1 June 2005                Media Release on Bob Geldof’s 1 Million in Edinburgh

The Diocese of Edinburgh supports the work of the Make Poverty History campaign and continues to playing its part in working to highlight the issue of world poverty as it has done with Jubilee 2000.  The Diocese is encouraging its members to take part in the events on July 2nd in Edinburgh.  The Diocesan Justice, Peace and Creation network is publishing details of how to be involved on the day.  [Details on www.dioceseofedinburgh.org ]
Churches in the Diocese have been thoroughly involved for several months helping to prepare for the event.  We are, of course, concerned about the possibility of such massive numbers arriving in Edinburgh for the day and the strain it could put on the statutory and emergency services.
The Bishop of Edinburgh, Rt Revd Brian Smith said, “July 2nd is a very important day in the life of Edinburgh and for the issue of world poverty.  The Diocese of Edinburgh will continue to play its part in the work to alleviate poverty.  We hope that people will come and join the march and other events, mindful of major issues of poverty and justice in the world. We pray that it will be both a peaceful and effective event leading up to the G8 Summit.”

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21 April 2005              Press Release following the Election of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

The Bishop of Edinburgh, the Rt. Rev Brian Smith said,
“With Christians throughout the world, we offer our prayers for Pope Benedict XVI, duly elected by the College of Cardinals on Monday. We pray for him, and all those with whom he will now share in the exercise of leadership in the Roman Catholic Church.
We give thanks for the undoubted gifts of scholarship which he brings to that office, and we pray that in a divided world he will, by the power of the Holy Spirit, be a force for unity and reconciliation.
In Edinburgh, we look forward to welcoming Cardinal O’Brien back from Rome, and to our continuing work with him under this new leadership.

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3 April 2005             Press Release following the Death of His Holiness Pope John Paul II

The Bishop of Edinburgh, the Rt Rev Brian Smith, has written to Cardinal O’Brien to assure him that his prayers and those of the Diocese of Edinburgh would be with members of the Roman Catholic Communion at this time.
Bishop Brian Smith says: “I recall first meeting Pope John Paul during his pastoral visit to the Sudan in 1993 where I was struck both by the clarity of his thought and the courage of his strong prophetic voice in that difficult situation. At a general Papal audience in Rome earlier this year, I could see that same courage still present in his desire to fulfil all his duties and obligations as far as he was able, right to the end. His death is an event that will affect Christians throughout the world and not just members of the Roman Catholic Church”

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3 March 2005
Sri Lankan in Edinburgh to raise funds for orphaned victims of the Tsunami at Christ Church Morningside Coffee Morning

Dinusha Mendis a Sri Lankan, is organising a Coffee Morning with a Sri Lankan theme at Christ Church Morningside for Tsunami Relief on Saturday 19 March 2005 from 10.30am -2.30pm in the Christ Church Centre, Holy Corner Morningside.  It will be Sri Lankan event.
Although Dinusha Mendis’ immediate family in Sri Lanka survived the Tsunami she has been moved to help raise funds for the relief effort.  The money raised will go towards children who are orphaned or semi orphaned in the District of Batticoloa in Sri Lanka in a project monitored by the YWCA (Young Women’s Christian Association.)  So with the help of the congregation of Christ Church, Morningside (of which she is a member) this fund raising effort is being held.
Born and brought up in Colombo,  the Sri Lankan capital Dinusha came to the UK in 1994.  She is a lawyer, and is at present reading towards a Ph.D. In law at the University of Edinburgh.  She is married to Samira.
Dinusha Mendis says. “We were extremely relieved to know that our immediate families were OK, although it was almost impossible to avoid the news of the death of a loved one.  Now we want now to help survivors of families who were not so fortunate as ours.”
Elspeth Strachan, a member of the Ministry Team at Christ Church Morningside says, “ Christ Church is delighted to be part of this project.  We are looking forward to a fascinating day.  We would hope as many as possible would come along to learn about Sri Lanka, this project and help raise funds for this vital work.
Dinusha can be contacted on 07967 724053 for further details.

