DMMC News

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Welcome to April's Newsletter!

Information on courses, awareness dates, etc, are available via our Adventures in Faith pages (see menu below).

Next CMD Day: Mental Health and Illness

We are delighted that, for our next CMD Day on Tuesday 27 May, we are going to be joined by Edinburgh-based psychiatrist and lecturer, Dr Rob Waller. Dr Waller will lead us in thinking through the nature of mental health and the ways we can support people who are unwell, particularly with more challenging symptoms. As well as being a medical professional, Rob is Christian who is passionate about the interplay of mental health and spirituality, and is well-placed to guide us in this area of our ministry.

Our training will be at St James the Less in Leith, with coffee from 9:45am, and a finish time of 3:30pm. Lunch will be provided. Register now for what promises to be a very informative day.

Further Learning & Development Opportunities

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

▶ Thu 15 May: +John reflecting on his trip to Jordan with +Kaisamari. This will be IN PERSON in the Diocesan Office.

▶ Thu 28 Aug: Children and Church with Claire Benton-Evans (rescheduled from February).

The Scottish Episcopal Institute offers courses that SEC clergy and readers can audit for free, or study for credit at minimal cost. Here are some upcoming options, which may be of interest:

▶ Reading the Passion Narratives in Greek, with Dr Patrick McMurray. Thursdays, 7–8pm, 15 May–17 Jul.

▶ Elementary Biblical Hebrew, with Dr Amber Shadle. Thursdays, 7–8pm, 11 Sep–20 Nov.

▶ Elementary NT Greek, with Dr Patrick McMurray. Thursdays, 7–8pm, 27 Nov 2025–12 Feb 2026.

▶ Theology of the Eucharist, with the Revd Prof Bryan Spinks. Wednesdays, 7–9pm, 7 Jan–18 Mar 2026.

Interested? Email: [email protected].

Trinity College, Glasgow, are again running their online, Masters-level short course Leading in Church Change. The course seeks to "assist recognised church leaders/clergy to evaluate their critical change challenges, engage with recent organisational change practice and equip with tools and perspectives for faithful and strategic responses." It runs for 8 weeks, starting 1 May, and costs £499. A member of the Diocese describes this course as "transformative" and highly recommends it to others.

Application Deadline is Friday 4 April at 5pm.

More information is available on Trinity's website.

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

▶ Sat 10 May: Interpreting Texts for Preaching; The Revd Martin Little.

▶ Mon 7 Jul: Sermon Crafting; The Revd Dr Jennifer Brown.

▶ Sat 12 Jul: Preaching the Jesus of John's Gospel; Dr Rebecca Dean (this takes place 2–4:30pm).

▶ Sat 20 Sep: Preaching the Psalms; The Revd Dr Philip Jenson.

Preaching Conference: 9–11 September 2025

Title: The Wonder of Words

Description: Even in our image-obsessed world, words still matter. Join us to see how poetry, humour, writing-craft, and art can all help us make best use of words in preaching.

Location: Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick

Keynote Speaker: Margaret Cooling, author of "Preaching the Shows"

Early Bird Cost (until 1 May): £275.

Book via eventbrite at this link.

Safeguarding

Legal Changes from 1 April 2025

There are a range of changes taking effect from Tuesday 1 April under the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020: you can read about them, in detail, online here. Two key points that are very important for congregations are:

(a) It is a legal requirement for anyone doing regulated work to have PVG membership with the employing organisation before they start doing any work with a vulnerable group. This includes any trial period. It is therefore a criminal offence to do regulated work, or permit someone to do regulated work, without a PVG. Please make sure that everyone doing regulated work is a member of the PVG scheme with the SEC before they do anything!

(b) Those line managing people doing regulated work are now required to be a member of the PVG Scheme. Please make sure all Line Managers of those doing regulated work are members of the PVG scheme with the SEC.

Diocesan Protection Officer

Hannah Harcus (pictured above), PA to the Bishop and Dean, has taken on the role of Diocesan Protection Officer (DPO). You must contact her ahead of appointing any new PVG Coordinator for your congregation. Contact details for her, and for GSO staff, can be found on the Safeguarding Page of our website.

Diocesan News and Information

Chrism Mass at Cathedral

Date: Wednesday 16 April

Time: 11:30am

Clergy: white cassock-alb, white stole.

Readers: cassock, surplice, scarf.

There is a sandwich lunch after the service: please RSVP with any dietary requirements to Hannah Harcus.

We would also like you to bring to the Chrism Mass any ‘spent’ Pascal candles for which you do not have a recycle/reuse plan. Please remove any incense pins or studs, but leave image transfers or wax reliefs. You are also welcome to drop them at the Office ahead of Easter, if you are passing at any time.

