Rector’s Letter – September 2026
St James the Less Penicuik and St Mungo West Linton
Scottish Episcopal Churches
The Rectory
23 Broomhill Road
Penicuik
EH26 9EE
01968 678254
07950 607574
Rector.pandwl@gmail.com
23rd August 2026
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
Rector’s letter for September 2026
Personal Notes
Summer is drawing to a close, the air is certainly cooler most mornings and has that sense of the change in the seasons. Talking of changing seasons, the liturgical Season of Creation starts on the first Sunday of September, and concludes on the first Sunday of October. More information is given about this season in the next section of this letter.
The long hot summer across Europe and in England and Wales, with drought conditions and the resultant destructive and massive fires, is further evidence of the climate emergency facing all nations. Even reservoirs in Scotland had worryingly low levels of water at times. Humankind’s use and abuse of the resources of the world has damaged and desecrated large areas of God’s beautiful creation. Talks of a strong el niño in the next year will likely have a devastating impact on many countries and on flora and fauna; both with droughts and also areas of torrential rain, flooding and washing away land. How might we, as people who follow the way of Jesus, respond? What personal changes can we make, and how might we engage with policy makers and those fashioning long-term strategies?
As you will be aware, I had three weeks in Rome. It was lovely, but very hot. Most days it was around 38 degrees, and first thing in the morning it was normally around 28 degrees. I took Rob and Caireen’s two dogs for an early walk, most days about 6.15 am before the pavements got too hot for their paws, and then during the day when they wanted out I had to find ways to keep them in the shade. It was nice to lead worship in All Saints Church, and to enjoy Prosecco in the church garden after the service. It worked well in Rome in the heat, not sure it would work so well in Scotland apart from a few weeks every year. The congregation of All Saints was about two thirds tourists, and one third the regular members who had not flitted Rome in the heat of July and August.
Whilst in Rome I read quite a few books (there’s a surprise). One of the books I read was Brian McLaren’s ‘The Great Spiritual Migration’. In this book Brian challenges readers to: (i) focus on a spiritual life of love, not one focussed on beliefs; (ii) focus on the image of God as the renewing Spirit at work in our world for the common good, and (iii) organising religion to enable spiritual activism dedicated to healing the planet, building peace, overcoming poverty and injustice and collaborating with other faiths.
There are ten chapters, split into three parts of the book. At the end of each chapter there is a prompt to contemplate an aspect of the chapter; there are seven questions to prompt a conversation; and a suggested ‘Action’ – to do something different from your normal ways of thinking and behaving. The first part of the book (chapters one to three) is entitled ‘The Spiritual Migration: From a system of beliefs to a way of life’. The second part (chapters four to six) is entitled ’The Theological Migration: From a violent God of domination to a non-violent God of Liberation’. The third part (chapters seven to ten) is entitled: ‘The Missional Migration: from organised religion to organising religion’. In the appendix is a charter for a Just and Generous Christianity, created by the Convergence Network. I really enjoyed reading it and have a fair few notes scribbled down about its content. Why not join us online on Monday 31st August at 7.30 pm to join a discussion about this book, and add in your own thoughts. There is still time to order it and read it, although you don’t need to have read it to join in the discussion. You don’t need to agree with Brian’s message to read it and use it as a way of reflecting on your own faith.
Since my return from Rome I have been reading ‘See No Stranger: A memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love’ by Valerie Kaur. Kaur is a Sikh, born and brought up in California, who, through her Sikh heritage, wishes to be a ‘warrior’ for all people who are oppressed, treated unjustly, and to change or dismantle the systems and processes that dehumanise and perpetuate injustice. Underlying this is a call to love; to love ourselves, our opponents and all others. The book interweaves her life story with lessons about how to love without limit, no matter how challenging that might be. This is ‘revolutionary love’; love in a time of turmoil, of fear, where love can transform an encounter, a relationship, a community, a culture, and perhaps a nation. At 316 pages it isn’t a short read, but the pages are easily read through Kaur’s engaging style. Coincidentally, an acquaintance of mine is also reading it and is similarly impressed by it. Although the context of the book relates to the author’s life in the USA after 9/11, the lessons are easily transferrable to our lives, here now, in the UK. I heartily recommend this book.
