Children’s Sacramental Preparation: Registration Open!
Registration is now open for sacramental preparation classes for First Reconciliation (P3), First Holy Communion (P4) and Confirmation (P7). Catechetical preparation will be provided both at St Mary’s Primary School and on Sundays at St. Andrew’s, Ravelston. To register online, visit the following links:
First Reconciliation (P3 and above): https://www.stmaryscathedral.co.uk/sacrament-of-first-reconciliation
First Holy Communion (P4 and above): https://www.stmaryscathedral.co.uk/first-communion
Confirmation (P7 and above): https://www.stmaryscathedral.co.uk/sacrament-of-confirmation
First Reconciliation class starts on Sunday 9th October 2022, First Holy Communion class starts on Sunday 26 February 2023 and Confirmation class starts on 29 January 2023. Please spread the word!
Young Adults: “I believe in God, Father and Creator...”
It was great to see so many of you last week at our Young Adults Group! This week, on Tuesday, 20 September, we will continue our series on The Creed with a presentation on “I believe in God, Father and Creator of Heaven & Earth.” As usual, we meet at 63 York Place at 7pm for teas/coffees followed by the talk at 7:30pm and a short group discussion. The evening concludes with Night Prayer and the chance to meet up for a drink. See you there!
Friends of the Cathedral
Melanie McDonagh to speak on “Famous Catholic Converts” on Friday, 14th October
We are delighted that Melanie McDonagh, the art critic of The Evening Standard and Spectator columnist, is coming to speak to the Friends of St Mary's Cathedral on Friday, 14th October in Coffee Saints at 7.30pm. Friends who wish to attend this event need to RSVP to ppccathedral@stmaryscathedral.co.uk
This event is free for Friends of St Mary’s Cathedral. Join today at https://www.stmaryscathedral.co.uk/friends to attend this and other events in our super autumn/winter 2022 programme. By joining, you will be helping to ensure the future of our Cathedral and of our community. You will also receive Crux, the new Cathedral magazine, straight to your door.
Many thanks to Sr Mary Pierre, RSM, Sr Miriam Fidelis, RSM and Sr Anna Marie, RSM who gave a super presentation this week on the parish’s Pilgrimage to the Holy Land. It was wonderful to see so many people there!
Over Sixties Club: Royal Yacht Britannia Visit and More!
Tuesday 20th September, Coffee Afternoon at Coffee Saints 2.30pm - 4pm
Wednesday 21st September, Visit to Royal Yacht Britannia at Ocean Terminal. Meet up at Costa Coffee in Ocean Terminal (ground floor) at 2.30pm. Places are limited, please pre-book this visit by calling Graham on 07568 202546.
Thursday 22nd September, Visit to New Coffee Saints at Grassmarket Community Project. Meet there at 2.30pm 86 Candlemaker Row. No booking required. If directions needed, contact Graham on 07568 202546.
Coming up later this month:
Cinema Trip - Wednesday 28th September, programme TBC
IT Clinic - Thursday 29th September 11.30 - 1pm at Coffee Saints
Book Club - Thursday 29th September 2.30 - 4pm at Coffee Saints
Calling All Singers: Open Rehearsal of 9am Sunday Choir 28th September
The 9am Sunday choir is looking for new members. If you are interested in joining this friendly group, or if you are simply curious about what goes on behind the scenes, you are warmly invited to an open rehearsal on Wednesday 28 September at 7:30pm in the Cathedral. Why not come along and give it a try?
Volunteers Needed!
Cathedral Flower Arranging Team
As we hope you have noticed, we always have a beautiful display of flowers in the Cathedral. These are prepared by wonderful teams of volunteers who take it in turn to meet on a Friday to arrange the flowers in preparation for the weekend Masses. To ease the burden of the current volunteers and to cover holidays/other absences, we are looking to recruit more volunteers to join our teams. There are currently four teams, who meet either mid-morning/early afternoon on a Friday and each team is led by an experienced volunteer, so lack of experience is not a barrier! Can you help? If you would like to join a team of flower arrangers, or find out more, please contact cathedralhouse@stmaryscathedral.co.uk or 0131 556 1798.
Cathedral Cleaning Team
Are you able to help clean our lovely Cathedral? The Cathedral cleaning team meet every Wednesday afternoon between 2pm – 4pm to clean the church. We are seeking to recruit more volunteers to join the group with a view to easing the burden of the current volunteers and to cover holidays/other absences. If you cannot attend every week, helping once or twice per month would be greatly appreciated. If you would like to join the group, or find out more, please contact or find out more, please contact cathedralhouse@stmaryscathedral.co.uk or 0131 556 1798.
Many Options Available to Support St. Mary’s Cathedral Parish
We are very grateful to all our parishioners who generously donate to help St. Mary’s Cathedral parish. We have a variety of options available for supporting the parish:
Contactless: We have two contactless donation devices in the Cathedral, which you may prefer to use instead of handling notes and loose change.
Gift Aid: Gift Aid is another way of raising money for the parish. It is a government-led initiative whereby UK taxpayers may register for Gift Aid with the Cathedral and/or with St Andrew’s such that the government will give an additional 25% of the value of donations made during the year to the charity, at no additional cost to the donor. Many of you are already registered, but if not, do contact our finance officer, Caroline, on finance@stmaryscathedral.co.uk if you are interested.
