or shy and retiring) £1,000 32' pipe (very low pitch) A Donations Book will be produced on completion of the refurbishment of the organ and everyone will be given the opportunity to have their donation acknowledged in the book, if they so wish. "In Memoriam" donations are also welcomed and encouraged. Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:23:31 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=21 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=21&article_id=12 Edinburgh University Anglican Chaplaincy;The Diocese of Edinburgh;Agherton Parish, Portstewart;The Scottish Episcopal Church;Archbishop of Canterbury; The Anglican Communion; andThe Porvoo Communion Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:17:28 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=80 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=80&article_id=145 At St Peter's Episcopal Church Lutton Place Edinburgh For girls and boys from P4 Thursdays: 6.30 pm Voice for Life (optional), 7-8 pm Choir Sundays: 10 am Worship Singing… Voice for Life…Worship Make new friends…Fun For further information contact: Rupert Forbes: 664 3030 or Sheila Robertson 229 3177 Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:01:40 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=80 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=80&article_id=146 Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:49:25 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=78 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=78&article_id=75 Our clergy present the Christian faith in a way that's relevant for today. Our services reflect our belief that attending church should be an enjoyable, uplifting and meaningful experience that encourages you to develop a closer relationship with our Risen Lord.Left to Right: Revd Canon Fred Tomlinson and Revd Frances Burberry with our Bishop, the Right Revd Brian Smith Sun, 28 Sep 2008 17:59:30 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=71 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=71&article_id=128 Sermon at St Peter's on 31st August by Revd Canon Fred Tomlinson One of my tasks when I was curate at the Cathedral in Glasgow was to take communion to some ladies who lived in the high rise flats on the left hand side of the M8 as you enter the city. One lady I remember in particular lived on or near the top floor. She was a very prayerful person, perhaps inspired jointly by the fact that she was "Nearer my God to Thee" and the fact that the building swayed slightly in strong winds! One day she took me to the window and we looked out, somewhat dizzily, on the traffic on the motorway below. She told me she always prayed for people using that road, particularly at rush hour morning and evening. This was partly a prayer that they might travel in safety, yet it was also very much a time of prayer for people going to or coming home from work. She knew that for some of them their day (or night) at work would have been fulfilling. They would be tired, but content and at ease with themselves, perhaps looking forward to their meal at home. For others though, she realised that it would have been a bad day (or night) at work; perhaps the most recent in a long line of such times. She prayed especially for those whose work was boring, or difficult or dangerous. She prayed because, as she put it, "I wanted to make the connection between Sunday and Monday". As human beings, we have become adept at compartmentalising our lives: "that's sacred, that's secular"; "that's Sunday, that's Monday". One man expressed his need to me in this way, "I need to be able to take something from Sunday to help me through the week, and to help me make a connection between my Christian life and work life." He had come to understand that nothing is ever really "secular" - all is of God. Of course when we look at the Bible we should see straight away the connection between God and work. When we meet God at the beginning of Genesis He is hard at work with the work of creation for six days, before resting on the seventh. As God works away He sees that what He has produced is "very good". Soon He creates humans and invites us to share in the creative task, firstly by giving names to the animals, etc God has created, and then by having oversight in God's name over His creation. Thus we are co-creators with God. Of course God's work of creation goes on to this day and beyond - creation did not stop on the sixth day. God is not like a clock-maker who completes his clock, starts it off and then leaves it to get on with it. To this day, and beyond, God is at work and invites us to share in it still. It will be seen then that work is seen in a very positive way from a faith perspective. Where then did things start to go wrong? Biblical writers describe, soon after the Creation, the Fall. This was the time we as humans turned our back on God and went our own way. This is symbolised in Genesis by the eating of the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Good and Evil. When it comes to our work life there were some substantial implications. Firstly, we became disconnected from God and the sense of partnership was broken. Work became not the joy it was meant to be, but a burden and often seen as purposeless. How many people at work today could testify that that feeling, particularly on a Monday morning? This disconnection is why we can't easily connect Sunday and Monday. Secondly, we became disconnected from ourselves - one man said to me recently, "This job is not me - I don't feel any sense of fulfilment here. My heart is not in it." No wonder so many people take time off for stress. Thirdly, we have become disconnected from one another. How many offices and workplaces are marred by dishonesty and interpersonal conflict? Lastly, people became separated from creation - instead of stewarding the world and its resources well, see instead the pollution in our rivers and seas, the effects of global warming, and areas of land destroyed because of intensive over-farming or the clearing of trees. Jesus came to usher in the Kingdom of God. He told us of a God who loves us so much that every hair on our head is numbered, so precious are we to him. Jesus performed miracles as part of his work, not simply for themselves, but as signs of this Kingdom (or Reign) of God breaking in. People, and especially those who experienced deeply the kind of dislocation between themselves, their lives and God which I've just been describing, flocked to Jesus. Here was a new way of being that spoke to them in their need; here were the words of life. Those of us who seek to follow Christ daily have the chance to share in this task of bringing in the Kingdom of God, yes by praying for it (Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done), but also by the way we live our lives seven days a week, and that obviously includes our work life. How do we do this? Just recently I've been reading Alistair Mackenzie and Wayne Kirkland's book "Where's God on Monday?" They make suggestions there of what Christians can be doing to bring in God's Kingdom in the workplace. Included among these are:Serve others with joyEmploy God-given creativityWitness to the truth and encourage honestyBring healing, understanding and reconciliationBuild community and promote peace and harmony One man I read about made an early start each morning in the office complex where he worked. He walked through his workplace quietly praying for each of the offices and people who work there, asking God's blessing on them and their work. Over the next few weeks a number of people have kindly agreed to share with us in church the connection between their faith and their work. I'd like to thank Liz and Angie, Janet and Vreni, Wilson and Tracey for this in advance. Please, as you listen to them, bring to these services your experience of work (paid or unpaid) too. Between us, let's see if we can break down this dualism between faith and work! Wed, 10 Sep 2008 04:29:38 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=group&id=39 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=group&id=39&article_id=60 We come together as a congregation to build relationships with each other and with God, to explore the meaning of life, and to clarify what it means to be a Christian in the 21st Century and how this affects who we are and what we do. Our services reflect our belief that attending church should be an enjoyable, uplifting and meaningful experience that encourages you to develop a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. If you want to become more involved, we run homegroups, which meet once a week. These provide an opportunity to explore the Christian faith in an informal, relaxed, friendly atmosphere. What will my home-group be like?Community If you want to be more involved in St Peter's community, a home-group is a great way of getting to know a smaller number of local people better. Your home-group will meet weekly, in the evening, in someone's home. Your evening will start with refreshments, and then an hour will be dedicated to studying the bible, learning about prayer, discussing issues & themes and finish with some social time.Practical Christianity Home-groups are great places to clarify your thinking about what it means to put the Christian faith into practice in our daily life, and to learn from the experience of others to grow in your faith. Even the most experienced Christian has issues surrounding: how to pray, how to read the Bible, how to pray with others, how to live as a Christian in the 21st Century, etc. We shall study passages in the Bible to help to answer some of the dilemmas of day-to-day living. There will be plenty of opportunity to ask questions and discuss issues and discover some of the answers. What will I get out of it?Friendship Your home-group should become a place where you can to develop and deepen friendships - fellowship. It won't be all study and serious discussion. Home-groups are about socializing too, so that we can encourage one another and to learn together. Your home-group may meet from time to time to eat together, or to go on an outing, or even go away for a weekend. Greater understanding You will be able to learn more about the Christian faith. You can ask questions, discuss answers, share doubts without embarrassment, because everybody is learning together. At your home-group these issues become much easier to discuss.Encouragement Your home-group will be a place of encouragement. It's so easy to become discouraged in our faith, and we all feel that our faith is too simple and that everybody else is managing to live the Christian life except us! You will soon discover that we are all have to depend on God to get us through.Spiritual Growth What we learn and the encouragement we receive from each other can be just what we need to continue growing spiritually when the difficult times come. Sometimes, even when we know that God is always with us, it is still good to have someone else remind us that it is true. We tend to grow most when our faith is tested or when life is tough. Therefore it is important to have friends' encourage to keep going. How do I join?Speak to a home-group leader or one of the clergy. Trial period We don't mind if you want to come and try the home-group for a period to see whether the group is for you. However, we suggest that you stay long enough to experience both the social & the learning side of the group, so that you can make a fair judgment.Commit to attending Please commit to attending regularly for the continuity of the group. Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:33:00 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=59 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=59&article_id=105 BUILDING SOMETHING GOOD TOGETHER - ACTS 2.1-12 The Revd Frances Burberry ‘When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.' In the Hebrew Scriptures, Pentecost is called the Feast of Weeks; or the Feast of Harvest; or of First-fruits. It marked the end of the barley harvest, and the beginning of the wheat harvest; and was - significantly - one of the three annual pilgrimages made by religious Jews to the Temple in Jerusalem - to celebrate the abundance and generosity of God in thankfulness for the first fruits of the harvest. And as Pentecost was the next pilgrimage feast after Jesus' death and resurrection - it's not hard for us to imagine Jesus' family and his disciples coming together again in Jerusalem. Coming to that same Upper Room - in the crowded and noisy city - where only a few weeks previously Jesus had laid his hands on bread and wine and transformed the common elements into the channels of his abundant life. And - as we've heard - mysteriously - miraculously - on that day of Pentecost the driving wind of the Holy Spirit of God comes to them. The divine breath is poured out on the disciples. God's creative energy touches every person there: and they suddenly realise the wonderful truth - Jesus was God in human form. A covenant is given in wind and fire from heaven, and a speech for the world. And it's the language of the Holy Spirit that points us to the effects of God in all of life's experiences and relationships. In Hebrew, the single word for spirit is ruach; which we translate as wind; as breath; as spirit. Three apparently very different, yet interrelated images which begin to reveal to us the complex and powerful energies associated with the Holy Spirit of God. Firstly, the image of the Spirit as a powerful wind, dividing the waters of the Red Sea, gives us some idea of the powerful, redemptive purposes of God. Secondly, the creation of Adam shows us the association of the Spirit with life. It's God who breathes life into Adam. It's God who gives and renews life in all creation. For life is dependent on breath. And thirdly, people are filled with the Spirit of God - as we hear today, at Pentecost - and inspired with enthusiasm and joy to carry and proclaim the message - the word of God - throughout the world. The Holy Spirit is also known by symbols; and the most familiar is probably the biblical image of a bird, more particularly the dove, as we have here. But for me, the symbol of the dove - although attractive and beautiful - is too comfortable, peaceful and unchallenging. Almost at odds, I think, with the picture of the dynamic, unpredictable and unsettling Holy Spirit of God in the New Testament. And perhaps this is why Celtic Christians associate the Holy Spirit of God not with the dove, but with the Wild Goose - because - if you've ever fed, or stood alongside, or watched wild geese, you'll know they're not controllable. Far from it. They're loud; strong; and challenging; insistent; strident; and unnerving - all of which makes them just a wee bit scary. But most of all, you'll have noticed they're not loners. Wild geese may be wild, but they're also communal creatures, drawing life from the flock. When they fly in their familiar ‘V' formation, they share - a common direction; the task of leadership; a common sense of unity; and can travel much further together with the extra thrust they derive from one another. And as they fly, if a goose is sick, or wounded, or shot, two others drop out of formation to help and protect it until it's able to fly again, or dies. Compelling images - and beautiful analogies for the Christian life; a life of trusting - helping - and sharing - encouraging - and caring. A life where responsible, right living in and beyond communities emerges from the fruitful, spiritual inter-relationship of Creator and creatures. For the Holy Spirit brings connection, communication, and the sense of belonging to a wider global community. The Church of God of which we are part, the Church of countless languages, of different cultures and nationalities has her roots in Jerusalem; and her source and her essence in the Holy Spirit of God, the well of life. And it's the Spirit who leads us in the world to testify to the life, the light and the love of God in all we do and say; calling us to participate fully in the liberating mission of Jesus - to be the first fruits of God's new creation. And in that new creation it is surely time for the poor Lazarus to sit beside the rich man and share the same banquet. I often think we must seem like Dives to many people in the world. We enjoy freedom, security and material goods; yet how many of us see folk in poverty, distress, hunger and oppression - on our televisions, and outside here on South Clerk Street - and do nothing to relieve or address their situations. On the day of Pentecost, the disciples were caught up in something good together. They participated in the life of the Spirit of God, and from that encounter began to share Jesus' work in renewing the world. God's action at Pentecost is about bringing life to the world, to every individual and community - and this is echoed in Christian Aid's mission to bring ‘life before death'. And we see in today's Christian Aid stories of Dumata and Rekha how empowering individuals can transform a community. We too should be intent on building something good together; in communion with God, and alive to the Lord's presence with us, in us, and working through us to transform the world. Because, only through the uncontrollable wind and energy of the Wild Goose of the Holy Spirit, will God's Kingdom come and God's will be done on earth as in heaven. Amen. Sat, 17 May 2008 14:19:52 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=49 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=49&article_id=104 Sunday 27 April - Easter 6 The Fruits of Belief and Love - The Revd Frances Burberry I few years ago I made my first visit to St Petersburg; a city that's been dubbed the Venice of the North for its palace-lined waterways; a city sculpted by islands and the sinuous River Neva; and a city that's managed to hold onto its relics of tsarist days - including the world-famous Hermitage Museum which houses one of the greatest art collections in the world. The Museum buildings include the magnificent Winter Palace and stretch along the bank of the Neva, in the heart of the former imperial capital. For the Hermitage was once part of the imperialist residence in which Catherine the Great placed her collections. And the Museum is a truly awe-inspiring place; it and its collections are incredible, and are breathtakingly beautiful. And none more so than one of the last and most famous masterpieces by Rembrandt - The Return of the Prodigal Son. Its subject is the familiar Gospel parable that we find in Luke; and the painting depicts the culminating moment of the story; the meeting between the father and the younger son; the act of forgiveness; the act of blessing and embrace; the triumph of loving kindness and goodness; and the restorative love of God - a love that knows no limitations. It is a simply enormous canvas - with larger than life-size figures - and, to me, it resembles an altar-piece. Indeed, there is nothing extraneous about it; its colour, and light, and even the surface of the painting itself, have acquired a spiritual quality. Currently, both our evening and afternoon groups of Inspirational Women are exploring Henri Nouwen's reflections on this Rembrandt masterpiece. Henri Nouwen was a Catholic priest who spent the final years of his life teaching and ministering at the L'Arche Daybreak Community in Toronto. His ministry and writings have quite literally touched, inspired, and enriched the lives of millions of people around the world. Nouwen says of the Rembrandt painting, "[it] set in motion a long spiritual adventure that brought me to a new understanding of my vocation and offered me new strength to live it...Everything comes together here: Rembrandt's story, humanity's story, and God's story". Now, the key message of God's good news - as revealed to us in the Gospel - is the way we are called to love one another in God's way, reflecting God's story in our lives. And in this morning's Gospel we hear Jesus saying to us, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments". At first hearing these words of Jesus are - I think - not very inspiring - "If you love me, you will keep my commandments". It's that little word ‘if' that, for me, seems to get in the way. It sounds as if Jesus' love is conditional - and there are plenty of examples of this in our world; as Nouwen reflects, "The world says...I love you if you are good looking, intelligent and wealthy. I love you if you have a good education, a good job, and good connections. I love you if you produce much, sell much, and buy much. There are endless "ifs" hidden in the world's love". And if we cling to the world's ‘ifs'; the conditional love of the world, it seems to me that we cling to an insatiable longing for power and wealth; for control and status; for extravagant consumption and exploitation. An endless striving and searching for independence apart from God's love - trying to prove, in some way, that we don't need God's love; fuelling a desire to leave home; exhibiting ourselves all the marks of the rebellious, younger son - looking to ‘do it', or ‘make it', or ‘achieve it' - whatever ‘it' is, on our own. So, at first hearing, this morning's Gospel, which comes before Jesus' arrest in Gethsemane, seems to be at odds with the unconditional love demonstrated by Jesus' post-resurrection appearances - you remember, his encounter with Mary at the tomb; with the disciples on the road to Emmaus; and those gathered in the Upper Room. Encounters that suggest to me that the risen Jesus loves his disciples unconditionally. Indeed, God's love is unconditional, however, Jesus poses a condition onto us; "If you love me, you will keep my commandments". Right from the beginning, the Hebrew Scriptures reveal a story of God, God's people, and right relationships. And at the heart of the story is God's relationship with God's people born out of love. Indeed, relating to God is the key to the story. So, perhaps, it's not so much, if you love me, you will obey, but, in loving me, you are obeying. Jesus makes a statement that equates relationship with action - all of God's commandments can be kept by using just one channel: love. And as we step into that channel of love, we receive unconditional God's love; and so we become capable of loving. In John's Gospel, both Jesus' words and commands point towards love. Love between the Father and the Son. Love between the Son and the disciples. And now, Jesus tells his disciples - tells us - to follow his example. To love each other. For the love relationship between the Father and the Son, between the Son and his followers, becomes the paradigm for life in the new Christian community; for life in our community of faith. But notice, the command is not enough - the example is not enough - for we are not left alone - for Jesus provides the power to love in the Holy Spirit. For he says he will ask the Father to give another Paraclete; one called along side. One called along side to help; to assist. Jesus promises to come to, and remain in an endless presence with disciples who love him and keep his commandments; disciples who will experience the life-giving consequences of being loved by both the Father and by Jesus. It's God - through the gift of the Holy Spirit - who alerts us to the possibilities of new life and new relationships in the Spirit's transforming work of re-creation. For the Spirit bears witness to the truth of Jesus, and enables our witness to that same truth when it lights the fires of love that warm our hearts. It's not easy for us in the 21st Century to imagine what it was like to live as a Christian in the 1st Century; but, from the writings of the New Testament, we discover that the members of the earlier Christian communities reflected the light and love of Jesus even when expelled from the synagogues; and persecuted, rejected and opposed by the non-believers around them. They discovered themselves to be a company united to each other because they were united to the Lord, and had all things common. Jesus' perfect love of God in his ministry and death was the model for their own lives, relationships and communities; and they expressed that faith, as commanded by Jesus, in their love of God, and their love of others as themselves. St Paul stands alongside St Peter as a faithful, tireless evangelist who was undoubtedly instrumental in freeing Christianity from the confines of Judaism in his proclamation of the Gospel message. In his book of Acts, Luke gives us a view of the history of the establishment and extension of the earlier Church among the Jews and Gentiles. He traces the gradual development and location of centres of influence and theological debate across the Roman Empire. And today, Luke's Paul has reached Athens. The wandering Jewish preacher confronts the cultured sages of Athens, where there are statues and shrines everywhere, including those to anonymous gods. Historians tells us that in Paul's day, Athens was more an intellectual museum than a leading university city; and its in this context that Luke locates Paul; trying to place the insights of Greek philosophical thought within a deeper understanding of God. And Paul - as we've heard - receives a mixed response - some mock his preaching of the resurrection and others simply defer a decision. Only a few join themselves to Paul, and believe the Gospel - which would've been clear to us had our lection permitted us to read on just a couple of verses, ‘When they heard of the resurrection of the dead...some of them joined him and became believers'. The Easter event is for them, as it is for