News and new things happening
St James the Less Fellowship Lunch
We ideally need three volunteers each month to make soup for about ten people each. The soup is to be vegetarian and gluten-free. Please contact me or Marion Mather if you wish to help out for the lunches in September through to December.
‘The Teachings of Jesus’ – 10:30 am, 24th August -21st September at St James Church Hall
We held the first session in this series of five this last week. You can join us for any of these sessions, you don’t need to have attended previous ones as they are all self-standing. The teachings of Jesus are an intrinsic part of the ‘good news’, as it teaches us how we are to behave in ways that are congruent with the grand vision of the Gospel. Join us as we explore and discuss five examples of the teachings Jesus gave.
Faith Book: 31st August at 7.30 pm on line.
We shall be discussing Brian McLaren’s book, ‘The Great Spiritual Migration: How the World’s Largest Religion is Seeking a Better Way to be Christian’.
The Season of Creation (6th September to 4th October)
The introduction of the season of Creation, in 2020, was, from my point of view, a welcome innovation. However, it was a challenge to preachers in particular because we had to somehow use the normal lectionary readings and relate them to the theme of creation. As some of you will know, it wasn’t always a good fit and took some mental gymnastics to make it fit. This year, the Revised Common Lectionary (agreed amongst many denominations) includes specific scriptural readings for the first Sunday in the season, for all three years in our cycle of readings. It’s a start! Also, the first Sunday in the season is given a formal title of ‘The Feast of Creation in Christ’. A document setting out the rationale for this feast day and its title can be found at this website:
https://www.feastofcreation.com/title-feast-of-creation-in-christ
The theme of the 2026 Season of Creation is ‘Living Water’, exploring Ezekiel chapter 47, verses 9 and 12, which provides a powerful biblical vision of hope and ecological healing.
Forgiveness Sermon Series and Faith Development Activities Starting in October
On 11th, 18th, 25th October, and 1st November our sermons will be on the theme of forgiveness.
Alongside that, there will be opportunities to join discussion groups to explore eight studies relating to forgiveness, using a booklet called ‘Forgiveness: Making Peace With the Past’. We shall hold six sessions, on Tuesday evenings from 6th October to 10th November, using that book. Our friends from the congregation at St Matthew’s, Roslin (aka Rosslyn Chapel) will be joining us. We shall hold six sessions in West Linton, with the congregations that comprise the C of S West Tweeddale grouping who are also going to be undertaking the study, and there are likely to be several other groups forming to study together at a time and location convenient for them. I am sorting out the final details of the dates for meeting in West Linton.
We would also like to see people gathering together in their homes in self-organising groups to undertake this study at their own pace, if they prefer that to joining a larger group. If you wish a copy of the course booklet (you don’t all need to have one to participate, but one per group would be necessary) please let me know by 11th September, so I can do a bulk order from Blackwells. The course book costs £7.
If this type of study isn’t your sort of thing, then I would like to encourage you to read a book related to the theme, and discuss it in a group. You may care to read one (or more) of these:
- ‘The Hiding Place’ by Corrie Ten Boom
- ‘The Shack’ by William Paul Young
- ‘The Kite Runner’ by Khaled Hosseini
- ‘Atonement’ by Ian McEwan
- ‘The Story Teller’ by Jodi Picoult
- ‘Gilead’ by Marilynne Robinson
- ‘The Dutch House’ by Ann Patchett
- ‘The Language of Flowers’ by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
- ‘Crime and Punishment’ by Fyodor Dostoevsky (a very long read!)