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23 February 2005        Bishop of Edinburgh expresses concern over the future of the Scottish Civic Forum

Scottish Civic Forum
The Bishop of Edinburgh, Rt Revd. Brian Smith has expressed his deep concern over the ending of the funding by the Scottish Executive to of the Scottish Civic Forum.   He supports the motion of Linda Fabiani, MSP to be debated on Thursday 24th February.
The Scottish Civic Forum has been an important part of the devolution settlement. The Scottish Episcopal Church was fully involved in the movement leading to the establishment of the Parliament, the Executive and the Forum. The loss of the Forum would signal a lack of commitment to the ideals and principles of devolution, in particular the commitment to the sharing of power. It is hoped that instead that funding should be increased and guaranteed.
The Diocese of Edinburgh has valued the Forum as a body which has enabled members of our church to come into discussion with other sectors of Scottish society and to seek consensus on difficult issues. No other body we know enables such dialogue at both national and local level.
The loss of the Forum and its network of contacts will not serve us well if we are truly concerned about encouraging active citizenship and connecting people with the Parliament and the issues of the day.
The Bishop of Edinburgh, Rt Revd. Brian Smith says, “Building a new democracy is not just about commissioning Parliament buildings but also about encouraging new ways of engaging the citizen. The Forum has been doing that and in the current climate of cynicism we cannot afford to dispense with any body offering solutions to voter disengagement.”
The Revd Donald Reid, the convener of the Diocese of Edinburgh’s Justice, Peace and Creation group says, “Why would the Executive turn their back on the Forum rather than support its further development? It smacks of power politics: taking out of the frame a body with the potential to bring people together and to offer alternatives to that which the main parties want.”
The Revd Donald Reid can be contacted on 0131 226 7757 or 07808 932 458

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10 February 2005                   The Bishop of Edinburgh has issued the following statement

I am interested to note that should Charles become King, Camilla will be known as Princess Consort. At this stage it is difficult to know what will be involved in executing this role, but the role of Prince Consort has been exercised with significant dignity over the years by Prince Philip and one would expect Camilla to be able to bring a like and appropriate dignity to the title she would be given.

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1 February 2005          East Lothian Provost to open Holy Trinity Haddington 'Trinity Centre'

The Provost of East Lothian, Pat O'Brien will formally open the newly refurbished Trinity Centre in Haddington on Friday 4th February at 1pm. The one hundred year old hall has been transformed by Edinburgh architects, Simpson and Brown at a cost of over £250,000 to provide state of the art accommodation for local and church groups.

The Rector of Holy Trinity, Haddington the Revd Andrew Bain said, "The whole project has been a collaboration between church and community. The building fulfils its purpose as a vibrant centre for community life."
The Centre has attracted funding from the Community Fund, BBC Children in Need, Leader Plus, East Lothian Council and other funding bodies.

The Bishop of Edinburgh, the Rt. Revd Brian Smith, said, " I am absolutely delighted to see the completion of this project. Many people have been working for many months and they deserve the thanks of all members of the church and the community."
The Trinity Centre will be dedicated by the Bishop of Edinburgh in a service on Sunday 6th February at 10.00am.

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27 October 2004               Bishop of Edinburgh’s Lecture on Belief launches new training initiative.

The Bishop of Edinburgh, the Rt. Revd Brian Smith, is to deliver a  lecture, ‘The Adventure of Faith: Believing in God in the 21st Century’ on Friday 5th November in at the Trinity Community Centre, Melrose at 7.30pm. 
(The lecture will be  repeated at St. John’s Princes Street, Edinburgh on Saturday 6th November at 7.30pm and St. Catherine’s, Bo’ness on Thursday 11th November at 7.30pm)
The lecture will launch ‘Adventures in Faith’, the new training programme for clergy and laity in the Diocese of Edinburgh. This new programme is the Diocesan response to the Scottish Episcopal Churches reports ‘New Century, New Directions' and ‘Journey of the Baptised’.

