Bishop Ian is very pleased to announce the appointment of the Reverend Lara Dose as Rector of Holy Trinity, Dunfermline. The service of Institution will take place at Holy Trinity on Tuesday 6th December, St Nicholas’ Day, at 7.30pm, when Lara will be welcomed to  Holy Trinity and to the Diocese. All are welcome, and Diocesan clergy and lay readers are especially asked to attend (robing – alb and white stole, surplice and blue scarf).

Lara has been serving in the Diocese of Chelmsford as Priest in Charge of St Andrew with St Agnes, and Town Centre Chaplain, Romford, and says “I’m enthusiastic about working with the congregation to develop future growth.”  Lara will be very welcome as she joins us in the Diocese.

The Interfaith Scotland newsletter is hot off the press! You can find it at the link below:

https://interfaithscotland.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Interfaith-Scotland-Newsletter-Autumn-2022.pdf

A wonderful celebration on Sunday 2nd October in the cathedral, when Rachael Wright was ordained deacon.

Rachael is pictured here with Bishop Ian, Rev Nerys Brown who will be her training Rector at St Mary’s, Dunblane, and Revd Canon Liz Baker, Rector of the Highland Perthshire charges where Rachael worked for three years as a mixed mode ordinand.

Bishop Ian sums up the day: ‘The Church of God has been changed… we have a new Deacon!’

Click here to see video of Bishop Ian’s sermon on service and discipleship based on Jesus washing the disciple’s feet (John 13) after Mary of Bethany had anointed his (John 12).

Some of you will know The Revd Joseph Leonard Ladd Fagerson and will be sad to know of his passing.  Please continue to pray for his family at this time of their loss.  There will be a service of Thanksgiving at Kenmore Church, Aberfeldy on Friday 23^rd September at 2pm.

Dear friends,

Today is the first day of the reign of our new King. Which means that it is also the last day of the life of our Queen, the longest serving monarch in our history. Queen Elizabeth’s passing is something that many will feel deeply. We may feel sadness not only at the death of someone who gave their life to serving their country, but the death of someone who represented continuity for us in a world of change, who connected us with our own pasts, whether we had ever met her or not. For me, as for so many others, Queen Elizabeth has been there through my whole life, and today marks the loss of that part of my life’s journey.

But it also is a day to grieve for a person who gave such commitment to her role as Queen, such dedication to her faith in God, and such love to her family. As we grieve, we give thanks for a person who brought the humanity she lived as mother, grandmother and great-grandmother to her duty as Queen and the people she met.

We pray for Queen Elizabeth as she journeys deeper into life in the loving hands of God, and we pray for her family and those who love her. We pray for our country, which has lost a dedicated friend, and gained an example of steadfast faith to live by. And we pray for our new King, who enters into his new responsibilities at the same moment in which he grieves the loss of his beloved mother.

May Queen Elizabeth rest in peace, and rise in glory.

Gracious God,
we give thanks for the life of your servant
Queen Elizabeth,
for her faith and her dedication to duty.
Bless our nation as we mourn her death
and may her example continue to inspire us;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,
according to thy word.
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation
which thou hast prepared before the face of all people.
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles
and to be the glory of thy people Israel.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.

The Lambeth Conference of Anglican Bishops from around the world is taking place in Canterbury from 26 July to 8 August. It was postponed in 2020, but is going ahead this year instead. However, because of pandemic travel concerns, visiting bishops have been requested to travel directly to Canterbury, and dioceses in Britain are no longer being asked to offer hospitality. That means, very regretfully, that Bishop Marinez of Amazonia (Brazil) and Bishop Paritosh of Calcutta (India) were not after all be able to visit us in the Diocese before Lambeth.

The Global Partnership Committee is planning a Diocesan Global Gathering on the Lambeth Conference theme (‘God’s Church for God’s World’) after the Conference on 4th September  – celebrating our global partnership links, including a report of the Conference from Bishop Ian and, possibly, online participation by Bishop Marinez and Bishop Paritosh.

For information about the Lambeth Conference see www.lambethconference.org

To see updates about the Lambeth Conference from Bishop Ian, visit our Diocesan Facebook page.

For information on our Diocesan Global Gathering click here.

The scholar and mystic Lucy Menzies is commemorated in the Calendar of the Scottish Episcopal Church on 24th November.  Following her service as Warden of the retreat house at Pleshey, Lucy took up residence in St Andrews (where her father had been Professor of Biblical Criticism at the University).  The recipient of the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Divinity, a portrait of Lucy was commissioned recently and now hangs in the Hall of St Mary’s College, the School of Divinity at St Andrews.

The site of Lucy’s burial in the Eastern Cemetery by St Andrews Cathedral has not been obviously marked for many years.  Following some investigation, Lucy’s grave (adjacent to that of her parents) was identified and the fallen headstone (featuring a fine Celtic cross and Arts and Crafts-style carvings) has been restored to an upright position over her grave. To mark the occasion, a small party of descendants of Lucy Menzies, along with members of the congregation of All Saints’ Church, where she prayed, gathered at the graveside on Saturday 14th May 2022.  Prayers were led by the Rev’d Canon Dr Alasdair Coles, Rector of All Saints’.  Flowers were laid by Margaret Honey, first cousin of Lucy Menzies.

Attendees then proceeded to Mass at All Saints’ Church, prior to a Reception in St Mary’s College at which speeches were made by Peter Smaill (cousin of Lucy) and Professor Judith Wolfe.

1. Portrait of Lucy Menzies with members of her family
2. Lucy Menzies headstone with clergy from All Saints’, St Andrews