Saint John the Evangelist, Portobello

Introduction

J T Walford designed the church in 1903, and it was built in 1906 in an idiosyncratic Gothic style with an incipient Expressionist tower.

Architecture and furnishings

The church is built of bull-faced sandstone with polished ashlar dressings. The tower has a boarded two-leaf door at its base and louvered pointed-arched paired openings to each elevation. The baptistery is a single-storey semi-octagonal bay with traceried windows and a deep parapet. The interior has pointed-arched octagonal piered arcading with carved angel corbels at the springing point, all of Grange stone from Burntisland.

The clearstorey windows are set in a pitch pine vaulted ceiling with pendants at the apex of each. The chancel is raised four steps with a carved alabaster and marble chancel fence and marble flooring. The baptistery has a wrought-iron screen and gates, a marble font, and a brass Art Nouveau cover. The side chapels have alabaster and gilt altars, the south chapel used as a Lady chapel with an altar depicting the Madonna taking the sacrament.

The pulpit with four carved Evangelists has been removed, and its carvings are used as decoration to the sacristy corridor. The church has carved timber and coloured bas-relief Stations of the Cross in Gothic frames. A stone carved statuette of Saint John, in the style of Hew Lorimer, stands to the left of the chancel arch. The foundation stone was laid in 1905.

The plans showed further chapels were intended, one to each of the south and north elevations. The church has a diamond-shaped leaded glazed panels fanlight and upper section of vestibule partition, with boarded panelling to the lower section. The church has terracotta-colour encaustic tiles with black and white herring-bone boarded to passages and timber parquet flooring to pew-areas. The church has a panelled balcony above with organ pipes above.

Music and liturgy

A Mass for Children is celebrated once a month between September and June, with the main focus alternating between Primary 4 children preparing for First Holy Communion and Primary 3 children preparing for First Reconciliation. The parish’s music ministry includes a music group, organist, and cantors who lead singing at Vigil and Sunday Masses and major celebrations.

The parish’s Bereavement Team organizes three-monthly Bereavement Masses and an annual November candlelit Memorial Mass. The parish’s Eco Group is registered with Eco Congregation Scotland and aims to live out the call of the encyclical Laudato Si’. The parish’s Inclusivity Group meets monthly to discuss issues of inclusion and belonging, such as gender identity, the role of women in the Church, LGBTQ+ rights, and disability.

The parish’s Caritas Volunteers programme offers pupils from Holy Rood High School an opportunity to grow in faith, service, and leadership, completing 20 hours of service. The parish’s Media Team creates digital content including podcasts, interviews, testimonies, and videos.

Parish life

The parish has a strong relationship with STEKA Children’s Home in Blantyre, Malawi, and parishioners have supported fundraising for skills centres. The Twende Pamoja Partnership continues to flourish, and within the parish Pamoja Fashion supports this work by recycling and upcycling clothes.

The parish’s Baptismal Team offers a two-evening preparation course for parents seeking baptism for their children. The parish is part of PACT – Portobello & Area Christians Together, fostering ecumenical links with other local Christian churches.

Sacraments and pastoral care

Couples intending to marry in the parish must give a minimum of six months' notice and participate in a marriage preparation course. Benediction and Holy Hour are celebrated monthly, usually on the first Thursday evening of the month. The priests visit the sick and housebound to bring Holy Communion and, if wished, the Sacrament of Reconciliation and/or anointing. A eulogy may be given by a family member or close friend after Holy Communion and before the Final Commendation.

Baptisms are not normally celebrated during Lent or Advent. For most children, the Sacrament of First Reconciliation is celebrated during Lent when they are in Primary 3, and First Holy Communion is received in Primary 4 around May or June. The Sacrament of Confirmation is celebrated at the Primary 7 stage for most children.