Weddings, Baptisms and Funerals
If you are thinking about getting married, would like to have your children baptised into the Christian faith or would like to arrange a Christian funeral for a relative, St Ninian’s church welcomes all enquiries. St Ninian’s has been able to marry same-sex couples following the vote in General Synod in 2017 which allowed clergy in the Scottish Episcopal Church to be nominated to conduct such weddings. We do not charge a fee for weddings, baptisms or funeral services, but do appreciate donations towards the cost of maintaining the building!
Summer Garden Party
We all enjoyed home-made scones and other baked goodies in the Rectory garden – and the rain held off, until everything was packed away!
A Wedding
In July we celebrated the wedding of Lauren and Harry in St Ninian’s Church – a wonderfully joyful occasion.
New Episcopalians!
In May we received three new members into the Episcopal Church
Easter Crafts
On Easter Saturday we decorated the church and made some easter crafts – including bonnets!
Baptism
In March we celebrated the baptism of Marek with his family
Visit To Gurdwara
In November, members of St Ninian’s were invited to attend celebrations at the gurdwara in honour of the birth of Guru Nanak, the first Sikh Guru. We admired a stunning three piece tapestry – a multi-faith project commissioned by the gurdwara, created by 90 participants from different faith and no-faith backgrounds. The panels were based on the themes of meditation, sharing and honesty.
Burns Lunch
This is held in the church hall following a Sunday Service, on or around the poet’s birthday on the 25th January, when the table is laid for the traditional meal of haggis, neeps and tatties. The meal begins with the Selkirk Grace, the presentation of the haggis with recitation of Burn’s poetry. The meal ends with a rendition of Auld Lang Syne.
In Your Light we see Light
On Midsummer’s Day 2023, the church hosted an art installation by Gardner and Gardner. They had spent time researching the history and theological background of the Benedicite murals by William Hole, which are situated in the sanctuary of the church. Their research took them to a book of essays by the poet Christina Rossetti, Seek and Find, first published in 1879, in which she considers each verse of the Benedicite as a contemplation of both creation and redemption. It is possible that William Hole was aware of Rossetti’s book, as the words and illustrations in the murals seem to echo Rossetti’s terminology.
In her chapters on ‘Light and Darkness’, Rossetti quotes part of Psalm 36:9, ‘in your light we see light’. She devoted two chapters to the use of sunlight as a metaphor for both the
invisible light of God in creation and the light of Christ, by which we see the world’s light in its true light
The artists stretched 46 lengths of nylon filament between the two rows of
five pillars. The translucent lines of filament appeared and disappeared, visible when they caught the natural light through all the windows and at other times almost invisible. The lines echoed the direction of the sunlight as it arced from sunrise, to sunset.
An integral part of ‘In your light we see light: keeping the hours on the longest day’ was
the offering of the traditional liturgical hours of prayer throughout the day.
Children’s Summer Holiday Club 2023
The Holiday Club ran on Friday mornings during the school holidays in the church hall and each session was based on one of Jesus’s parables. We made crafts, baked goodies, sang songs and acted out stories.
