Dear Friends,

It was a very interesting experience for me to move to a new city and a new congregation just as we were all emerging from lockdown. For Christians of all denominations emerging from the Covid pandemic heightened the tension between exploring new ways of doing things we were beginning to learn and returning to the old familiar ways that we sorely missed. Some are excited by new patterns of opening the Scriptures in online worship, while others have returned with relief to listening to the sermon from the pulpit.

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About Jock & Introduction to Psalms for Lent

Rev Dr Jock Stein is a poet, piper and preacher from Haddington in Scotland. He has degrees from Cambridge, Edinburgh and Glasgow Universities, and brings experience of the Sheffield steel industry, people and places in East Africa, and the life of modern Scotland to his poetry, which began seriously after he reached the age of 70. He has been a parish minister, and also with his wife Margaret was warden of Carberry Tower, then a 90-bed conference centre. In his spare time, he manages the Handsel Press, a small publishing house started in 1975, and a large garden. He currently chairs Tyne and Esk Writers and is Interim Moderator at Aberlady and Gullane Parish Church.

Jock is the author of Commentary (poems on economics and politics), Swift (poems on travel and hills and gardens), and two books of poetry and conversation about the Bible – From Cosmos to Canaan (Genesis to Joshua) and From Ruth to Lamentations. His latest book is Temple and Tartan: Psalms, Poetry and Scotland (www.handselpress.co.uk)

Jock writes: “The lectionary includes a psalm for every Sunday, and over the season of Lent we are going to look at these. Recently I wrote poetry on all the Old Testament Psalms, and I will be using some of these poems, along with new ones written specially for this series. Psalm 2 is the one set for Sunday 19th, but I have included Psalm 1 on this occasion, since these two psalms introduce the rest of the Hebrew Psalter. Eugene Peterson called them ‘a binocular introduction to the life of prayer’, and I recommend his book on a selection of psalms, Where Your Treasure Is. Scriptures cited are from the NRSV.”

Lent Appeal 2023 – The Irene Taylor Trust (Sounding Out Programme)

www.irenetaylortrust.com  Registered UK Charity No. 1073105

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A few examples of what donations would help pay for: £10 could pay for copies of CDs for former-prisoner musicians to share with their family and friends, £15 could pay for a former-prisoner to attend a 1-to-1 progression support session, £30 could go towards collaborative music-making sessions with the highly experienced musicians, £40 could go towards training sessions to gain skills in co-facilitating projects with young people, £50 could pay for studio time for a former-prisoner musician to record new material. 

Plans for the Lent Appeal

There will be guests from the Irene Taylor Trust and Sounding Out. Providing additional information on the charity, plus a Sounding Out musician to tell us more on how the programme has benefited them and will also perform a piece of music live during the service. We welcome them all to St. Columba’s.

Sunday 26 February (first Sunday in Lent): Guest speaker, Luke Bowyer (Funding and Communications Director) and Darren (Sounding Out Musician).

Sunday 2 April (Palm Sunday): Guest speaker, Sara Lee (Artistic Director) and Luke McCarthy or Darren (Sounding Out Musician).

If you would like to contribute to the Lent Appeal: Gift Aid helps, if you are eligible. If you need to complete a Gift Aid declaration form, please contact the Church Office. Various options to donate:

White Lent Appeal envelopes are available in the Upper Vestibule and in the pews.

Alternatively, by electronic bank transfer: Please use “Lent Appeal” as the payment reference.

St Columba’s Church of Scotland
Royal Bank of Scotland
Account Number 00264741
Sort Code 16 00 42

Cheques payable to: “St. Columba’s Church of Scotland” and with a note attached to cheque indicating it is for the Lent Appeal. Send to:

Finance Dept. (Lent Appeal)
St. Columba’s Church
Pont Street
London SW1X 0BD

If you would like to make a card donation, please go into the Church Office.

With your donations we can help transform futures, thank you.

Creating Music. Transforming Futures