St. Columba’s-by-the-Castle

Our Local Ecumenical Partnership

At a service at Greyfriars at Pentecost 2002 the congregations of our three churches of Greyfriars Tolbooth and Highland Kirk (Church of Scotland), St. Columba’s by the Castle (Episcopal Church) and Augustine United Church (United Reformed Church) signed a covenant committing ourselves to worship and study together and work to establish a united and positive Christian presence in the centre of Edinburgh. We are members of Edinburgh Churches Together and Action of Churches Together in Scotland, and in 2006 we were recognized as a Local Ecumenical Partnership by the Scottish Churches National Sponsoring Body.

Joint services and activities take place in Holy Week and throughout the year, and a Steering Group consisting of the ministers and a minimum of two members of each church, representatives from the Christian Fellowship of Healing,  the  Grassmarket Mission, the Mental Health Chaplaincy and occasionally observers from other churches meets every two or three months.

These are some of the matters discussed or reported at the meeting of the steering group at AUC on 10 February 2010, and important coming events.

*     The Education group has been formed and is engaged in planning three events.

*     On Saturday 13 March the Third Gathering of Local Ecumenical Partnerships in Scotland is to be held at Augustine United Church from 10 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. In the morning speakers from different denominations will lead a discussion of ‘Traditions in Conversation’;  in the afternoon the National Sponsoring Body for LEPs  will introduce a method of reviewing a LEP’s development.  Registration is through ACTS.

*   The programme of Holy Week services was discussed and remitted to the ministers.  The joint Lent Study Group was arranged to meet at AUC at 7.30 p.m. on Wednesdays 3, 10, 17 and 24 March; it will use Encountered: Meeting God in Ordinary Places, by Claire Benton-Evans.

*    The AGM of Edinburgh Churches Together is at St. Cuthbert’s Kirk, Lothian Road, at 7.30 p.m. on Wednesday 24 February.

*   The next meeting of the Steering Group is at 7.30 p.m. on Wednesday 21 April 2010 at St. Columba’s by the Castle.

*  The next joint service is at 10.30 on Sunday 6 June at  Greyfriars Tolbooth and Highland Kirk, with guests from the Edinburgh 2010 Missionary Conference.