preview

Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

Adventures in Faith
May 2026

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

News and Highlights

Our Advisor for Christian Life, Revd Fee Reynolds, was at St Mary’s Cathedral on Saturday 9 May and found herself inspired and encouraged by a busy day. In one 24-hour period, the following events were held, all dovetailing together into hopeful community:

Friends of St Mary’s Annual Open Day
Each Child a Light Exhibition and Launch
The Provincial Youth Mid-Exam Chill
Active Travel Active Hope.

A selection of photographs from the day are below. For the full story and more pictures, see the article on our website.

Installation of Bishop Dagmar: Livestream Link

Saturday 30 May 2026 at 11am

If you have been unable to secure a ticket to +Dagmar's Installation service, you are able to watch online via St Mary's Cathedral's YouTube channel and the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/live/seA5ThEpitI

Bishop's Lent Appeal 2026.

There is still time to make a donation for the Bishop's Lent Appeal in support of Aberlour. Speak to your treasurer or donate directly online.

Find out more on our website.

Travelling Towards Pentecost

Our Lent to Pentecost resources page now includes ideas and resources to take you all the way through to Pentecost Sunday on 24 May. Access the full list of resources here.

Thy Kingdom Come: 14 to 24 May

gif-c2-bd9x9a-thy-kingdom-come-202-2026-05-11-123825

The theme of this year's Thy Kingdom Come, which runs from Ascension to Pentecost, is God With Us, looking at biblical stories from Ruth to the early church over the 11 days. There's a dedicated web page for this year’s TKC, and a resources page which includes this year's Novena, written by Archbishop Sarah Mullally, and Ten Daily Prayer Ideas. There also promises to be some great video content (preview above!) which you can access on the Thy Kingdom Come YouTube channel.

The Lord's Prayer in Finnish: our deadline is approaching!

A reminder that we, as a Diocese, pledged to learn the Lord's Prayer in Finnish by Pentecost!

Find the text and video on our website.

Christian Aid Week: 10–16 May

It's Christian Aid Week! Many of our charges have marked, or are marking, Christian Aid Week with activities from quizzes to walks to pop-up cafés. Pictured are the volunteers at Livingston United Parish Church's Barn Community Café, who encouraged people to come along and sample their soup and bread on Monday and Friday of this week, with the proceeds going to the Beacon of Hope Urban Farm.

The Christian Aid website is full of stories and resources. Find out more about how you can help fight global poverty on the Christian Aid Week page.

Discipleship Matters

The Mission and Ministry Team are researching, reflecting, and wondering about discipleship in Scotland in the mid-21st century. As we do this, we thought we would share some snippets with you, to aid you in your ongoing adventure of life and faith. For the next few months, we will draw from a World Council of Churches report from 2018, which you can read for yourself at the beginning of this document.

For their Monday Study Group, St Columba's, Bathgate are reading Rowan Williams' Being Disciples: Essentials of the Christian Life over six weeks. We asked the Rector of St Columba's, the Revd Rosie Addis, Rector, why the study group chose this book:

"It’s an accessible book by a writer in whom we have confidence. We were seeing that people were hungry for ways in which to develop their discipleship. And it’s useful to be able to chat together as we work out what it means to be Christians here and now."

If you would like to borrow Being Disciples, we have a copy in the diocesan office. Email [email protected] and we'll put it aside for you.

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. AND check out our Events Calendar for something local that might take your fancy!

beHeld: Youth & Children’s Ministry Training Days

In 2026, all involved in youth and children's ministry are invited to a fresh series of training days at Ps & Gs Church called 'beHeld'. The next is on 23 May (future dates are 26 September, 28 November). Each event will be on a Saturday morning, 9am–1pm, with light refreshments, worship, and the chance to hear from experts on key subjects.

Ps & Gs have a video on their Facebook page that gives you a taste of what a beHeld session is like.

beHeld costs £15 per session, but the diocese will cover the cost of one ticket per charge. Just email us at [email protected]

with your name and charge, and we'll book you in for 23 May.