The Bishop of Edinburgh, the Rt. Revd Brian Smith, said “There is increasing interest in matters of faith and belief in Scotland.  Despite contrary voices, questions of God and spirituality are very much alive. Our new training programme, with these lectures, will seek to encourage and enable exploration in such areas.”
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0 September 2004                                 New Chaplain for Fort Kinnaird

Captain Andrew Chadwick is to be the first Chaplain to the Fort Kinnaird shopping complex and will begin his work on 1st October. Fort Kinnaird, on the eastern edge of Edinburgh, is the largest outdoor shopping complex in the UK.

Captain Chadwick, 47, is a Church Army Officer. His work will be to provide a caring and pastoral support to the the 1500 workers employed at the Fort complex. The management of the complex has provided Andrew with office space for this work. Captain Chadwick will be employed by Scottish Episcopal Churches, St. Peter’s, Musselburgh and St. Andrew’s Prestonpans. He will be spending half his time at the Fort and half in the churches. Andrew Chadwick is married with two children and worked formerly in Abderdeen.

The Bishop of Edinburgh, Rt.Revd. Brian Smith said, “We are used to having chaplains in schools and hospitals but the church needs to find new ways of being present in places where people spend much of their time. The Diocese of Edinburgh has been considering the idea of a chaplain at the Fort for some time. We are delighted with the co-operation recieved from the authorities at Fort Kinnaird and that Andrew Chadwick has come to Edinburgh to take up this important post.”
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24 September 2004                        Former Fiji Public Prosecutor ordination

Four candidates will be ordained in St. Mary’s Cathedral Episcopal Cathedral, Palmerston Place Sunday 26th September at 3.30pm. Candidates, Jeremy Auld and Paul Foster will be ordained Deacons. David Smout and Jennifer Edie will be ordained as Priests.

Jeremy Auld, a lawyer, was formerly the Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions for the government in Fiji. A member of the Bar in Fiji, he prosecuted mainly violent crime including murder, rape and robbery cases. On his return to Scotland he worked as a lawyer with MacRoberts, a firm of commercial lawyers. Jeremy began full time theological study in 2001 lawyer. He is married to Christine, a Fiji Islander and have a son, Benedict. Once ordained Jeremy will joining the clergy team at St. Peter’s, Lutton Place as Curate.

Paul Foster is a Lecturer in New Testament Studies at New College, Edinburgh University. He will be a Non Stipendiary Minister based at the St. Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh.

Jennifer Edie spent much of her career working in libraries and has worked as an English Tutor in Hong Kong and will work as a Non Stipendiary Minister at St. Ebba’s, Eyemouth.

David Smout was the Bursar of Ely Cathedral and until recently the Treasurer of the Diocese of Edinburgh and will also work as a Non Stipendiary Minister at St. Ebba’s, Eyemouth

The Bishop of Edinburgh said
“I feel it a great privilege to share in events such as this ordination. The variety of our candidates in terms of their experience in a wide variety of situations, together with their theological expertise will be an enormous gift to the life of the Diocese.”
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20 September 2004                       Edinburgh and Connor in Partnership

The Diocese of Edinburgh (Scottish Episcopal Church) and the Diocese of Connor (Church of Ireland) are to sign a historic partnership agreement, to link as companions within the Anglican Communion. The agreement between the two dioceses emphasises a shared desire for friendship andfellowship exploring the challenges for the Church today. The two dioceses and their congregations aim to develop links in ways that are imaginative, sustainable, practical, effective, enriching and fun.

‘Our intention is to empower our witness by listening to each other, learning from each other, supporting each other, challenging each other and praying with and for each other. Thereby we hope to encourage the development of mutual understanding between the peoples of Northern Ireland and Scotland. This partnership is for an initial period of five years and is renewable by mutual agreement,’ said the Bishop of Edinburgh, Rt.Revd Brian Smith.

There will be two significant dates. On October 24, in St. Anne's Cathedral, Belfast, the Bishop Smith and the Bishop of Connor, Rt. Rev. Alan Harper, will sign the agreement of partnership. This will be followed on October 31 by a signing ceremony in St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh. Thereafter, both dioceses will undertake a programme linking congregations, clergy and church-led groups through their common interests. Some aspects of this will be youth work, retreats, training for congregational development, and hospitality to each other.
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