St Mary’s Magazine – Easter 2021
Welcome to the Easter 2021 edition of the St Mary’s Magazine.
As we were waiting for things to settle down at St. Mary’s with our Covid restrictions and our new role as pro-Cathedral, and this was followed by another lockdown, there has been no quarterly magazine since Trinity 2020. That does not mean that nothing has been happening! Our new website can now host our magazine, though there will still be a print version available for those who want one. But now you are here, why not read on?
From the Rectory
So, here we are! As I write this we approach the 4th Sunday in Lent. You will recall that last year we were unable to open for any type of worship during Lent and Holy Week, due to the first lockdown. This year, however, we will open our doors for those who wish to enter,…
Report from the General Synod – 5th December 2020
General Synod was postponed this year from its usual June two and a half day session in Edinburgh to a one-day Zoom meeting on 5th. December. The technology, already tested at the General Assembly, allowed all the participants (around 130 of us) to raise questions, make comments, and vote, just as we would at St.…
Continue Reading Report from the General Synod – 5th December 2020
Report from Diocesan Synod, February 2021
Last year Diocesan Synod was one of the last big events before lockdown, and this year we were online, using the same platforms as General Synod. As with General Synod business was confined to the essentials. The Bishop’s charge reviewed how the pandemic had affected us and our worship across the diocese, and talked of…
“Walls” by Margaret McKinnon
I thank you for the invitation to write for the new Quarterly Magazine. Instantly I had a topic in mind because my Granddaughter and I have been working on a storyline with a topical theme. Walls have a dual purpose. Some might argue they are built for the benefit of an individual, or the good…
Spaced with smiles and laughter
A warm hello to everyone, including those from St Andrew’s who have no idea who is sending them a smile but I hope will still welcome it. My family and I live close to church and in July 2020 we deployed to socially distance our pews. Not easy to see in the pictures below but…
Our Favourite Hymns
I heard the voice of Jesus say,‘Come unto me and rest.Lay down O weary one,Lay down your head upon my breast.’I came to Jesus as I was,So weary, worn, and sad.I found in him a resting place,And he has made me glad.Definitely a hymn intended to comfort, these lyrics are Scottish in origin. Horatius Bonar…
Book Review: Tom Wright, God and the Pandemic
A fairly short read, written in the first British lockdown. Wright examines the various dilemmas facing Christians in the time of pandemic, comparing it with previous times of crisis. Not all his conclusions are firm – why would they be? – and I particularly liked his discussion of whether or not places of worship should…
Continue Reading Book Review: Tom Wright, God and the Pandemic
Risen (2016) Film Review
Risen (2016) is a remarkable film directed by Kevin Reynolds and starring Joseph Fiennes as Clavius, a Roman tribune, asked by his friend Pontius Pilate to investigate the disappearance of the body of the crucified Nazarene, Yeshua. Clavius saw him die, and in fact was the one who ordered he be speared rather than have…