Easter people

“Well that was Easter,” someone said to me, “all gone so fast.” Easter Sunday was glorious as always at OSP, and it is over for another year. Or not really, because Easter is not a one-day feast, it is a fifty-day season. 

One-day Easters are about the empty tomb and the incomprehension of the disciples in the garden. This is important, but it only scratches the surface of what the Resurrection is. So we need a season of fifty days, until Pentecost, to learn and reflect what it really means for us.

Because Resurrection is not just something that happened to Jesus, but something that happens to the world . It  announces a new reality.

This year, the whole of April is in Easter-tide, so that every Sunday has something different to show us about what this means for us. Being a Christian is about being an Easter person: seeing life, its good times and its bad, in the light of the Resurrection, and responding to it differently, with hope and generosity.

Happy Easter.
Fr Ian

Passiontide at Old Saint Paul's

Easter celebrations

Lenten veils were swapped for sprays of white lilies as Easter was celebrated with the usual feast of services at OSP: the 5am Easter Vigil, 8am Mass, 10:30am High Mass and 6:30pm Evensong and Benediction. Following the Vigil, the congregation breakfasted together. A small contingent scaled Calton Hill in brilliant sunshine to sing the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah, much to the delight and confusion of those on their early morning run.  

To view a video of the hilltop rendition of the iconic piece, click here.

Diocese of Edinburgh: The Big Day

The Big Day, celebrating the shared life and faith of the Diocesan churches, takes place on Saturday 28 April from 10:30am to 2:30pm, with refreshments served from 10:00am. Hosted by Saint Mary's Cathedral, Palmerston Place, it will feature prayer and worship, a Eucharist, lunch and stalls from all the churches, including Old Saint Paul's.

For more information, visit the Diocese of Edinburgh website.

Finding family at Old Saint Paul's

Victoria Stock has recently produced an article for DIVA magazine, a magazine for gay and bisexual women. 

Victoria writes about Old Saint Paul's being a place of welcome, where all are loved and accepted. In particular, she speaks about her experiences of finding family at Old Saint Paul's, and the role the Church has played in supporting her to come out. 

The article has been reproduced by the Scottish Episcopal Church's online magazine, pisky.scot, and you can read it here.