DMMC News

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

& Welcome to January's Newsletter!

Please remember that various lists of courses, awareness dates, etc, that used to be part of this mailer are now available via our Adventures in Faith pages (see menu below).

For all in Authorised Ministry

What impact does the size of font have on our reading of Scripture? How do chapter headings alter our interpretation? Are images a help or a hindrance? What about footnotes and cross-references? Or even the notes written by others in the margin?

It is these, and other, 'paratexts' that are the research focus for Prof Garrick Allen, Professor of Divinity at Glasgow University. His work is unique, interdisciplinary, and more than just interesting: it has implications for how we read and preach the Bible in our congregations today.

Join us at our next CMD Day on Tuesday 11 February at St James-the-Less, Leith to find out more! There will be coffee from 10am and we will finish by 3:30pm.

Register here.

Learning Lunches start at 12:30pm and are mostly on Zoom. For reference, here is the Zoom link

▶ Thu 23 Jan: Retreats and Sabbaticals

▶ Feb: tbc

▶ Thu 27 Mar: Media engagment with Pip Blackledge

There will be one held in-person, in Edinburgh:

▶ Thu 15 May: +John reflecting on his trip to Jordan with +Kaisamari.

The following College of Preachers Zoom seminars take place from 10:30-1pm, and cost £12.

▶ Tue 14 Jan: Preaching at Baptisms, Revd Dr Jennifer Brown.

▶ Tue 25 Feb: Preaching the Story of Holy Week, Revd Dr Michael Beck.

▶ Sat 22 Mar: Preaching & Apologetics, Rev Dr John Woods.

▶ Wed 2 Apr: The Language of Resurrection: Finding the Right Words, Rev Canon Dr Rod Garner.

Anniversary of Nicene Creed

Fr John Behr, will be delivering his lecture ‘From Gospel to Creed’ on Friday 7th March 2025. This is an SEI event, open to all in authorised ministry, to be held onsite at St Mary's Monastery, Kinnoull. RSVP [email protected].

For Clergy

Diocesan Synod

Clergy who are instituted, licensed, or commissioned are reminded of the requirement to attend the Diocesan Synod on Saturday 15th February. Apologies should be sent to the Bishop directly and, wherever possible, in advance of the meeting.

For Children, Young People, and Leaders

If you, or anyone you know, would like to support the Diocese's ministry amongst young people, please get in touch with Fee.

You will have heard of Munro Bagging. You may even have heard of Bishop Bagging. Let us introduce you to Church Bagging! In 2025, are inviting our young people, aged 12-18, to join us at Sunday evening services. This will be chance to meet up with friends old and new as well as experience a range of worship services. Dates and locations are shown above.

Sunday 19 January is our first service, and we are heading to Ps & Gs! The service starts at 7pm. Fee will be at Costa in Waverley Mall from 6:15pm to meet people coming by train or bus. We will leave there at 6:40pm and go to the church, meeting outside for 10mins or so before the start of the service. ALL Welcome!

The Christmas 2024 Youth & Children Newsletter has lots to celebrate and inspire. If you have not yet read it, click here or on the image, and have a read, and share it with your congregation. Let Fee know if you want any printed and be ready to tell us about your ministry with/of children and young people in our next newsletter, due June!

The following Godly Play Scotland events will take place in the Godly Play Room at Duddingston Kirk, Edinburgh, starting at 10am.

▶ Circles: Sat 18 Jan.

▶ Training: Fri 21-Sun 23 Mar.

All those involved in Children’s Ministry are invited to attend an Away Day at Ps & Gs Church on Saturday 25 January from 9.00am to 1.00pm. The Children's Director, Rachel Cooney, says, “We will have tea/coffee and pastries to start, followed by training on topics such as Play, Creative Prayer, Storytelling, Trauma-Informed Practice and Neurodiversity. The training will be interactive and run by guest speakers.” Register here!

For Vestries

Trustee Training Events are now available to book for 2025. These events educate all trustees on their role and responsibilities as both vestry members and charity trustees. The training in 2025 will cover similar ground to previous years but will also include updated information on property, Health and Safety, insurance, and eligibility. All trustees are welcome to attend, with those who have never yet received training strongly advised to do so.

The Prayer Diary has been tweaked for 2025. It remains on our website to read or as a booklet to download (and print). The social media feed of daily prayers has proved popular, so we are continuing in 2025, again with a few tweaks. We would be delighted to receive high-quality photos of the church / congregation to refresh the images we are currently using: please send these to Fee.

You might be interested in...

Zeteo is a dedicated search engine for all who preach, lead worship, and generally engage with the Bible. Their mission is to provide access to a thought-provoking mosaic of content from over 100 online resources, spanning a range of Church traditions.

What is your Faith Sharing profile? Check out this summary of research done by Share Jesus International, which helps us orientate ourselves and our congregations in how we share faith. There are also links to more information and a quiz!

Need some fundraising ideas? To get the creative juices flowing, why not have a look at the list compiled by Charity Digital? Not all are on the money(!) but something there might just be the spark you need.

Self-care is different from self-soothing is a timely reminder to us all about how important it is to care for ourselves. What is it that sustains a healthy you: body, mind, and soul? And how can you permit yourself to keep doing those things?!

Adventures in Faith

There are various Awareness Days that might be of interest to you / your congregation in January and February.

Please use the menu above to navigate to the relevant page of the website, then click on 'January' or 'February'. There is a full year there now, for those who like to plan ahead!

Office News

After 3 years with the Diocese, Joanna Appleby is off to pastures new. Her final day in the office is Thursday 16th January. We thank her for all her hard work, in many areas of Diocesan life, and wish her every blessing in her new role.

As you may already know, Ceri Ashton left the Diocese at the end of 2024. In her absence, Simon is being supported by a temporary assistant, Morgan Walker. Her contact details are: [email protected] and 0131 346 9081.

Future Dates

19 Jan - Youth Church Bagging (Ps&Gs @ 7pm).

23 Jan - Learning Lunch (Retreats & Sabbaticals).

11 Feb - CMD ("Words Are Not Enough" with Prof Garrick Allen).

15 Feb - Diocesan Synod.

16 Feb - Youth Church Bagging (St John's, Princes Street @ 6:30pm).

1-2 Mar - PYC Sleepover Weekend.

15 Mar - Trustee Training (St Ninian's, Comely Bank).

16 Mar - Youth Church Bagging (OSP).

27 Mar - Learning Lunch (Media Engagement with Pip B).

26 Apr - Youth event for 10-14yo.

10 May - BIG Day.

15 May - Learning Lunch with +John (in person).

18 May - Youth Church Bagging (St James, Penicuik).

5-7 Jun - General Synod.

8 Jun - Youth Church Bagging (St Peter's, Lutton Place).

18 Jun - An Afternoon on Pensions & Retirement Housing (Neil Wright, GSO).

27 Jul-2 Aug - YEEK.

7 Aug - National Play Day.

30 Aug - PizzaBowl.

27 Sep - Trustee Training (Trinity Centre, Haddington).

4-5 Oct - PYC Sleepover Weekend.

23 Oct - Diocesan Synod (evening).

3-6 Nov - Clergy Conference.

Keep up-to-date with Diocesan news & events

The Communicant

Events Calendar

Adventures in Faith

Youth & Children's

Rev Fiona (Fee) Reynolds, Advisor for Christian Life
0131 346 9089, [email protected]

Joanna Appleby, Administrative Assistant (M&M)
0131 346 9085, [email protected]

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