- ‘The Sunflower’ by Simon Wiesenthal
- ‘Night Road’ by Kristin Hannah
- ‘The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry’ by Rachel Joyce
- ‘Looking for Alaska’ by John Green (Young Adult genre)
You may want to read one of these books and reflect on it alone, or by gathering some others and discussing it together, book-club style. In looking for new or used books, I have often used www.bookfinder.com
Why not invite some non-church friends to join you to discuss one of these books, and invite them along to watch the films?
I read ‘The Sunflower’ when I was in Rome. In the first part of the book it recounts some of Wiesenthal’s time in a concentration camp, and the dilemma he faced when a mortally wounded SS Officer asked his forgiveness rounding up the Jewish inhabitants of a village and being part of a group that killed them all. Wiesenthal poses the question, what would we do in that situation? The second part of the book has brief contributions from 50 people (religious, philosophical, ethical, etc) to the question he poses.
I also read ‘The Hiding Place’ when I was in Rome. The true story of Corrie Ten Boom’s experiences in the war, being betrayed for hiding many Jews and helping others escape, and her time in a concentration camp and what happens when she comes face to face with the person who betrayed her, back in her home town of Haarlem.
I am just starting ‘Night Road’, a novel by Kristin Hannah; a writer I really like. What book on the list above might you like to read and discuss with friends, not necessarily friends from church. This is an opportunity invite other friends and neighbours to join you in discussing a book of your choice.
I will also show these films during October, on dates to be determined, in Penicuik, West Linton and Broughton. I have:
- ‘Unforgiven’, a western directed by and starring Clint Eastwood that explores what happens when someone is not forgiven after a brutal attack on a women (it is a 15 rated film but has a few gory scenes in it).
- ‘Atonement’
- ‘The Shack’
I have asked the Penicuik Cinema if they could show ‘The Choral’ during their autumn season of Sunday evening films. Do you have other films which would fit in with this theme? Let me know which of these films you would be interested in seeing.
Penicuik Churches Together Weekly Prayer Walk
On Thursday mornings from 9.45 to 10.45am a group of folk from various Penicuik churches meet to walk and pray. Sometimes they walk a couple of miles and other times they walk 100 yards. Sometimes they stop and pray together and sometimes pray as they walk. God is part of their conversations and there is usually quite a lot of that. Some of the group usually go for a coffee afterwards but that part is optional. They commence their walk from different points in Penicuik, usually decided on the Wednesday evening via WhatsApp. If you would like to find out more please speak to Marion Mather or Nick Bowry.
Assisting at Care Home Services
Due to the changes in the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme, only people who have clearance for working with ‘adults’ for the church can attend and assist at these services. If you would like to help out but do not have clearance we can arrange to make an application for a PVG. It is mostly completed online which makes for a speedier process. You do need to obtain a Scot Account, which is a Scottish Government site that confirms your identity and through which Disclosure Scotland interact with you in the processing of the PVG, and the notification of clearance.
Glencorse Care Home Services
Penicuik Churches Together have been invited to start taking a monthly service at Glencorse Care Home. It will be on the last Wednesday afternoon of each month, commencing in September, probably at 3.30 pm. I will advertise the date that St James is asked to take the service. It won’t clash with our dates to take a service at Aaron House on a Wednesday afternoon.
In Other News…
It was nice to have two doggy companions when I was in Rome, although in the heat, I was less happy when they wanted to invade my personal space and sit right beside me. If it had been winter it would have been a different story. I have also had a week looking after my neighbours’ Jack Russell, Penny. She is a very different sort of dog, that took great exception to even a pigeon in the church car park, let alone a dog walking up the road. I have a week in my diary in September when I am looking after her again, and I have two days of my daughter’s spaniel, Maisie, in residence, coming up. I think this is going to be my way of getting canine company for the foreseeable future.
