GROUNDSWELL Breathing Space Knightsridge Church, Livingston Ecumenical Parish, invited members of the local community in Knightsridge to share in the building of three new gardens, A Place of Love, A Place of Joy and A Place of Peace. These gardens brought some neglected areas of ground around Mosswood Community Centre in Knightsridge to life and are open for visitors to enjoy. To see the gardens, click on to the link: http://www.life-pages.com/knightsridgebreathingspace.html Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Rev Dr Roddy MacLeod of Furnace, Inverary, has agreed to translate the 2010 Week of Prayer materials into Scottish Gaelic. CTBI have admitted that the lack of Scottish Gaelic has been a serious omission (when for years they have produced Irish Gaelic and Welsh versions) and are prepared to make up for it from now on. Roddy is to be congratulated for undertaking such a big task on behalf of Gaelic speakers. It is hoped that Gaelic speakers will be encouraged to participate in the Week of Prayer, especially in the Western Isles. God’s Own Country A practical resource for rural churches has been prepared by the Church of Scotland for use by all denominations in Scotland. The aim is to encourage and inspire rural congregations to feel confident in their role as faithsharers in the local community. The pack costs £6.99, including postage, and can be obtained from Sheila Reeves on 0131 225 5722 – sreeves@cofscotland.org.uk. Walking Together with Christ This event took place on 1 and 2 March. Events on the Saturday included workshops, worship, a walking pilgrimage around Elgin and an evening of mediation and reflection, including walking a labyrinth. A service was held on the Sunday afternoon and was open to all the churches of Elgin. The event had been put together by a group formed from five of the local church groups and fellowships including the Church of Scotland, Scottish Episcopal Church, Roman Catholic Church and the Independent Evangelical Community Church. Back to Church Sunday on 28 September is an initiative to rekindle church going among people who have given it up. Members of a congregation invite friends they haven’t seen in church for a while to come to a service with them on Back to Church Sunday. That day the church makes an effort to be especially “user friendly” to visitors. On Back to Church Sunday 2007, people in 2000 churches invited and welcomed back 20,000 friends across the country. For more information visit: www.backtochurch.co.uk Threads The second Local Ecumenical Partnership Gathering is to take place on Saturday, 1 November 2008 at The Wynd Centre, Oakshaw Trinity Church, Paisley from 10 am. There will be workshops, stories and seminars in a pattern of church for today. Those taking part in the day include: Mosspark United Church, Glasgow Murrayfield Churches Together, Edinburgh Oakshaw Trinity Church, Paisley St John’s Episcopal Church, Dumfries The Rt Rev Bruce Cameron The Very Rev Dr Sheilagh Kesting The Local Collaborative Ministry Team. To register for the event or for more information, please contact Rev Lindsey Sanderson on 01259 222361 or email lindseysanderson@acts-scotland.org. Racial Justice Sunday This year, Racial Justice Sunday is on 14 September. Resources will take the form of a menu for “A banquet for All People”, based on Isaiah 25:6-9 where the prophet says God is preparing “a banquet for all the nations of the world”. As a result of requests for resources, that can be used at any time of the year, racial justice materials for 2008 will include suggestions for other seasons besides Racial Justice Sunday. These include Black History Month (October), Advent (December) and next year’s summer holiday season. Under each heading, there is a menu of worship materials, sermon ideas, discussion questions and suggestions for practical responses to the issues raised. In addition to a 32-page booklet, a wealth of additional resources, including booklets, prayer cards, flyers and posters is now available. Please contact Claire Hurley on 0207 654 7254 or email Claire.hurley@ctbi.org.uk. Supplementary items will be available to download at www.ctbi.org.uk/racialjusticesunday. A Quiet Day for Scotland The ‘Quiet Day’ Task Group of the Church Life Network of ACTS are initiating a National Quiet Day in Scotland. A moment taken from a busy life to stop in quiet reflection and/or prayer at some time over St Andrew’s Day. A Day Conference was held on 5 March to discuss how this might be done, what the possibilities and practicalities of such an initiative might be. Although this would be essentially a national event, the focus is very much on local initiatives. The local events would be organised by local people/groups/churches and may take place in a busy shopping centre, an office, park or during a walk or a picnic – whatever the imagination and energy allows!  A website is being planned which will provide organisers with resources, news and ideas essential for the planning of such an event. Great interest has been shown and anyone who would like to know more should contact Shona Paterson at the ACTS office – email: shonapaterson@acts-scotland.org or telephone 01259 222362.  Autumn Conference Our annual conference, co-hosted with ACTS, will be held on 23 October 2008 in our offices at 121 George Street starting at 10.30 am. The conference will pick up on the Guild’s theme for 2008-09 – “He restores my soul”. There will be three strands to the day: How do we read the Bible together? How do we pray together? How do we witness together? A programme and invitations will be sent to Presbytery Ecumenical Representatives, Presbyterial Council Ecumenical Representatives and Churches Together groups at the end of August. Justice Peace and Integrity of Creation Network – Ecumenical Calendar This site lists World Days and Ecumenical Sundays along with links to other interesting web sites: http://jpc-sec.org.uk We are always pleased to receive reports of local news and events. Send them to Ros Milne, Church of Scotland, Ecumenical Relations, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN email: rmilne@cofscotland.org.uk