A Heart for Scotland

Saint Aidan is a magnificent example of a Scot who lived to make others great.  The Community in Scotland seeks to make others great.

Meetings

The Community holds regular area meetings. For details contact Gill Davidson: gill@iangill.plus.com

There is currently a yearly August week-end at Colvend Manse, Dumfries in the glorious Solway Forth, when interested people may combine this with a holiday in local B&B’s. For details contact the minister, Rev. James Gatherer:  jamesgatherer@btinternet.com

You can download a PDF file outlining a Way of Saint Cuthbert for Scotland here

Supporting  the Church’s Mission  

The Community offers resources and retreats for ministers, priests, elders and other church leaders who seek new ways forward for the church, such as  ‘church without walls’ www.cwwresources.org.uk.  The most recent retreat was the ‘A Heart for Scotland’ conference at Scottish Churches House, Dunblane, when we explored church without walls, early Scottish church planters, and Scott Brennan of the Lighthouse church, Musselburgh, www.thelighthousechurch.org.uk shared insights into leadership that breaks out of the box.

The chapter on ‘Church Without Walls’ in Exploring Celtic Spirituality (Kevin Mayhew Ltd) offers some foundational insights.

 

Worship and  Roots for Renewal

Our four volume Celtic Prayer Book (Kevin Mayhew Ltd) offers the following

  • Volume One: Prayer Rhythms for Morning, Midday, Evening and Night draws from ancient and modern Scottish sources in a way that makes daily prayer accessible to busy Christians.
  • Volume Two: Saints of the Isles, provides information about many little known Scottish saints.
  • Volume Three: Healing the Land,  offers resources for healing wounded group memory in polarised communities in our big cities.
  • Volume Four: Great Celtic Christians, introduces us to the story and provides prayers inspired by such Scottish pioneers as Aidan, Columba, Cuthbert, Kentigern, and Ninian.

 

Pilgrimage

Rev. Dr. Ian Bradley, of St. Andrew’s University, and one of the Community’s Advisors, is researching and promoting  renewed understanding and practice of pilgrimage. See his book Columba: Pilgrim and Penitent (Wild Goose Publications 1996) and his  2009 book on pilgrimage. He and others seek to encourage pilgrimage inspired by Columba through Ireland,  Scotland and Northumbria.

Prayer from the Scottish Parliament

The following prayer was offered in the Parliament during a visit by Community members:

  • We pray for this land and her children for believers and unbelievers.
  • We pray for her prisoners, including prisoners of prejudice, pride, poverty and addictive substances.
  • We pray for her sports people and those injured and ailing her extraverts and introverts her famous and her forgotten people.
  • May our nation be freed from the bondage of fear, rise above selfish ambition, and become flexible to your direction.
  • May we never forget that the blessings of prosperity and peace come from eternal vigilance in the struggle against greed, neglect and injustice.
  • Free us from resentment and mistrust of those who have mistreated us in the past and from the prejudice which divides and confuses our people.
  • Give us a heart to serve the poorest peoples of the world through fair trade and friendly dealings, and to cherish our own minorities who feel threatened by change.
  • As we thank you for our glorious land, we pray that the ideals of service, respect and inspired may shine brightly among us.
  • As we thank you for the wellsprings beneath this place, we pray that we may draw deeply from the well-springs of the Spirit in order to renew and sustain our future life.

Ray Simpson

Postal address: White House, Fenkle Street, Holy Island, Berwick-uponTweed TD15 2SR

Email: Contact Ray's Personal Assistant, Brenda Grace, below