Cluster News

23/24 July

Next deadline 27th July

Cluster contact:   0131 563 8391

Our Weekend Masses

For details see the section in this week's news and go to our dedicated page.

Sisters and brothers,

This week's readings should give us hope in our "dealings" with God. Jesus encourages his disciples to persist in their efforts to appeal to God's mercy and kindness, just as Abraham appealed in the first reading today.
If we keep on praying for things that really matter, God's loving nature will not be able to resist the pleas of his children who ask or seek or knock on his door for help.
Fr Alex

Prayer Resources:

17th Sunday C

Children's Resources:

17th Sunday C

Communion Service is at

St Gregory's Wed at 9.30 am.

Launching our Online Cluster Calendar

We are very pleased to launch our Online Cluster Calendar this weekend. You can access it through the Cluster website (https://www.southedinburghrc.org.uk/calendar). The Calendar will hold details of all liturgical, pastoral, ecumenical and social events across our three faith communities. 

If you are responsible for organising any event, and trying to identify a suitable date, you can use the Calendar to check if there is anything else happening on a particular day and time. 

To add your event to the Online Cluster Calendar, please contact one of the Calendar Administrators:


»     St John Vianney’s – Susanne (susannelackie@btinternet.com)

»     St Gregory’s – Jacinta (awaywiththeangels@yahoo.co.uk)

»     St Catherine’s – Catherine (eh16@hotmail.co.uk)


We recommend contacting the Calendar Administrator before confirming the day and time of any event you are planning.

It is important to note that we will not include in the Online Cluster Calendar private or commercial events (one-off or regular) being held in our parish halls (e.g. private parties, dance group, etc). Requests for hall bookings should continue to be made through the Hall Managers in each of our three parishes.

We hope this initiative will be helpful in keeping everybody up to date with what is happening in our communities.

Online Cluster Calendar Team

Thanksgiving Mass for Sr Mary

Most of you will know our well-loved Sr Mary Steedman. Sr Mary arrived in the life of the School and Parish of St Catherine's in June 1966 and worked among us for 52 years before retiring due to declining health. When she passed away in April 2020, at the start of the pandemic, we were unable to have a Memorial Mass as a Cluster community.

We now look forward to celebrating a Thanksgiving Mass for Sr Mary's life and ministry on Sunday 28 August at 11am at St Catherine’s. More details to follow.

Celebrating the Sacrament of Baptism

As we continue to emerge from the Covid restrictions we have been working with since early 2020, we have been reviewing how we celebrate the Sacrament of Baptism. Moving forward, we are returning to celebrating Baptism during our Saturday evening and Sunday morning Masses. Full details can be found on the Baptism page on our Cluster website by clicking on this link.

St Catherine's SSVP

Sincere thanks for all the generous donations to St Vincent de Paul. This month we have collected £300 including a donation of £50 from the church stall. These funds will be used to support families over the school holidays and anyone else in need. It will also provide a holiday at Seton Sands for another family in one of the SSVP caravans. One local family has already thoroughly enjoyed a much needed break there supported by our conference.

Jane Watson

The Sainsbury Initiative…

Helping people out of food poverty.

Our SSVP Conferences in the Cluster are extremely grateful to Jacqui Philips community Champion at Sainsburys Cameron Toll in identifying our Conferences as recipients of non- perishable goods, on a regular basis throughout these challenging times of rising costs for people,especially those on the margins and in great need.

This allows us to set up hubs in our three parishes to assist people struggling financially and emotionally throughout the Cluster and on an outreach basis.

If you or anyone you know can use some groceries, please make use of this facility by contacting a member of the SSVP in person or via the Conference phone number, listed in the newsletter. Anyone using the facility will be treated in strict confidence.

Maureen Martin

SJV Ladies Guild: (Wed 3rd August)

We meet every first Wednesday of the month @ 7pm in St Catherine’s Hall. Old and new members welcome.

St Gregory's Ladies Guild

We meet every Tuesday @ 7pm in St Gregory's church hall.

