Different AND Equal
Whenever we gather together, we seek to recognise that while we are different we are all equal, created in the image of God.
Although we are connected in our brokenness, we are all beloved children of God. We aspire to be a community where there is no ‘us’ and ‘them’, only ‘us’.
We come together with a shared aim of following Jesus; nurturing faith through spiritual formation and prayer, outward-looking service and justice, inclusivity and mutuality. We celebrate community members’ gifts and try to make room for all to participate.
We strive to be a community of welcome and belonging; where trust is cultivated and where we can have courageous conversations. We desire to be a place of safety for those who have experienced injustice or exclusion.
We aspire to incorporate prayer into everything we do.
BEGINNINGS
Mustard Seed began in June 2017 with a community of around 30 people, many of whom had been involved with the development of a community meal - called Soul Food - held every week at St Paul’s and St George’s Church (Ps and Gs), Edinburgh.
Soul Food had shown the power of hospitality and kindness in seeking to come alongside those experiencing homelessness, mental health issues, loneliness and other forms of marginalisation.
We wanted to make these ideals central to our way of ‘doing church’. So our founding members - led by our Pioneer Priest and his wife - set off from Ps and Gs and started a new community down the road in Leith.
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Providing a Soul Food community meal on Thursday evenings was an important early initiative of Mustard Seed in the spring of 2018. We were soon providing a wholesome, dignified meal for over sixty guests each week.
COMMUNITY FOCUS
The COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted our community life and activities. Sunday services, prayer meetings and children’s ministry went online . Soul Food meals switched to take-away, which again was challenging, but which forged deeper links with others in the area committed to support those in food poverty.
While it was tough to function as a community during this period, through a number of initiatives we thus emerged from it with commitment to continue pioneering response to the needs we saw around us.
The Gardening Group began during lockdown as an activity to provide connection and support for those in our community and the wider neighbourhood. Our Friday Breakfast began as a means to meet the needs for food and conversation of people who were feeling isolated.
Soon, our CAP ministry had developed to establish a full CAP Debt Centre, we took over responsibility from St Margaret’s for the running of a Parent and Toddler Group, and we partnered with Edinburgh City Mission in establishing a Conversation Cafe.
FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES
2023 saw an extended period of prayer and reflection on the life of Mustard Seed after six years of operation. The breadth of activities established was welcomed but was recognised as a stretch for a small community. After a track-record during which congregational giving and securing of grants had covered projected expenditure, financial pressures had deepened. We came together for a series of community consultations to reflect on our identity, what our successes had been and where things needed to change.
These consultations affirmed our sense of seeking to be a welcoming, innovative, practical and value-based community where people can find and grow in faith. If we are to sustain this commitment, we have recognised through our prayers the community needs to nurture each other's faith, develop clearer models of leadership and decision-making, and build our financial sustainability.
With the departure of our Pioneer Priest in early 2024 we have begun the process to find a Priest-in-Charge to help us shape this vision into the future.
The KiNgdom of Heaven is like a
mustard seed
Mustard Seed Values
​​KINDNESS
We want kindness to surround our community and everything that we do. With this we hope that new ideas and ways forward are found and that second chances are discovered.
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Hospitality
The table is at the centre of things. We believe that great food - along with space for conversation - changes things, enables new plans and transformation to be imagined and worked through.
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Justice
We long for a kinder and fairer world. We especially want to walk alongside people and somehow experience a transformation of community together.
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CreaTivity
We value everyone’s gifts and abilities and want to encourage these to be at the centre of our community in order to shape and develop it.
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​​​Joy
We have found hope in the person of Jesus, and want the joy of knowing Jesus to be at the very centre of all we do.
Meet the team
We are currently operating in a vacancy as our Pioneer Priest left Mustard Seed in early 2024. During this period the trustees are providing leadership and guidance, with the support and involvement of members.
trustees
Our current trustees are:
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David Strang (Chair)
Myra Martin
Niall Sherriffs (Treasurer)
Fionnuala Shakespeare (Secretary)
Eve Selbie
Kathryn Sweetlove
Philip Brown
Reverend Dr. Marion Chatterley (Diocesan Rep.)