The worshipping community of St Margaret’s is small, mainly elderly, yet committed, resilient, warmly welcoming, diverse and inclusive. It supports several good causes in the city and internationally each year.
The congregation celebrates the feasts and festivals of the Christian year, sustains a weekday Eucharist in addition to Sunday worship and hosts occasional Bible Study and Lectio Divina series. We believe that love is the reality at the heart of the universe and of the Christian faith. God loves each one of us and, as Christians, we are called to love God and love our neighbour.
We believe that God created all things and then in love became part of creation in Jesus Christ, who is fully divine and fully human. Human evil killed Jesus by nailing him to a cross but God’s love is more powerful than the powers of evil so Jesus rose from the dead and offered us a way of sharing God’s life.
Jesus called God ‘Father’. His followers noticed that Jesus taught and did things which made it clear that he was the Son of God and shared the identity of the one God of Israel (Mark 2:7 & 1 Corinthians 8:6). The apostle Thomas addressed Jesus, ‘My Lord and my God’ (John 20:28). Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to his followers after he had risen from the dead and the experience of the Spirit showed them that the Spirit is also God (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18). Jesus thus revealed to us the Holy Trinity: there is one God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). God is not a solitary power but a communion of love.
In the Church, Christians live out their faith by committing themselves to follow Jesus' teaching to ‘love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself’ (Luke 10:27). We love God through prayer and worship, and love our neighbour by loving service. Throughout the ages, Christians have been known for their service of the poor and commitment to social justice, and this continues today.
Diana is supported by a lay reader, Eckart Floether. He is licensed by the Bishop and authorised to preach and teach the Word of God, to assist in the leading of worship, and the administration of the Sacraments.
Born in Reutlingen in southern Germany, Eckart has lived in various places in Europe. When living in Portugal, he and his wife were licensed as Lay Ministers in the Church of England’s Diocese in Europe in 2007. After returning to Edinburgh, both were re-licensed as Lay Readers in the Scottish Episcopal Church.
Committed to serve the congregation of St Margaret’s, his main focus is to spread the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ.
His working background is in Management Training and Management Development. Since 2018, Eckart has been working as a workplace chaplain in one of the Royal Mail distribution offices; and since 2024, for CrossReach Care Centres.