Small Groups
Our Father wants his church to be a family. At Community Church we’re learning how to create a place where we know we have people around to encourage and sharpen us. We recognise that these relationships need to grow naturally as people find their feet and their friends.
Because God is teaching us about being a family together, we encourage everyone in Community Church to be part of a Small Group, so that everyone feels included in the family. Most find that they’re too good to miss!!
Many of the small groups fit the more traditional group pattern of meeting for a Bible study, worship, etc. But there are others that don’t, but are important community groups for people.
Echo is a group exploring different expressions of church at home and at the workplace; there is also a Women’s Group, a “Two Halves of Life“ group focusing on the transition into mid-life, Sojourners group, who meet to share about their journey and their relationship with God, using books or other media as a catalyst, Hill Walking Club, Kirk Football, and the Green Team who are concerned about raising the awareness of environmental issues within the church.
A full list of all our small groups can be found below:
Jonny Aspden’s group
Meet weekly on Mondays, mostly in the Marchmont area of the city, in Jonny’s flat. Meetings range from worship nights, bible study and social evenings.
Grace Deuchar’s group,
hosted by Ewan and Helen Stark
Meeting fornightly on Mondays at Eskbank, Dalkeith, but easily accessible from town.
Kirk Football
Barrie Walker
Every Monday night from 8-9pm. An opportunity to join with 40 other footballers of varying degrees of fitness, skill and ages drawn from across the city, mushrooming out primarily from workplace contacts. Smoothly administrated by email by its orignator Mr Walker Kirk Football is lots of fun without being overly serious and a breath of fresh air for christian and non-christian alike.
Karen Geekie, Kirsty and Andrew Hook’s Group
Intergenerational group meeting fortnightly on the city’s Southside. Meets once a month on a Tuesday to discuss previewed reading material such as wonder, sexuality, motherhood and God, confrontation and complaint, beauty, failure, Christ and culture plus series on the emotions, the senses and on prayer. Ends with space for personal reflection. Meets once a month for Sunday lunch.
‘Two Halves of Life’ Group
Meets fortnightly to share, pray, and worship together. It is a place where we accompany and support one another through the seasons of life.
Andrew and Kirsty Hook
Meets on the last Wednesday of the month in Newington, this group is partnered with the charity Coracle (http://coracle.pmhclients.com/) , and is a trans-church collection of people exploring issues related to that of the mid-life transition. Starts with a meal together, includes group discussion and material for personal reflection.
Roy and Hannah Hasson’s group
Meeting three out of four Tuesday each month, welcoming anyone for Bible Study and occasional meals, to the Gilmerton area south of the city.
Donald Duncan’s group
Meets weekly on Wednesdays, starting with food, in various members’ homes. Bible study and discussion on offer.
Nick Adams’s group
Meet Wednesday evenings between Leith Walk and Easter Rd for tea and Bible study.
We mainly discuss life experiences and seeing God in them. Other things we have done are book reviews, meditations on music/scripture/images, celtic prayer, godly play and meals together.
Student Groups
Felicity Hollands
Meeting various times, for those studying in the city.
Echo
Meets every 3 weeks for study, discussion and worship at various venues and in between at various times for meals and prayer.
Colin Hewitt
We meet regularly in each other’s homes to eat together, and see hospitality as one of the key elements of cultivating those relationships. Every few weeks we get together to worship and explore God’s word. We want our worship to create an atmosphere of encouragement and well as challenge to live our lives more fully for God. Much of the biblical focus of Echo has been centred on the life and message of Jesus. In Echo we recognise that our homes, friendships, work places, sports teams and other communities are all spheres where God has placed us and called us to be good news. We do not have a fixed outcome in mind, but we do want to explore how we can outwork the core values of CCE through different expressions of church in future.
Sojourners group
Ben Gordon
Sojourners are a group of people who are intentional about journeying together to encounter more of God. Our starting point is usually a book which marks the beginning and end of each sojourn. But in between there is food, laughter, fellowship and we hope, a growing mutual trust in God and in one another.
The Holy Spirit is always in charge. He knows these waters well and navigates expertly through our hearts on this journey of discovery to new destinations. Revealing on the way something new of who we are in Jesus Christ and ultimately of our Father in heaven.
Hillwalking
Gathers every so often with others across the city and beyond to enjoy both good company and the mark or signature of God upon creation.
Derek Petrie
Green TeamThe Green Team serves as a hub of creativity, actions, ideas, initiatives for CCE and beyond to speak in one voice about green matters in pursuit of being better stewards of this Garden that is Planet Earth that our God has created.
Lotenna Okeke, Karen Geekie
If you would like to go along to one of the small groups;
- on Sundays, please speak to John Muirhead at the office table or Colin Symes.
-or in the week contact the CCE Office (office@cce.uk.net, tel 466 8660) who will arrange for someone to get in touch with you with details of time and venue.
If you wish to contact a leader about any of these small group please contact Colin Symes for more information.
