Welcome to our News page! Scroll down to find out what’s on and what’s been happening at Canongate Kirk, the Kirk of Holyroodhouse and Edinburgh Castle as well as what’s on at the Kirk during the Fringe. You can also download a copy of the latest Newsletter: August 2018
Canongate Kirk Appeal
Click HERE for Gift Aid Form
Organ Recital – for Church Appeal
The next fundraising event will be a pair of Fringe concerts planned by our resident organist David Goodenough on Tuesday 21st August and Friday 24th August at 6pm. Tickets £5, available on the door. In the first concert, David will play music by Bach, Peeters and Handel. He will be joined in the second concert by oboist Rachel Curry and French hornist James Goodenough. Our Frobenius organ underwent lengthy cleaning and repair earlier this year and these concerts will be a perfect opportunity to hear how wonderful it is sounding again. All money raised will go towards the Kirk Appeal.
There But Not There
To mark “the last hundred days” taking us to the centenary of the Armistice that finally brought the First World War to an end on 11th November 1918, Canongate Kirk is participating in the nationwide “There but not there” installation. Five silhouettes have been positioned in the pews of the Kirk to represent the five local soldiers whose deaths we have marked during the course of the last four years. For more information visit the website www.therebutnotthere.org.uk
Canongate Kirk at the Fringe
The Kirk becomes Venue 60 for the month of August as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe takes over the city. Below is an at-a -glance list of all our concerts. You can also download a Concert Programme with more details. Tickets are all available from the Fringe Box Office or at the door.
The Harry Younger Hall becomes Venue 13 as it is taken over by the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. To find out more about their exciting programme visit http://www.venue13.com/
Guest Soloist for Festival Sunday
To mark Festival Sunday we were lucky enough to have Richard Lindsey, an opera singer from California, singing a solo at the 11.15am service. You can catch Richard performing at St Cecilia’s Hall on Tuesday 14th and Tuesday 21st August at 1pm .
Summer Fayre
On Saturday 28th July, following a brief deluge of rain, the sun shone on the Canongate Kirk Summer Fayre held inside the Kirk. Neighbours and tourists alike came to browse the stalls which included homebaking, hats and bags, jewellery, plants and lots more. Face and nail painting, a magician and tombola were on offer too. At the last count, funds raised were up to £2000. Once again, all money raised will go to the church appeal fund and a huge thank you is due to all those who helped organise, sell, bring and buy. More pictures can be found on our Facebook page
Manse Garden Party
Over 70 guests attended a fundraising garden party hosted by the Minister following the 11.15 service on June 24th. Guests enjoyed refreshments, music and good company in the beautiful surroundings of the Manse garden. As is usual in Scotland, a contingency plan had been made to move indoors in case of rain but thankfully this wasn’t necessary as the weather was fabulous! All funds raised will go to the church appeal and thanks are due to all those who attended, contributed and helped to make the event such a success.
Suffrage Centenary March
Thousands of women marking the 100th anniversary of the Representation of the People’s Act marched through Edinburgh on Sunday 10th June. The participants wore the colours of the suffrage movement, green, white or violet – allowing the Minister to join them for a colour co-ordinated photo as they walked past the Manse!
Open Kirk
Open Kirk season at Canongate Kirk runs from May to September each year. Volunteers keep the church open as much as possible for tourists and visitors to explore. If the doors are open, then please drop in and have a look around. We are also running free tours of the church and churchyard every Sunday at 1pm. Meet outside the church door. Or, if you fancy exploring on your own, go straight to our Kirkyard page which has trails to download as well as podcasts to listen to.
More Fundraising Events
Previous fundraising events took place on 10th May in the Harry Younger Hall when Martin Baker (retired atmospheric physicist and Antarctica base commander) gave a fascinating presentation on Antarctica and Global Climate Change. As Martin has visited the area to study it many times over the past 30 years or so, this was a very personal perspective accompanied by some of his stunning photos of the region. The talk raised an impressive £600 for the Appeal fund.
One of our first fund raising event for the Appeal took place on Sunday 29th April when Ally Collins, one of the younger members of our congregation and a superb pianist, gave a 30-minute piano recital of works by Chopin. Ally, pictured here, kindly donated the very generous retiring collection to the Appeal Fund.
A big thank you to the Lowland Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland who thrilled tourists with a rousing concert on Saturday 14th April with a closing collection for the Church Appeal. More pictures on our Facebook page.
Palm Sunday Pilgrimage
Members of three local churches join in a Palm Sunday pilgrimage from the Mercat Cross to Holyroodhouse, pausing here in our kirkyard before heading to the Abbey.
New Elders
Our quartet of new young elders was completed on Palm Sunday morning with the ordination of Polly Burns, joined here on the doorstep afterwards by Daniel, Alexis and Stuart.
