We are excited to bring this exhibition to Scotland for only the 2nd time in its history. Please look at the notice to see when it is available to see and come along with some friends.
We hope to see you here.
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Although it has been stolidly nestling between Victorian buildings for nearly 200 years, St. Mark’s Unitarian Church in Castle Terrace, the only Unitarian church in Edinburgh, is one of the city’s best-kept secrets (writes MARTYN BAGULEY).
Unitarianism isn’t a New Age religion – there have been Unitarian congregations in Edinburgh since 1776 – but the meaning of the name has changed with time.
Originally used to affirm the oneness of God as opposed to the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, it has evolved to represent a ‘unifying’ home for all of us who are on different spiritual journeys, from Christians to atheists.
Whilst drawing on the inspiration of Christianity and other religions, philosophies and nature, it encourages members to be open-minded and develop their own spiritual paths.
The welcome you will receive on arriving and the peaceful atmosphere of the church sanctuary are not unique to St. Mark’s, but you will find that aspects of the service are. Led by either the resident minister, The Rev. Janine Sim, a visiting minister or lay preacher, there may, or may not, be readings from the Bible, but there will be thought-provoking readings from secular works and references made to other religions.
There will be moments for meditation or prayer, a sermon on the theme of the service – which can be found up to 3 days before the service by Googling https://www.edinburgh-unitarians.org.uk – musical interludes when a talented pianist plays the superb Weinbach grand piano (worth coming just for that!) and probably three hymns.
Some, but not all, of the hymn tunes may be familiar to you, but the words may not be. Don’t worry: you can sit or stand and just quietly reflect on the meaningful words.
After the service you can enjoy light refreshments in the adjacent church hall where you will probably meet and make friends with people from not only Edinburgh but also from many other places in Britain and the world.
Who knows – you make want to come again – and again.
YESTERDAY (Sunday 14th December), Scotland’s capital city hosted the 18th annual Scottish National Chanukah Celebration, organised by Chabad of Edinburgh. St Andrew Square was aglow as hundreds gathered for the joyous celebration, both from the Jewish community and wider Scottish society, but against the backdrop of the devastating antisemitic attack on a similar Chanukah celebration in Sydney, Australia.
Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, and Minister for Higher and Further Education, shared his heartfelt greetings for the holiday and a message of solidarity with Scotland’s Jewish community, before ascending on a cherry picker to light the shamash (lead candle) of Scotland’s Tallest Menorah – an iconic candelabra symbolizing hope and resilience.
Rabbi Pinny Weinman of Chabad of Edinburgh and members of Edinburgh’s Jewish community shared their reflections on the themes of the holiday and their relevance to current events.
Following the lighting ceremony, attendees gathered in a large marquee set up next to the Menorah to enjoy traditional Chanukah delicacies, including latkes and sufganiyot (doughnuts), amidst an atmosphere of holiday cheer and resilience.
Rabbi Pinny Weinman of Chabad of Edinburgh, commented about the event: “Hanukkah is a celebration of light, faith, and perseverance — a time when we remember that even a small flame can dispel great darkness.
“In light of the tragic events in Sydney that have shaken the Jewish community and so many others around the world, this message feels especially powerful. Here in Scotland, the Scottish National Hanukkah Celebration brings together people from all walks of life to stand united, to reject hatred, and to reaffirm our shared values of dignity, compassion, and peace.
“Especially in challenging times, the Menorah’s light reminds us that goodness, kindness, and community spirit will always prevail. We are proud to celebrate this beautiful festival in the heart of Edinburgh, together with the entire community.”
Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, and Minister for Higher and Further Education, said at the event: “We meet in difficult circumstances tonight after the horrific antisemitic attack in Sydney and our thoughts are with all of those affected directly and indirectly; and today, like so many people across our city, our country and the world, our thoughts will be with you, the Jewish community, at this time.
“As the candles of the Menorah are lit here tonight, we will mark the festival of light as an enduring symbol and commitment to hope, to resilience and the faith that Chanukah represents.