Online: The Cathedral website also has a ‘donate’ button on our website menu (to see the menu, click on the three lines in the top right corner of the main page) which has the added advantage of allowing you to ‘Gift Aid’ any donations you make at the time that you make them.
Become a Friend of the Cathedral: You can find more details about how to become a Friend by going to our website https://www.stmaryscathedral.co.uk/friends
Other: We have a page on the ‘easyfundraising’ website. www.easyfundraising.org.uk is a website through which you can shop at various retailers online while simultaneously raising a small percentage for your chosen charity at no additional cost to you! By registering as a supporter of a particular charity (we are listed as St Mary’s Metropolitan Cathedral), you can then search for your chosen retailer and, if listed, open their website and shop as normal. With Christmas just around the corner, many retailers are offering ‘double-donations’, increasing their usual percentage donation to the selected charity.
A big Thank You….!
….to all who gave so generously of their time and effort for our Parish BBQ at St Andrew’s, Ravelston last Sunday, and particularly to our amazing grill cooks and all our wonderful booth and games volunteers! It was a wonderful day for our parish community! We are already looking forward to next years’ barbeque!
Altar Servers Training Next Sunday
A training session will be held for all altar servers - new and old alike - before Mass next Sunday 25th September at St Andrew's, Ravelston. If you would like to join the servers and have made your First Holy Communion, then please come to the church for 9:30am for a session to fit you with an alb and to learn the ropes. Thanks to all our servers and we look forward to welcoming new members, too!
‘St. Andrew’s Talks’: First Monday of the Month Talks Series
From Monday 3rd October, you are invited to a series of talks in the Ravelston Parish Rooms. The talks, on the first Monday of every month, will start at 6.45pm and be followed by tea and coffee and a chance to discuss the subject presented. Keep an eye on the newsletter for more information and put those dates in your diary!
Parish Community and Social Committee Volunteers Needed
Do have some suggestions to share for parish community activities and are willing to volunteer to help get them going? Following Fr Robert's request for Community and Social Committee volunteers last Sunday, please do get in touch with Fr Robert frrobert.taylor@staned.org.uk Cathedral Office or any member of the Parish Council. We look forward to hearing from you!
Day for Readers and Those Wishing to Reflect on the Gospel of St. John
Do you read the Word of God at Mass? A Day for Readers takes place at The Gillis Centre, 100 Strathearn Road, Edinburgh, 11am – 3pm on Saturday 8 October. It is also for anyone who wants to come and reflect on the Gospel of St John. Fr Andrew Garden of St David’s in Dalkeith will be the main speaker and there will be practical sessions. The day concludes with Mass at 2:15pm. A light lunch and refreshments will be available. Register at https://bit.ly/readersevent
Edinburgh Jesuit Centre: ‘An ever more united Christian voice in the land’
Archbishop Leo Cushley speaks on the recent landmark commitment of friendship and unity between the Catholic Church in Scotland and the Church of Scotland (the St Margaret Declaration). This event takes place in-person and online at Sacred Heart Church, 28 Lauriston Street, Edinburgh on Wednesday 21 September at 7pm. Details at edinburghjesuit.org.uk/ejc
Craig Lodge: Spirit & Truth Weekend, 30 September to 2 October
Craig Lodge is delighted to announce its Spirit & Truth weekend from 30 September to 2 October. Led by Joseph and Rosemary Black, this weekend will ignite a desire for encountering the Lord through worship. Joseph and Rosemary are involved in ministries across the UK, such as Youth 2000 and Stronghold. To register, visit https://www.craiglodge.org/events/spirit-truth Craig Lodge, Dalmally, Argyll, Scotland, UK, PA33 1AR, T: +44(0)1838 200216, mail@craiglodge.org
Praying for Life: 40 Days for Life Edinburgh
Pray for an end to abortion with 40 Days for Life between 28th September and 6th November on the public right-of-way outside the Chalmers Sexual Health Centre, Chalmers Street, Edinburgh. For more information, please contact edinburgh40days@gmail.com or visit http://www.40daysforlife.com/Edinburgh
Edinburgh Jesuit Centre: Faith & Politics
This term, the Edinburgh Jesuit Centre is running a series of conversations with people whose work combines faith and politics. On Wednesday 28 September at 7pm, Fr Adrian Porter SJ will be in conversation with Alistair Dutton, Chief Executive of SCIAF. In-person and online. Details at https://edinburghjesuit.org.uk/ejc
Carpet Bowling and Scrabble at Broughton St. Mary’s
Broughton St Mary’s Parish Church, 12 Bellevue Cres, Edinburgh EH3 6NE, has carpet bowling and Scrabble that meets every Wednesday 2-4pm from 5th October until April. Would you like to join us? Or just come along to have a cup of tea, a biscuit & blether. The Scrabble group is small and friendly and would be delighted to have your company. For information, call Margaret Davidson 0131 258 1244.
And finally…Visit Coffee Saints Café Today!
Our own Coffee Saints café is social enterprise partnership between the Cathedral and the Grassmarket Community Project. This means that every time you make a purchase at Coffee Saints you support some of Edinburgh’s most vulnerable people. Please continue to spread the word about Coffee Saints café, in which all profits go to charity! Browse the full menu at https://www.coffeesaints.co.uk/ Follow on Facebook (Coffee Saints) and Twitter @coffeesaints! The café is open 7 days a week 9:00am-4:00pm!