Author Archives: St. Columba's

Bob Gould – this is your ministry

June 11th marked the 40th Anniversary of the priesting of our wonderful non-stipendiary minister, Bob Gould. Nathan presented Bob with a celebratory photo-album full of memories and David regaled him with poetry, while Sheila’s steadfast contribution alongside was marked with flowers.

Softening edges

Congratulations to our local Grassmarket community who have just celebrated the tenth anniversary of having the keys to West Port Garden. Local residents  have created a truly impressive flower garden on a very steep site and are working hard to make the garden more accessible and safer to the public. West Port Garden was first created in the early 20^th century by Norah Geddes, talented daughter of the more famous Patrick Geddes, who involved as many barefoot children from the local tenements as she could possibly manage!

One of the highlights of the recent celebrations was the launch of a volume of poetry based on Norah and the present-day garden. A line or two from Tessa Berring appealed to me:

Norah taught the city
how to soften itself
How to press itself
against the edges
and burst

As some-one who tends our own Church garden here on the terrace on the corner of Victoria Terrace, I think this is what we have also been trying to do – to soften the edges of the church, by swinging the big blue door open and using the garden as the route to the twice-weekly Foodbank.

I have been attempting to limit the proliferation of wild strawberries, pink geranium and campanula, not always with success. But that is alright, plants have a life of their own and how true is another evocative line from the poetry collection:

crack, splinter, wedge
here comes saxifrage
Jane Goldman

Our version of this is the foxglove. I plant them in a specific spot – they do very badly. The next year I find them pushing up really quite a hefty rosette of leaves next to a wall or between two paving stones, determinedly doing their bit to further soften Edinburgh’s straight lines and hard walls.

The world of gardening is also softening its edges by blurring the distinction between weed and wanted. We will see this at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show. There will be nettles this summer in our big flower bed (hopefully attracting butterflies) and eventually they will be harvested and soaked to make a smelly but healthy plant-food.

But the sight to behold right now at the beginning of May are the  purple irises bursting out of their bed! Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet would surely rejoice.

Jenny Paton-Williams

Immrama website launched

We have launched our new Immrama website at www.immrama.online

The website complements our physical Immrama exhibition at St. Columba’s by the Castle, which combines ancient stories, contemporary art and reflective questions to explore resonances between Columba and today’s world and to help people reflect on their own ‘voyage tale’.

Retreat in Daily Life – starting this Lent

“From Loss to Love” – a retreat in daily life conducted by Timothy J. Ray

Each Sunday evening at 7:00 PM

February 26 – April 2 & April 16 – April 30, 2023

(on-site and online)

More information

News from the Quiet Garden

If you haven’t visited for a while you may not have seen our new trees! We had been unhappy about the loss of three trees ( all for good reasons) over the last few years and were determined to replace them. Eventually we settled on an apple-tree ( Charles Ross eater-cum-cooker) and a fig-tree, again with an eye to food as well as beauty, shade and climate resilience.The fig tree was planted against the south-facing wall and in a pot, on Sunday  29th May by Sheila, dear friend of Jean and Gilbert, son of Gilbert , helped by Nathan and David. The tree is dedicated to the Columban generation of 1949 who defied plans to close the Church, drawing on a parable of Jesus ( St.Luke   13 v 6-9), to give it another year! Here we are 73 years later….. So far so good as the photos testify.

Visitors are once-again dropping in for a sit-down for a few minutes amidst the bustle of a city-break or from city-centre life or work. Occasionally we hear next-door’s  Hostel-kitchen  in high spirits but that’s life. We have received some lovely comments in the Visitors’ Book such as

“Local lass found solitude while working. Great find”

“This garden (especially the plaques on the wall) is heaven.”

It depends on the availability of volunteers as to how often we can open but until the Festival its most afternoons.

Of course, in this very dry year here in East Scotland, we have had to water many times. We were kindly donated a hose a few years back but now we have made a small step towards climate-resilience by also installing a water-butt. Thanks must go here to Judith B who set to on drilling the requisite hole in the down-pipe, ending up with an industrial-strength drill piece which eventually got the job finished! Fortunately we’ve had a bit of rain and the butt is filling up nicely.

The other development in the Quiet Garden is an increasing amount of edibles. We tried a few potatoes and cherry tomatoes in pots last year with mixed success. Now we have three new planters (courtesy of the ever-helpful Mushroom Trust and made by the Grassmarket Community Project Workshop), we are growing salad leaves, mange-tout, chard and green beans. Of these the green beans are the pick of the bunch! We have been able to offer a small amount of fresh produce to Foodbank clients who pass through on Tuesdays and Fridays.

On Sundays after church, our church family wanders out on the terrace to enjoy our drinks and a blether in the sun. Its a real joy for us. Join us sometime!

Students Welcome Here

Whether you are a student from the UK or another part of the world, St C’s is a progressive, inclusive church where we prize hospitality as central to the gospel of Christ. We are a smallish gathered church that is open to the world, to life and to all who walk through our door.

Creation Season: Trees

Our focus for this September’s Creation Season is on trees, as we explore “Trees and Life”, “Trees and Knowledge”, Trees and Humanity”, “Trees and Healing” and “Trees and Justice”. The environment is a regular feature in the our worship, preaching and prayers through the rest of the year as well.

Iona Pilgrimage

In July, over twenty of the congregation enjoyed the return of our bi-annual week at Bishop’s House. Jenny Paton-Williams led reflections on the ancient Celtic prayers and poems of Carmina Gadelica. The food, weather, walking and blether were all excellent. Roll on 2024.

Quiet Time – calm, poetry and silence for Lent

Join us at 4pm every Monday in Lent for twenty minutes of reflective silence, with poetry and readings. Whatever your religious background or lack thereof, you are most welcome. 7, 14, 21, 28 March and 4 and 11 April.

St. Columba’s by the Castle Church, 14 Johnston Terrace, EH1 2PW