Chaplain celebrates science with Dinosaur Sunday

This weekend a special 'Dinosaur Sunday' service will celebrate the insights of science and provide fun activities for children of all ages to engage with the topic.

Led by Environmental Chaplain Rev David Coleman, the ecumenical event will take place in Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh at 11am.

Now an annual fixture in Mr Coleman's calendar, Dinosaur Sunday began after he mentioned evolution in a sermon and a worshipper thanked him afterwards for "how liberated she felt that now she could reconcile believing in dinosaurs and coming to church".

Mr Coleman also began to feel concern at the rise of science-denying lobby groups, and even a UK-based pressure group who wished to remove evolution from the school curriculum.

He said: "Now, of course, faced by mass apathy in the UK and presidential denialism in the US, our relationship with science in an age of extinction brought about by human action is a vital subject for prayer, reflection and action.

"We humans have not approached the durability of the dinosaurs, though in the exercise of our distinctive attribute, our rapid adaptability to environment, we are bringing to an abrupt end the lives of other species, as well as the sustainability of our own.

"Dinosaur Sunday has been about listening for the voice of science, offering hope, humility and commitment, having fun, and asserting our trust and wonder in a Creator beyond us, yet with us.

"It has been a passion and a driver of my ministry, stimulating wonder and openness to the insights of science in local church contexts.

"Now, as environmental chaplain, mindful of the climate emergency, the theme of extinction and how we encounter it looms large.

"We will still bask in wonder and have fun in the process, with a fossil exhibition, a reflective presentation on how to change your mind and dinosaur footprints to lead us into the church, to look for hope and encouragement."

The event is at 11am at Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh. All are welcome.