“The commitment and contribution of the Jewish community in Scotland lasts for centuries, and I know as a constituency MSP how much you contribute to the life of this city and how much this community has contributed to our story.
“Your government stands with you in celebrating your culture and your religion and particularly in solidarity with you tonight.
“As we prepare to light the Menorah, let us remember what those flames represent – they are more than candles, they are beacons of hope, particularly today and the eight days ahead.
“They remind us that even in the darkest times, light can and will endure. They call us to be courageous, to stand up for what is right and against antisemitism and discrimination, to nurture the bonds that unite us in common humanity.
“On behalf of the Scottish Government and as one of your local MSPs, I wish all of you here and the Jewish community across Scotland a joyful Chanukah. May this festival bring warmth and comfort to your homes and peace to your hearts in these difficult times and light to our shared future together.”
This year’s celebration was made possible thanks to the generous support of key partners, including the Scottish Government, the City of Edinburgh Council, Police Scotland, Essential Edinburgh, and Unique Scotland.
THE Gandhian Peace Society (GPS) has shared ‘an urgent and transformative development’ – the recent publication of their new report, Hinduphobia in Scotland: Understanding, Addressing, and Overcoming Prejudice:
As a charity rooted in Mahatma Gandhi’s principles of non-violence, GPS is proud to announce that this pioneering study has been presented to the Scottish Parliament’s Cross-Party Group on Challenging Racial and Religious Prejudice of Hinduphobia in the UK (writes DHRUVA KUMAR, General Secretary of Gandhian Peace Society).
Our report, presented to the CPG on 23 January 2024 and discussed in a meeting chaired by Foysol Choudhury MSP and convened by Professor Peter Hopkins, blends rigorous statistical data with firsthand accounts from Scotland’s Hindu population—approximately 0.3% of the country’s 5.4 million residents.
The findings reveal a troubling rise in prejudice and systemic barriers:
These findings, compiled over eight months of collaboration with academics, interfaith leaders, and community members, underscore the urgent need for action. Professor Hopkins praised the report’s evidence-based approach, while Peter lauded GPS for bringing Hinduphobia into public discourse.
Beyond documenting these challenges, our report proposes an actionable four-pillar strategy to address Hinduphobia:
As Dhruva Kumar, Sukhi Bains and Neil Lal, authors of the report, aptly stated: “This isn’t a Hindu issue alone. It’s about building a Scotland where diversity is protected.”
The significance of this report extends far beyond Scotland. It has sparked widespread dialogue, with coverage in over 110 media outlets worldwide, including ANI, Press Trust of India, HinduPost The Week, The Tribune, Business Standard, The Print and WashingtonDCDespatch, as well as prominent Asian platforms like Awaz FM.
Dhruva Kumar said: “Scotland has a long tradition of welcoming diversity. We must uphold those values by ensuring that no religious community faces marginalisation or discrimination.”
The full report is available for review here.
ARCHBISHOP of CANTERBURY JUSTIN WELBY HAS RESIGNED
His statement reads:
Having sought the gracious permission of His Majesty The King, I have decided to resign as Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Makin Review has exposed the long-maintained conspiracy of silence about the heinous abuses of John Smyth.
When I was informed in 2013 and told that police had been notified, I believed wrongly that an appropriate resolution would follow.
It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatising period between 2013 and 2024.
It is my duty to honour my Constitutional and church responsibilities, so exact timings will be decided once a review of necessary obligations has been completed, including those in England and in the Anglican Communion.
I hope this decision makes clear how seriously the Church of England understands the need for change and our profound commitment to creating a safer church. As I step down I do so in sorrow with all victims and survivors of abuse.
The last few days have renewed my long felt and profound sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures of the Church of England.
For nearly twelve years I have struggled to introduce improvements. It is for others to judge what has been done.
