Clerk to the Nominating Committee
Miss Margaret I Pollock (Email : )

Interim Moderator
Rev Dr George Whyte, Colinton Parish Church (Email : )

Informal enquiries and recommendations to the Interim Moderator.

Applications, with CV and minimum two referees, to the Clerk to the Nominating Committee.

Download a PDF version of the Parish Profile....

For text only version (109 kb) right click HERE

For full graphic verion (299 kb) right click HERE

....then select 'Save Target As'

1. Our Vision

Our core vision in St Cuthbert's is: Living out the Gospel of Jesus Christ at the heart of our city as God's people nurturing hearts for God; offering a home to friend and stranger; and providing a hub to equip the people of God for the mission of God. 

St Cuthbert's is entering a new chapter in its life. The Kirk Session has reappraised the vision for the future and the particular role of the congregation in responding to the challenges and opportunities of modern life. These arise not only within our own parish, but also in our relations with our neighbouring congregations. We shall be seeking to work ever more closely with St Andrew's and St George's and St George's West. We have a long-standing Local Ecumenical Partnership with St John's Scottish Episcopal Church, (more information) and we shall be discussing extending that LEP to include our Church of Scotland neighbours also.  

We see our future as continuing to be pioneering, as it has been over the past 1300 years, seeking out new ways of serving God by serving our fellow men and women in our parish and beyond. Our parish is distinctive. It is not primarily residential, but is part of the city centre to which many people come for work and for leisure. It includes one of the largest financial centres of Europe. At night, it is a hub for leisure activities. Each offers a different and demanding opportunity for the further development of new forms of outreach. The parish area is also a magnet for the homeless and vulnerable, and that too offers an opportunity for service.  

2. Development Group

The Development Group is responsible to the Kirk Session for the development and implementation of the Vision and Plan for St Cuthbert's, our relationship with other churches and for monitoring progress. To assist the Development Group there are a number of Task Groups - Pastoral Care and Faith Development, World Church, Worship and Spirituality, Communication, Hospitality and Finance and General Purposes. The Conveners of the Task Groups are members of the Development Group. Each Task Group reports annually to the Kirk Session and the Development Group reports to the Annual General Meeting of the Congregation in March each year. 

3. Constitution

In 2005 we adopted the Unitary Constitution.  

4. Where are we?

Location and Parish Boundaries
St Cuthbert's Church is located beyond the west end of Princes Street Gardens on the corner of Lothian Road and King's Stables Road.  

5. Pastoral Care

The Pastoral Care Task Group incorporates the Friendship and Bereavement Groups, the Flower Ministry and Prayer Circle. A House Committee of St Cuthbert's members support the staff and residents of Cherryholme House, a successor to the Abbeyfield Scheme. 

6. Healing Ministry

Since 1986 a Team Healing Ministry has operated in St Cuthbert's. The Sunday Evening Service is a Service of healing and at lunchtime on a Tuesday the Team offers Healing and Intercessory Prayer. Prayer for healing is available through our Prayer Circle.(more information) 

7. Youth

Over the years the numbers attending the Sunday School have fluctuated and at the present time there is no Sunday School. There is an active Boys' Brigade Company which meets in a primary school within the parish..(more information) 

8. Worship

Our present pattern of worship is:

9. Ministry of the Building

St. Cuthbert's church building is one of the congregation's greatest assets as the physical hub of our activities. This is where we maintain regular worship, promote outreach, offer hospitality and engage with a wide range of other city centre operators. This remarkable building - the seventh on the site- combines an outward austerity with richness of interior decoration, colour and atmosphere. It imbues a strong sense of the splendour and majesty of God and of the beauty of holiness. 

Retention of the building can only be justified for as long as it remains fit for the purpose of equipping the congregation to fulfil its mission. That requirement varies over time so the building was extensively remodelled internally in the late 1980s to provide more flexible meeting spaces and a smaller sanctuary. That adaptation has proved extremely successful in enabling St. Cuthbert's to contribute to the life of the city centre community as a place of worship, meeting place, night shelter for the homeless. chaplaincy to the business community, healing centre, visitor attraction, concert venue et al.  

With its spaciousness, dramatic impact, capacity, acoustics, organ, belfry, central location, parking and the facilities it has to offer, St. Cuthbert's is well placed to aspire to a cathedral type of focus. It lends itself to celebratory, festival style worship for the big occasions as well as providing a quiet mid week haven in the heart of the city for personal prayer and devotion. 

As a vehicle for the practical hospitality featured in our 2003 "Vision and Plan", the building each year welcomes several thousands of people otherwise rarely exposed to such a distinct atmosphere of Christian influence, to: 

• Regular worship
• Large gatherings e.g. the launch of CH4
• Charitable fund-raising events and school concerts especially at Christmas
• Professional and amateur performances
• A Festival Fringe venue
• Conferences and training workshops
• A steady stream of visitors to see the building itself with guides to welcome them.

The ministry of the building is distinctive and undoubtedly has an impact both quantifiable and otherwise. If we are not exactly a Church without Walls, we are working to make our walls sufficiently porous for the stranger and the outcast to be drawn inside and for the gospel we proclaim to permeate the secular world outside. 

The churchyard is in local authority hands. At present it is not as well maintained as it might be but there are encouraging intimations of possible plans for the future.