Congregational Meeting to present accounts

On Sunday, 1 April at 12:45, a Congregational Meeting will take place in the Small Hall, at which the accounts for 2011 will be presented. All members of the congregation are warmly invited to attend!

Fairtrade Breakfast

Nearly a tradition now, we'll have a Fairtrade Breakfast in the Church Hall to mark Fairtrade Fortnight. It will take place on 11 March before the service. Entrance is free, but donations for the Fairtrade Foundation are very welcome. Please let us know if you intend to come, so we can ensure enough provisions - tickets are available from Jenny Hall, or by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Read more about Fairtrade Fortnight.

Book Group

The Book Group has started meeting again, fortnightly on Thursday evenings, 7.30pm in the Upper Room. All are welcome to join!

The meetings will take place on 1, 15, 29 March and 12 and 26 April.

The book read this term is Spirituality Workbook by David Runcorn.

Spirituality Workbook is many things: a book of riches and surprises; a guidebook for explorers who want their spiritual life to go deeper; an invaluable aid for those seeking to travel faithfully in a strange land; and it is itself a journey through the many facets of Christian spirituality. In five sections, David Runcorn suggests an integrated vision for Christian spirituality. 'Then and now' looks at roots, historical and ancient spiritual ways, and the rules of living for diverse communities and their modern relevance. 'Life together' considers the essential role of community in spirituality, while 'Becoming who I am' explores the relationship between spirituality, humanity, identity and the stages of our life journey. 'When you pray. . .' examines some of the ways we pray and our understanding of prayer. The final section, 'In the midst of life', is about Christian spirituality lived in the real and sometimes messy world. The author provides numerous inspiring and engaging examples, exercises to bring the text alive and to help us apply spiritual techniques, and suggestions for further reading. All these make this a book to live by as well as one to pray and learn with.

Books wanted for the Christian Aid Booksale

Looking ahead to our booksale during Christian Aid Week in May, you can now hand in any books you would like to donate at the Church Office on Mondays to Thursdays between 9am and 3pm, or leave them in the vestibule after a Sunday service.

All donations are gratefully received!

The Booksale will take place between 12 and 19 May 2012, in the church.

Read more about Christian Aid Week here.

DVD Launch: The Legacy of the Christian Fellowship of Healing

This Saturday, 11 February, 2-4pm, the DVD 'The Legacy of the Christian Fellowship of Healing' will be launched at MUC church hall.

This organisation, which is now in the process of closing down, worked for MUC for several years, then in the Eric Liddell Centre next door, the curate's house of Christ Church Morningside and, for the last six years, in St Columba's by the Castle.

A DVD has been made of their legacy for use in churches to explore and encourage healing ministry. Jenny Williams, who has been the Chaplain of the Fellowship for the past 14 years, is a member of our congregation and warmly invites people to join this event.

New piece of art

This morning, the new piece of public art at our church entrance was unveiled.

Roger Hall, the letter carver, has undertaken a number of significant projects in Scotland in recent years. Commissions have included work for the Loretto School, Musselburgh; Edinburgh International Festival; the Columba 1400 charity; the Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh; the Loch Leven Heritage Project; Marchmont St Giles church, Edinburgh; Portobello Old Parish church. Most recently, his work was featured at the Opening Ceremony by HM The Queen at the James V Palace at Stirling Castle.

The three panels with words by the Glasgow poet Larry Butler are of wych elm from a tree that was taken down in the Botanic Gardens and were originally exhibited in the Wych Elm Exhibition in 2008-09. The work is one of several collaborations with the Edinburgh calligrapher, Susie Leiper.

The minister of Morningside United Church, Revd John Smith, said: "We are delighted to work with Roger Hall to offer these panels on Holy Corner. The message they convey will perhaps create for us a moment to pause and think."

MUC Burns Night Supper

We had a great Burns Night Supper last night.

The principal speakers were (from left) Prof Charles Munn, Lisa Clark, Revd Dr Derek Browning and Revd Tom Gordon.

Here you can read 'The Immortal Memory', as delivered by Revd Dr Derek Browning.

MUC Art Group

We are delighted to announce the re-establishment of a group for artists (and those that would like to try themselves out) at MUC. The group will meet the first Tuesday of each month, beginning on 7 February, and will meet from 11am to 3pm. All are welcome to come, see, and try!