The heart of the Church

THE slight greyness of the sky was more than made up for by the rainbow of colours on the ground as Edinburgh folk of all ages mingled with church groups from the length and breadth of Scotland.

Once again, the celebration was Heart and Soul, and once again, I was there, searching for tablet, getting sick eating fizzy love hearts and looking for people who were happy to speak to a Life and Work feature writer!

Thankfully, there were many of the latter.

One of the first things I went to have a look at when I got off the bus and entered the gardens through the ancient St Cuthbert’s graveyard and into ‘Stage B’ aka the church, was the exhibition celebrating 150 years of the work of CrossReach.

From schools for young people to special dementia ‘streets’ that aim to allow people with dementia to move around in a place that resembles the way they’d remember things from long ago, including old typewriters, phones, sweetie shops and other mementos from the past, in safety and freely, the work CrossReach does is varied and vital. It’s also imaginative and kind, and kindness is something we could use a lot more of in these trying times.

Another of the things I wanted to see at St Cuthbert’s was their latest art installation, a 20 feet long landscape painted by Scottish artist Adrian Wiszeniski of Lake Tekapo in New Zealand.

St Cuthbert’s has always had a strong relationship with the arts and their Tiff any Window is something that should be high on the ‘must-see’ list for every tourist visiting the city. The scale of ‘Lake Takapo’ is stunning – and from the main floor of the church it seems so small! Twenty feet long and it looks about six!

Helpfully, Adrian was able to attend in person and give a short presentation about his work and the thinking behind the painting.

The main avenue of the gardens was taken up as always by a large number of churches and organisations showing passers-by (and each other) what they were up to.

One of the best things about Heart and Soul is the opportunity to exchange ideas and see how things work. To learn from each other and try to avoid the same mistakes, and in these straitened times, any way of avoiding costly financial mistakes must be a good thing.

So many churches were there, smiling, laughing, wearing daft outfits and welcoming all enquiries; so many organisations were represented, Tearfund, Fresh Start, Bethany Christian Trust, Malawi Fruits, Street Pastors (I nearly went looking for a pair of their famous flip flops after a couple of hours walking about!) and the splendidly named ‘Holy Socks’.

Now in their 20th year, the small company has a variety of socks available in a large number of colours and each with a lovely biblically themed image on them, from the humble donkey, to camels, to crosses to loaves and fishes….the options seemed endless.

The Lord High Commissioner, the Duke of Buccleuch, visited and fancied a pair but the Sunday Trading Laws bend for no man, not even the Queen’s representative to the General Assembly, so he had to leave the tent ‘sans Holy Socks’…

As always, one or two things caught my eye in particular. No, not the stalls giving away sweeties, though they got a share of my attention, but some of these places where there were innovations that I hadn’t heard of before.

In Dundee, Camperdown and Lochee ministry had what looked like a footstool on a table in their tent – but it was actually a no power needed slow cooker. Heavy insulation using polystyrene balls round the sides, bottom and the lid, meant that after an initial heating, food could be removed from any power source, put into the no-power oven and in a few hours time, it would be cooked to perfection.

The church are finding it useful in areas where people have to watch the power bills. Danny Ogierman, Community Development Worker for CALM, says the ‘wonder box’ is a terrific idea. It means food can be left to cook all day without any danger from electricity, burning or fire and even better – we help people make their own one so they too can save money.

Another one that pulled me in was the off er from Church and Society to help churches develop their own orchards.

Now, anyone who remembers my ravings about Embrace The Middle East a couple of years ago, and their tree planting projects (yes, my tree is fine and dandy, thank you very much!) will know that I am if not actually a tree hugger, certainly a tree lover.

So the notion that churches could ask for help to set up their own wee orchard was music to my ears.

Paul Williams is the chappie in charge and he told me a bit about the project.

“Basically we’re looking for four Eco- Congregations in Scotland to take part in an orchard twinning project with churches in Hungary. The inspiring Plant Native Fruit Trees in Church Gardens project in Hungary has planted hundreds of orchards across the country and won the ECEN Roman Juriga Award in 2018.

“We want to inspire church and community orchard planting in Scotland. Planting fruit trees is both a symbolic and practical expression of care for Creation. It is a recognition of the fruitfulness of Creation and a source of healthy food; an orchard requires care and nurture to thrive; and with care will enhance green spaces both for humans and wildlife, particularly in urban areas.

“The Church of Scotland and the Reformed Church in Hungary are working together with Okogyulekezet (Ecocongregation) Hungary, Eco-Congregation Scotland, and a UK charity The Orchard Project. The project is part funded by the European Christian Environment Network (ECEN) but churches who wish to be involved will have to make a significant commitment of time, eff ort and in some cases a financial contribution.

“Though the initial four churches are being looked for in the Edinburgh and Glasgow areas, we would like to involve priority area churches in urban areas and will seek to find match funding where necessary to enable churches with limited resources to participate” he says.

As someone who never passes up an opportunity to plant a tree or two, I have to wonder if my garden could pass as a church orchard…

As always, the singing was fantastic. Princes Street Gardens rang out with the music produced by the bands and the choirs that came and sang their hearts (and souls?) out.

And as always, it was an absolute treat to be there, in any capacity, where the heart of the church beats most clearly.