I am currently providing accommodation to two actors appearing in the Edinburgh Fringe, in a Palestinian play called ‘Majenin’, which is Arabic for ‘crazy’. I went to see it a week ago and enjoyed it. If you fancy going along it is on at what is confusingly called ‘the Pleasance Dome’ which is the Student Union in Potterrow (not near the Pleasance at all!) at a respectable time of 11:45 am. The UK charity, the Amos Trust, were seeking accommodation for the actors and reached out to the Iona Community to see if any members could help. It has been an interesting time, listening to their experiences of the Fringe, and for George, who comes from Bethlehem, talking about life there. I have eaten quite a lot of hummus and pitta bread these last few weeks – luckily I had bought a lot, and I mean a lot, of chick peas from Suma so I am not in danger of running out any time soon.
Nick Bowry
Regular Activities
Ministry in Care and Nursing Homes
Cowan Court, Penicuik: We are part of a rota with the other Penicuik churches, visiting Cowan Court on a Sunday afternoon. Our next visit is on 6th September.
Due to the changes in the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme, only people who have clearance for ‘adults’ with the church can assist.
Aaron House, Penicuik: We are part of a rota with the other Penicuik churches, visiting Aaron House on a Wednesday afternoon at 2pm. As with Cowan Court we will visit once every 5 or 6 weeks. Our next visit is on 9th September. The same issues related to PVG’s applies.
Whim Hall, Lamancha: We visit Whim Hall Care Centre on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month. Our next visit is on 27th August.
Glencorse, Penicuik: We will commence being part of a rota with the other Penicuik churches, visiting Glencorse on the last Wednesday of each month at 3.30pm. No date is yet fixed for St James’ first service.
Faith Development ‘Faith Books’
When we have a fifth Monday in the month, we hold a discussion at 7.30 pm about a book as a way of introducing people to different authors which may pique an interest to read more of their work (or not!). In looking for new or used books, I have often used www.bookfinder.com I am sure there are other search sites that will help people find the books on our reading list. The books we shall be discussing in 2026 are:
31st August: ‘The Great Spiritual Migration: How the World’s Largest Religion is Seeking a Better Way to be Christian’ by Brian McLaren (published by Hodder & Stoughton ISBN 978-1-473-62677-5)
30th November: ‘Places of Enchantment: Meeting God in Landscapes’ by Graham B Usher (published by SPCK ISBN 978-0-281-06792-3) – The Bishop of Norwich, who preached at Bishop Dagmar’s installation.
Morning and Evening Prayer
We meet online Monday to Friday at 9.00 am and at 5.30 pm. It is a good way to start and end our day, coming together for worship, with daily readings including the psalms; a good rhythm for worship in the Anglican tradition of saying the Daily Offices. Please do consider joining us.
If you wish to access the Daily Office liturgy with the daily scripture readings, go to the Provincial Website, www.scotland.anglican.org and place your cursor on the ‘Spirituality’ heading. A submenu appears and you can select the appropriate Daily Office from the right-hand side of the page.
Mid-week evening services on Zoom
On the first Wednesday of each month, at 7.30 pm, we hold a service of Prayers for Healing online. If you wish someone or a situation to be prayed for, send an email to me or Marion Mather.
At 9pm every Wednesday evening we hold the service of Compline. Please do join us for this short service of calm and settling prayers before sleep.
Continuing our Mission: Leading Your Church into Growth Prayer
Each weekday morning, we pray for growth in our church. If you are not able to join us online for Morning Prayer at 9 am, can I encourage you to pray this once a day. The prayer is given below.
God of Mission, who alone brings growth to your Church,
send your Holy Spirit to give:
vision to our planning, wisdom to our actions, and power to our witness.
Help our church to grow:
in numbers, in spiritual commitment to you, and in service to our local
community, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
In Touch Magazine for St James the Less and St Mungo’s
In Touch is circulated to all on email and is issued in paper format to those who do not have email. The cost of a paper copy is £2 for an A4 version, and about £1.50 for an A5 version. We print a very limited number of paper copies to keep out costs down, and to reduce our consumption of paper. If you receive an email version but would also like a paper copy, please let Sue Owen know and we invite you to make a suitable donation (preferably by bank transfer rather than in cash) to cover the cost. The deadline for content to be submitted for the next issue is 1st November 2026. I would like to encourage you to submit something for inclusion in the magazine; a poem, a review of a book or a film, an article on a subject of interest. If you wish to submit an article, please send them to intouch@stjamesthelesspenicuik.org
Financial giving to St James the Less or to St Mungo’s
If you are able, can I ask you to prayerfully consider setting up a recurring monthly payment to the church via on-line banking, to contribute financially on a regular basis. Details of the bank accounts are given below for each of the churches.
