The next MC is Sunday 21st August, North Middleton Village Hall, 4pm to 5.30pm

GREAT NEWS :  you no longer have to book your seat in church, simply turn up  as you did before the pandemic; you can  be sure of a warm welcome. 

UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE we would recommend sensible precautions like good hand hygiene and hold back on the hugs!  

Remember, COVID-19 is still a public health risk. You can catch it even if you’ve been vaccinated or had it before. By continuing to care for ourselves and others, we can help slow down the spread of the virus, enable workplaces to operate safely and reduce pressure on health services. 

Margaret Stein, a trained artist, who with her husband Jock was joint locum minister at Cockenzie Old Parish Church before stepping down in 2014. (pictured right - Margaret and Jock) 

Margaret first discovered her love of painting at the age of nine. She said: “My father was an architect and I watched him colouring in plans and decided I wanted to paint too. My first effort was roses that were growing outside his office window. 

  “I took art at secondary school and went on to the Edinburgh College of Art, where I graduated with a diploma.”

Her calling to the ministry began when she became involved with Scripture Union. 

She was asked to start a group at school and within a year it grew to have 26 members. 

She added: “I was wondering how I might combine a career in the ministry with another in art and I was persuaded by a deaconess at Edinburgh’s Palmerston Place Church that it would be possible. I became one of the first group of women to be licensed to preach in the Church of Scotland.”

Margaret is still deeply involved in encouraging people and uses painting in small groups to help people understand their spiritual journey.