Dunfermline Abbey to host virtual ecumenical service
Published on 5 June 2020
A special ecumenical service will be hosted through Facebook and YouTube this Sunday (7 June) at 3pm by the Abbey Church of Dunfermline, as well as the local Roman Catholic and Episcopalian churches.
This article first appeared on the Life and Work website, the magazine of the Church of Scotland. You can subscribe to the magazine here.
Every June hundreds of people flock to Dunfermline to take part in a pilgrimage honouring the life of St Margaret, who lived in the Fife town throughout her reign in the 11th century and was known for her piety and charity.
Last year a special ecumenical service opened the day at Dunfermline Abbey, the home of an outdoor shrine to St Margaret, who lived on the site.
The Coronavirus COVID-19 has resulted in the cancellation of this year's pilgrim visit and procession, but thanks to technology, a special ecumenical service is to take place online, bringing together congregations from the Church of Scotland, local Roman Catholic and Episcopalian churches.
Minister at the Abbey Church of Dunfermline, the Rev MaryAnn Rennie said: "Our congregations have formed new bonds through this annual celebration of the life of St Margaret and we felt it would be good to bring people together again online, even if we cannot be physically present together.
"A special pre-recorded service, including contributions from St Margaret's RC Memorial Church, Holy Trinity Church and the Abbey Church of Dunfermline, will be broadcast online on YouTube and Facebook Live at 3pm on Sunday afternoon (June 7) – which coincides with when the pilgrims would have entered St Margaret's RC Memorial Church.
"The service will include prayers and readings read by members of all three congregations and a song about Margaret written by Wayne Pearce, minister of Edzell Lethnot Glenesk linked with Fern Careston Menmuir, and will bring all people together with an interest in the life of this saint, whose life and faith was firmly rooted in Dunfermline."
The service will be broadcast at 3pm on all three congregations' Facebook pages and on the Dunfermline Abbey YouTube channel on Sunday 7 June.
Subscribe to Life and Work magazine
During this challenging period, Life and Work is committed to helping keep our Christian community connected. The magazine continues to be published and distributed to their loyal readers.
The team has also launched Lockdown Weekly, a free weekly update which they hope will be a useful resource to help people keep in touch with events in the Church of Scotland while churches are shut and many of us are in isolation. Free every Friday to download from the Life and Work website.
