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Adventures in Faith
November 2025

Welcome to Adventures in Faith: where everyone in the Diocese of Edinburgh can explore, learn, and grow in faith and fullness of life.

News

One in three women have experienced gender-based abuse in their lifetime. This year's 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence runs from 25 November to 10 December. The UN Secretary-General’s UNiTE 2025 campaign focuses on one of the fastest-growing forms of abuse: digital
violence against women and girls. Below are some resources to help you think about and join in with this campaign. AND our "Have you tried..." this month reflects this important issue too, so keep reading!

This landing page on the UN's website is a rich source of useful information, giving the background to this year's campaign and some statistics, points for change, advice for women and girls, and FAQs on related subjects. Access it here.

Mothers' Union stands united with women and girls everywhere who face harm, harassment or exclusion in digital spaces, especially where gender-based violence is involved. During the 16 Days, the Mothers' Union will be encouraging its members and friends to:

Raise awareness of digital violence in their communities
Promote digital literacy, especially for women and girls with limited access
Encourage intergenerational conversations about online safety
Pray and act for a world where technology empowers, not endangers, women and girls.

Find out more here

Christian Aid will be marking the 16 Days with a video that remembers victims of gender-based violence. View it from 25 November on their Facebook page.

The website of the Anglican Communion contains a selection of prayers from across the world to support the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. Access them here.

Advent

Thinking about Advent? There are some suggestions for Advent Retreats later in this newsletter. Or you might want to check out our curated list of books and resources that are New for 2025.

Find this, and lots of other ideas for marking the season, on our website!

Advent Sunday services. All these services are running in the evening of Sunday 30 November – click on the graphics for more!

If you'd like to curl up with a podcast, why not revisit this Spiritual Wanderlust episode, Birthing the Holy, originally streamed in 2023? It explores the expectant season of Advent, asking 'What does it mean to give birth to the Holy?' Access it on YouTube.

For Vestries

A new guide has been published to steer congregations in the Scottish Episcopal Church through the process of recruiting rectors or priests in charge. The Church Times Guide to Happy Recruitment, a collaboration between the Scottish Episcopal Church, 3D Coaching and The Church Times, is friendly and easy to read, with cartoons by Dave Walker. Access it here.

Events and Learning Opportunities

The Adventures in Faith: Courses page on the diocesan website is where you can find a whole range of courses running in the coming weeks and months. There are course provider websites so you can explore further. AND check out our Events Calendar for something local that might take your fancy!

The Church of England's Church Support Hub is holding a webinar on Wednesday 26 November at 1:30pm entitled 'The quiet revival – praying for church growth'. It explores how you can help your church pray for growth intentionally and effectively, and shares some case studies of where this has been happening. Find out more and register here.

Sarum College has just released its spring programme. Here are a few online courses running in the next couple of months that might be of interest:

Franciscan Approaches to the Nativity
10 December, 10am–1pm, online, £40.
Journalling Workshop 2: Connecting with your Soul
12 December, 10am–1pm, online, from £35.
Rediscovering a Rule of Life – Part 1
Four Wednesdays (one a month) from 21 January, 12–1pm, online, £40.

Find out more and book on their short courses page.

Parenting: A Spiritual Quest from Woodbrooke is an online course running from 8 January to 12 February at 7:45–9pm. It aims to enable parents to be more present and compassionate with themselves and their families. Find out more.

Courses from New College Edinburgh in the new year

Introduction to Pioneer Ministry and Church Planting

Starts Saturday 24 January. Two in-person Saturday sessions, 1–4:30pm, plus six online Wednesday sessions, 6:30–8pm, £200.
More information and booking via the New College website

Courses from Trinity College Glasgow in the new year

Liturgy & Prayer in Christian Worship

Wednesdays, 14 January 2026 to 25 March 2026, 4–6pm, onsite with online option, £207.
Creative Writing as Spiritual Reflection
Mondays, 19 January 2026 to 16 March 2026, 7–9pm, online, £207.
Leading in Church Change – a Masters Level Course
Mondays from 26 January 2026, 7–9pm, online, £799/£499.
Intro to Ministry & Mission in Digital Culture
Wednesdays, 28 January 2026 to 25 March 2026, 7–9pm, online, £207.
More information and booking via the Trinity College website

Christian Aid is holding its annual online gathering for supporters on 24 February 2026. Find out more and sign up on this page.

Advent Retreats

Rediscovering Wonder, from 28 November

This series of Advent Reflections from Heart in Pilgrimage is an invitation to rediscover wonder and what it has to teach us: to be open to possibilities, not be afraid to ask questions, to live with everyday mysteries and be willing to accept unexpected gifts… and to reconnect with the God of surprises.

There is a new reflection to listen to each week along with a selection of other material to read and ponder during the week. The reflections draw on poetry, art, music, Scripture and other wisdom writing. All the printed material (including transcripts of the audio reflections) is available in an A5 size booklet — if you would like to receive this, please select this option when you book.

Cost: £25 or £30 with printed booklet. Get all the details on the Heart of Pilgrimage website.

Star of Wonder, Quiet Day, 29 November

Location: St Columba's by the Castle, Edinburgh, 10am to 3:30pm

The coming of Christ in the world was heralded by a star, a pin-prick of light in a dark sky, so easy to miss. Sometimes, to catch the good news, we need to stop, stand still, look up and wonder. As Advent

begins, this Quiet Day is an opportunity to pause amid the busyness of life and notice the small signs which invite us in to new possibilities. It’s a chance to revisit familiar stories, perhaps noticing new things, and spend time with those who wondered at the Wonders of God, large and small, which were revealed to them. Run by Susan Mansfield from Heart in Pilgrimage.