In the meantime, I will follow through on my commitment to meet victims. I will delegate all my other current responsibilities for safeguarding until the necessary risk assessment process is complete.
I ask everyone to keep my wife Caroline and my children in their prayers. They have been my most important support throughout my ministry, and I am eternally grateful for their sacrifice. Caroline led the spouses’ programme during the Lambeth Conference and has travelled tirelessly in areas of conflict supporting the most vulnerable, the women, and those who care for them locally.
I believe that stepping aside is in the best interests of the Church of England, which I dearly love and which I have been honoured to serve. I pray that this decision points us back towards the love that Jesus Christ has for every one of us.
For above all else, my deepest commitment is to the person of Jesus Christ, my saviour and my God; the bearer of the sins and burdens of the world, and the hope of every person.
Finding support
If you or anyone you are in contact with are affected by the publication of this report and want to talk to someone independently please call the Safe Spaces helpline on 0300 303 1056 or visit safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk.
Alternatively, you may wish to contact the diocesan safeguarding team in your area or the National Safeguarding Team at safeguarding@churchofengland.org.
There are also other support services available.
The Charity Commission has published a report of its long-running inquiry into Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain.
The inquiry opened in May 2014 to investigate the charity’s handling and oversight of safeguarding matters, including child protection advice provided to individual Jehovah’s Witness (JW) congregations.
This followed significant interaction between the Commission and the charity since October 2007, concerning the way in which safeguarding incidents or failures were handled within JW organisations and, specifically, the adequacy of the guidance that the charity provided to various JW congregations.
JW organisations reported to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (‘IICSA’) that a total of 67 allegations of child abuse were made between 2009 and 2019 against 67 individuals involved in JW congregations, whether as Elders, ministerial servants or otherwise.
During the course of the Commission’s interaction with the charity from 2007 onwards, including during the period of the inquiry, JW congregations have revised and updated their safeguarding policies on several occasions, and the Commission remains engaged with JW congregations on safeguarding matters through its ongoing interaction with the Kingdom Hall Trust (see below).
One key issue which emerged during the inquiry was the extent to which the charity itself remained responsible for ensuring children and vulnerable people are safe from harm within JW congregations.
Notwithstanding the charity having had an historic role in interacting with the Commission over JW safeguarding, the Commission’s report concludes that Watch Tower is no longer the body responsible for safeguarding within JW congregations, and therefore the inquiry can be closed.
It is the Commission’s view that following the merger of Kingdom Hall congregation charities with the Kingdom Hall Trust in March 2022 (‘KHT’) that KHT is now the body responsible for safeguarding congregation members. The Commission has opened a compliance case to work with KHT’s trustees to ensure that the safeguarding policies, guidance, and procedures of KHT provide a safe environment for beneficiaries within all JW congregations.
The Commission’s report is critical of the charity’s trustees’ conduct during the inquiry, expressing the view that on occasions the trustees were “not as straightforward or transparent as they should have been” in relation to JW child safeguarding responsibilities, and that during certain phases of the investigation, “the trustees’ communications were protracted, with the charity’s responses often failing to provide the information requested or sufficient clarity to satisfy the inquiry, giving rise to further questions.”
The inquiry noted that there was insufficient evidence to conclude that these behaviours were deliberate attempts to obstruct the inquiry.
The report also details that legal challenges brought by the charity, which sought to challenge some of the regulator’s decisions and orders, which partly explain the significant delays to the inquiry.
Helen Stephenson, chief executive of the Charity Commission said: We are clear that a charity must be a safe, trusted environment and that protecting people and safeguarding should be a governance priority for all charities, regardless of size, type or income.
“I am pleased that this long-running inquiry, which demonstrates the Commission’s resolve and determination to ensure that safeguarding policy issues are addressed comprehensively by charities, has now concluded.
“Our continuing regulatory compliance case involving the Kingdom Hall Trust aims to ensure that the KHT’s safeguarding policies and procedures protect congregation members and those that come into contact with KHT.”