Paul, as it is for us today the central point of human history. So here we're given a glimpse of what happens when the concrete faith claims of the earlier Christian community have credence outside that community. Paul, through the power of Jesus - the power of the Holy Spirit of God - makes faith in God credible to outsiders. So our reading today from Acts presents us with an outward journey; out to nations and to non-believers; today's Gospel allows us to reflect on an inward journey; in to the life and needs of the Church; and both journeys are bound together by a single affirmation of the Gospel: That it's God who matters; it's God whose presence and power make a difference in our lives and in the life of the world. And while terrible things have happened - and do happen in the name of Christ - when people abuse people and our planet for their own selfish ends - reflecting the conditional love of the world - it's that faith and belief in God - which has at its core the absolute and unconditional love of God - it's that faith which has impelled Christian communities and individuals to carry the Gospel across the world; to create schools, colleges, and universities for education, growth and learning; to create hospitals and hospices for the care of the sick and the dying; to create homes for the maginalised and the unloved; to create churches for worship and hospitality; to create the charity Christian Aid for the relief of poverty and injustice...and so on...history - God's story - is our witness. The good news of God's love becomes incarnate in the witness of a community for the sake of the world because true love - God's unconditional love - is not only affective but is also effective. God is known in God effects; in all of life's experiences and relationships. And we - today - are being invited to place our confidence in the presence and unconditional love of God; to serve, heal, and affirm a wounded humanity and a divided world in the company of others who walk with Jesus, in God, through the Spirit; which is a both courageous and challenging service of love in a religiously pluralist and increasingly diverse post-modern world where folk long for peace and for social justice. We are called, like the earlier Church, day and daily to imitate Jesus. Nouwen reflects, ‘When I went to St Petersburg to see Rembrandt's The Return of the Prodigal Son, I had little idea how much I would have to live what I then saw...Rembrandt led me from the place of being blessed to the place of blessing...As I look at my own...hands, I know that they have been given to me to stretch out towards all who suffer...to offer the blessing that emerges from the immensity of God's love'. So when, in a few minutes, we come to hold out our hands - young and old together - to receive the blessings of God, to receive the channels of God's love and God's life, let our heartfelt prayer be that we may be alive to the transforming and unpredictable energy of God's Holy Spirit; and that our hands may truly be a blessing to others. Amen. Mon, 12 May 2008 06:42:55 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=group&id=1 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=group&id=1&article_id=57 Spring 2008 » Sat, 12 Apr 2008 03:52:55 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=group&id=1 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=group&id=1&article_id=43 St Peter's Singing Club » Scottish Episcopal Church » Sat, 12 Apr 2008 03:52:55 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=group&id=1 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=group&id=1&article_id=1 Welcome to our online community. We hope that here you will be able to get better connected by participating in "Discussions", looking for "Groups" that may be of interest to you and then joining one! You may also find a place to use your gifts by looking at our volunteer "Positions". When you log in, you will be able to see all the groups you are participating in, see the events you might be interested in and much more. You may wish to take a moment and update your profile information to make sure that our records are correct. Enjoy it here in our online community. God bless, Fred Sat, 12 Apr 2008 03:52:55 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=46 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=46&article_id=100 Sunday 6 April 2008 - Easter 3 Preached by the Revd Frances Burberry I have what I call ‘normal' telly; and by that I mean; BBC1; BBC2; STV; Channel 4; and on a very, very good day, a foggy Channel 5. Actually, I don't often get a chance to watch the telly on weekdays and - quite frankly - most of the stuff that's transmitted would make me turn it off, rather than on. Friends say I'd be better off with a cheap and cheerful digibox; with the prospect of relaxing with endless Poirot; Sherlock Holmes; or Morse - but, somehow, I don't think so...the one thing that does attract me to a digibox is access to rolling news programmes - such as BBC News 24. Not necessarily for their accuracy, but for their immediacy; their ability to attract us to, and engage us with the unfolding story. Just imagine, if you can, the rolling news of the events of the resurrection as reported, for example, by Jeremy Bowen - the BBC's man in Jerusalem. Jeremy's usual gravitas fills our screens as he paints a picture of the unfolding situation...It's astonishing, he says, on this, the first working day after the Passover holiday the authorities report a body missing from a garden tomb; the City is in utter confusion, and fear abounds - for the Temple police and the Roman soldiers are roaming through the streets conducting house-to-house searches; taking Galileans into custody; and questioning citizens and visitors alike. He touches his earpiece...Wait, he says, we've just had a report that the missing body is that of Joseph of Arimathea; a wealthy, and well-respected member of the Sanhedrin. It was his tomb that was opened, he says, his body that was stolen. And Jeremy goes on...Soldiers saw people near the scene of the robbery this morning - but no-one knows yet who they are - and police artists are now working on photofits; believed to be of several holy women, a few fishermen, and a local prostitute. And, says Jeremy, there've been all sorts of reports - from people who've asked us not to reveal their identity - of political intrigue; earthquakes; and strangers in dazzling clothes. Jeremy touches his earpiece again...No, no, he says, it's apparently not the body of Joseph of Arimathea that's been stolen - and now we see a shaky, mobile phone video clip on our screens showing Joseph of Arimathea and Caiaphas, the High Priest, in an animated debate in the Temple precincts; arms waving and robes flying. Jeremy goes on...A spokesman for Pilate, the Governor, has just released a press bulletin announcing it's the body of a man called Jesus of Nazareth that's been stolen - a man crucified outside the City last Friday. It's difficult, Jeremy says, to make any sense of what's going on here. It doesn't make any sense... I imagine most of us long for accuracy in the stories about Jesus so we can feel we have definitive proof - all the witnesses are in agreement this is exactly what happened. But the Gospels aren't like that, are they? Although they do have a power to communicate Jesus that goes far beyond the written text, even when - as with the stories of the resurrection - we find conflicting accounts; just consider these examples...some disciples see only the empty tomb; some see an angel, or two; some see Jesus; some talk with Jesus. It doesn't make any sense. And everyone seems to have been caught off guard by the resurrection. In fact, the disciples don't seem to be able to capture their experience with any accuracy. They always seem surprised by Jesus' resurrection appearances. They seem to struggle to deal with how resurrection works. And yet Jesus comes to them in their fear, their confusion, and their doubts; as we hear today in Luke's story of the two disciples who walked on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus on that first Easter day; the first day of the new week. I've only managed one visit to Emmaus; for like so many places in Israel-Palestine I've found it to be - more often than not - a ‘no go' area. In fact the time I was there, even though we had a Christian guide, and a Muslim driver, our Palestinian bus was stoned by Palestinian youths. But that said, I've fond memories of the place and when I read, or hear Luke's story I imagine an evening spring walk in the country; a quiet conversation with friends; and a profound spiritual presence...and I'm always reminded of the favourite hymn, Abide with me, fast falls the eventide...which echoes the disciples' words, "Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over." A hymn many often love to sing at the end of an earthly life; or at times of deep sorrow or distress. Today, Luke gives us a story full of detail, and emotions, which acts as a bridge between the story of the empty tomb, and Jesus' appearance to the full gathering of the disciples in the Upper Room. For he, like us, has the benefit of hindsight. We're offered a bridge between the shock of absence and the shock of full presence. For just consider for a moment the circumstances of these two disciples on the road...they're talking together about everything that's just happened - the terrible, and now inexplicable events in Jerusalem. Nothing makes sense. And then they widen their conversation to include the stranger who suddenly joins them ‘on the way'. They tell him how Jesus has died, and is still dead. Indeed, they betray their allegiance to Jesus. They'd left everything to follow him, and now he's dead. Dead men don't lead; and without him, there's nothing to lead. They tell how they'd heard the news of the women - women who'd seen angels at the tomb - how likely is that! They tell of Peter and John who'd also gone to the tomb and said it was empty - well, they just hadn't looked properly; too scared, perhaps. For all the evidence of the empty tomb, no one has seen the risen Lord. It's hopeless now. It doesn't make sense. Why should they bother staying in Jerusalem. It's time to get on with what they have to do. It's time to get on with their lives. And in all this Jesus is still not recognised by them, because "their eyes were kept from recognising him". For the disciples are mistakenly looking for the past to be restored. But the past is no more; they have to learn to know Jesus in a new way; in a spiritual life. The disciples have to grow in faith. Now something else is necessary for seeing the risen Christ. This is the new Easter story; and today's Gospel is a parable about the continuing journey of the post-Easter Church. So, firstly, Luke tells us, Jesus interprets the Jewish Scripture for them. They must see events through the lens of Scripture; for it's in Scripture, that the long story of God's purpose for Israel finds its culmination in Jesus' death and resurrection. For in the resurrection - God's plan and God's kingdom are fulfilled. And it's the risen Jesus - Luke tells us - who explains the meaning of the text; It's Jesus who teaches the Church how to read Scripture and discern God's intentions. For only in the light of Easter does the divine story make sense. We need to understand Scripture to recognise who Jesus is, and grasp the importance of what he's done. To understand the story of a Messiah who comforts a weeping woman as her tears wash over his feet and tells her, her sins are forgiven because she has loved much. To understand the story of a Messiah who shows compassionate love; reconciliation; and forgiveness - even in the depths of his own utter despair; pain; and sorrow. And secondly, Jesus breaks bread with them. Luke tells us, "When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them." And we - like these two disciples at Emmaus - recall the feeding of the five-thousand, and the last supper in the Upper Room. It's this experience that brings recognition - recognition that is the gift of God; for God reveals Godself in the breaking of the bread and honours promises made long ago to the covenant people. And so the interpretation of Scripture and the breaking of bread appropriately go together. True understanding of the resurrection comes as Jesus breaks open the word of Scripture and breaks bread with his disciples - an icon of Eucharistic liturgies throughout the centuries. The miracle of seeing the risen Christ occurs in the celebration of the Eucharist - although, and I must make clear, this reality is not to be found only in the Eucharist; and, also, I don't mean that the Church somehow creates this resurrection faith - but in this act of the Church's worship, the risen Christ is made known. So this story speaks to us of