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Welcome to February's Newsletter!

Information on courses, awareness dates, events, etc, are available via our Adventures in Faith pages:

Welcome!

A very warm welcome to Harriet Johnston, who was instituted as the Rector of St Anne's, Dunbar, on Saturday 24 January! We are delighted to have her (and Lee) as part of Edinburgh Diocese and are looking forward to getting to know her/them better in the coming months and years. Every blessing to you and the family as you 'arrive' in Dunbar.

News and Highlights

A Day for Those Recently Confirmed.

On Saturday 7 March, we will be holding a day for those who have been confirmed since January 2024. This will be a day to reflect, pray, learn, and share with others who have been confirmed (or re-affirmed faith) in the last couple of years.

Physical invitations have been sent to congregations where we are aware there have been confirmations. Please let the DMMC Team know, ASAP, if we have not been in touch and let us know how many to send you.

Racial Justice Sunday, 8 February 2026.

Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) have, once again, produced detailed resources for worship and action ahead of this year's Racial Justice Sunday. These resources can be used at any time of year.

The 2026 resources can be accessed here.

Archive resources can be accessed here.

Lent 2026. There is no Diocesan Lent course produced for 2026. Previous Lent courses are available on the diocesan website, along with signposts to other resources. There is also now a document detailing new courses and books for 2026. We hope this gives you a useful overview to narrow down what you are looking for. As a starting point, we suggest that the 'Set our Hearts on Fire' course from Lincoln Diocese is probably the closest in style to our own Lent courses, and is likewise free to download and customise to context.

These can all be accessed here.

There is also Liz Crumlish's excellent SEI Series from last year, based on her book: Miriam's Sisters, Deborah's Daughters. Explore those and more here.

STOP PRESS! CTBI have just released their Lent course materials, this year entitled Belonging in Christ: Offering a Hope-filled Vision of Peace for All. Read more and download here.

Grants: Next Deadline 25 February. The DMMC Grants Committee meets in the first weeks of March, June, September, and December each year. If you wish to apply for any of them, your application should be with the DMMC Team by 25th of the previous month. Click on the links below to find out more:

▶ Youth & Children's Grant

▶ St Hilda's Grant

▶ CMD Grant

End of Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.

This scheme, which essentially ran as a VAT reclaim scheme for listed places of worship, ends on 1 April. A replacement for England has been announced but it is unclear what the future might be in Scotland. The Net Zero Team are monitoring, and direct people to the National Churches Trust 'Fact Check' article here.

Bishop Search

Living God,

you walk with us in all seasons of life
calling us to follow you with joy, hope and love
as we share in your work of renewing the world;
give us humility and discernment to hear your voice,
that those discerning their calling
and all involved in our bishop search
may be encouraged in your ways
and open to your creative Spirit. Amen.

Update: The Preparatory Committee have agreed a short-list of candidates and the Electoral Synod has been informed. Please pray for the work of the Synod and all those who have made themselves vulnerable over the past few months.

▶ Saturday 7 February 2026 – Electoral Synod meets with 3–5 candidates.

▶ Saturday 14 February 2026 – Electoral Synod meets to undertake election.

Apologies, in advance, must be sent to Bishop Andrew:

[email protected]

Acting Bishop. Bishop Mark will not be spending much time in Edinburgh Diocese, and much of the work that was done by Bishop Armes will be covered by Dean Frances. If you wish to contact the Bishop, please do so via Hannah Harcus, who will coordinate all the various needs with Dean Frances and Bishop Mark's PA. Thank you.

Things We're Reading

Engage Worship offer a whole range of creative ideas for worship, and their latest resource to buy is a book (physical or PDF) entitled Really Useful Book for Leading Worship without a Worship Team. In the SEC context, it offers a range of ideas for worship, prayer, reflection, and music in a range of settings. You can find out a bit more, and see a few pages of the book, on their website here. An associated webinar is being held on Monday 2 March at 7:30pm, for which you can register here. Finally, there is a five-session online course on Developing Creativity for Gathered Worship starting 24 February: find out more here.

Generational Research. Two pieces of research have recently been published: one from the USA about Gen A (those born 2010 and after) and the other about Millennial Christians (those born 1981–1996) in North East England. Whilst neither cohorts are from Scotland, the findings remain informative in understanding the needs and pressures of different age groups around us. If you want to read excerpts from each, they are linked below, alongside a webinar exploring the millennial research.

▶ What you need to know about Gen Alpha in 2026, by Fuller Youth Institute.

▶ The Lives of Millennial Christians in North East England, by Dr Ruth Perrin.

▶ Millennial Resilient Faith webinar, Tuesday 17 February, 2–3pm.

Vital Life Wellbeing Booklet. This has been produced by the Church of England to support the wellbeing of CYF workers. It provides information, ideas, and encouragement to build life-sustaining and -flourishing practices for all of life. And whilst it has been published for CYF workers, it will be of value to everyone who works (paid or unpaid) in the church.

Explore here.

Thoughts on Gratitude. "Leaders know that constructive feedback—and sometimes good old-fashioned criticism—never stops. That's why I keep a folder in my office where I collect the notes of gratitude that people are kind enough to send." So writes Rev Prince Rivers in a recent Alban Weekly newsletter.

