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Adventures in Faith
June 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

Catch Up with Bishop Dagmar's Installation

If you've not managed to catch up with Bishop Dagmar's Installation as Bishop of Edinburgh, you can do so in a number of ways:

▶ Video of the Installation on St Mary's Cathedral YouTube Channel

▶ Installation in 60 Seconds on the SEC Facebook page

▶ Posts with a variety of pictures on the SEC and diocesan Facebook pages

▶ Articles on the diocesan website with story and pictures

▶ A few pictures below!

Goodbye, Fee!

This week the diocesan office said a sad goodbye to Revd Fiona (Fee) Reynolds as she left to prepare for her new position as priest-in-charge of St Peter's, Peebles and St Andrew's, Innerleithen.

During Fee’s more than three years as Advisor for Christian Life, our DMMC offer has grown and flourished, with regular events, newsletters and other ready support for our clergy, lay and congregation members of all ages. In the office we will miss her greatly for so many reasons, including her generous crochet gifts (example pictured) and her knowledge of how absolutely everything works!

Synod 2026: Read all about it!

The Revd Aaron Moffat-Jackman, chair of the Legacy of Slavery Working Group, Day 2. Photo: Scottish Episcopal Church

The 2026 General Synod, held at Stirling Court Hotel from 11 to 13 June, was covered day by day on the SEC website. Read the daily reports:

Day 1: Provincial strategy vision shared

Day 2: Legacy of slavery explored

Day 3: Proposal to elect designated youth members wins backing

You can also read about the address given by the Rt Revd Anthony Poggo, Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, on Day 3, in a separate article.

The SEC Facebook page links to all these articles and includes extra photos and videos.

Discipleship Matters

The Mission and Ministry Team are researching, reflecting, and wondering about discipleship in Scotland in the 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.

This time we’re sharing resources, and one video in particular, from the Center for Discipleship and Renewal (Cedar), part of the US Episcopal Church’s Forward Movement. Cedar is relatively new but promises to share ‘courses, videos, conferences, webinars, podcasts, and more’ about discipleship.

On the Cedar resources page there is a selection of videos, along with study guides, on Defining Discipleship. The first video, from Dr Scott MacDougall, ‘Thinking Theologically about Discipleship’, is particularly useful. In the video, discipleship is defined as ‘placing ourselves at the disposal of the Triune God we find in Jesus of Nazareth in the power of the Holy Spirit; proclaiming the nearness of the Kingdom of God; and orienting those around us to love of God and love of neighbor.’

Access the video here and the notes here; access the Cedar resources page 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. AND check out our Events Calendar for something local that might take your fancy!

Whole Life Nights at Ps & Gs Church

This autumn, Ps & Gs are starting a 24-week programme called Whole Life Nights for people who want to deepen their relationship with God. Whether you have been a Christian for a few months or many years, this is designed to strengthen your biblical understanding and guide you through some of the complex issues of our time. It’s also a space where you can build friendships with others on the same path. Whole Life Nights will take place on Thursday evenings from 7–9pm. More information and registration here.

Godly Play in Summer and Autumn

▶ Godly Play at the Fringe, 10–13 August, Salvation Army at the Pleasance: The Salvation Army’s City Corps is right in the heart of the Edinburgh Fringe venues. Among all the buzz, the comedy, drama and music, they are offering eight Godly Play sessions. Come along and hear stories, wonder, respond and feast. The sessions start at 11am and 2pm.

▶ Storyteller and Door Person Accredited Training, 13–15 October, Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Queen’s Terrace, St Andrews KY16 9QF: This training takes an immersive, hands-on approach, helping participants to understand the process and the theory of Godly Play.

Each day starts at 8:30am and finishes at 6:30pm (5pm on the Thursday). The course fee is £315, which includes training, handbook, lunch, morning and afternoon refreshments. Discounts are available for early bookings.

Find out more about Godly Play events here.

Festival at St Mary's Cathedral

St Mary's Cathedral has released its Festival programme, which includes:

🔹Traditional Japanese Theatre Music

🔹Song School Tours: a rare opportunity to see one of Edinburgh's best-kept secrets!

🔹Choir Concert: Parry's Songs of Farewell and Vaughan Williams' Mass in G minor

🔹Lunchtime Recitals at 1pm

🔹Piano Afternoons, with pianists from across Europe, including Susan Tomes

🔹Afternoon Originals, a chance to hear new music of all kinds.

Get the full line-up here.

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.

Epiphany Group

The Spiritual Conversation Formation Programme builds on the foundation course Growth in Prayer and Reflective Living (which runs again from November, see below) and develops the disposition and skills involved in listening attentively to God, ourselves and others. It also explores how Ignatian discernment helps us to seek out life-giving choices for ourselves and those we encounter. It is likely to benefit those involved in a wide range of pastoral situations. For some, this formation may lead on to training in spiritual accompaniment/direction.

The course contains two major components:

Regular Tuesday evening sessions online on Zoom, starting 22 September with the last session 4 May 2027.
Five days in person (Friday and Saturdays) – all of which will be at Christ Church, Morningside.

Cost: £840.

Retreats

Heart in Pilgrimage has released a new retreat package for summer 2026 entitled A River Runs Through It: Insights from the river for the journey of faith. Rivers flow through Scripture, turning the desert into fertile ground, welling up in springs of living water. Rivers map our lives, sometimes gently meandering, at other times tossed over perilous rapids. This retreat draws on Scripture and other writing, images, poetry and the natural world to deepen our understanding of ourselves and our journeys, and our relationship to the Source of all life. This is a complete retreat package to use in whatever way is helpful to you. Order now for £30 (£35 with printed booklet):

https://heartinpilgrimage.org.uk/a-river-runs-through-it/

The Bield at Blackruthven upcoming retreats:
🔹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:
🔹Wild Writing: Discovering Your Inner Writer, Exploring Nature and Going Deeper in Faith
13–17 July, from £480.
🔹Celtic Wisdom for the 21st Century with Scott Brennan, 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.

🔹Ardnamurchan Adventure, 3–7 September, from £408.

Whitchester Christian Centre:

🔹Personal Retreat, 18 to 22 August, price dependent on length of stay.
🔹Discovering the Gifts of Sacred Wandering,
25 to 27 September, £230.

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.

Talking Faith continues...

This podcast with Revd Pip Blackledge and Revd Lesley Penny, SEC priests in the Borders, is well worth keeping up with. In the latest episode, 'Why on earth did you want to be a priest?', Pip and Lesley discuss how they came to faith and to a decision to seek ordination. This Sunday, an interview with the Primus is promised. You can catch Talking Faith here: https://www.youtube.com/@TalkingFaithPod

or here: rss.com/podcasts/talking-faith

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!

The SEC's new website

The SEC has launched a bright, inviting new website which is well worth exploring. One highlight for your adventures in faith is the Daily Prayer page, from which you can easily access the Daily Offices.

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.

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Cathy Ballantine, Communications & Support Officer

0131 346 9085, [email protected]

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