Welcome to our News page.
We continue to hold one service, beginning at 10.30am every Sunday morning. All welcome! Covid restrictions have now eased significantly but if you have any of the associated symptoms obviously you should stay at home. We have removed the “no access” signs from alternate pews in the nave and the one-way system around the church. For the moment we are keeping some distancing options in the pews near the War Memorial Chapel so that anyone who is anxious can continue to feel safe within our building. Face masks are now optional in places of worship. Please be aware that the service will continue to be livestreamed and available on this website. Keep an eye on this page for further updates.
Weekly Sunday services may also be heard the following Monday on a landline telephone – simply dial 0131 546 4001 and press 1 when prompted. Calls are charged at your phone provider’s usual local rate – please let anyone know who might appreciate this kind of connection.
Read the latest edition of our MONTHLY NEWSLETTER. Paper copies can be sent out on request.
Our weekly Sunday service is livestreamed at 10.30am. Click on the picture below to watch.
Click here for the order of service for Sunday 28th July – 9th after Trinity
Watch previous services on our You Tube channel.
Monthly Evening Service
At 7pm on the last Sunday of every month we host a united evening service with St Giles’. Supported by singers from the Cathedral choir, it’s a gentle reflective service lasting no more than forty minutes and all are welcome. Next evening service: Sunday 28th July 2024 at 7pm.
August at Canongate Kirk
As part of the Fringe, the Edinburgh Sacred Arts Festival will take place from 11th – 17th August. This year the opening service will be incorporated into our regular 10.30am service next Sunday, 11th August, when we will be joined by the Choir of the Robin Chapel and an address will be given by James Holloway CBE, formerly Director of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. All welcome! Later that week, Canongate is also the venue for two more Sacred Arts Festival events – ‘Refuge and the Road Home’ with poets Christine De Luca and Elspeth Murray at 1.15pm Wednesday 14th August, and the final of the Edinburgh Sacred Art Foundation’s Young Composer competition at 1.15pm on Thursday 15th with prizes to be presented by Dame Judith Weir, Master of the King’s Music. Tickets and more information HERE.
We have our own range of concerts as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe when Canongate Kirk once again becomes Venue 60. More information can be found HERE. Our own organist Simon Leach is giving a harpsichord recital on Friday 16th August at 12 noon. Tickets £10/£7 on door. Familiar faces from the congregation will be most welcome so do come if you can!
Canongate Kirkyard Tours
Take a free guided tour to discover the secrets of this fascinating historic space! We are delighted to announce that local historian and guide, Eric Drake, will be leading these tours on the first Sunday of each month between May and September 2024. Tours start at the front of the Kirk at 11.30am and last an hour. Each tour explores a different theme. Tours are FREE but donations to Canongate Kirk welcome! More information HERE.
Canongate Kirk at the Fringe 2023
Our programme of Fringe concerts has come to an end and we won’t be Venue 60 again until next year Thanks are due to our volunteer stewards who welcomed both performers and audience members alike to the church and worked so hard to make each event run smoothly. We had fourteen concerts ranging from folk, classical, gospel and choral as well as showcasing the work of local young composers.
Royal Banner and Prayer
The banner which usually hangs on our north wall to the left hand side was temporarily returned to the Cathedral for July’s Service of Thanksgiving during which HM The King was presented with the Honours of Scotland. It hung again exactly where it did on 24th June 1953, when The late Queen attended a similar service soon after her own coronation. In connection with the more recent service our Minister was asked to write the following prayer for the Church of Scotland website:
Loving God, centuries ago you kindled a flame of love in the heart of your servant Queen Margaret and by her humility and kindness made clear the way of royal service in this land. Now as we give thanks for our newly-crowned Sovereign King Charles, we pray that having been called to an earthly throne he might advance your heavenly Kingdom. Amidst all the panoply of Church and State, may our ancient ceremonies and symbols reflect your unchanging purpose of peace and goodwill. May they speak not just of our history and heritage but of our hope for years to come. For our hope is rooted in faith, and our faith rooted in Jesus Christ, the King of Kings. Amen.
New York Organ Recital
Canongate Kirk organist Simon Leach was invited to give a recital in St Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue, New York city, on Sunday 23rd April 2023. Click on the picture below and enjoy. Bravo Simon!
Bird’s Eye Views of Canongate Kirk
Taken from a drone during a recent roof inspection.