The full inquiry report is available on GOV.UK.
More than one million young Catholics are expected to attend the World Youth Day event in Lisbon this week (2-6 August).
Stages and big screens have been set up for events across the city, with the Pope meeting officials at the National Palace in the historic neighbourhood of Belem, celebrating Mass in Jerónimos Monastery and then taking part in events throughout the week at locations including Cascais on the coast, the central Vasco da Gama Garden and on the Hill of Encounter at Edward VII Park, before the celebrations culminate with a Mass for World Youth Day beside the River Tagus on Sunday (6 August).
For more information, ideas and inspiration on visiting Lisbon, please go to www.visitlisboa.com.
The head of a Christian charity which fights global poverty has been elected the next Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
Rt Rev Sally Foster-Fulton, who has led Christian Aid in Scotland since 2016, will serve as the Kirk’s ambassador at home and abroad for the next 12 months.
The 59-year-old said she is “beyond humbled, inexpressibly honoured and more than a wee bit excited” to represent the Church in this role.
Mrs Foster-Fulton is looking forward to meeting and encouraging people involved in church work at local, national and international levels at a time of unprecedented challenge and opportunity.
She was passed the official ring and chain of office by the outgoing Moderator, Very Rev Dr Iain Greenshields.
Mrs Foster-Fulton said: “I am beyond humbled, inexpressibly honoured and more than a wee bit excited to be your Moderator.
“Thank you for your trust, your prayers and the commitment you share to be part of the body of Christ in this place.”
Mrs Foster-Fulton told the General Assembly that she has gone a “bit rogue” with her choice of official Moderator clothing but said there is a reason.
Mrs Foster-Fulton’s jacket was made by Stewart Christie & Co, bespoke specialist tailors in Edinburgh. It is based on the traditional moderatorial jacket but has been developed into a female cut.
It is made of an 18oz piper green barathea, a type of weave of cloth.
“It has felt like an extraordinary time in the life of the planet, the life of the country and the life of the Church of Scotland,” said the Moderator.
“Green is the liturgical colour for ‘ordinary time’ and it reminds us, throughout history, the world, the country, the Church, have experienced extraordinary challenges,” she added.
“And it has been the grit, the determination and the hopeful imagination of individuals and communities who have risen together to those challenges.
“Ordinary time is extraordinary and we know what is at stake – all we need to do is look around us.
“There is a South African phrase ‘Ubuntu’ – best translated ‘I am because you are’.
“The body of Christ has work to do – love to share, justice and equity to seek.
“When I look at you wonderful people, I see an audacious hope.
“So General Assembly, right reverend, let’s roll up our sleeves and bring it.”
Born and raised in South Carolina in the USA, Mrs Foster-Fulton is married to Rev Stuart Fulton, a fellow Church of Scotland minister who serves the parish of Newlands South Church in Glasgow.
The couple, who live in Glasgow, have two adult daughters, Alex and Gracie.
The new Moderator has experience working in parishes, hospital chaplaincy and was convener of the former Church and Society Council of the Church of Scotland from 2012-16.
Ordained as a Church of Scotland minister in 1999, Mrs Foster-Fulton’s first charge was Camelon Irving Parish Church in Falkirk where she spent four years.
The married couple took up the role of co-pastors for the PCUSA congregation in Seneca, South Carolina, and stayed for four years before returning to Scotland, the place that the Moderator Designate considers home.
In 2007, Mrs Foster-Fulton was appointed associate minister at Dunblane Cathedral where she served for 10 years before taking up her current role at Christian Aid.
She recently became a grandmother and she said her new role has “shifted her perspective and given new meaning” to her commitment to try and make the world a better place.
“There are hefty challenges facing the Church of Scotland, there are monumental challenges facing the world and the church is not exempt,” added the Moderator. “Across our global neighbourhood, we face a triple threat, ones that feed on each other – climate change, conflict and COVID.