Sarum College regularly offer short and longer courses online. Here are some upcoming:

🔹Deeper, Rooted, Lasting: Your Church's Ministry to Parents and Carers, Wed 20 May, 10am–1pm, online, £40.
🔹English Mystics: Evelyn Underhill, Mon 25 May, 7:30–9pm, online, £20.
🔹Taster: PG Study in Christian Spirituality, Mon 1 Jun, 7–8pm, online, free.
🔹Faces of Metanoia: Francis, Clare, Dorothy Day, Oscar Romero, Weds from 3 Jun, 7:30–9pm, online, £90.
🔹Come and See ... An Introduction to Further Study in Theology, Ministry and Mission, Wed 3 Jun, 7:30–9pm, online, free.
🔹Parenting for Faith: Five Key Tools, Thurs 11 and 18 Jun, 10am–1pm, online, £70.

Further information and booking.

Edinburgh Festival of the Sacred Arts takes place from 16–22 August, and this year there will be lots of opportunities to explore the sacred spaces within the diocese's Edinburgh churches – from the beautiful murals at St James, Goldenacre to the stillness of Old Saint Paul's.

Find out more and book tickets.

Retreats

"I Will Give You Rest" Summer Retreat in Daily Life. Starts 18 May!

This Retreat in Daily Life from the Epiphany Group, from 18 May to 15 June, is an opportunity to take some time out of our often busy lives to pray and to listen to God. The opening and closing sessions are online, and participants are encouraged in the intervening weeks to meet weekly with a prayer guide. Suggested contribution: £45/£25. Find out more.

The Bield at Blackruthven upcoming retreats:
🔹Silent Retreat Day: 2 June, £70.
🔹Enneagram: Going Deeper: 13 June, £75.
🔹Journey Into Healing: 27 June, £75.
🔹Finding Home: Stories of Journeys Taken, Interrupted or Longed For: 9–11 July, £375.
🔹Seasonal Quiet Day: 15 July, £75.
🔹Family Day of Play and Discovery: 11 August, £75 per adult with up to two children.
🔹Stillness and Stitching: 19 August, £75.

Abernethy Kilmalieu upcoming events:
🔹Meeting God in Creation, 1–5 June, from £480.
🔹Deep Dive with Jonah, 12–15 June, from £360.
🔹Wild Writing: Discovering Your Inner Writer, Exploring Nature and Going Deeper in Faith
13–17 July, from £480.
🔹Celtic Wisdom for the 21st Century, 27–31 July, from £480.
🔹Introduction to Silence
7–10 August, from £360.
🔹'What Next, Lord?' Discerning Your Next Steps, 24–28 August, from £480.

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.

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!

Talking Faith Podcast

At the beginning of May, two of our clergy, Fr Pip Blackledge of Holy Trinity, Melrose and Rev Lesley Penny of St Peter's Galashiels and St John's, Selkirk, launched a new podcast, Talking Faith. ITV News Borders featured it on Wednesday 13 May (pictured – you can catch the story here at 11 mins 30 seconds).

Talking Faith features honest discussions between two clergy from very different Christian backgrounds about faith, doubt and God. You can catch Pip and Lesley's thoughts on such important Christian themes as the Resurrection, as well as some shorter reaction videos, at the links below:

Podcast: https://rss.com/podcasts/talking-faith/

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@TalkingFaithPod

Adventures in Faith: All Day Every Day!

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.

😃 We hope you have enjoyed exploring this Adventures in Faith newsletter.

🔼 Check out the AiF webpages via the menu above.

📧 Please forward this email to congregational friends, who can sign-up using the button below.

👈 Share the QR code via church magazines, noticeboards, pew-sheets, etc.

👇 Check out our other newsletters via buttons below.

Sign up for Adventures in Faith!

The Communicant

Youth and Children

Do you follow Edinburgh Diocese on social media?

We appreciate every look, like and share!

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]

If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here.