The Trust's founders, the Reverends Kenny and Bridget Macaulay, outline The Coracle Trust vision.
The Coracle trust is a small charity based in Edinburgh, Scotland, that provides people with a context to learn and explore the meaning of Christian life in the everyday world.
Seeking to support churches, we work ecumenically with small groups and individuals to offer a meeting place for studies, discussions, spiritual direction, informal teaching, training and social events.
The purpose and heart of Coracle is to provide a context, to create an environment in which people might deepen their understanding and experience of how God is present and at work in their lives and in the world, and how he might be calling them to live out their faithful response in the ordinary business of everyday life.
Whether this is with individuals through spiritual direction, in the various groups that we run, or with folk who are just asking questions about what faith in God may be about, the principle is the same: to offer a spiritually and physically hospitable place to explore, reflect, question, wonder and discuss in a way that enables the growth of meaningful relationship and community.
As an outworking of this core vision the Trust is committed to the following aspects of ministry:
- Community building: providing space to belong, to build relationships that can support, stretch, challenge and encourage).
- Resourcing: offering various activities in support of the work of local churches and for those with no formal church connection.
- Hospitality: opening our homes and our lives, sharing resources, home-cooked food and the spiritual hospitality of listening.
- Fostering action in the wider community: making our response to God concrete in the actions and choices we make about lifestyle, social, environmental and political issues.
- Spiritual companionship: recognising the value of and formation in travelling with others on the journey of faith.
As the work of the Trust has unfolded we have found ourselves on a threefold journey:
- The Journey Inwards of prayer, reflection and contemplation as we seek to deepen our relationship with God, and our understanding of ourselves.
- The Journey Outwards seeking to live out our faith in practical action and service at work, in the home, in churches, in the communities in which we live, and in the wider world.
- The Journey Together with others supporting each other as we make these first two journeys and sharing our individual journey in the wider story of the faith community.
These three journeys in various ways form much of the shape and content of Coracle activities and for some of the people involved this has been the basis of a Rule of Life or Pattern for Living.
How did it all begin?
We are Kenny and Bridget Macaulay. We met and got married in the early 90’s and have been working individually and together in ministry both lay and ordained for about 20 years. Along the way we’ve combined various forms of ministry with occupational therapy jobs, student chaplaincy, language schools, building, painting and decorating and making and selling art work!
We’ve been working as ministers in the Scottish Episcopal Church since 1998 when we were ordained. We served our curacy at Old Saint Paul’s Church and subsequently worked as part-time Assistant Priests at St Peters Church in Newington. During this time we set up the work of The Coracle Trust and from Easter 2006 we have shared a (now full-time) job with Coracle. Our other full-time job is raising our three daughters Kayna, Chirstin and Evie.
Setting up The Coracle Trust has given us a chance to realise a dream we have had for a number of years to offer a city-wide (and beyond!) ministry particularly to people in the twenties to forties age range from across the theological and ecumenical spectrum.
People in this age bracket are undergoing an important period of transition. It is a time when some can feel isolated after the close communities of further education. Some are less sure of what they believe. Many are setting up in new places of work and worship and are asking big questions about values, lifestyles, the relevance of faith in the course of their lives. It is the time that many establish themselves in long term relationships and begin to settle into family life. There is much on offer for students but less for those in these transition years.
In 2001, with the help of our trustees, friends and colleagues from many Edinburgh churches, and young adults with whom we have worked over the years, we set up The Coracle Trust to seek to provide a supportive ministry to young Christians across the city of Edinburgh and beyond, a ministry that follows these guiding principles. We named the Trust 'The Coracle Trust' because we've felt inspired by the image of the little boat as a symbol of faith.
Setting up the 20 to 40s group
The following year the Trust attained charitable status, and we started a basic pattern of fortnightly meetings for young adults across the city. Various other meetings happen around these regular meetings.
The group has now been going strong for four years, and continues to meet at our home on the first and third Tuesdays of each month of the year (with a break in July). The group offers a 'safe place' for its participants to explore the meaning of Christian faith in the contemporary world: no issues are off limits, and discussions aim to take place within an atmosphere of non-judgemental dialogue, mutual commitment and care.
The group has explored subjects ranging from Christian environmentalism and social justice, to thorny theological topics such as the Trinity and the interpretation of Scripture. The group is regularly addressed by guest speakers, has gone on yearly retreats, and makes an annual visit to the Greenbelt Christian arts festival.
Please see Tuesday Group section for more information about this group, and Events for details of all of its forthcoming meetings.
Increasing the range of the Trust's activities
While the 20 to 40s group continues to be the primary focus of the Trust, over the past few years we have expanded the range of our activities to encompass various groups at different times as needs arise. The present activities include:
Motherhood, God & Theology
We started the Motherhood, God & Theology group to offer women a chance to explore their experience of motherhood within the context of their faith.
Many parents with small children struggle to maintain their prayer life and can sometimes feel isolated from their church communities if they spend much of worship services in creche or Sunday school. Parenthood is not always actively supported and valued in our churches as one of the most important and demanding callings and ministries we find ourselves entrusted with.
The group looks at some of these questions through reading relevant books and novels together, discussion, prayer and reflection on the practical experience of being a mother.
See the Motherhood, God & Theology section for more details about the group and its forthcoming meetings.
Wonder.comm
Wonder.comm is a new Coracle activity that offers parents and their children an opportunity to explore the Christian faith in an informal, non-didactic and fun atmosphere, making particular use of Godly Play resources.
The seed of Wonder.comm lay in our meeting and making friends with fellow parents living near us in the Newington area of Edinburgh, some of whom are curious about how Christianity sits with their own expression of spirituality and all of whom are intrigued by the slightly unusual expression of priesthood that we are living!
See the Wonder.comm section for more details about the group and its forthcoming meetings.
Spiritual direction and discipling
We've both offered spiritual direction and discipling for several years, meeting with people on a regular basis, or occasionally to discuss particular issues. Please see Spiritual Direction for more.
New projects
At this time a group for men exploring male spirituality and a group for those finding themselves in mid-life transition are just setting sail! Please contact us for more information about these new activities.
Artwork
In addition to the work of the Trust and family life, Bridget tries to keep a little bit of time to paint. You can see examples of Bridget's work in the Art section. The section will soon offer the opportunity to buy cards of the paintings on display.
Contacting us
It's still early days for the Trust but we have been enormously encouraged by the progress we've made to date, and are deeply grateful to everyone who has helped us to start realising this vision.
If you are interested in finding out more about our work and/or participating in the Trust, please do contact us.
Many thanks for your interest in The Coracle Trust, and we hope you enjoy exploring this website.
