Events

A Service of prayer and reflection was held at St Mary’s on the Eve of the Funeral of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.  It was an ecumenical service arranged by Aberdeen Churches Together. The service was led by Bishop Anne, with Bible readings from Rev. Gary Smith (Crown St Baptist) and Pastor Joe Ochei (Jesus House, Holburn St), and intercessions from Canon Terry and Rev Jenny Holden (St John’s, Crown Terrace).

We were blessed to be joined by a choir from Jesus House who led us in our hymns and sang the moving ‘Song of Farewell’ by Ernest Sands that includes the chorus

May the choir of angels,
Come to greet you,
May they speed you to paradise.
May the Lord enfold you
In His mercy.
May you find eternal life.

Other elements of the service included a reading of the poem ‘Lochnagar’ by Makar Kathleen Jamie.

The alder boughs hang heavy,

Red weighs the rowan-trees

That line the well-loved path which climbs

To Lochnagar from Dee

And knows at last the open hill,

Those ancient wind-honed heights

Where deer stand shy and sky-lined,

Then vanish from living sight,  

Where grief is ice, and history

Is distant roiling skies,

Where weather chases weather 

Across the lands she strived

To serve, and served supremely well,

Till the call came from afar:

Back to the country kept in her heart,

the Dee, and Lochnagar.

(The Makar gives permission for republishing this poem to not for profit media. For other media contact the Scottish Poetry Library for permissions.)

Just beating the number of bishops we had at our 140^th Anniversary service, St. Mary’s played host to seven bishops on 26^th July – Bishop Anne, the Primus Bishop Mark, four Bishops from the Episcopal Church of America, and Bishop Hugh Gilbert. The visit preceded the Lambeth Conference, and was a very joyous occasion.

On Saturday 24th October St Marys was used for a service of Ordination for the first time in its’ role as Pro-Cathedral of our Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney. Andy Elliott (in the centre below) was Ordained by Bishop Anne and will serve as Curate in Shetland. You may recognise some of the local faces in this photo! Also here are Rev Neil Brice (on the left), and others from St Magnus where Andy will continue his training. Rt Rev Dorsey McConnell, Assisting Bishop, was with us too. It was a joyous occasion on a bright autumn day. Our grateful thanks to all from St Marys who contributed to hosting this important day in the life of Rev Andy Elliott (as he now is!) and our Diocese.

We are grateful to Dr Robert Heimburger. Research Fellow in Theological Ethics, University of Aberdeen, for his thought-provoking contribution to our evening ‘Migrants : Blessing or Burden’ that was held at St Marys on 3rd October. 

Lively conversation was had as we looked initially at the experience of migration in our own family histories and lives. Then broadening out we considered the current trends in our city and nation – the movement of people in and out; the feelings that this generated. 

It was a joy to have people present from at least six different churches many of whom were engaged in work amongst international students, refugees or multicultural congregations. We talked about the guiding principles and key values that informed our actions.

Dr Heimburger led us through a number of key Bible texts in asserting that ‘God loves migrants’ and furthermore that God calls us to do likewise. The challenge came that love of the stranger was not an extra or an option but something that was an integral part of God’s being and a hallmark of those who sought to follow Jesus Christ.