Question: how might you hold onto words of gratitude and encouragement longer and cherish them more deeply?

Learning & Development Opportunities

For detailed listings across a range of providers, check out the Courses page. This is updated very regularly and is a one-stop-shop for you to browse any time.

CMD Day: Tuesday 3 March 2026

We will be joined in St David's, Pilton, by the Revd Keith Thomasson, Rector of St Ninian's in Troon, and Chair of the Provincial Mission Board. He will be foreshadowing his course with the SEI on Leadership and Collaboration and comes with the ringing endorsement of 2025 SEC curates!

Register now via this link.

CMD Day: Tuesday 19 May 2026

We will be joined in May by the Revd Dr Gillian Straine, the CEO of Go Health and SEI Associate Tutor. We are in the early stages of planning this event and have no further details just now, other than that Gillian comes highly recommended by many across the Diocese and SEC, so do make time, save the date, and prioritise joining us as you are able!

The Scottish Episcopal Institute offers courses that SEC clergy and readers can audit for free, or study for credit at minimal cost.

▶ Intermediate Biblical Hebrew, with Dr Amber Shadle. Thursdays, 7–8pm, 19 Feb–17 May.

▶ Reflective Practice: Leadership and Collaboration, with the Revd Keith Thomasson. Tuesdays 2–4pm, 24 Mar–9 Jun.

▶ Intermediate Biblical Greek, with Dr Patrick Murray. Thursdays, 7–8pm, 14 May–16 Jul.

Interested? Email [email protected]

Save the Dates!

The Provincial Director of Ordinands and the Director of Contextual Studies are organising two days of events in April 2026. Friday 17 April is for those in recognised ministry, whilst Saturday 18 April is for the wider church membership. We hope to share more details with you soon, and ask that you deconflict planning as well as possible in the meantime. Thank you!

The College of Preachers offers a series of seminars and talks via Zoom. The regular Zoom seminars take place from 10:30am–1pm, and cost £15.

▶ Sat 7 Feb: Preaching Easter to Pentecost
▶ Thu 12 Feb: Preaching with Power: How to Prepare and Deliver Effective Sermons

▶ Thu 12 Mar: Preaching with the Lectionary

▶ Mon 16 Mar: Preaching and Poetry

▶ Mon 23 Mar: How to use Humour in Preaching

Prospects Across Scotland have a few training and awareness events coming up on Monday evenings online (timings and costs vary):

▶ 9 Feb: Church for All: Building Communities of Hope

▶ 2 Mar: Autism in the Church Family

▶ 16 Mar: Offering Bereavement Support to Adults with Learning Disabilities
▶ 23 Mar: Church for All: Building Communities of Hope

More information and registration via Eventbrite.

Beyond the Walls offers webinars to support pioneer leaders and fresh expressions of church. Upcoming webinars, held 1–2pm, are:

▶ Tue 10 Feb: with Revd Canon Kerry Dixon, a Church Army Evangelist and Rector of St Luke’s, Dundee.
▶ Tue 10 Mar: Thinking missionally within a neighbourhood ecology, with Revd Dr Al Barrett.

More information, registration links, and recordings of past webinars can be found on their website.

In partnership with SEC Net Zero Team, Faith in Community Scotland are offering their Fit to Fund webinar to help you:

▶ think through your fundraising plan;

▶ identify funders that can support your work; and

▶ simplify the process of applying for and managing funding.

Thursday 5 March, 1–3pm. More information here.

Children & Young People

Wondering how to cater for younger members?

Thinking about all-age worship?

Is your current Roots subscription due for renewal?

The Diocese is a subscription ‘hub’ for ROOTS on the Web, enabling congregations to sign-up for access to Lectionary-based digital resources (including the 20-year back catalogue) for the subsidised cost of £20 for the year. Interested congregations should register via this form. One-month free trial here.

Provincial Youth Overnighter for Palm Sunday, 28–29 March, St Paul's, Kinlochleven. The next Provincial Youth Overnight Event is taking place in the stunning location of Kinlochleven, between Glencoe and Fort William, in the Diocese of Argyll and The Isles. The usual pattern of these events will be followed: fun, games, and creativity in the afternoon before preparing to help lead worship for Palm Sunday in the morning. All meals are provided and a non-residential option is available, too. Click the link below for more information and to register by 12 March.

Information and Registration Form Here!

Adventures in Faith

Remember: you can cut and paste anything from this newsletter into your own communication channels!

The monthly Adventures in Faith Newsletter from Edinburgh Diocese shares lots of ideas for your ongoing Christian life. Each month, there are news items, courses, events, and ideas for you to explore. You can read past mailings, and sign up to receive future ones, via the diocesan website (tinyurl.com/EdinburghAIF).

Awareness Days

We list Awareness Days that may be relevant for congregations to consider on our website here. Most entries have links to external websites that provide information and resources for the particular cause or event.

Lord's Prayer in Finnish. We have now updated our Porvoo Communion webpage to include the Lord's Prayer in Finnish, along with a recording of how it sounds (this is a YouTube video, which means you can slow it down to learn the sounds a little easier).

Find it here, and share with your congregation/s!