Welcome To St Cuthbert's Church !

I thought it might be good to let you know just a little about me and about the Denniston family..... 

I was ordained in 1981 into my first charge in Glasgow, the city in which I was born, raised, educated and married. There followed ministries in Fife and then in Perth. In all this, as also in the work I have done with the committees, boards and councils of the church, my deepest passions have been for worship, preaching and mission.  

But other interests also find their place. I am a keen fly-fisherman, enjoy hill-walking when I am able, have eclectic tastes in music.  

(Although - sad to say - I am mainlyan unreconstructed 1970's progressive rock fan!) I play guitar and bass guitar, and am an enthusiastic rugby supporter (indeed, I have just purchased my season ticket for Edinburgh Rugby!).

Jane (who is also an ordained minister and who works with the Ministries Council at 121 George Street) previously spent some years as an artist, although she presently has little time to develop this talent. In addition to her job, she is studying part-time for a for a Masters degree.  

We have three grown up children: Iain, who works with a computer games company in Leith and lives in Newhaven, Graeme, who has returned to full-time education and is at university in Glasgow, and Ruth who has been studying at the Galashiels campus of Heriot Watt, and who graduates in a few weeks time.  

It is a very real privilege for us to be part of the family of St Cuthbert's and I look forward to sharing with you in worship, fellowship, mission and congregational life. 

I have been very much looking forward to starting my final placement at St Cuthbert's and now that I am slowly but surely finding my feet about the church and parish, meeting new people and being warmly welcomed into the congregation, I really sense the kindness and goodness of God in Him calling me here.  

Before I go any further let me tell you a bit about myself.  

Firstly, let me answer a commonly asked question: I am 6 ft 7" and no, I do not play basketball!  

I grew up in a village 17 miles west of Glasgow, Langbank. Before I moved to Edinburgh in July 2007, I stayed near the town of Killin at the head of Loch Tay where I worked with a business psychologist at a leadership development centre, The House of Cantle. Prior to that, I lived in the far north of Scotland for four years where I was a youth worker in St Peter's and St Andrew's Church of Scotland, Thurso.  

I am married to Charlotte who is also at the start of her career. She has just begun her second foundation year in medicine and aspires to become a GP in the long term. Charlotte comes from Kilmacolm, a village only four miles from Langbank. Despite living in such a close proximity to one another our paths never crossed when growing up. Instead, we met at a Christian conference called "Clan Gathering", held in St Andrews each summer. 

In my spare time I love to fly fish. In fact, if you happen to know of any good fishing haunts near by then please be sure to let me know! Along with fishing, I am a keen mountaineer and feel truly alive when I am in the great out doors. I have also recently got back into the swing of golf (please pardon that really bad pun, that was not intentional!) and enjoy playing the great variety of courses around Edinburgh. 

Thank you for welcoming me so warmly into the church family of St Cuthbert's. I look forward to getting to know you all better and to seeing what the Lord with do as we seek after Him in our worship together.  

Until November 2005, I was Minister of Canongate here in Edinburgh where I served for over twenty-seven years. Before that, I was for nearly fourteen years Minister of a parish near Dingwall in Ross-shire, the lovely parish of Kiltearn (Evanton). I married Alison, who then taught geography in St Margaret's School, just before my ordination and induction to Kiltearn, where we had three children, all now very grown up: Duncan is a business consultant in London, Mary is a barrister, also in London, and Margaret, who lives and works in Bath, is the editor of a monthly journal called Edge which reviews the most highly sophisticated video games.  

I am a Chaplain in Ordinary to Her Majesty the Queen, and also serve as Chaplain to various Edinburgh bodies, such as the Merchant Company, the Edinburgh 603 Squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, and the High Constables and Guard of Honour of Holyroodhouse.  

For many years I was involved in liturgical matters: I was a long-time member and then Chairman of the Joint Liturgical Group (a United Kingdom inter-Church committee); was Secretary of the committee which compiled The Church Hymnary: Fourth Edition; and, before that, for many years the Secretary and then Convener of the General Assembly's Panel on Worship. I also had the privilege of serving as a founder member of the Broadcasting Standards Council and as a member of the Historic Buildings Council of Historic Scotland. For more than twenty years, I was a Governor of St Columba's Hospice, and a member and then Chairman of Queensberry House Hospital. 

My wife Alison, and I are both keen on classical music: she plays the violin in the New Edinburgh Orchestra, and enjoys playing the piano. She also founded and runs the Scottish Stained Glass Symposium. 

You will see from all this that we have had and are still leading full and fulfilling lives. They are even more filled and fulfilling now that we have come to be associated with St Cuthbert's, and we are looking forward to getting to know as many of you as possible in the time we will be with you. 

Jane is a Ministries Support Office with the Ministries Council of the Church of Scotland based in 121 George St, Edinburgh.  

She trained as a minister between 1996 and 2001 after a call to the ministry which began at the General Assembly! Ordained in 2002, she worked in congregational development with the Board of Parish Education for four years. In 2005 she moved to her present role in which she is responsible for organizing the training for all those accepted as candidates for either the diaconal ministry or the ministry of Word and Sacrament, whether full-time or auxiliary, in the Church of Scotland. She has a particular interest in liturgy and in the theology of sexuality.  

Before training for ministry Jane had a variety of jobs including teacher (English as a Second Language), sales assistant (Kings Fabrics where she spent more than she ever earned) and a spell with the Royal Bank of Scotland, as well as painting full time for several years.  

Jane's hobbies include painting, reading and sewing, and anything "crafty". She confesses to a being a qualification junkie, currently studying part time for a Masters degree in Pastoral Theology and after that....who knows! 

Jane and David have been married for far too many years to admit to in public and have three children who they hope might one day be self-supporting 

I am delighted to have joined the team at St Cuthbert's after spending 18 years at Greyfriars Tolbooth & Highland Kirk, on the other side of the Castle. 

Following a degree in theology from Aberdeen University, I had intended either to teach, or to go into something related to the ministry. However, I spotted the advert for the post of Church Officer at Greyfriars, and thought it would make a suitable 'stepping stone'.  

As Church Officer, and for the past 14 years as Administrator, I was responsible for anything from boiler programming to organising the extensive programme of concert activities. I found the variety of tasks to be rewarding, although it was not always easy to ensure that all of the complex interweaving of church, community and the arts ran on an even keel all of the time. 

I was also heavily involved with setting up the Visitor Centre at Greyfriars, and for recruiting a team of volunteers to act as Welcomers, and Concert Stewards. 

For the past 8 years I have also thoroughly enjoyed my role as Deputy Assembly Officer for the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. One of my key tasks is to sound the gong when the Lord High Commissioner approaches the long flight of steps up to the Assembly Hall! This is a fascinating role which gives a wonderful insight into the behind-the-scenes workings of the highest Court in the Church. 

In my spare time I enjoy, rugby, photography and travel.  

Our contact details are: 

The Parish Church of St Cuthbert
5 Lothian Road
Edinburgh EH1 2EP
Scotland, UK 

Telephone : 0131-229 1142
Fax : 0131-221 0899

A more comprehensive list of all our e-mail addresses and telephone numbers, can be found HERE