“Together, they add pressure on well-being, a sense of home and culture, on finances and resources – and sadly unsurprising, it is the most vulnerable who suffer most.
“Being a living, breathing, reforming and loving body of Christ in this place continues to be the mission and ministry of the Church of Scotland.”
Dr Greenshields told the new Moderator that he recognised that this is a “proud moment” for her and her family. “You bring considerable and unique experience with you to this important role and calling,” he said.
“Your face and voice are well known to the General Assembly as you served as convener of the Church and Society Council and helped to advance the Church’s work on human rights, climate justice and support for people struggling with poverty in Scotland as well as overseas.
“You campaign relentlessly for what is right in Christ’s name.
“It is in your DNA to be a voice for those in greatest need in our world.
“It is a privilege to honour someone of such vigour and determination and faith should be chosen as the next Moderator of the General Assembly.
“May the Lord bless you in all that you seek to do to promote the cause of Christ.”
An Edinburgh man who was inspired to become an organ donor is urging people of faith to consider giving others the ultimate gift.
Muhammad Munir, 55, is of the Muslim faith and, despite the difference of opinion on organ donation in the Islamic community, he feels very passionately about the topic.
Mr Munir said: “My religion teaches me that looking after yourself and other people is our number one priority, and my heart says that there is no religion on earth where you wouldn’t want to save someone’s life.”
Organ donation has been debated extensively in pre-modern and contemporary times and some still believe that organ donation is impermissible in the Muslim faith.
Mr Munir continued: “I am of the Islamic faith and there are still some Muslims who believe that you should not become an organ donor after death due to the lack of knowledge and awareness on permissibility of organ donation – we need to raise more awareness!
“In Islam, we pray five times a day. However, our faith states you should look after your health and your body first.”
Mr Munir added: “I’ve had many discussions within my community with people who disagree with my decision to become an organ donor. I try to provide them with logical, scientific information and signpost them to the updated information by the Muslim scholars, but I don’t push them too much as you can only debate with someone who’s open to changing their mind.”
Mr Munir is a Peer Educator volunteer with Kidney Research UK and has been volunteering with the Organ Donation project for the past 5 years. The project focuses on raising awareness and educating the South Asian (Sikh, Hindu and Muslim) ethnic minority communities on organ donation.
Mr Munir, who is partially sighted and works for the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), also felt that it was very important to make his family aware of his decision to become an organ donor.
NHS Lothian supports all initiatives to raise awareness of organ donation and Caroline Gallier, Specialist Nurse in Organ Donation, NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “Families play a key role in organ and tissue donation and if you die in circumstances where you could be an organ donor, a specialist nurse would check the NHS Organ Donor Register to see if you had signed up.
“They would also speak to your family to ask them about whether you had expressed any more recent views and whether your faith would place any restrictions on donation.
“So, whatever your decision, it’s important your family know what you want.”
If you want to donate after your death, the best way to ensure your family know what you want and honour your decision is to have a conversation with them about it and register as a donor.
You can also record on the register whether your faith/belief is important and should be considered as part of the donation discussion, and you can consult your faith leader for further information.
You can find out more about organ and tissue donation and register your decision online at www.organdonation.scot or by calling 0300 123 23 23.
If you would like to learn more about an Islamic perspective on Organ Donation, please visit the following website here.
Don’t forget to register for Edinburgh InterFaith Association’s ‘Together For Our Planet‘, event On Wednesday 11th May – 7:30pm.
Following the wonderful Together for our Planet concert last November, what can we do to offer a faith perspective to Edinburgh Community Climate Forum?
Your opportunity to contribute as individuals and communities.
Keynote from Alastair McIntosh, Fellow of the Centre for Human Ecology and
author of Riders on the Storm – The Climate Crisis and the Survival of Being
Chaired by David Somervell, Trustee of Our Future Edinburgh
– partner with EVOC in Edinburgh’s Community Climate Forum
Wednesday 11th May – 7:30pm In person and livestreamed