Cost: £35 or £25 concession (or pay what you can). Get all the details on the Heart in Pilgrimage website.

Holy Trinity, Haddington's Lantern Group are holding a morning of pre-Advent reflection along the theme of 'Gifts Past, and Gifts to Come'. You can either attend in person (on 29 November) or online (the following Saturday, 6 December). For more information, email Janet McKinnell:
[email protected].

The London Jesuit Centre's online Advent Retreat in Daily Life is a rich, prayerful experience that runs over a week, from the opening session at 30 November at 7pm to 5 December at 7pm (the closing session). During the week you meet daily on Zoom with a trained retreat guide and have the chance to join an online workshop each evening. There are online resources, too, to help you pray at home. Find out more and sign up.

The Ignatian Spirituality Centre in Glasgow will be releasing a set of material for daily prayer during Advent, including a picture to ponder, music, scripture and a reflection. Find out more here, and see a sample day (30 November) here.

This Advent season, learn to cultivate a contemplative writing practice through guided stillness and deep listening. The Sacred Art of Contemplative Writing comprises a workshop plus email prompts and ideas, and a final gathering. The opening workshop, at St Michael and All Angels, Edinburgh, on 30 November from 1–3pm, offers:

A gentle introduction to contemplative writing practices rooted in sacred tradition.
Guided exercises in stillness and deep listening.
A step-by-step creation of your own poem in a supportive, private setting.
Optional sharing and meaningful connection with fellow participants.
Practical tools to continue your own writing journey.

After the workshop:

You'll receive weekly email prompts and exploration ideas to support your Advent journey
Take home everything you need to cultivate your own rhythm of contemplation and writing
Closing gathering: Sunday, 21 December.

This is a free event, run by Jenna Baer. Sign up with Eventbrite.

Other Retreats

Autumn and winter at The Bield at Blackruthven:

Multiday Silent Retreat
25–27 November. £65 for one day; £160 for two days (one night); £255 for three days (two nights).

Journey into Healing – November
29 November, 9:30am–4:45pm. £65.
Seasonal Quiet Garden Day
3 December, 10am–4pm. £65.

Reset Retreat: Beginning the Year with the Songbook of Jesus, led by Heather Holdsworth
9–11 January. £350 full board.
The Holy Risk of Empty Space
11–13 February. £250 full board.
Labyrinth of Creativity: A Sound and Arts Journey
20–22 February. £250 full board.
Soul Care Poetry
25–27 February. £350 full board.

For more information, visit The Bield's website.

The next few months at Abernethy, Kilmalieu:

Winter Work Weekend
16–19 January, from £175.
Individually Guided Retreat
23–27 January, from £360.
What Next, Lord? Discerning Your Next Steps
16–22 March, from £480.

The next few months at Whitchester Christian Retreat Centre:

New Year Houseparty
30 December to 3 January, £398.
Individually Guided Retreat: Promises of God
13–16 February 2026, £312.
The Psalms and CS Lewis
10–12 April 2026, £195.

You can find more than 25 retreat venues that we have come across, or that have been used by members of the diocese, on our Retreat Venues page. There is also a map, so you can see at a glance where the listed retreat centres are based.

Other Events

A Winter Movement – Movement as a Means of Understanding

St Vincent's Chapel, Stockbridge, 1–5 December 2025

You are invited to a winter journey, starting in the underground courtyard of St Vincent’s Village Church, then entering through a portal into the undercroft of the St Vincent’s Chapel, in which you will embark on a circular journey of an art installation/ exhibition/ performance piece, through a series of zones (stations). At the end of the journey, you will be able to spend time in the spaces, exploring your own route through the space. The exhibition follows a five-year creative research journey, of Marcus Russell Slater, who has brought together studies in arts, divinity and adult education. Find out more and book tickets here.

Christian Aid's Prayers for Peace in the Middle East continue online on the 24th of the month. On 24 November the speaker is Roisin Lawrence, an Ecumenical Accompanier, who has recently returned from the West Bank with the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). Roisin will share first-hand reflections from her recent time in the region focusing particularly on access to education for young Palestinians. Sign up here.

Have You Tried?

In this section, we share a resource that might help you explore, learn, or grow in your faith: it could be a book, a podcast, an email subscription, or something else!

At the top of this newsletter we talked about the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence that runs until 10 December. If you want to express your opposition to gender-based violence during the rest of the year, why not try participating in Thursdays in Black? This is an initiative by the World Council of Churches, and it is supported by the SEC, which encouraged those attending its Synod in June 2025 to wear black on the Thursday of Synod.

In the words of the World Council of Churches: "The campaign is simple but profound. Wear black on Thursdays. Wear a pin to declare you are part of the global movement resisting attitudes and practices that permit rape and violence. Show your respect for women who are resilient in the face of injustice and violence. Encourage others to join you."

Homepage – Outlines what Adventures in Faith is, with links to other landing pages.

Newsletter – Links to all previous newsletters and to sign-up for emails.

Calendar – Events happening across the Diocese, in congregations and partner organisations.

Courses – A list of courses & retreats from across the UK: something for everyone!

Awareness – Awareness days that link in with our faith and Marks of Mission.

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Revd Fiona (Fee) Reynolds, Advisor for Christian Life
0131 346 9089, [email protected]

Cathy Ballantine, Interim Admin Assistant (M&M)
0131 346 9085, [email protected]

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