December 2025
Christmas will soon be upon us, if it's not already. A time for celebration and getting together, perhaps with some we see only at this time of year. At church, we see each other regularly, and celebrate Jesus' life and death every week.
But on Sunday 7 December, our morning service starting at 11.15 will be concentrated on simple ways to keep the real reason for the season central in our lives at this busy time of the year.
After the service, there is our usual bring and share meal, with more than a nod to the time of year. If you're reading this before then, you're very welcome to come along and join with us. We'll be pleased to see you. And visitors are our guests – just bring yourselves, not something to add to the meal. And if it's too late to attend, we've missed you.
After his sterling work on our kitchen and front door, Reza turned his attention to Shin's flat. Here are two before and after pictures of the kitchen. The units are not simply assembled from B&Q, but individually made by Reza to fit the awkward shape of the room. It's not surprising that he is kept busy with plenty of work coming in! But if you think you might have some work for him, it's easy to contact him. Click here, or use the QR code.
Sara has also been exercising her talents. Not in fitting out kitchens (though she's excellent at using them, as we know from our bring and share lunches), but in her skill as a seamstress.
Here's a picture of her wearing a blouse she has made. If you would like her to do some work for you (and she's highly recommended), click here to go to her Instagram page.
Edinburgh Direct Aid International continues its good work. You may recognise some people in the photo that was in the Edinburgh Evening News. The article (your eyesight might not be up to reading it) was reporting on the book From Scotland with Love that was published recently, detailing the history of EDAI.
Those of you with long memories will recall the sad death in 1993 of Christine Witcutt, while being one of the first volunteers to take aid to war-torn Sarajevo. You can read more about the incident in the book.
A brief summary of the achievements of Christine and Alan, both members of our church here, can be read in a motion passed at the Scottish Parliament on the occasion of Alan's death.
Further details of the book are here, where you can also purchase a copy. (A Christmas present for the person who has everything, to remind them that others are not so well blessed???)
New Year sees us off to Dalkeith Country Park, just outside Edinburgh. We plan to meet there in the main car park (having paid our £4 per car) at 1.00pm on Friday 2 January. But we won't be staying in the car park very long. There are lots of things to see and do, both inside and outside. And yes, we've checked the cafe is open.
