Journeys in Faith

At Christ Church we are committed to life-long learning for all ages and all learning styles, and for providing opportunities for questioning and deepening our faith. For some this is a matter of open enquiry, for others ‘faith seeking understanding’. Throughout the year a number of formal and informal opportunities are offered.    We don’t always think to put things on our website – to find out what’s on for any particular date, and to check for last minute information, look in the calendar. There are also other events organised, which can be found in the recent news section.

First Sunday Conversations

11.30am – 12.15pm in the Church Centre

 

Sunday Conversation

As a congregation Christ Church is rich in its membership, with people drawn from many different walks of life and experience. We meet on the first Sunday of each month from 11.30 a.m. to 12.15 p.m. in the Church Centre over coffee to talk over some topic of interest, in an extended and open conversation led by a member or friend of the congregation.

Events for 2011:

  • 2nd October, Death- Can we talk about it? conversation lead by Joan Adams, Nurse Lecturer, St. Columba’s Hospice with Susan MacDonald and Anderson Jeremiah

Past events:

  • 3rd April, “The Church in Vietnam” with Prof. Penny Hall
  • 27th March 2011, Hospital Ministry in India, Revd. Hamilton, Vellore, India.
  • 6th February 2011, Story Telling with Michael Williams, editor of  Therapeutic Story Telling
  • 5th December 2010, R. S . Thomas, Priest and Poet, conversation lead by Revd. Margaret Raven
  • 7th November 2010, Christians in Pakistan, led by Farhana Nazir,  University of Edinburgh
  • 3rd October, Our Giving: An Illustrated Conversation. led by Overseas Giving Committee
  • 5th September 2010, The Hidden Christians of Japan, led by Kirk Sandvig, University of Edinburgh
  • 6th June 2010, The Eric Liddell Centre: Nick Bowry, Director of the Centre and member of Christ Church
  • 2nd May 2010, Palliative Care and Hospices: Joan Adam, Nurse Lecturer at St Columba’s Hospice and member of Christ Church
  • 7th March 2010:  Beer and the Bard: Fortunatus, an early Christian hymnwriter
  • 7th February 2010: “Are WE the church overseas?” – Howard Moody
  • 1st November 2009: The Place of the Youth in the life of our church – Anderson and others

 

Third Sunday Workshops

11.30am – 12.30pm in the Church Centre

Meetings to deepen our understanding and practice in different areas of the church’s life and ministries.

Events for 2011:

  • 16th October, Film on the History and Development of KJV Bible (on the 400th Centenary Year)

Past events

  • 27th February 2011, Scottish Episcopal Liturgy, Past and Present, By Canon Ian Patton, Rector, Old. St. Pauls, Edinburgh
  • 21st November 2010, Communication in Pastoral Care, Part 2, by Joan Adam, Nurse Lecturer, St. Colomba’s Hospice, Edinburgh
  • 17th October 2010 , Learning from One another, Emmanuel Soh-Abwah, Rebecca Aechtner and Anderson Jeremiah in Conversation about the Anglican Church in Ghana.
  • 19th September 2010, Communication in Pastoral Care, Part I by Joan Adam
  • 16th May 2010, 2010 Chalice Bearers and Ministers of Extended Communion
  • 18th April 2010   Servers meeting in church
  • 21st March, 2010  Volunteering overseas
  • 21st February, 2010  Readers
  • 17th January, 2o10   Readers

Fifth Sunday Lecture Series

11.30am – 12.30pm in the Church Centre

On the fifth Sunday of a month, we have a preacher who introduces a subject, and this is followed by a Lecture in the Church Centre from 11.30am to 12.30pm with time for questions and discussion.

Events for 2011:

TBA

Past events (2010):

  • 29th May, Passing the Baton, an interactive session on the initiative by Bethany Christian Trust to help fight homelessness
  • 30th January 2011, Hebrew is a Funny Language! lecture by Prof. Mary Smallwood
  • 31st October 2010, Our Story in Context: The Scottish Episcopal Church, Lecture by Mark Elliott, St. Andrews University
  • 29th August 2010, Theology and Opera by Michel Fuller
  • 30th May 2010 : Apocryphal Gospels – Fact or Fiction? Dr Paul Foster
  • 31st   January 2010: Climate Change and the Communion of Saints: Prof. Michael Northcott

Faith in Dialogue

Sundays at Sung Eucharist 11.30-12.15 a.m.

As part of our engagement with wider society, four times a year we invite speakers to address a contemporary issue in the course of the 10 a.m. Sung Eucharist.  Afterwards we move on to the Church Centre for about 45 minutes, for an open discussion over coffee.

 

To date we have engaged Faith in Dialogue with

  • Asylum Seekers and Refugees
  • The Palestinian/Israeli conflict
  • The Edinburgh Festivals
  • The Politics of the Food Chain
  • Medical Ethics
  • Psychology
  • Homelessness
  • Creation & Ecology
  • The writings of Richard Dawkins
  • Spirituality & the Arts
  • Faith & Science
  • The media
  • Christian Muslim relations