All welcome.

Gracemount Community Gardens, 

Gracemount House Drive EH16 6FD 

As the gardens become more used by the local community we have installed a toilet to allow volunteers, visitors and workers to more comfortably be able to stay in the gardens and to work and enjoy the surroundings.   We are trying to raise funds to pay for the work being done and would be grateful for any donation.  If you feel able to help please go to  https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/fundgracietoilet 

Whether you are able to help or not please drop in to see the gardens.  The gardens are now staffed Monday, Thursday and Friday and open all the time for you to visit.  

Justice Matters: Listen to the voice of creation 

This week has been hot, hot, hot ….  Not in that summer at last sort of way; but in that panic –inducing way, which leaves you, not knowing what to do!  We have listened to tales of woe - trains cancelled, airport runways melting, fires burning and warnings about water shortages across the country.  It was in this context that I came across the symbol of 2022 Season of Creation - the burning bush.  How apt.  

SEE:      The Season of Creation tries to draw our spiritual, our political and our personal attention to what is happening to our beautiful creation.  This year’s theme is “Listen to the Voice of Creation”.  So what does that mean?   Many voices are not heard in public discussion about climate change and the ethics of Earth-keeping. These are the voices of those who suffer the impacts of climate change. These are voices of indigenous people who hold generational wisdom about how to live gratefully within the limits of the land. These are voices of a diminishing diversity of more-than-human species. 

Currently there is a leadership campaign to determine our next prime minister, at a crucial time for our climate.  Are they aware of the need to act?  Sadly there is evidence that  candidates are tuning their message for an audience  where  climate change is not seen as a priority “only 4 per cent of Conservative Party members put reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 in their top three priorities”. 

REFLECT:     The Season is an opportunity for us to come together to pray, reflect and to act practically in defence of those who have solutions but lack the power to make themselves heard. The Psalmist declares, “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims God’s handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the Earth, and their words to the end of the world.” (19: 1-4)  Creation never ceases to proclaim, but do we listen?

ACT:      The Season of Creation runs from September 1st to October 4th. To be meaningful to us we need to be part of it and bring our own prayers, talents and inspirations to that season.  It would be wonderful if we could as a community inspire ourselves to embrace the season.  We could engage at the level of worship – this guide holds many ideas. For example the Earth Examen   which encourages us to pray, reflect and commit to act.  We could as a cluster look to what we could do to ensure we are an example of “listening to creation”.   If anything here has captured your imagination in any way and you feel you would like to express your concern for creation through worship and action please contact the Eco circle.   We have an opportunity to share our ideas, our hopes and our fears and to see them transformed into action as we continue to grow in love of creation.

Tricia Kaminski

You are held in prayer

Those who are unwell

and in need of our prayers:

Maureen Tolmie, Zoila Melgarejo, Kate,

Agnes Mallon (Anna), Shay Harvey (5 years old), Susie Hay (100 years young). Michael Martin, Anne McKain, Joe MacDonald, Rose Ross, Camilo Rodriguez, Edison Villabona,

Gloria Camargo, Anne-Marie Davie,

Joe McConnell, Carolyn Larter, Christine Knox, Patrick Phelan, Sheila Ross, Ellen Salvona,

Nilsa de Rodriguez, Belén Rodriguez,

Rudy Deras, Dawn Adams, Helen Haddow,

Bill and Marlene Bonnar, Stevie Donald,

Kathy Duffy, Mary,

Verdiana and Donati Kweka (Tanzania),

Mary Thomson, Eammon McKelvey,

Nancy Barta, Alex McGinnity, Patricia Simmons, Elizabeth Napier, George Pringle, Sr. Veronica, Katharine, John, Jennifer, Maureen Lawson, Bailey Bruce McCann, Betty Dickinson, Annette, Catherine Hart, Karen Devlin, Scott Fraser,

Anne Doig, Jessie & George Ritchie,

John Skinner, Fr Eugen, James Duffy,

Ronan Boyle, Hazel Martin, Mary Boyle,

Mary Dias, Catriona McAuley, Marie,

Roney Fernandes, Christopher Browne,

Xaverina Rodrigues, Anne and Helen,

Sacred Heart sisters in Uganda

I am the Resurrection and the Life

We remember in love

Those who have died recently:

Marciana Sebastian,

Sr. May Lewis,

Inge Downie,

Stephen Clarke.



