Sunday Church Exploration #7

Looking through the cemetery at St Cuthberts.

I went to sleep Saturday night wondering which church I would end up at. Sunday morning and I discovered myself here at St Cuthberts Parish Church at the end of Princes St. Snow covered everything and while walking to church I discovered many hidden slush puddles, however I did make it to church just in time to hear the bells ring. It was an awesome sound to hear while walking up to this massive church. The thing that drew me to this church is probably the fact that is situated right below the castle in a cemetery. There are many old gravestones and I could have probably looked around more if it wasn't for church starting! It was the first advent Sunday, to commemorate we sang songs that remind me of Christmas like "Come O Come Emmanuel". 

The inside of this church had an intimate feeling yet was rather large and had a balcony for more seating. I really enjoyed the sermon and feel of the church. If I had more Sundays to explore churches in Scotland I definitely would go back to St Cuthbert's again. The history surrounding the church was impressive, there was a sign by the church that told some of the history, saying that there had been a church on this location since the early 1100s. Seeing as the church rests right below Edinburgh Castle there has been considerable damage done to the church every time there was a fight fought at the Castle. The thing that impressed me the most though was that every time the church was knocked down, they would always rebuild, always. The sermon was delivered by the outgoing student and was quite fun to listen to. He used different voices to grab your attention and once he had it he didn't let go. There is a lot I took to heart during his sermon. Needless to say I will always appreciate St Cuthberts as an awesome church even with half the congregation snowed in!