Worship

We meet every Sunday at 10.30am and 5.30pm. Our church services consist of singing, prayer bible reading and preaching. The morning service lasts about one hour. We have tea and coffee after the service, and encourage sharing of food together in homes after church. Different people participate in the service, but as we gather in church, we want to offer God worship from our heart - well prepared, Holy Spirit dependent and using all the gifts he has given us responsibly and excellently. We love to sing, pray and hear God’s Word read and preached. That is our main focus - to listen for what God is saying to us through His Living Word - the bible, through the preaching and teaching of the ministry team.

There is an ever-growing number of children in the church and we want them to enjoy their time as part of the church family as much as possible. Our young people are the future of our church and we want to care for them, teach them and prepare them to live the Christian life in today’s often challenging world. The smallest members of our church family (those 3 and under) are looked after in our crèche, where the volunteers make sure the first memories these little ones have of church are happy and welcoming. Our kids’ church serves our young people aged 3 to 11 during the morning service. Each class uses age-appropriate resources to illustrate and apply Bible teaching.

Our teachers and helpers are all PVG checked, trained and enthusiastic participants who work together in teams to look after the children. We are always looking for volunteers to join our kids’ church and crèche teams, to love them well and share with them the truth of the Gospel

Prayer is at the core of all we do as a church. Our hope is in God and we know that without his help we can’t do anything. We deeply value being able to regularly pray together as a community of God’s people. These are times where we can strengthen and encourage one another, as we bring our prayers before God.

• Engine Room Every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month, we meet together to hear a short Bible-based message, share prayer points and have a time of prayer together.
• 127:1 Twice a year we meet each Friday morning for two moths to come together to pray. Our focus is on Psalm 127:1 ‘Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labour in vain’, reminding us of how central prayer is to all that we do as a church and as individuals.
• 7 Days of Prayer Twice a year, we have a focused time of prayer where we meet together daily. Our prayers during these times focus on our city and for those we know who have not yet come to faith in Jesus.

You can be the first person people meet at St Columba's! First impressions are always powerful, and the same is true here in church - so we want ours to be kind, helpful and open-hearted. You don’t need a good memory for names or faces; just a willingness to welcome every individual as if you are welcoming Christ himself!

We are always looking for new ways of making a joyful noise to the Lord, so whether you think you’ve got untapped potential as a hymn-singer or precentor (someone who leads the psalm-singing), or play a little-known musical instrument, we want to hear from you. We would especially welcome any gents who can sing, but there’s always room for more ladies too!

We like to share hospitality together as a congregation, whether as a hot drink after the service or a meal together. If you would be willing to give up a small amount of your time every few weeks to help provide this hospitality on a Sunday, we would be very grateful. It isn’t difficult or glamorous work, but it makes a huge difference to the fellowship we can share as a congregation.

The Old Farm Court is a sheltered housing accommodation unit, in Colinton, for those aged 60+. On the second Sunday of each month an hour-long worship service, led by someone from St Columba’s, is held for its residents. The residents at Old Farm Court love to have visitors and so we try to encourage two or three from our congregation each month to enjoy fellowship with them. Currently we have about 25-30 people who come along which is great and it is an excellent opportunity to present the Gospel to those who have not heard it before.