Anniversaries


St Catherine's:

Helen Bagan, Angus Mooney, Colin Philips,

Jimmy Tolmie.


St Gregory's:

George Monkhouse, Bridget Stanton,

Peter Clark jnr, Annie Loy,

Theresa McDevitt.


St John Vianney's:

Mr Mielnicki, Eileen Iwanow,

Mary Naughton McKenzie, Isabella Brown,

James McNally, Mary M Hardie,

Charles McCann, Norman Davidson,

Tracey Marie Davidson, Anthony McKelvey,

Jane Cairns, Thomas Thomson,

Reginald Ewart, Maria Nicol.

Our Remembrance Gallery  is in memory of the loved ones we have lost during the pandemic. If you wish a loved one to be included, go here to find out how. You will also find information on what help our Cluster Bereavement Group offer for anyone who has been bereaved.

Please join us in Contemplative prayer 

on Tuesday afternoons 2.40 to 3.45 at Liberton Northfield 280 Gilmerton Road EH16 5TT

Entrance through Red side door. Buses 3, 8, 29 stop right outside. The format is: 

  • short introduction followed by 
  • 30 minutes silent prayer
  • then 10 minutes of intercessory prayer.

If you prefer you can join us on Zoom or just pray with us while you are at home. Contact Clare Roller

Boxes for our local foodbank

Please bring items listed below to any of our church buildings or either of our Catholic Primary Schools for the foodbank - or take them to:

47 Southhouse Broadway EH17 8AS   

Phone number 664 9353     

Email: edinburghfoodbank@blythswood.org

Very short on these items this week:

  • Ladies/Gents shower gel,
  • Deodorant,
  • Toothpaste,
  • Savoury Biscuits.


Thank you for the two cash donations.


New opening hours for the Food Bank are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 10am until 1.30pm


Are you struggling? We are here to help


If you, or anyone you know, is in need of financial support or a friendly telephone chat, call our SSVP in the Cluster:

St John Vianney's 07922 675196, 

St Gregory's 07455 306607

St Catherine's 07539 266411. 

If you would like to make a donation go here

Entitlements Page

What help are you entitled to?

There are many benefits and grants to which people are entitled. Please check our entitlements page.

Let us also know of others.

Free Fringe Event: "Outside – In"  8-14th August. Walpole Hall, St Mary's Cathedral, Palmerston Place

Outside –In  aims to co – create an artwork on the theme of discovering hope after loss and displacement.  Working in workshops with guidance and help from Syrian artist, Mousa alNana there will be plenty of opportunity to learn, create and chat.

There are many ways to help – by being a steward, offering to lead a workshop but most importantly by attending.  The workshops run morning and afternoon at 10.30 or 14.00.

Contact Sarah Tolley on 07593 316284 or go to their Facebook page

Edinburgh Fringe 2022: Saltmine Theatre Company     The Liberator

17–20 Aug @ Palmerston Place Church.

When a strange man comes to town, peculiar things start to happen: the sick rise from their beds, the dead live again, and the oppressed glimpse a life worth living. But who is he? And how long before the powers that be crack down on this subversive, this radical, this ‘Liberator’?
A passionate retelling of the Gospel of Matthew. Told in a modern idiom, this is a gospel at once faithful and utterly fresh. More information here. To book go here.

Earth-Maker: a modern Lord's Prayer

(Jim Cotter 1942-2014)

Eternal Spirit,
Earth-maker, Pain Bearer, Life-Giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be.
Father and Mother of us all,
Loving God, in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and forever. Amen.


This version of the Lord’s Prayer is included in The Prayer Book of The Anglican Church of New Zealand.