St Andrew's Day church service to be live-streamed

A special St Andrew's Day service is being held at St Cuthbert's Church in Edinburgh in conjunction with The Friends of St Andrew's Jerusalem & Tiberias this Thursday (30^th November).

The service, which will be livestreamed from 2pm here, will be led by the Very Rev Dr Andrew McLellan, convener of The Friends of St Andrew's.

This year the offering from the service will be donated to the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI), a programme of the World Council of Churches which brings people from around the world to the West Bank to serve for three months as human rights monitors.

Dr McLellan said the service holds a heightened significance this year.

"Our annual service is usually a hopeful event full of thanksgiving for the life and work of the congregation of St Andrew's Jerusalem and Tiberias," he said.

"This year it will inevitably be so very different. But perhaps our annual service has never been more important than it will be this year.

"This is an opportunity for us to join together in worship and pray for all those who have been so devastated by the war in the region. A chance to pray for peace and healing.

"This is your invitation. Please come."

Last year's moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Very Rev Dr Iain Greenshields, will preach at the service.

Also taking part in the service will be ministers of St Andrew's Jerusalem & Tibertius Rev Dr Stewart Gillan and Rev Muriel Pearson, Morley Whitehead playing the organ and Caroline Trutz as the soloist.

As well as this, members of the committee of The Friends of St Andrew's Jerusalem & Tiberias will recite prayers and readings.

You will be able to watch the service from 2pm this Thursday.

To make an offering to EAPPI, you can do so by visiting this website or by using the following account details:

Account no: 00134859

Sort code: 830608

Reference FSAJ EAP

The Church of Scotland has had a presence in the Holy Land since the late 19th century, initially through its medical mission in Tiberias. St Andrew's Church in Jerusalem was built as a memorial to Scottish soldiers who died in Palestine in the First World War.

For more information on the service visit The Friends of St Andrew's website.

The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel EAPPI) is a programme of the World Council of Churches. In the UK and Ireland the programme is coordinated by Quaker Peace & Social Witness (QPSW) on behalf of a number of UK and Irish churches and church-related organisations, which are the programme's partners. These include the Church of Scotland, the Scottish Episcopal Church, Christian Aid, and the Iona Community.