This month’s Bridge arrives dressed in red as we step into Christian Aid Week — a time when our congregation joins thousands of others across the UK in prayer, generosity and solidarity. Inside, you’ll find stories of hope, challenge and transformation, both close to home and across the world.

We begin with this year’s Christian Aid focus: urban farming projects in Nairobi. Through the voices of women like Fridah and Belinda, the magazine shares how simple tools, seeds and training can become lifelines - turning alleyways and rooftops into gardens, and uncertainty into dignity. Their stories sit alongside reflections from Christian Aid’s annual gathering, where partners from Kenya spoke about the Imarisha Kilimo project and the quiet, faithful work that is reshaping communities one container garden at a time.

Closer to home, this edition also looks ahead to the Church of Scotland General Assembly, outlining the major decisions facing the national church - from financial sustainability to the future of presbytery planning. There’s news too from our own community: the ordination of former Parish Assistant Alex Johnson, a look back at our Holy Week and Easter gatherings, and updates from the Malawi Mission Hospital, where digital systems, CPAP training and malaria‑prevention work are making a real difference.

You’ll also find joyful moments - recent baptisms, celebrations of long Christian service, and stories of members honoured both here and abroad. And, as always, there are plenty of ways to get involved: coffee mornings, book sales, afternoon teas, and opportunities to support Christian Aid throughout the week.

It’s an edition full of compassion, challenge and hope — a reminder of how our local life in Stockbridge connects to a much wider story of justice and care.

While we battle with our printer, physical copies may take a moment to appear in your pigeon holes and at the back of the church. In the meantime, you can find a digital copy viaThe Bridge archive page.