how Jesus walks with us on our journey - on our road to Emmaus; and comes to be known to us in the breaking of bread, and in the prayer of thanks given over that bread. Notice too that the critical turning point of the story comes when Jesus is offered hospitality; when he feigns to leave them but the disciples urge him strongly, saying, "Stay with us - abide with us - because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over." Whenever we gather together; whenever we meet with another to share our grief, or our joy - share hospitality in our homes, or in this place - whenever we commune together, and share what we have been given we too come to recognise Christ among us. For Jesus says, "where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them." That journey to Emmaus of shattered hopes and dreams becomes one of a vision transformed when the disciples meet and recognise Jesus. It shows us that Jesus comes to his disciples when they're disillusioned and despairing; indeed, it reveals something - I think - of the blessedness of being broken, and of being used by God when we think we've lost our way. And the response of the disciples reflects the mission of us all, the mission of the Church - to confess the risen Christ, and to tell experiences of recognition. For the disciples cannot help but return quickly to Jerusalem. Returning to the place of the cross, the place of their brokenness, to proclaim the resurrection life and to tell how Jesus can be known in the breaking of bread. They are now ready to begin to create the community of faith to which we all belong; the community of those led beyond disbelief to faith. And so, like the best stories, this is not an ending, but a beginning - and the rolling news of God intruding into the lives of real people in real places; challenging us to change our lives and our world; evoking worship, communion, and mutual love, continues to be broadcast today throughout the world. And for that, we give thanks to God. Amen. Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:28:05 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=group&id=1 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=group&id=1&article_id=56 April 2008 » Tue, 8 Apr 2008 16:07:18 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=41 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=41&article_id=94 Lent 5 Preacher: Revd Frances Burberry I was for many years a First Aider when I was in Business. One of a team of employees responsible for good First Aid practice in the workplace. And a less obvious First Aider it would be difficult to find. For I‘m squeamish at the sight of blood and ‘stuff'; find no attraction whatsoever in watching Casualty or Holby City; and have myself been treated at A&E more often than I've treated others. I like to think I finally accepted the responsibility because I felt, with training and some confidence I could really make a difference; I could hold someone's hand in an emergency; I could alleviate pain and suffering; and perhaps, I could even save a life; rather than my being seduced by the all-too evident ‘benefits' of the job: an external three-day course every three years; a smart First Aid Manual; and a £150 addition to my annual salary! As it happened, I was mainly in demand as a plaster and bandage dispenser; and was called very infrequently to an unconscious casualty; and was never called upon to breathe for someone else - to use the oxygen in my breath to give life to another person. But that said, whenever I received a First Aid call my heart sank into the pit of my stomach, and my initial questions were always; ‘What will I face?', ‘Can I do what I'm called to do?' As we've heard this morning, the prophet Ezekiel is led by the hand and spirit of God - in a dream - to the valley, and faces not a body in distress, but a vision of dry bones; bones that symbolise the dead nation, Israel; bones that symbolise a community exiled in Babylonia. The people have lost hope, and are feeling disconnected from their relationship with God. And so the bones are dry - they have nothing of the power of life about them. And the question here is......‘Can these bones live?' ‘Can the power for life override the reality of death?' Deep and challenging questions that remind me of Jesus' response to John the Baptist when he asks Jesus, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?'; and Jesus points John to what he's been doing in his ministry of healing and proclaiming the good news - ‘...the lame walk; ...the deaf hear; ...the dead are raised; ...the poor rejoice'. The power for life can override the reality of death. But only God can answer the question, ‘can these bones live?' For only God has the power to cause life. And God promises this personally: I will cause breath...; I will lay sinews...; I will cause flesh...; I will cover...; I will put breath in you and you shall live... . All this is in the power of God; God intends it - and will do it. Only God can breathe renewal into human life. Only the wind - the spirit and breath of God, will bring life to the dry bones; and the bones will know that it's God who makes possible this newness of life. For living, and knowing God are practically synonymous. We live by knowing who God is. So perhaps the initial question, ‘can these bones live?' is really, in fact, ‘does the community have a future?'; ‘can the exiles prosper again in the promised land?' And the answer is yes, for we know that here we're given a picture of a resurrection event - of resurrection to new life. And the community is restored to its call to action and faithfulness. The Hebrew people - in exile in Babylonia - will again take their place in human history and in public life; for they have a future in the life of God. Now Lent is a time of faith, trusting the power of the God who gives life. It's a time of coming to ourselves, of realising, perhaps, the distance we've put between ourselves and God. It's also a time for recovering our desire for God; for returning to God; in our hope of a future in God's presence. And John's good news for us today is of God's presence and God's life; God's light shining in the darkness. As is typical of John's Gospel - the story of the raising of Lazarus is long. At the heart of the story Jesus asserts that he is the resurrection and the life, and those who believe in him, even though they die will live, and that everyone who lives in him, and believes in him, will never die. The raising of Lazarus is the last of Jesus' miracles; the last of the signs that proclaim the good news of the kingdom. It is, in fact, the final and greatest sign of Jesus; a symbolic narrative of his victory over death at the cost of his own life. But why does Jesus do this sign? John tells us - ‘This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.' In other words, God's life-giving power is revealed. God is made known to the crowd through the words and actions of Jesus. Now remember, the occasions of the miracles - almost without exception - arise out of human need. But the motivation for Jesus' decision to go to Bethany is a response to God's designs, not to human need. Jesus goes to that village in the hope that the action of raising Lazarus from the dead might bring his disciples to true faith. Fr me, three features of the story we've heard this morning, stand out. Firstly, we're faced with the stark reality of death, in all its horrors; in all its raw emotions; in all its ordinariness. We're told - initially - that Lazarus is ill but Jesus doesn't rush to rescue his friend; he doesn't respond immediately to Martha and Mary's message. Despite his love for them, Jesus waits until he knows Lazarus is dead before he journeys with his disciples to Bethany. And when he finally stands before Lazarus' tomb Martha is horrified at Jesus' command to roll back the gravestone. She worries about the smell of a body dead four days. Mary weeps. The mourners weep. The naturalness of grief is evident everywhere. And Jesus is neither unmoved, nor detached from the human scene. He too weeps; but not - I think - for Lazarus, or for his friends. For Jesus knows what he will do. Jesus weeps at the disciples' inability to understand God's purpose though him, and through his actions. Jesus is still trying to make God known to the disciples. Secondly, Jesus is the bringer of resurrection and life. Jesus cries out, and calls Lazarus - who - shockingly but marvellously - appears to everyone in his burial clothes. Yes, Lazarus is called by Jesus to new life, and to new opportunities; but notice too that Lazarus is called to everyday life in all its ordinariness; he is called to resume his former life; with its inevitable ups and downs, and a future full of surprises. Released from the grave, Lazarus emerges in the burial shrouds, and he will die again. But Jesus - whose burial cloths are left in the tomb - is the giver of life, who will never die. And so thirdly, then, the raising of Lazarus foreshadows Jesus' own resurrection; a resurrection that brings liberation to eternal life; to life in all its fullness. Because the promise of Calvary - and of the empty tomb - is that God's love for each, and everyone of us - for who we are - is recognised and cherished. This last, stupendous miracle of Jesus at Bethany points to a death-destroying, loving, life-giving breath of God. This is the point in the Gospelat which decisions have to be made. To believe in Jesus - and catch a glimpse of divine glory; or to reject him - and be overcome by death. But this is not only the last of the signs that Jesus performs during his public ministry; it's the event that triggers the plot to crucify him. The crowd who followed Mary to Lazarus' tomb either believed Jesus, or joined the plot to get rid of him. Bethany's close proximity to Jerusalem, brings Jesus close to the place of his passion and death. (And Bethany was - you remember - Jesus' ‘home from home' - with his friends Martha, Mary and Lazarus - when he was in Jerusalem these days before the Passover and his death). For me, Lazarus represents all of humanity - indeed, he represents everyone who loves Jesus, and everyone who is loved by Jesus. And Lazarus shows us that to which we are all called as disciples of Jesus. For when Jesus calls Lazarus, Lazarus is released from death to life. And just as Lazarus experiences first death then resurrection through Jesus; so everyone who believes in Jesus, though they die, will live. Jesus' invitation to Lazarus is to come out into new life, and to experience this new life in the ordinary events of everyday life. It's an invitation to accept not only that Jesus can negotiate the boundary between life and death, but can also redraw and transform it. It's an invitation to us all - for when Jesus speaks to Lazarus he speaks to us; ‘Come out...to life in God.' But do we - I wonder - believe in life before death, as much as after it? What's the response when Jesus says to you, says to me, as he says to Martha, ‘Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?' What's our response; do we believe in life before death, as much as after it? This is a question that takes us to the heart of discipleship. For Lazarus, Martha, and Mary - and some of the crowd - witness in Bethany the glory of God. They begin to see in the Son of Man - in his flesh, and in his humanity - the presence, and the compassion of God. They had to say, ‘yes' to Jesus, and act accordingly, alive to the spirit of God. But do we, I wonder, truly live our lives - in and beyond this community - according to God's life-giving spirit? Today's texts remind us that God's spirit is the source of our life together as a community. Today we're not only being prepared for Christ's resurrection, but our own. And so as agents of God's life-giving breath in both a troubled Anglican Communion and a fractured world where issues of poverty, injustice, and suffering confront and challenge us all, every day of our ordinary lives let's - as Paul suggests - let the things that separate us from God, die, and work together to mirror God's creativity and love in this place, and beyond these walls. For together we belong to the household, the family of God. And it's that belonging which holds us, and by which we are guided in the way to life; to the source of our life; to the breath of our life, which is God. Amen. Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:30:17 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=37 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=37&article_id=90 LENT 2 Preacher: The Revd Frances Burberry Readings: Genesis 12.1-4a >> Romans 4.1-5, 13-17 >> John 3.1-17 >> Let go and let God. When, some eighteen or so months ago, I accepted Bishop Brian's offer to travel the comparatively short distance from St John's to both St Peter's and to Edinburgh University, it not only felt like, but has been for me something of an Abrahamic journey. I've told you before that at times during my ongoing discernment for ordained ministry, I've compared my journey of risk and discovery to being thrown around in a tumble dryer, or standing on the edge of a mountain precipice. And yesterday afternoon, when reflecting on today's texts, I recalled one grace-filled moment when, before I'd even let myself believe it'd be possible for the church of God to call me to serve as an ordained minister, I knew I had to let go, and let God; I was no longer in control; God was, and, indeed, is. I wrote in my journal that day; I'm not in control here, God is. Let go and let God. This was the answer to my deep, heart-felt prayer: to know, to love and to serve, to follow Jesus, the Christ. To let go and let God. And perhaps that's why this morning's readings speak particularly to me. Now, so far this month, we've been brought face-to-face with transfiguration and temptation. You remember? On the last Sunday of Epiphany we went up Mount Tabor with Jesus, to witness to his transfiguration. And last Sunday, the first of Lent, Bishop Brian unpacked something of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness; and of our Lenten prayer that God will create and make in us new and contrite hearts as we journey toward Easter. Today, we're drawn to think about trust. Trust in God, and in God's purposes for us; for this our community; and, ultimately, for God's world. This morning's reading from Genesis begins the powerful story of Abraham (or Abram as he was known then) our ancestor and father in faith. As last week's baptism and confirmation candidates have found, or, I hope, are finding, when we read our Bibles we discover the God of our ancestors, of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ at work in the history of faith, and in the faithful stories of peoples' lives. Indeed, the Old Testament, the Hebrew Scriptures, is a story of God, God's people and right relationships. It shows how God will relate to Israel, and ultimately to humankind; blessing one nation and all peoples through one king, one seed. And for me, Abraham is the ultimate ‘trust in the Lord' kind of person. Let's consider this story and the relationship for just a moment. God comes so close to Abraham and Abraham so close to God, that Abraham knows what God wants him to do. God asks Abraham to leave everything behind; to move on again to another new place. Now, remember, Abraham has already travelled from Ur, along the great river Euphrates, to Haran. And now God asks him to shift again, to go to where he has never been, to a place unknown to him, to begin a new life with God. In fact, God's speech needs Abraham to embrace newness. Or, to put it another way, the source of new life is the speech of God. Now, for someone like Abraham whose identity was grounded in land, ancestry, and family, responding to God's speech was a really big deal; a bigger deal than moving from Princes Street to Lutton Place! And yet Abraham does respond; he does just that. Taking his brother's son Lot with him, leaving country, family, and his father's house; Abraham goes into the desert and makes his way towards Canaan with the one promise of God, that he'll found a great nation, ringing in his ears. No questions, no road map, no ‘buts'. Remember too, there is as yet no evidence of the promise. No evidence that God will relate to Israel, and ultimately to humankind; blessing one nation and all peoples through one king, one seed. No evidence at all. Abraham's unquestioning, unhesitating immediate response to the speech of God is called ‘faith'. So, what are you thinking; Abraham's mad; or is he foolish? Well, I think Abraham is neither mad nor foolish. The truth, it seems to me, is that Abraham is developing a relationship with God; a relationship of trust. And this morning we see the beginnings of Abraham's response to God's call, to God's speech, making a complete break with his past so that he can indeed become the founder of a nation in a place as yet unknown to him. Today we see the demands of the God of truth for absolute commitment - commitment not only for Abraham but also for future generations called to bring light to the nations of the earth. Abraham entrusts his life, and well-being into God's care. And what he does is the result of his faith; and out of that faith comes Abraham's right living. It's Paul who makes this exact point in Romans, ‘...the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but by righteousness of faith.' Abraham's journey, is a journey not of the body but of the heart and the spirit. And he is rewarded for being faithful; trusting that God knows what God is doing; trusting that God knows how to use him. And for Paul that's enough. But is it, I wonder, enough for us? A big question. As we've heard, Nicodemus is full of big questions for Jesus, although maybe not the right questions; and Jesus has questions for him. A distinguished Pharisee; a ruler of the Jews; Nicodemus sits on the supreme council of the Sanhedrin. And so, in today's Gospel John tells us of Jesus' encounter with the legal system of the Jews; (as represented by Nicodemus). Now today, perhaps, Nicodemus might be called a ‘liberal' Pharisee; open to new teachings and interpretations of scripture; for although we don't know very much about him; we do know that later in John's Gospel, Nicodemus defends Jesus before the chief priests and the Pharisees, ‘Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?'; and joins with Joseph of Arimathea in providing Jesus with a decent burial. So, he journeys, it would seem to me, somewhere in the shadows, or perhaps on the margins of the crowd that follows Jesus. He appears to be a cautious man, but curious, as evidenced by his questions; and, at this point, is attracted by Jesus' signs. Indeed, Nicodemus even acknowledges that Jesus' signs and miracles are proof of God's presence with him, ‘...no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God'. And Jesus' signs, John tells us, are to show God's glory; to show the presence of God in compassion and love. And the occasions of the signs, without exception, arise always out of human needs; the sick, the paralysed, even the dead. For their sakes, and the sake of their families and friends: and also for that mob of 5000, who'll otherwise faint from hunger. For Jesus' miracles show that God can and will act in love and concern for the humanity which he has created and which, in his incarnate Son, he has come to share. And so it's these miracles - these signs - that attract Nicodemus; and clear the ground for their conversation: a conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus that's marked by respect, mutual courtesy, and the challenge of change. Now I know something of the fear; challenge; hope; and adventure that change brings; for I was for some years what was known in our business as a Change Manager. It was very necessary for our company to manage change effectively; for example the emergence of new technology; or the rapid movement of the global economy; because, as many of you'll realise, static, or indifferent organisations simply cannot survive in today's competitive, and at times chaotic environment. And here, Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must change; he must be, as were our baptismal candidates last week, born from above...born of water and Spirit. For a faith based on the miracles is inadequate. Faith doesn't come from weighing the evidence: from drawing logical, sane conclusions. Faith doesn't come without commitment or risk. But life lived in the Spirit means living in trust; being open to the uncontrollable wind of God. A life of trusting; helping; sharing; encouraging; and caring. A life where responsible, right living in and beyond communities emerges from the fruitful, spiritual inter-relationship of Creator and creatures. For God's very being is to be in relationship. And it's God, through the gift of the Spirit, who alerts us to the possibilities of new life and new relationships in the Spirit's transforming work of re-creation; at the times we most need it; even in the midst of our despair or anger. Even at the times when our prayers for our own or for another's healing and wholeness are not, seemingly, answered; when we've lost our job and there's no prospect of another; when burglars have trashed our property and stolen our most treasured possessions; when the television news footage transmits images of violence and bloodshed into our living rooms. How can I trust in a God who lets these things happen? There are no easy answers; only an invitation to trust in God. Jesus invites Nicodemus to be open to the Spirit of God; to renew his very being; and that invitation is offered to all people, in every age. Being born of water and Spirit is a journey; a journey that leads us to places we've not been before; a journey that calls us like Abraham away from the old and familiar to live in the new without fear. Like Abraham, we'll discover there's a whole new land out there for us; and all we have to do is to trust in God. To set out on the journey God calls us to make, individually and collectively, the journey of faith that, really, we should be glad we're on. For it's a journey we need to be on. A journey from old securities to new gifts; a journey from fear to joy; from doubt to faith; from death to life in the transforming, uncontrollable Spirit of God. Amen. Fri, 22 Feb 2008 06:08:51 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=36 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=36&article_id=87 TRANSFIGURATION Preacher: The Revd Frances Burberry Readings: Psalm 99 >> Exodus 24. 12-18 >> Matthew 17.1-9 >> As you know, for some weeks now Fred and I have been preparing nine people for Affirmation of Baptism - more commonly called Confirmation. These Sunday afternoons have taken us on prayerful, challenging, exciting and refreshing journeys of faith; of commitment to Christian life and witness. And also - speaking personally - their timings have meant hurried, sandwich lunches and missed suppers. So it was for me something of a joy to find I'd time for a ‘proper' lunch last Sunday; which was made all the more interesting for me because Anne McLaren - our TISEC student - had lent me a video of a television programme that she'd recorded recently about one man's journey as an ‘extreme pilgrim'. (You might have seen the BBC television series - Extreme Pilgrim - for yourself). So I munched as I watched! The programme was the last in a series of three made by Pete Owen-Jones - a priest in England - who'd become dissatisfied with some aspects of his faith and had set off on three extreme pilgrimages: to China, India and Egypt; exploring something of Zen Buddhism, Hinduism and ascetic Christianity. It's reported that Pete feels that the Church of England is too much a faith of the head, and not enough a faith of the soul, the heart or even the body. And he's quoted as saying - presumably before his extreme journeying - "I hope to enter worlds where rule book and doctrine are replaced by an individual relationship with God and where the attainment of enlightenment is won by hardship, privation and pain. I have to become an extreme pilgrim." And so he did; and last Sunday afternoon I watched Pete travel through the Egyptian desert, following in the footsteps of St Antony - the great Christian hermit and founder of monasticism - and spending three weeks alone in a cave in the desert wilderness. It wasn't easy for him - both physically and mentally. And - at times - it was clearly a deeply painful experience. But - in Pete's commitment to spend time apart with God, to just ‘be' in God's presence, he was undoubtedly changed; he was visibly transformed - both outwardly, and inwardly; and - from what I saw, and reflected upon later - he rediscovered that prayer is where, most basically, he and God meet. For me, the programme opened a window that revealed something of the mystery of the glory of God - the love and compassion of God - connecting with frail humanity; for spending time with God in prayer had - to my mind - quite clearly re-moulded and renewed Pete. And as I watched him leave the mountain and return to the valley below, I thought of him picking up his ministry and mission, and following the challenging and often difficult Way that leads to life. As Pete Owen-Jones appeared to rediscover, prayer lies at the heart of who we are - all of us - and it's what we're about, both privately and publicly. And once more, in today's Gospel, we discover Jesus spending time with God in prayer. Matthew reveals a relationship of love and mystery; a divine communion of love between God and Jesus; a relationship that underpins Jesus' whole response, and