Rector’s Letter – October 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
26th September 2026
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
Rector’s letter for October 2026
Personal Notes
The Autumn equinox was on Wednesday 23rd September, at 1 am, to be exact – when the length of night is equal to the length of the daylight. Equinox is derived from aequus and nox, meaning equal and night. The start of autumn for us in the northern hemisphere and of Spring in the Southern hemisphere, and when the sun is directly over the equator.
We often get stormy weather around the time of the equinoxes. This year we had a few windy days but nothing too troublesome in Scotland. However, in other parts of the world it hasn’t been the case. Southern Spain has experienced major storms, torrential rain and flooding. This time of year is the peak of the tropical storm and hurricane season, but the intensity of the storms in the Caribbean and Pacific regions are much greater, due to climate change.
In the season of Creationtide issues of care for our planet and reducing our detrimental impact on God’s beautiful creation, have come to the fore. We celebrate Harvest Festival this coming Sunday. It is a time to give thanks for the harvest safely gathered in, but also noting the challenges farmers across the world have faced with changing weather patterns, and will continue to face. This is a concern for us all, as food production may well reduce, and supplies become less resilient, resulting in shortages and higher prices. Higher prices are not good for many people in Scotland who are struggling to feed their families, but as those prices are based on world demand, it is likely to be even worse news for people who rely on certain staple food stuffs being affordable. As the developed world is generally able to pay a higher price, it leaves others going without and starving.
This scenario increases the numbers of economic migrants across the world, as people move to places where it is perceived there is ‘plenty’. I pray we have empathy with those seeking to migrate away from poverty and hunger. It seems to me that if we wish to reduce the numbers seeking to migrate, we need to actively work towards net zero and provide support to make other countries more resilient to climate change.
There are several saints days coming up. 29th September is the feast day of St Michael and All Angels. from which we get the term Michaelmas, used for the first term of the legal year. Incidentally, our church financial year runs from October to September. October 4th is the feast day of Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, more commonly known as St Francis of Assisi. His life is worth researching; it make for a fascinating read, and of course the religious order of the Franciscans continues his legacy to this day. St Francis is renowned for his affinity with animals and for worshiping God in creation. A fitting way to end the season of Creation for this year.
News and new things happening
St James the Less Fellowship Lunch – 4th October
On 4th October we shall have a bring and share lunch, for Harvest Festival as we spend time with Bishop Dagmar. At the Fellowship lunch in October each year we raise funds for a charity in Africa, to reflect the late Rev Dr Neville Suttle’s interests in supporting charities relieving the suffering of the people of Africa. This year, after consulting Neville’s daughters, we shall be asking for donations to the charity called ‘Ripple Effect’. You can find out more information about the charity at their website. https://rippleeffect.org/projects/
St James the Less Fundraiser – 10th October at 7.30pm
Alan Murray and Friends in Concert, will be held in the church hall. Tickets are £10, and include a finger buffet during the interval. Contact Alan at alanmuray350@gmail.com or phone 0783 3312592 for tickets.
St James Board Games afternoon- Saturday 24th October at 3pm
I am going to try once more with running a games afternoon once every month or so. The first one will be at St James, and I will publicise it at Cornbank Primary School, and with the Brownie and Guide packs that use the hall. It will be for families, and I will ask that a parent accompanies any child they bring. I will explore with West Linton Primary School if we can advertise a similar afternoon at the school and with local uniformed groups as well, and offer something once again in West Linton.
Forgiveness Sermon Series and Faith Development Activities Starting in October
This series on forgiveness will include a wide range of activities: sermons, a faith development course, films to watch, books to read and discuss, a church service and a bring and share lunch. I hope you may wish to attend some of these.
Sermon Series
On 11th, 18th, 25th October, and 1st November our sermons will be on the theme of forgiveness.
Faith Development Discussion Groups
Alongside the sermons there will be opportunities to join discussion groups to explore the theme of forgiveness, using a booklet called ‘Forgiveness: Making Peace With the Past’.
We shall hold six sessions at St James, on Monday mornings (10:30 am) and on Tuesday evenings (7.30 pm) starting in the week commencing the 5th October, finishing in the week commencing 9th November. Our friends from the congregation at St Matthew’s, Roslin (aka Rosslyn Chapel) will be joining us.
We shall hold six sessions in St Mungo’s, on a Tuesday afternoon, at 2pm, together with members of St Andrew’s who have been invited to join us. There is also going to be an offering of the course in Broughton in the Laurel Bank Tea room running on Tuesday mornings from 10am to 11am from 6th October to 11th November, and also it will likely be run in Carlops (no details yet of when).
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. You don’t need the course booklet to attend the course.
Self-forming Book Groups
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?
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.
Films
I shall also be showing films related to this theme. The films are:
- Atonement: Wed 7th Oct at 1.30pm at St James, 7pm at St Mungo’s
- The Shack: Wed 14th Oct at 1.30pm at St James, 7pm at St Mungo’s
- Unforgiven: Wed 21st Oct at 1.30pm at St James, 7pm at St Mungo’s
- The Railway Man: Wed 28th Oct at 1.30pm at St James, 7pm at St Mungo’s
Another film ‘The Choral’ which was released late last year, will be shown at the Penicuik Cinema on Sunday 1st November at 5pm, in the Cowan Institute (aka the Town hall).