St James the Less:
Monthly donation by bank transfer (include your name in the reference line when setting this up – only the Treasurer knows the name of the donor). Bank details are: St James Episcopal Church Penicuik, acct no 17117264, sort code 80-22-60. If you wish to make a donation by cheque, please make out the cheque to ‘St James Episcopal Church Penicuik’.
St Mungo:
Monthly donation by bank transfer (include your name in the reference line when setting this up – only the Treasurer knows the name of the donor). Bank details are: St Mungo’s Vestry, acct no 00817851, sort code 80-09-39.
Ecumenical Relations and Community Involvement Work
The Penicuik Ministers continue to meet every month in the Storehouse for a chat. Once a month the Penicuik Churches Together (PCT) has a joint Sunday evening service. The schedule detailing where the services are each month is on the PCT website. http://penicuikchurchestogether.org.uk/
Diocesan and Provincial Activities
The Diocesan Personnel Committee next meets on 24th September. I completed my term as a trustee of the Iona Community at the AGM on 29th June. I have taken up the role of Spiritual Director for Cursillo Scotland. I had intended volunteering for them after I retire, but several retirements ahead of schedule amongst their ranks meant I have decided to bring forward my involvement.
The Ministry Team
We continue to meet to plan for the coming months; planning services and faith development activities as well as exploring other aspects of what is offered to the congregations and to our local communities.
Zoom Links for Services
We have a regular pattern of services. Details of these are set out below. You can access them using the Zoom links.
Morning Prayer at 9 am, and Evening Prayer at 5.30 pm, Monday to Friday. (Zoom only)
https://zoom.us/j/6289561588?pwd=aGtNeE1ZM3l1Tkluckp3bVJtZkRHQT09
Meeting ID: 628 956 1588 Password: 040775
St Mungo, Holy Communion at 10.30 am on Sunday.
https://zoom.us/j/93417190423?pwd=K1ZoS0xKUWpRVENGTzFYL3NvakFHQT09
Meeting ID: 934 1719 0423 Passcode: 062021
St James the Less, Holy Communion at 10.30 am on Sunday.
https://zoom.us/j/92002197798?pwd=REp5NHQwVEdSd3A4a09lN1lHOUdnUT09
Meeting ID: 920 0219 7798 Passcode: 040775
1st Wednesday Evening Service at 7.30 pm (not July or August) (Zoom only)
https://zoom.us/j/96303841875?pwd=YmZiYkdNNzZJeWI5cmtZL2RLUWc1Zz09
Meeting ID: 963 0384 1875 Password: 040775
Wednesday Evening Compline at 9 pm (all year) (Zoom only)
https://zoom.us/j/95345457224?pwd=TDNoT20vR2dYMVQ5STdsS0lzR0dMQT09
Meeting ID: 953 4545 7224 Password: 040775
Zoom Links for Activities
‘Monday Evening Studies’ at 7.30 pm (Zoom only)
https://zoom.us/j/97670406222?pwd=WWUzL0dLNHdWdFJ0YVNnLzdvY2w2Zz09
Meeting ID: 976 7040 6222 Passcode: 202101
Use this link for Monday Evening Studies and the ‘Faith Book’ discussions.
Weekly Bible Study: Tuesdays at 2pm (Zoom only)
https://zoom.us/j/92510962481?pwd=L1hsaCtiWTh0ZFFib3N0WlluaVlaUT09
Meeting ID: 925 1096 2481 Passcode: 040775