The BIG Day: Saturday 10 May

This year's BIG Day is about Blessings. We are asking congregations to do some work ahead of time, ready to bring with them. Here are the instructions:

▶ Reflect on how your congregation has been blessed, perhaps unexpectedly or surprisingly, and without falling into the mindset that blessing = success!

▶ Reflect also on the ways your congregation has blessed others, perhaps in your immediate community, the wider Diocese, or further afield.

▶ When thinking through these questions, consider the whole range of people, places, contexts, sites, communities, faith-based or not…Diocesan, ecumenical, inter-faith, local, national, individual, collective, etc.

▶ Create a poster, no larger than A2 in size. What it looks like, and how it is produced, is entirely up to you: the only stipulation is its maximum size!

▶ Nominate the person/s who will bring the poster to the BIG Day itself.

▶ Nominate the person who will talk about the congregation’s poster to others in small groups. This is not a long lecture but a contextualising of the poster and a sharing of the congregation’s story in the midst of others sharing likewise.

Please also send us numbers attending by Thursday 1 May at the latest to ensure sufficient catering for everyone.

Area Council Meetings

All members of Diocesan and General Synod are to attend an Area Council meeting between now and 5 June. If you cannot make your own meeting, please attend another. Details of all meetings:

▶ East Lothian – Tuesday 1 April, at St Peter’s, Musselburgh (7pm).

▶ Edinburgh Forth – Wednesday 7 May, at St David’s, Pilton (7pm).

▶ Edinburgh East – Tuesday 20 May, at Old Saint Paul’s (7.30pm).

▶ Edinburgh South & Edinburgh South West – Wednesday 28 May, at St John’s, Princes St (7.30pm).

▶ Borders – Sunday 1 June, at St Andrew’s, Kelso (2pm).

▶ West Forth – Monday 2 June, at St Mary’s, Grangemouth (7.30pm).

Please help us get a snapshot of the Diocese.

Thank you to those who completed the very short Lent course survey (click here if you have yet to complete). We would appreciate a wee bit more information from you: please head here to share more of what you are up to!

We are offering congregations subsidised access to ROOTS on the Web, an ecumenical resource for Lectionary-based worship and learning. For £20, you can gain digital access to the resources, which include sermon prep ideas, prayers, music, etc, as well as resources for children and young people.

Register here to secure access for your congregation.

Cathy Tingle, who has been our Interim Communications Officer since Mollie headed off on maternity leave, will now also be supporting Fee in work for DMMC. She will be 'in the DMMC office' on Mondays plus doing a few more hours throughout the week. She can be contacted via [email protected]. Other details are at the bottom of this email.

Young Adult Pilgrimages

In Taize: Sun 29 Jun–Sun 6 Jul. We are delighted that a growing number of young adults are registering for our Taize Pilgrimage in the early summer. Our registration deadline of 10 April is fast approaching, and we want to encourage all those who wish to join us to register asap. This pilgrimage is open to anyone aged 18–35 who wishes to join us.

A page of detailed information is available via tinyurl.com/EdTaize, where there are also links to our registration form.

Hillwalking Retreat for Young Adults. Looking forward to summer? On 26–28 May Claire Benton-Evans and Rev Dr Richard Tiplady will be leading this exciting retreat for young adults aged 18–25ish. Activities include a short night hike experience, an ascent of Mount Keen and plentiful opportunities to explore faith through facilitated discussions in the peace of the Angus glens.

This is an outreach activity which is offered by the Diocese of Brechin to any young adults in the Scottish Episcopal Church and beyond. It is especially recommended for university students – subsidised places are available. Please share! Full information and booking here: tinyurl.com/KEENINFO. Booking deadline is Sunday 27 April.

For Children and Young People

Event for P6–S2

Why not gather together your 10–14 year olds and join us on Saturday 26 April for some crazy golf and food at Fountainbridge?!

The plan is to start at 3pm and finish at 7pm. This event is being subsidised by the Diocese and can be enjoyed for just £5.

Registration and consent form can be found at this link.

OR Let us know numbers and bring your group under your own consent procedures.

Provincial Youth Week (Yeek) 2025 registration is open. Join young people from across the country for a summer of deep conversations, new friendships, and plenty of fun – no deep-sea diving required! Find out more and register at yeek.scot.

Adventures in Faith

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

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

There are only a few weeks left to catch this unique exhibition at the Museum of Edinburgh, as it is due to finish on Easter Monday. As well as the exhibition itself, there are some events that may be of interest, particularly around iconography. Find out more at the exhibition's website.