obedience to God - in order that he may please God - ‘"This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased." (Notice, the same words, and the same message as at Jesus' baptism). I've known Mount Tabor for myself, and the Transfiguration has played a great part in my development. So let me try to assemble for you my dominant thoughts about it from all the Gospel accounts. Firstly, this is a night-scene, and a prayer-scenario. Jesus takes himself away from and above the busyness of the day, and people, and social interaction, and talk - to be with God. I think we really need to appreciate this, or the story collapses into some sort of dream sequence. Jesus is at prayer; and the three disciples are asleep. And I think too we must, somehow, appreciate Jesus' urgent need to be with God - in prayer; or else, why would he bother to take the physical trouble and make effort to climb the mountain - and at night; to spend a night in prayer. So for me, the prayer of Tabor is the basic condition for this story. And secondly, the Gospel narratives continue with only eye-witness accounts of the vision. How else? Only Peter, James and John could testify. So when they ‘come to', out of their sleep, it's because of, and to witness to the brightness, the luminosity of what their eyes see. Remember - this is a night scene, and the brilliance is truly stunning. Just think of it - the earthly frame of their rabbi-teacher-leader-friend is lit up in a way which defies their imagination. The brilliance is not created externally - by a spotlight - but comes from within. Jesus is lit up from within. And so we have a vision of the glory of Jesus, the Christ. But - what glory? What love and compassion? Are Peter, James and John suddenly presented with a vision of the divinity of Jesus? Is it this that brings from Peter his ecstatic, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here...' Honestly, I don't know. But - in all humility - I don't think Peter did either. Maybe later - almost certainly much later. But we have generations of theology and prayer to our credit. Or perhaps this vision is the revelation of the essential glory of Jesus' humanity; realised when his humanity is in contact with God, through prayer. Jesus is at prayer, and the result of his prayer - the result of his contact with God - is that his whole being shines, as if lit up from within. And thirdly, not after, but during this ‘Glory vision' the identifiable figures of Moses and Elijah appear. Moses is the dominant figure in the Hebrew Scriptures. He is a man of God. A towering figure, Moses mediates God's covenant and offers supreme moral and political guidance to the people of the new Jewish nation. And after Moses it was the prophets - folk like Elijah - who became torch bearers of the covenant tradition; each becoming the man or woman of God for each new generation. And so here Moses - the Law-giver - and Elijah - the Prophet - speak with Jesus - about his death in Jerusalem; which was clearly looming large in his human consciousness. It wouldn't be long now! Jesus stands here on Tabor, facing the terrible prospect that is to come. For he is a man with a mission; and he is always aware of it. As early as the age of 12, when he was found in the temple - you remember - by his mother and Joseph; ‘Did you not know that I must be about my Father's business? And here and now is the justification of his mission and ministry. As our final hymn today says, ‘Fulfiller of the past, Promise of things to be...' Jesus fulfils the Law and the Prophets. (I'm constantly brought up sharp by familiar words of psalms and hymns, whose significance has passed me by). Here on Tabor is justification - brilliantly illuminated in his own person - of Jesus' divine mission. And in the gospel, and in his humanity, Jesus repeatedly speaks of his relationship with God, and we see that all that he does is what God has sent him to do; for Jesus submits his will to God's will; he recognises that his whole work and ministry depend on his total and unconditional acceptance of God's will. I think if the Transfiguration was the revelation of the glory of his Godhead, of his divinity, there would have been no need for it. But it also gave encouragement for Peter, James and John in their humanity; and did they need it? Later, we may surmise that they'd come to see and appreciate the extent of this divine encouragement for them, when the shadows were beginning to grow dark as ‘he set his face to go to Jerusalem.' And before we leave Tabor, here's one thought which must occupy us today. Tabor was the prelude to Calvary. Luke's account of the vision makes this clear: ‘[Moses and Elijah] were speaking of his departure which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.' Tabor is not the climax. The exodus from this world is not from Tabor but from Calvary; and, as we'll rediscover in the weeks to come, it is but a short journey from the glory of Tabor to that mountain of myrrh which is Calvary. Today's Gospel shows us how important it is to Jesus to spend time and effort praying to God, referring his whole work to God. And this unity - this intimacy in love, prayer and mission - is extended to the first disciples and to the Church of today...to us, in this place. For we're called, like the earlier disciples, to be faithful to Jesus' ways; and so we must always refer our purpose and planning to God, his Father and ours. Spending time alone with God - going on retreat - being still in the presence of God - is as important as busying ourselves in God's service. Because while we need to be busy and engaged; we also need to be passive and receptive - we truly need both dimensions in our lives - to embrace both realities within ourselves - because God invites us both to action and to contemplation; so that in God's own way we can be drawn out of ourselves and into a deeper union with God, in Christ. Next week sees the Diocese of Edinburgh's annual retreat - for clergy and people: unless, like me, you happen to be the trainee of the trainer who's responsible for organising the retreat! So, I'll be staying at home. Now, I know only too well, that going on retreat can sound terribly holy, or perhaps even worse, pious. And it shouldn't. For me, the richness and joy of a retreat is not something to do with duty; or virtue; or going backwards; or even withdrawing into oneself, it's all about facing a different way - it's about facing God in prayer. And the Transfiguration shows us two great truths about prayer. Firstly, that when we pray, we stand in the main stream of prayer throughout the ages - we're in the company of the saints, of Hebrew Scriptures and New Testament and the centuries since; we never pray alone. And secondly, that we're never really aware of what's happening in us when we pray; but the truth, is that when we're in contact with God in our prayer, the true glory of our humanity is justified. So, can I encourage you to try to accompany - even at some distance, as I'll be doing - our Diocese in prayer, next week. For, if only we can realise the love and compassion of our human nature - which is the true result of our prayer - will we realise that we too have to leave our prayer to endure the cross, and the suffering of our earthly pilgrimage; returning like Jesus and his disciples to the valley of difficulty below, and the road to Jerusalem; which is the Way that leads to life in the fullness and love of God. Amen. Wed, 6 Feb 2008 13:48:13 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=33 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=33&article_id=78 YEAR A : EPIPHANY 1 - THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD Readings: Isaiah 42.1-9 >> Psalm 29 >> Acts 10.34-43 >> Matthew 3.13-17 >> Preacher: Rev Frances Burberry Today sees the definite end of the Christmas season. Gone are the trees, the tinsel, and the twinkling, festive lights. Gone are the cards with their greetings of love, joy, and peace. Gone are the relatives and friends with whom we've shared Christmas, Hogmanay and New Year. (Did I hear a cheer?!?) It's now time to get back to work, time to pick up the ordinary in our extraordinary lives but not as we did before. For now we have fresh hopes, new resolutions, and new challenges that call for change in ourselves and in this, our community of faith - perhaps the diet that'll start tomorrow; or the new regime in the gym; the plans for the redecoration and relighting of our church building; the refurbishment of our organ; our shared calling to ministry and to mission in and through this place. I remember that as a child in the Church I was always confused at this time of the liturgical year. For today we're faced with a Christian, mini-version of ‘Back to the Future' - after all, it was only last week when we knelt in adoration before the Christ-child of Bethlehem and presented our gifts; now, today, we find ourselves in the presence of a man - not a child - the man from Galilee who's left the quiet life of Nazareth far behind him. Indeed, our faith story has moved quickly from the infancy narratives of Jesus to his adulthood; and John the Baptist arrives on the scene without even an introduction. Jesus encounters his cousin John at the river Jordan. In all probability an encounter in a muddy pool of water somewhere to the east of the oasis of Jericho; with the Mountains of Moab rising to the south-east; and the hard, and rocky, and grim wilderness of Judaea and the road to Jerusalem lying a few miles to the west. This is truly a liminal place; the borderland between the Promised Land and the desert, the wilderness; a place of significance for the people of Israel. Here the Jordan is narrow and shallow; here there are oases with fruit; here the heavens are opened and God comes down; the Spirit in the form of a dove, in the voice of the Father, and the person of Jesus. Here we glimpse the Trinity that is the one God. And so, while, in some ways, today may be an end, it also marks a beginning. Let me first put what we've heard into some sort of context. The river Jordan springs from Mount Hermon, in the north-eastern corner of the Holy Land and flows south through the Sea of Galilee - meandering as it goes - before falling into the Dead Sea; a distance of some 125 miles. The importance of the Jordan - and its sanctity - go back to early biblical times: you remember, Elijah miraculously divided its waters; as did Elisha; and Naaman, the leprous commander of the Arameans, bathed seven times in the river, and ‘he was clean'. The symbol of ritual immersion was common to many ancient religions - and was, in fact, the most common method of purification but it's important not to confuse it with washing for the sake of cleanness. In Jesus' time, such rites were observed by the Essenes; perhaps more commonly known to us as the Dead Sea Sect, with its fanatical concern for ritual purity. The Essenes were a monastic community and lived at a place known as Qumran - which now lies in ruins on the western shore of the Dead Sea. And they first appeared on the scene during the revolt of the Maccabees; about the end of the 2nd century BC; and were - in fact - the earliest monastic community in the Mediterranean region. Three things are worthy of note here - firstly - the Essenes were greatly concerned with ritual purification; the elaborate water system found at Qumran testifies to their custom of frequent washing: Secondly - amazingly preserved manuscripts of the Books of the Hebrew Scriptures - all except Esther - were found there in 1947 - now known the world over as the Dead Sea Scrolls: And thirdly - in view of his teachings - which resemble those of the Essenes - historians, and academic theologians believe it's not impossible that John the Baptist may have been, at some point, a member of this community. Perhaps that's why he was hanging around the lower reaches of the Jordan. It is, however, important for us to grasp the unique character of John's baptism as described in the Gospel. For it was administered by another; it occurred only once; and it prepared those who were baptised for the coming of God's kingdom, and God's judgement. So the baptism John proclaimed differed significantly from the ritual washings and ritual purity of the Qumran community. Indeed, it serves as the prototype for Christian baptism; our baptism. For John concerned himself with moral purity and conversion, rather than ritual purity. And in preparing the way of the Lord, in recognising the nearness of the kingdom of heaven - the fullness of God's power and God's presence - John says, repentance is the only, proper response. Crucially too - for me - this encounter between John and Jesus must have been a public encounter - for previously Matthew tells us, ‘...the people of Jerusalem and all Judaea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan and they were baptised by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins'. John's preaching and baptism attracted crowds and crowds of people, including Jesus. (You remember, it was so popular that Herod Antipas feared an uprising and first had John imprisoned, and then executed.) So, this is not some sort of privatised ritual; a cosy, ‘family only' occasion with a sprinkling of holy water, a few droplets on someone's forehead and a wee towel on hand to wipe a damp brow. Being baptised in this context evokes for me an image of being dipped down in water - of being fully immersed, perhaps almost to the point of drowning. And so Jesus waits his turn - he waits in line - waits his turn with others. And, Jesus ‘saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him'; recalling for us the opening of the sacred scriptures, the very beginning of creation, when ‘a wind from God swept over the face of the waters'; when the Spirit brooded on the primal waters. Here there's a sense that somehow through John's baptism creation is being renewed and rescued by Jesus' going down into the waters. And yet we believe Jesus has no need of repentance; he has no sins to repent of; but he lets the cold waters of our sins and sorrows close over him - so while the Spirit hovers, we anticipate the story to come - the voice from heaven at the Transfiguration; the heavens opening at the Ascension; and the Spirit's descent at Pentecost. We're now on the Way - in the presence and love of God. For myself, I find it more than interesting that today's Gospel occurs in the Great Rift, and that if we trace the Great Rift beyond the Jordan, beyond the borders of Israel/Palestine, we find ourselves literally and metaphorically in the Great Rift of Kenya. A nation which, following flawed elections, found itself subject to wanton violence, and frenzied looting which - as we know - brought parts of the country to a humanitarian emergency when, for example, ethnic violence in Eldoret displaced thousands to camps in church compounds; where the death toll in the Assemblies of God church near Eldoret is still, today, unknown. There is no doubt that Kenya has suffered a major economic setback; and trust, and peace and unity - where it existed - have been broken. And - as is all too familiar in such situations - it's the poor and most vulnerable who're hardest hit. And why? Well because some folk thought they'd been cheated out of an election; cheated out of a ‘right'; cheated out of a presidency; cheated out of status, and authority, and power. As the former Archbishop of Cape Town, Dr Desmond Tutu said, Kenya ‘...is a country that has been held up as a model of stability.' Today's Gospel shows us the true model of stability. For we see the beginning of Jesus' public, adult mission. Jesus first makes the connection with John; and then, under the power of the Spirit, he moves into his own ministry. He commits himself publicly in his Jordan baptism. And now the revelation of Jesus at his baptism, must be matched and completed by a ‘revealing' of himself to others. Those gathered with Jesus on the banks of the Jordan are among the first to witness the unveiling of the hidden glory of God. They begin to see in the man from Galilee, the man from Nazareth - in his flesh, and in his humanity - the presence, and the power of God. The power not of status and authority; the power of God, not of self, or of self-interest; the power of a vulnerable child born in a cave - born in the place where the animals live; the power of a refugee, fleeing from terror, fleeing with his family to safety in Egypt; the power of the One who rides into the occupied city on a donkey, not a charger; the power of the One who takes off his outer clothing and washes his disciples' feet; the power of the One who is humiliated, tortured, stripped naked, and nailed to the wood of a tree to die by suffocation. The power of the One who tells of the connection between heaven and earth - who tells of the connection between God and God's creatures. The power of the One who comes and goes between heaven and earth. The power of the One who leads us, his chosen people to their promised land. For, today, God is no longer hidden - today the power of God is revealed for what it truly is; and our prayer today is that God may open our eyes to see it and our hearts to receive it so that rejoicing and bound together in the very life of God - filled by, and immersed in the presence of Father, Son and Holy Spirit - we may truly work together in this place, meeting the many challenges that lie before us by responding to our Christian calling to be - as Jesus was - in the world, but not of it. Amen. Sun, 20 Jan 2008 13:48:38 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=27 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=27&article_id=37 9 DECEMBER 2007 - Advent 2 (Preached on the occasion of Frances Burberry's first celebration of Holy Communion) In the last congregation where I served was a potter, and she lived in Loanhead. It was always a joy to visit her at home. Sometimes I'd be greeted by her at the cottage door, but often it would be her husband who met me and said, "Go and see her she's down in the studio - I'll put the kettle on". And so I'd set off to see a true artist at work. There she would be, hard at work, a new design of pot already in the process of creation on the wheel. It was fascinating to watch as she regularly wet her fingers from a jar of water and gently smoothed the imperfections out of what had a few moments before just been a soggy mess of clay and water, but now becoming a thing of beauty. The thing which fascinated me most of course, was the movement of her hands - at once sensitive and strong, there was a quiet sense of loving purpose about those hands and the way she used them. It's not surprising then that one of the most moving pictures of God from the Old Testament is that of the potter at his wheel. God is the potter and we are the clay, each of us in the process of being lovingly created. We are invited to see God forming each of us, individually and uniquely, into the person God wants us to be. God takes each of us in his hands, and carefully and lovingly makes us and shapes us into the person we are constantly becoming. Sometimes of course we struggle with this whole process - we may well find it hard to accept ourselves as the person God has made. Sometimes it's things on the surface we don't like - "a bit taller would be good..." or sometimes it's something we discover deep inside ourselves we don't like; maybe a short temper for instance. All of that seems perfectly natural and understandable, but at the same time how wonderful it is to meet the person who lovingly accepts themselves as God has made them with all their flaws and imperfections. Throughout our lives, God's hands continue to be at work, moulding us and shaping us - we are all each of us a work in progress. The great thing of course is to stay open to the gentle touch of God's hands. Sometimes too simply knowing that we're in God's hands makes all the difference, particularly when we're finding the going hard. 2 people who were very aware of this were Father Pedro Arrupe, at one time the leader of the Jesuit order, and the comedian Sir Harry Secombe. Both had suffered strokes. Father Pedro said, More than ever, I now find myself in the hands of God. That is what I wanted all my life, from my youth. And this is still the one thing I want. But now there is a difference; the initiative is entirely with God. It is a profound spiritual experience to know and feel myself entirely in his hands. Harry Secombe, attempting to come to terms with his own disability, presented the same idea in a more homely way; God's got pretty safe hands - he'd make a wonderful goalie! The wonderful thing too is that God gives us hands to join in this creative act - we have been given the ability to touch and hold, and so often I know I've found that a touch or a gesture is able to say so much more than words ever can. Each of us will use our hands hundreds of times each day, I would guess often without thinking about it. Each of us too though is given a number of opportunities each day to use our hands consciously to show kindness and care, love and support. I'm a great believer that if you want to know what someone is really feeling, you can tell a lot from looking at their hands. They may be speaking one message and conveying another with their hands. Are they open? Are they closed up tight? Are they hidden away? Hands are God's gifts to us, so that we can make gift of the way we use them for other people. Think of just two of the ways you will use your hands in this service; to share the peace and to receive communion. How hard it would be to do either of these things with our hands tight shut! Open hands give and receive freely. I often think of Jesus and of the way he used his hands in the Gospels - to touch and heal; to touch and to console; to touch and to teach; to touch and to bless. Today as we come to Frances' first celebration of the eucharist, we think particularly of the ways in which Jesus used his hand at the last supper, to take and to bless and break and to distribute. My hope is that often during her ministry as priest, that Frances will have the chance to look at her hands and to reflect that as she does those same actions she is very near to Jesus himself, and that in fact that through her Jesus himself is ministering to his people. When Frances takes the bread and the wine, blesses it and gives it to us, Jesus is ministering to us through her. The same is true when Frances makes the sign of the cross in pronouncing God's forgiveness and God's blessing for his people. I don't want to make Frances overly self-conscious, but I don't know if you've noticed what beautifully expressive hands Frances has. I noticed them especially in the confirmation classes where she has spoken about the centrality of Ignatian prayer in her life, and indeed I've known others who have been touched by that form of spirituality who have used their hands to help them speak of God in a gracious prayerful way. Today then as we have the privilege of sharing with Frances in this the first service where she presides, may we too learn to use our hands well in God's service. And now a prayer: Lord God, you are the potter and we are the clay. Your own hands have shaped and modelled us. Re-form us now so that we may more closely resemble the image and likeness of Jesus your Son. Lead us to live in such a way that others may recognise that we are made by your hands. Pour your blessing on Frances as she ministers among us as your priest in this place. Amen. 25 November 2007 Christ the King The theme of our service today is "Kings and Shepherds". For many years I was a primary school chaplain, and the coming weeks in early December were marked for me by children's parties and by nativity plays - lots of them. How many infant Mary and Josephs have I seen making their way complete with compulsory donkey in search of a reluctant and grumpy inn-keeper? The great thing is of course that these roles never change. I watch three very hesitant kings make their way to the stable and I can remember doing that myself. Kings always got to wear the best clothes (in fact they were usually old pairs of curtains), but if I'm honest, I really enjoyed being a shepherd best of all. They were somehow more appealing. Later I found that might well have been because they were known as disreputable characters. Since in Biblical times they couldn't go to the Temple because they had to be in the hills guarding their flocks, the religious authorities had no time for them. Ordinary folk too saw them as "people on the edge". They were accused of smuggling, of stealing and robbing, and generally of any kind of crime which was going on in the area. When I was old enough to understand, I came to see that these were exactly the kind of people that God would want in the stable when his Son was born. They were on the edge in the same way as Mary and Joseph were on the edge as refugees fleeing into Egypt from King Herod, and in the same way as Jesus would spend his ministry on the edge, ministering to people who were on the edge, to the very people whose behaviour or whose illness kept them apart from others, and certainly far from organised religion. Today's readings ask us then to reflect on Christ the King, but more especially Christ the Shepherd King. This king is not content to sit on a throne and order people about: rather he is a king who looks to go out and to find and shepherd his lost people. He has a throne, but his throne is a cross, and from it he opens his arms of love even today to embrace the suffering and lost of the world. Ours is truly a king on the edge, constantly on the