Newsletter for Sunday 3rd May

Friends,

Haia Mohammed is a young Palestinian poet and artist from Gaza. Awarded a full scholarship to study Creative Writing at Goldsmiths, University of London, Haia arrived in London in September 2025 to commence her studies, as one of the first group of scholars successfully evacuated from Gaza to the UK. Her work explores memory, land, and survival. She documents the fragile and resilient moments that shape Palestinian life. In her booklet, “The Age of Olive Trees” she offers her suggestions about how to live through the bombings and violence that have destroyed Gaza but not the spirit of its people. While what she has endured is unimaginable to our own circumstances, there are always members of the congregation, friends or family members who are facing times of trial, anxiety and fear. Perhaps Haia’s wisdoms might shape and encourage our own resilience.

1. Embrace the pain and be grateful that it has befallen you. Before this pain, you were one person, and through it you have become someone else, filled with wisdom and maturity.
2. Be grateful for the small blessings, starting with a healthy body, a sip of water, and a little food. Let the vast sky around you, the white clouds, the birds, and the sea remind you of freedom.
3. What happened in the past happened and ended. You live today and the future is ahead.
4. Plant a tree, take care of it and watch it grow. A feeling indescribable.
5. Walk through the rain and breathe.
6. Live your day as if it’s your last because you’re only alive now. Don’t dwell on past nightmares or fear the future because they are things you don’t possess. Value what you have and make it yours.
7. Share your pain with a close friend or family member but chose the right person and distribute it on two shoulders instead of one.
8. Be brave for yourself. Fight valiantly even in your weakness.
9. Do good and move on. Goodness will knock on your door on the darkest night when you thought you were alone.
10. In the middle on the night, when everyone is asleep, rise to pray and ask for what you want and need. God is here, in the first sky, closer to you than your jugular vein, listening and answering your prayers.
11. Smile no matter the pain: the storm will pass, the winds will calm, and the sunlight will fill the furthest corner of your heart.
12. Let your self-confidence soar with the birds. You’re not an ordinary person: you faced all the pain alone and are still here. What strength lies within you? Rise and grasp your inner strength.

Angus

Christian Aid Week, Sunday 10th to Saturday 16th May, A significant Sunday in our church life. Nick Georgiadis is our guest preacher. Nick leads the Income and Public Engagement at Christian Aid and is on the directors’ team, having served at Christian Aid for more than six years. He’s seen Christian Aid’s transformative work firsthand on several occasions, including the Beacon of Hope project in Kenya. As a regular visitor to Scotland, he’s inspired by and grateful for the sacrificial support of the Church of Scotland.
Christian Aid’s focus this year is on the temporary settlement in Dagoretti, Nairobi, Kenya. Many families are suffering from intense urban poverty. For people like Fridah and her family who live in rented corrugated metal shelters. They share toilet facilities with other families in the compound and have no running water. Fridah’s worry is about how to get enough food for everyone in her family. However, with help from Beacon of Hope (Christian Aid’s partner in Dagoretti) Fridah has been able to improve things and has hope for the future; by being offered training, seeds, tools and space-efficient plots to grow produce near their homes. It has enabled Fridah to grow vegetables in tiny urban spaces to feed her family and with enough to sell on a market stall. Let’s help others in Dagoretti push-back against extreme urban poverty and create a better future.
Please do click on the link below to watch a short video (4 mins).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTS1c4F0CpM

Ways to help/donate:
Cake Sale – Sunday 10th May – Entrance Vestibule – Calling all bakers!
If you would like to bake a cake(s), or biscuits, scones, shortbread and either bring in to the Entrance Vestibule before the service on Sunday 10th May, or you can leave it with the Church Office a few days beforehand. Please label cake packaging with what type of cake it is. Cakes etc. can then be purchased after the service. All money raised will go to Christian Aid Week. Please do come and buy a cake, or even a slice of cake to have with your coffee in the Upper Hall.

• There will be red CA collecting buckets in the Upper Vestibule after the service on Sunday 10th and 17th May. The main CA collection Sunday will be on Sunday 10th May.
• CA envelopes will be available on a table in the Upper Vestibule and a tick box for those eligible to Gift Aid their donation. Some CA envelopes will also be in the pews.
• Online donations: We have our own church e-envelope, Please click on the link, or scan the QR code.
https://caw.christianaid.org.uk/envelope-2026/st-columbas-church-scotland-pont-street-caw-2026

New Church Magazine
With thanks to the Editor, Susan Pym and her contributors,
the excellent April/May issue of the church magazine
is available via the bookstall, £1.50.
Pick up a copy for yourself
and consider one for a friend or neighbour.
Help spread the St Columba’s story.

Saturday 9th May, Scots in London Ceilidh at St Columba’s
Join us for an evening of Scottish music and dancing at our upcoming ceilidh on Saturday 9th May, from 7.00–10.30pm at St Columba’s Church, Pont Street. Tickets are £25 and include a light Scottish supper, with a bar available throughout the evening. The night will feature the award-winning band Licence to Ceilidh, along with a special performance from the London Scottish Regiment Pipes & Drums – promising a fantastic atmosphere for both seasoned dancers and beginners alike. Book now to secure your place for what is sure to be a memorable celebration!

Sunday 17th May, Sounds of St Columba’s
Benedict Lewis-Smith (organ) performs Charles Marie Widor’s Fifth Symphony. Composed in 1879 for the great organ of Saint-Sulpice Church, Charles-Marie Widor’s
Fifth Symphony treats the instrument as a full orchestra
in sound and colour. It culminates in the famous Toccata – brilliant, driving, and instantly recognisable –
one of the most exhilarating finales in all organ music. 1.30pm in the Church Sanctuary

St Andrews Book Festival,
presented by Scots in London
The Book Festival returns to several central London venues, with St Columba’s as the primary focus of the festival. Look forward to another array of well-known and new authors bringing Scottish writing to the heart of London. Keep
18th to 22nd November 2026 in your diaries, both for attending and/or volunteering to get involved.