adventures-in-faith

Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

Adventures in Faith
April 2026

Welcome to Adventures in Faith: where everyone in the Diocese of Edinburgh can explore, learn, and grow in faith and fullness of life.

News and Highlights

Prayers for Peace. Resources are still available as we continue to pray for peace in the Middle East and around the world.

🔹Diocese of Edinburgh: prayers for peace on our website.

🔹SEC: Primus's Day of Prayer.

🔹CAFOD: Prayer for the Middle East

🔹24-7 Prayer: Global Call to Prayer

🔹CTBI: Prayers and Statements on Violence in the Middle East

Bishop's Lent Appeal 2026. There is still lots of time to make a donation for the Bishop's Lent Appeal, this year in support of Aberlour: Scotland's Children's Charity. Speak to your treasurer or donate directly online.

Find out more on our website.

Awe, Connection and Community in Sacred and Historic Spaces. This research, by Queen Margaret University, into the influence of awe on community and sociality began with St John's, Princes Street, Edinburgh, and has now grown to encompass the whole diocese. This is an exciting opportunity to understand how architectural structures like churches contribute to a sense of community.

The survey is in 2 parts, with the second part being optional, and takes 10–20mins in total to complete. Please consider taking part yourself and, if you have your church building open to visitors, perhaps invite them to join in, using the QR code as extra encouragement 😊

Eastertide

Our Lent to Pentecost resources page now includes ideas and resources to take you all the way through to Pentecost Sunday on 24 May. Below are a couple of highlights from Easter to Pentecost. Access the full list of resources here.

The theme of this year's Thy Kingdom Come, which runs from Ascension to Pentecost, is God With Us, looking at biblical stories from Ruth to the early church over the 11 days. There's a dedicated web page for this year’s TKC, and a resources page which includes this year's Novena, written by Archbishop Sarah Mullally, and Ten Daily Prayer Ideas.

Sanctuary First offers two videos for Pentecost that might inspire your activity:

🔹Painting for Pentecost

🔹a Pentecost Prayer in French (with subtitles)

Lord's Prayer in Finnish. A reminder that we, as a Diocese, pledged to learn the Lord's Prayer in Finnish by Pentecost!

Find the text and video on our website.

Christian Aid Week: 10–16 May

Christian Aid Week, a powerful moment to come together and raise funds to fight global poverty and justice, is coming up soon.

Growing Hope: This Christian Aid Week, Christian Aid is sharing the stories of mothers like Fridah Moraa and Belinda Kasudi who live in a crowded informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya (shown in the video – see the full version here). They are being empowered by specialist training from Beacon of Hope to grow fresh vegetables in small urban spaces which feeds their families and earns them an income to pay for education and healthcare.

Find out more about how you can help fight global poverty on the Christian Aid Week page.

gif-c2-bd9x9a-christian-aid-week-2-2026-04-14-150802

For Christian Aid Week, Christian Aid is teaming up with A Million Acts of Hope to focus on responding to the call to love our neighbour. So, alongside any Christian Aid Week materials, why not display their 'Hope Happens Here' poster?

This year, Christian Aid is also joining with Church Action on Poverty for '26 in 26', encouraging churches to think about 26 ways they can work for justice and tackle poverty in 2026. Find out more about 26 in 26 here.

Discipleship Matters

The Mission and Ministry Team are researching, reflecting, and wondering about discipleship in Scotland in the mid-21st century. As we do this, we thought we would share some snippets with you, to aid you in your ongoing adventure of life and faith. For the next few months, we will draw from a World Council of Churches report from 2018, which you can read for yourself at the beginning of this document.

We begin with the truth that discipleship starts with Jesus's invitation to 'come and see'. From there, we embark on a spiritual journey, seeking to adopt a way of life that reflects Christ Jesus in our actions, words, and attitudes. We do this by becoming evermore ‘Christ-connected’—living the whole of our lives in close connection with Jesus. As a church, we grow closer to one another not because of shared ideas or plans, but through our connectedness to Christ.

In our broken and troubled world, the need for a Christian discipleship which brings reconciliation, healing, justice, peace, and love is ever present. We

are to be called out of a society sick with racism, sexism, militarism, exploitation, ecocide and destructive competition, and into a new community of love. This is where our mission begins: renouncing and rejecting these demons, and healing bodies and souls, enabling a full and right relationship with God, our neighbours (human and non-human), ourselves, and God’s good earth.

Events and Learning Opportunities

The Adventures in Faith: Courses page on the diocesan website is where you can find a whole range of courses running in the coming weeks and months. AND check out our Events Calendar for something local that might take your fancy!

Edinburgh Gifford Lectures 2026. How did Christianity become global? This series of 6 lectures traces Christianity’s dramatic transformation—from a small Jewish messianic movement to a force at the heart of the late Roman state—by situating it within the vibrant religious, cultural, and political world of the ancient Mediterranean. Prof Paula Fredriksen is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and Aurelio Professor of Scripture emerita at Boston University and will be hosted by the University of Edinburgh from 4–14 May.

For more information and to register for FREE tickets, go to Eventbrite.

Plants Are Our Teachers 2026 Workshop Programme has been released. Workshops are suitable for all levels of ability, and will be held at St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh. One-day courses cost £60, and two-day courses cost £120, with all materials included in the fees. A limited number of subsidised places are available on each course.

