As we walked down the block nearest the church, we noticed its large old steeple and beautiful rounded architecture. As we walked up to the building itself, we noticed the panes of glass missing from the stained glass windows, and then the signs to the entrance located in the parish hall rather than the church itself. The service was held in the church hall (smaller, easier to heat (I expect), and the location of services for this congregation since--another parishioner guessed--the 1970s. Everything about our service was carefully and beautifully planned, but not ostentatious in the way that so many Episcopalian churches can be. The chairs were arranged in a wide circle (with four paths) with the Advent wreath on a table in the middle. This was moved about (with candles still lit) to provide space for the children's Christmas play, and also served as the table upon which communion was prepared. Only one priest wore robes, and these were simple; there was no altar; the members of staff sat in the circle of seats among the congregants and stood up to read or pray (we didn't even realise who the rector was until he introduced himself after the evening service). Parts of the liturgy were updated, but the spirit was still there. Children ran through the room, squirmed on their seats, participated in the passing of the peace, and were still humming the communion hymn after the service had ended. Many members of the congregation made it a point to come and welcome us after the service, and we were warmly invited to return this evening for the carol service (which we did). I've attended dozens of churches in my lifetime, and I can not once recall ever having been greeted so warmly as I was in this one.
The church is home for a number of local artists and scholars, including a puppeteer, a poet, and several professors at a nearby university. I assume the congregation also includes a skilled painter, because the walls were decorated with three beautiful murals showing the silhouetted skyline of Leith; these same walls became part of the Advent celebration, as a number of smaller images added around the murals had been covered over to create a large-scale Advent calendar; but on my picture of today, the small square images were once covered over in paper and painted over in blue to match the rest of the image; during the service, the children were asked to go up to the wall and help peel off the outer layers to reveal these "windows of light." I'm not doing the concept justice in my verbal description, but it was a fun and innovative way to involve the children in the service, and I. and I quite enjoyed it.
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