Penitential Service at Rosslyn Chapel – 7.30 pm Wednesday 11th November.
At the end of the course and associated activities, you are invited to attend a penitential service at Rosslyn Chapel at 7.30pm on 11th November. It will be a time to draw together our thoughts and feelings that have arisen from our discussions, and place them before God in prayer. It will be a time to ask for forgiveness and to let go of hurts.
Bring and Share Lunch -12.30pm Saturday 14th November
And a final activity will be a chance to come together on Saturday 14th November, in St James’ church hall for a bring and share lunch, and, as people wish, in an informal setting, reflect on these activities and deepen the friendships and connections made through attending the courses, or the films, or through gathering with others to discuss one of the books.
People may wish to share what other subjects they would wish to explore together, in future.
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, at 3.30 pm. Our first service there will be on 28th October.
In Other News…
Some of you experienced Penny the Jack Russell, who came with me to St Mungo’s on 14th September. In typical Jack Russel fashion she barked at everyone coming in, and every time we stood to sing. She also chose who to make friends with, and show off her occasional good side to! Penny was with me for ten days and we came to some sort of understanding about when it was OK to bark. By the end of the ten days, she wasn’t barking at everything that moved – and I saw that as a minor miracle. Her hearing was excellent, she would bark at least twenty seconds before a dog walked passed the Rectory to go up the road. She had other more endearing habits, such as wanting to go to bed at 9.30 pm, and looking to me to move her bed into my bedroom at that time. I felt her disapproving look by staying up later than she did!
I my role as Spiritual Director of Cursillo Scotland, I had my first meeting of the Secretariat in September. We are jointly discerning how we need to adapt to the society and times we live and move in. There are fewer people attending church overall, and those that do have less ‘spare time’ and have many more commitments (work, social, leisure, caring responsibilities, etc.). For many it is logistically challenging to get away for a three or four day ‘weekend’ that the Cursillo movement has offered in the past. However, Cursillo weekends ‘work’ because people do take three or four days out of the hustle and bustle of ‘normal life’ to receive radical hospitality and talks that help us get a faith ‘recharge’. We are concerned that diluting that experience may negate the whole aims of a ‘weekend’. More thoughts, prayers and discussions are to be had.
I was unable to attend Siskin Green’s concert to launch their new album, ‘Living in the Echo’ in September. All three members of the band have Iona Community connections. In 2023 several of us from the church went to the launch of their first album during the Edinburgh Festival. If you like Scottish folk with a Christian influence, you will like their music. They have performed at Greenbelt Festival, the Edinburgh Fringe, Solas Festival and recorded songs for BBC Scotland’s ‘Reflections at the Quay’ and BBC One’s ‘Songs of Praise’ from Iona. See https://www.siskingreen.com/
As the season of Creation draws to a close, I have reflected on what changes I have made to my life in the last year, to reflect my commitment to care for God’s creation. On the debit side, I flew to Rome and back, as I didn’t have the extra two days to go by train. On the credit side I have sought to further reduce plastic packaging:
- I use toothpaste that comes in a compostable container (subscribing to Mighty Mouthcare) that fits into a dispenser,
- I have stopped using plastic sponges for washing dishes in the kitchen, and now using plant based sponges and scourers, (subscribing to Seep),
- I use glass spray bottles for the kitchen and bathroom surfaces and floors, with dried powder refills you mix with water (subscription with The Green Company),
- I use clothing detergent and fabric conditioner sheets (subscription with The Green Company),
- I use deodorant that uses compostable containers that fit into a dispenser, (subscribing to Fussy).
- I have also changed to toilet rolls that have not been bleached white and come in a cardboard box, not plastic wrapping, (Naked Paper).
I am quite happy with the quality of the replacement products I am using. If you have switched recently, as part of you desire to reduce plastic usage, what products would you recommend?
I still have items that come in plastic containers. I think the next thing will be to stop buying yoghurt and make my own. A Yoghurt maker will be on my Christmas list for my daughters to consider buying for me. What one thing might you consider purchasing from a different supplier to reduce your plastic use?
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 11th October.
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 21st October. 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 8th October.
Glencorse, Penicuik: We are part of the rota with the other Penicuik churches, visiting Glencorse Care Home on the last Wednesday of each month at 3.30pm. Our first visit there is on 28th October.
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:
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 met on 24th September. I attended the installation of the new Vice-Provost at St Mary’s cathedral, also on 24th September. The Cursillo Scotland AGM is being held in Stirling on Saturday 10th October. I am attending a meeting of the Provincial Inter-faith Relations Committee on 15th October. I am attending the Scottish Faiths’ Group on Refugees meeting on 22nd October.
The Autumn Diocesan Synod meets on 22nd October.
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