Welcome to our News page.
During the current crisis and even though our church has re-opened for a limited weekly service, this is the best way to keep in touch with Canongate Kirk, the Kirk of Holyroodhouse and Edinburgh Castle. Live-streamed services are posted below, and the latest monthly newsletter can be downloaded here.
Bible Study
Rev Breda Ludik’s introduction to the latest series on the Book of Exodus can be found here. If you have questions or comments for Breda, and would like to take part in a running blog or are interested in joining a Zoom Bible Study session in the evening, please get in touch with him at ludik.breda@gmail.com and please forward the link to anyone you think might be interested.
Canongate Kirk On-line
We aim to livestream our weekly service at 10am each Sunday and the order of service can be followed below. Livestreams will be available to watch here until the following Friday and then on our You Tube Channel where you can also watch previous recordings.
Click on the picture below to watch our 10am service on Sunday 20th September.
Holy Cross Day
14th September is Holy Cross Day in the Church’s calendar. In Canongate Kirk’s calendar it is also the day on which our ancient parish was founded after King David’s vision of the cross amidst the antlers of a stag.
Almighty God,
whose servant King David
founded this ancient parish
as a sign of his thankfulness to you;
may we too know the presence of Jesus
in all the challenges and opportunities
of our daily lives, and as we travel
from this place may we take with us
the promise of the cross in the antlers,
that he is with us always,
even to the close of the age.
Amen.
Weekly Services
The photograph below shows the congregation gathering on Sunday 26th July for our first service since lock-down began in March. We continue to hold one service at 10am every Sunday morning strictly in accordance with current covid-19 rules and regulations. If you are interested in attending please get in touch with the office at canongatekirk@btinternet.com but please be aware that numbers are limited. A livestreamed service is available to view on our website every Sunday at 10am (See above).
BBC Radio 4 Prayer for the Day
Last chance to hear Rev Neil Gardner’s recent series on BBC Sounds .
My Light Shines On
A snapshot of “My Light Shines On” marking what should have been the opening night of this year’s Edinburgh International Festival and Fringe. In the bottom left corner is Canongate Kirk’s Harry Younger Hall, usually transformed into a busy little theatre every August. In a recent BBC documentary Alan Cumming reflected on his global career, and how “it all began in the Harry Younger Hall.” You can watch it on iPlayer here.
We recently participated in Flags for Edinburgh, a public art project by Peter Liversidge originally staged in 2013, that invited sites across the length and breadth of the city to fly a flag saying simply ‘Hello’. Forming part of a series of artist works marking the intended dates of this year’s festival, Flags for Edinburgh sent a greeting to residents across the city as well as the wider world during the gradual re-emergence after an extended period of lockdown.
CANONGATE KIRK AND CORONAVIRUS – 18th March 2020
Dear friends,
In the midst of such unprecedented restrictions, the news may or may not have reached you that the Church of Scotland has now announced that all services of public worship are to be suspended with immediate effect. From our perspective this simply means that sadly there can be no Sunday services in Canongate Kirk for the time being.
This does not however mean a complete shutdown! Our website www.canongatekirk.org.uk and social media will stay up and running with regular updates, photographs, prayers and reflections. Please keep a watchful eye on it. In the next few days we shall be compiling a list of members who come into the most vulnerable categories by way of age or underlying health conditions, prioritising especially those who have no family support within reach. We shall endeavour to keep in touch by telephone or e-mail where appropriate, and where possible to ensure a regular supply of essential groceries and prescriptions. At the same time we shall compile a list of those who are willing to offer help and support, by making a friendly phone call or delivering groceries and medicines. Please let us know if you would like to be on either list, or can think of someone who might like to be.
Centuries ago our ancient and beloved parish was founded by King David I after his famously lethal encounter with a stag. To this day our emblem is the cross amidst the antlers, and as we face another lethal challenge we must see in it still a sign of triumph over adversity, of hope over despair.
May God bless you, and all those whom you love and serve and pray for.
Neil
Royal Naval Association
On Sunday 15th March, just before the latest restrictions were imposed, we were glad to welcome members and friends of the Edinburgh branch of the Royal Naval Association, marking its 25th anniversary. The service included a parade of standards, and the blessing of a bell which will remain in Canongate Kirk.
The Duke of Kent
HRH The Duke of Kent, Deputy Colonel-in-Chief, The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) attended a service in Canongate Kirk on Tuesday 3rd December 2019 to lay up a Regimental Standard. More photos on our Facebook page.
A replica Spitfire makes a poignant backdrop for the annual Act of Remembrance by 603 Squadron on Remembrance Sunday.
603 Sqnn Remembrance at Spitfire Edinburgh Airport
Visit of HM The Queen to Canongate Kirk on Sunday 30th June 2019
Photo courtesy ROB MCDOUGALL www.RobMcDougall.com
More photos on our Royal Visit page.