For more information on each workshop, plus booking, see the A+E website.

Ps & Gs are running an Alpha Course from Monday 20 April for ten weeks. The evenings start at 6.30pm with a meal and then there's the opportunity to watch a short video and have a conversation about life and faith. Sign up here.

Sarum College regularly offer short and longer courses online. Here are some upcoming:

🔹English Mystics: William Blake, Mon 27 Apr, 7:30–9pm, online, £20.

🔹Theology Catch-Up: The Ascension, Thurs 14 May, 12–2pm, online, £25.
🔹Deeper, Rooted, Lasting: Your Church's Ministry to Parents and Carers, Wed 20 May, 10am–1pm, online, £40.
🔹English Mystics: Evelyn Underhill, Mon 25 May, 7:30–9pm, online, £20.
🔹Taster: PG Study in Christian Spirituality, Mon 1 Jun, 7–8pm, online, free.
🔹Faces of Metanoia: Francis, Clare, Dorothy Day, Oscar Romero, Weds from 3 Jun, 7:30–9pm, online, £90.
🔹Come and See ... An Introduction to Further Study in Theology, Ministry and Mission, Wed 3 Jun, 7:30–9pm, online, free.

Further information and booking.

Bethany's Showcase, on 8 May from 3–7pm at Ps & Gs, is the chance to discover standout fashion and accessories from across Bethany's seven shops. It will showcase a wide range of men's, women's, and children's fashion, alongside a special wedding edit featuring bridalwear, suits and occasion outfits for guests. With small activities for children, it's an event the whole family can enjoy together while helping to end homelessness.

Find out more.

Beyond the Walls are offering free webinars:

'What posture and practices do we need to embody and follow in order to participate in God's Mission today?' with Revd Sally Taylor
Tue 12 May, 1–2pm.

Find out more, and access previous webinars, on the Beyond the Walls website.

In the last edition of Adventures in Faith we featured John Allister's Faith, Hope and Autism. On 21 May, John will be delivering an online course on Biblical Models of Neurodiversity at Sarum College. He will introduce different models, such as the Tower of Babel, the Body of Christ and Earthen Vessels, that can be used to better understand neurodiversity. John will then explore some practical strategies for inclusion. Find out more.

Edinburgh Festival of the Sacred Arts takes place from 16–22 August, and this year there will be lots of opportunities to explore the sacred spaces within the diocese's Edinburgh churches – from the beautiful murals at St James, Goldenacre to the stillness of Old Saint Paul's. Find out more and book tickets.

Retreats

The Bield at Blackruthven upcoming retreats:
🔹When Women Lead the Way: 21–23 April, £350 full board.
🔹The Wisdom Years: The Spirituality of Ageing: 12–15 May, £425 (book by 21 April).
🔹Silent Retreat Day: 2 June, £70.
🔹Enneagram: Going Deeper: 13 June, £75.
🔹Journey Into Healing: 27 June, £75.

Abernethy Kilmalieu upcoming events:
🔹Mountain Pilgrimage, 11–15 May, from £480.
🔹Individually Guided Retreat, 22–26 May, from £360.

🔹Meeting God in Creation, 1–5 June, from £480.
🔹Deep Dive with Jonah, 12–15 June, from £360.
🔹Wild Writing: Discovering Your Inner Writer, Exploring Nature and Going Deeper in Faith
13–17 July, from £480.
🔹Celtic Wisdom for the 21st Century, 27–31 July, from £480.

You can find more than 25 retreat venues that we have come across, or that have been used by members of the diocese, on our Retreat Venues page. There is also a map, so you can see at a glance where the listed retreat centres are based.

Have You Tried?

In this section, we share a resource that might help you explore, learn, or grow in your faith: it could be a book, a podcast, an email subscription, or something else!

Theology Everywhere is a ministry of the Methodist Church, with contributors from various traditions, which shares a short article every Monday. This offers a theological reflection on a specific issue or topic that can be read at the start of the week, pondered upon, and then contributions added throughout the week. It is a way of engaging and flexing our theological muscles to keep them fit, as well as an opportunity for those contributing to offer new ways of thinking about a topic or looking at an issue theologically, perhaps for the first time.

Adventures in Faith: All Day Every Day!

Homepage – Outlines what Adventures in Faith is, with links to other landing pages.

Newsletter – Links to all previous newsletters and to sign-up for emails.

Calendar – Events happening across the Diocese, in congregations and partner organisations.

Courses – A list of courses & retreats from across the UK: something for everyone!

Awareness – Awareness days that link in with our faith and Marks of Mission.

😃 We hope you have enjoyed exploring this Adventures in Faith newsletter.

🔼 Check out the AiF webpages via the menu above.

📧 Please forward this email to congregational friends, who can sign-up using the button below.

👈 Share the QR code via church magazines, noticeboards, pew-sheets, etc.

👇 Check out our other newsletters via buttons below.

Sign up for Adventures in Faith!

The Communicant

Youth and Children

Do you follow Edinburgh Diocese on social media?

We appreciate every look, like and share!

Revd Fiona (Fee) Reynolds, Advisor for Christian Life

0131 346 9089, [email protected]

Cathy Ballantine, Interim Admin Assistant (M&M)

0131 346 9085, [email protected]

If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here.