lookout for encounters with the poor and the marginalised. He is to be found not just in church, but in our city streets, in our bed and breakfasts and hostels, and even in our churchyards and shop doorways in search of his beloved children there. Where do we at St Peter's see this shepherd king on the edge today - now? He calls us out - you and me - even into the leafy streets of Mayfield and Liberton and Newington and asks us to join in his search for his children, especially those who see themselves as on the edge today. And if, as a church and as individuals, we can join him in the streets and meeting places of our community, then we'll find him out there - in fact he's out there already bidding us as a church and as individuals to join him there. He knows only too well how strong are the walls of our church - very necessary for keeping the roof in place, but very adept too at keeping us in, of seeking only to meet with our God here instead of in the community. Of our society Jesus the shepherd king ministers on the edges and would have us join him and do the same. One way to picture our church life here is as being rather like a strong tree. The life and power and energy of the tree comes from the core where the sap flows freely, but if you want to see where the growth is happening, then you must go to the edge of the branches and twigs. See the signs of new colour, new life there. And so it is with God's church - a church family like our own. We need to be strong at the core, here in the bulk of our building. This is where we meet and support one another. But if we want to see God help us grow, then we too need to go to the edges, to the places of rich encounter with the community around us. You will be aware that our ministry to children is already leading us in the way for this. Thea and Karen and Vreni are already talking to parents in the area, sharing their concerns as well as welcoming them here. The question we need to ask is how can we build on that and take a lead from it. How can we be truly engaged with those who live and work around us, and both listen to them and share what we have discovered here? Sometimes I know I get brought up short and made to realise how insular I've become at times. Last week I received a very kind invitation from the community Council to lead the service on 6th December when the Christmas lights will be switched on in St Patrick's Square. I've done it before and I'm looking forward to it again, and especially to chatting with local folk afterwards. Yet as I reflected on this, I realised how rare has become this kind of encounter for me. Like most ministers I have a visiting list within the congregation as long as my arm, and that along with so many events and activities here makes up such a large part of what I do here, that I know I struggle to see Jesus on the edge, never mind join him there. If that's true for me, is it not also the case for us as a church? Of course we have our church garden and our hall, and it's great to see folk enjoying using them. But that should not draw us back from seeking to engage with others where they are. It's not a task for specialists; we can all do it the minute we leave the church today. At last we're on the verge of starting our work here on the church with our organ rebuild and our planned redecoration. What better time could there be for us as a church and Vestry, when the temptation will soon be very strong, just to look inwards at ourselves and our own needs to instead commit ourselves to looking outwards? My hope is that we'll each of us try to do this as individuals in our own situation, but wouldn't it be marvellous if the inner transformation and renewal of this building could be matched by a renewed commitment on our part as a church to engage more fully with young people, or vulnerable or elderly folk in the area? That way we would certainly be on the edge, but as we've been hearing this morning, we'd be in good company. Wed, 16 Jan 2008 12:27:11 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=14 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=14&article_id=4 Welcome to this lively congregation set in the middle of Edinburgh's historic Southside. Our building is conspicuous on the skyline of Edinburgh, and although we draw the majority of our congregation from the vicinity of the church, many travel from other parts of the city and beyond to worship with us. What attracts people to St Peter's? Apart from our beautifully restored Victorian building, we have a first-rate choir under the leadership of our Director of Music, Rupert Forbes. The choir is always on the lookout for new members, so if you enjoy singing, why not look at our music page and come along to a practice? Similarly we are quickly becoming known for our lively modern worship and for our ministry to families and students, so why not come along to our Hall Communion on the first Sunday of the month? Our Sunday services offer people a mixture of modern/traditional styles of worship, so that there is something to suit everyone. Our news page gives details of the services for this coming Sunday, along with the anthems which the choir will be singing. Be assured of a warm welcome to St Peter's when you visit us. Reverend Canon Fred Tomlinson Rector of St Peters Thu, 1 Mar 2007 12:34:56 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=16 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=16&article_id=6 We offer a particularly warm welcome to both students and families at St. Peter's. Our curate, Frances Burberry, is Anglican Chaplain at Edinburgh University, and students and young adults are drawn to St. Peter's from nearby Pollock Halls of Residence and beyond. Our families have a central place in the life of our congregation. For details of events at St. Peter's for families, students and young adults, please check the events section. God has blessed us at St. Peter's with a tremendous variety of members and a variety of Sunday and weekday activities. We have a lively One World Group exploring development issues. We have a walking group, a gardening group, a prayer group, along with a music group for primary school age children. Details of all of these can be found in our Groups section. We seek to be a collaborative church which values the ministry of all; lay and ordained. The ordained ministry team at St Peter's consists of myself and Frances Burberry. We are available to meet with you to offer counsel and pastoral care. On the second Sunday of each month we have a Healing Service at 6.30pm with the opportunity to be prayed with or to receive the laying on of hand from members of our lay team. I look forward to welcoming you to St. Peter's in person soon, and can assure you of a warm welcome from the congregation also. Join us for worship and experience both the touch of God and the warmth of our fellowship here. Thu, 1 Mar 2007 12:33:31 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=2 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=2&article_id=9 St Peter's Lutton Place An Historical Note The congregation of St Peter's began in 1791 as an "overflow" from Old St Paul's in Carrubber's Close. It was established as a chapel in the modified lower floor of a tenement, suitably modified, in Roxburgh Place, but 1807 its numbers had grown to the extent that it broke away and became a congregation in its own right. It continued in Roxburgh Place for the next fifty years by which time Edinburgh had expanded southwards and it was decided "to erect a church more convenient in locality ... and more becoming in its style and appearance to what is due to a house dedicated to the worship and service of God." Accordingly, the promoters of St Peter's Chapel New Building Scheme proceeded from 1855 onward to get under way money raising, acquiring a site, appointing an architect and approving the plans. The site chosen was at the south-eastern extreme of Lutton Place and was then almost completely surrounded by fields. It was to consist of nave, chancel, and rudimentary south aisle forming a vestry with organ loft above next to the chancel, with a small porch at the entrance in the north west corner, to seat about 500 and to cost GBP2,000 or a little more. The church was opened for worship on Whitsunday 1860. It had cost GBP3,115. This was not the end however. A wealthy member of the congregation wished the church and its appointments to be finished in the most lavish style and guaranteed the extra cost. The result was the present church with its baptistry, an elaborate pulpit, polished granite pillars and carved choir stalls. Unfortunately the guarantor went bankrupt; the resulting debt being over GBP10,000. The building would have had to have been sold had the Province not come to the rescue. The debt was finally cleared in 1889 and the church consecrated in January of that year. Sat, 7 Oct 2006 05:45:01 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=group&id=22 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=group&id=22&article_id=7 ONE WORLD GROUP WHAT DOES THE ONE WORLD GROUP DO? Originally formed to liaise with Mark Nikell, who was working with Christians in South Sudan, and to raise funds for his work, we are now in the Information Business! Through Jubilee Scotland, we raise awareness World Poverty and issues of Justice, running campaigns such as "Cut The Strings". We get speakers, with video, for the work of Farm Africa, which we support through our Harvest Lunch - and last year raised a record sum of GBP1,225. We have also supported the Bamejja Project in Uganda, via Oasis, through our direct link with Ceri Duncan, who came to talk to us. She has now married, is living in the USA, and still doing outreach work. We particularly like to support people we know. We run the regular Traidcraft Stall on a Sunday morning - we welcome more helpers, not necessarily members of the One World Group, both to man the stall and help collect and return the goods (Friday and Monday am). We would like more people to join our group, and instead of meeting in the afternoon, we shall have more, or all, of our group meetings in the evening. We plan to have our next one on Tuesday 24th. October at 7.30pm - see October magazine and pewspaper. We also plan an Open Meeting, with speaker, in February. Our outreach has also led us into getting St. Peter's involved in EcoCongregation. Here there is likely to be a Green Team evolved to help take this forward (see Hall Service on Sunday 3rd. September). I hope this will help you to understand what the One World Group does, and that anyone interested in the Developing World Outreach, Justice & Peace, as well as Ecological matters will join us. Georgina Clayton Sat, 7 Oct 2006 05:33:48 MST http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=17 http://www.stpetersedinburgh.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=17&article_id=7 A Geometric church by William Slater 1857-65. Aisled nave, buttressed NE vestry, NW steeple, narthex and octagonal baptistry. The lean-to roofs of the buttressed aisles reach nearly to the nave eaves, so there is no clerestory. The stark tower is of two huge stages, the first with a statue of St Peter by Dorothy M. McKay, 1935, over the tall entrance arch, the second with lancet openings to the belfry. The spire, 56 m. high, is diapered with bands of ornament and cinquefoils. A lofty porch in the tower is followed by the flat-roofed narthex like a cloister opening west into the vaulted baptistry[1], east into the church. The broad five-bay nave arcade is on polished Peterhead granite piers. The aisles continue a further bay to flank the choir but have their own 'chancel arches' The organ chamber is situated in the east bay of the south aisle. The stencilled decoration of the braced collar-beamed nave and aisle roofs is by G H Potts; the chancel roof is painted with sacred symbols, the wall with panels of the evangelists and the Agnus Dei both by George Dobie & son in 1890. Expensive furnishings of 1865: round Caen stone pulpit on marble shafts by Poole; choir stalls carved by Forsythe; elaborate scheme of encaustic tiles in the chancel by Minton[2]; stained glass (chancel windows by Clayton & Bell 1865); in the east bay of the north aisle the Duncan memorial window by Isobel Goudie 1935; the next two windows of this aisle and the three east windows of the south aisle by Clayton & Bell c. 1865-80; the Baxendine memorial window after 1918 and the Dawson and Robertson window c.1930; in the baptistry one light (Blessed are the Pure in Heart) after 1898. The organ is by Frederick Holt 1865, rebuilt by Schovell in 1913 and by Rushforth & Dreaper in 1959-60 with subsequent additions in 1986 and 1997. [1] Now a memorial chapel to the Rev. B E R Millar, Rector 1954-71 [2] Now hidden by carpeting Sun, 30 Jul 2006 12:28:24 MST