St Cuthbert's endeavours to be a community in which all are encouraged to participate in worshipping God and serving the wider community. It welcomes those who are doubters and sceptics as well as those who are committed in faith, and has a particular concern for those who have been hurt by their experiences of life. — Our Mission Statement.

St Cuthbert's is part of the world-wide Anglican communion. In Scotland this communion finds its expression through the Scottish Episcopal Church, in England through the Church of England, in America through the Episcopal Church of the USA (ECUSA) and so on. The Episcopal Church in Scotland is a minority church: it is much smaller numerically than the (Presbyterian) Church of Scotland and the Roman Catholic Church, but it has a very long history and it is most definitely not the "English" Church! Having said that, it is probably the church in which most English people coming to Scotland would feel at home.

St Cuthbert's has around 230 communicant members, as well as many others involved in the wider community which surrounds the church. We range in age from a few weeks to over ninety years, and include retired and working people, as well as younger people and children. We come from all walks of life and from Scotland, England and further afield.

There are about thirty children in our Church, ranging in age from babies to 12. Each Sunday we run a creche, Cuthbert's Class for 3-4 year-olds and an all-age Sunday school for the rest. The Sunday morning format includes singing, praying and a story, after which we generally divide into groups for an activity: word-searches, Bible quizzes, collage, model-making.

Every Christmas we put on a Nativity Play, sometimes traditional, sometimes "cool". Three or four times a year there is a family service in which a child-friendly liturgy is used and the children play a part in dramatized readings and in the prayers.

There are a number of family social events, which encourage friendship: shared lunch after Church followed by swimming; a bike ride and picnic; the annual barbecue; and a family camping weekend at Bamburgh.

As well as our Rector, Revd Stephen Parsons, we are also fortunate in having a non-stipendary minister and many lay people among our ministry team, which includes both a Children's Worker and a Support Worker for elderly people, and we are continuing to grow and develop as an active community.

For more information about people who fill particular roles within the church, see the People page. If you want to know more about the church's history and buildings, try the Church pages. If you'd like to find out what services and activities take place at St Cuthbert's, take a look at What's On.

An Eco-congregation

St Cuthbert's is a member of Scotland's Eco-congregation scheme. This ecumenical scheme is a programme to enthuse and equip churches to make a link between environmental issues and the Christian faith.   The programme is very flexible and every congregation is free to choose projects that suit them best.   You can read more about the scheme on The Eco-congregation website.

Here at st Cuthbert's we "think green" in all our activities.   In particular, we are trying to reduce our carbon footprint by careful monitoring of our energy consumption.   We are not only active in the community locally, but also care for our global neighbours.   Members of the congregation support Christian Aid and other charities, and we are a registered Fair Trade church.

For more information on our projects, from the wildlife-friendly church grounds to a community recycling scheme, please look at This Page

We are a registered Fair Trade church and committed to supporting this scheme, which ensures that small farmers are able to sell their goods at a fair price and also ensures that agricultural products are grown in a way that protects the environment.   The scheme is particularly important in the third world.   We use Fair Trade products in all events that we organise.

The Church's Wildflower Meadow

Our meadow was planted in a bitterly cold wind on the 5th April 2006, with the help of 14 intrepid volunteers of all ages.   We were particularly pleased to welcome our Edinburgh City Councillor, Mr Jason Rust, who participated enthusiastically in the work.

We planted about 90 plug plants, of 10 different species, which are doing well but not all the plants will produce flowers this year.

There is a small trench around the wildflower area as a temporary measure to deter people from walking over the fragile young plants.

To help the wild flowers to reproduce, the area will be mown in spring, and then left undisturbed until after the flowers have set seed in late summer, when it will be mown again.

We express our thanks to the "Action Earth" project, supported by Scottish Natural Heritage, for providing a grant covering the full cost of the plants and the small "Wildflower area" sign.