Edinburgh church wins prize in national photography contest

St Cuthbert’s church in Edinburgh has been awarded third place and a £1000 cash prize in a national photography contest.

St Cuthbert's Church photograph

The entry into the Ecclesiastical Insurance’s Parish Pixels competition was submitted by rector Nicki McNelly. The photo depicts early morning frost on a windowpane, glinting in the dazzling sunshine against the backdrop of a clear blue sky.

Introduced last summer, the competition welcomed entries of photos accompanied by one-sentence captions which offered a glimpse into the heart of Anglican churches across England, Scotland and Wales, capturing their essence..

The 600 plus entries focussed on the different aspects of life in a church, centring around people, places, features and artefacts.

Nicki, a keen amateur photographer, submitted her image with the caption: : ‘Like the ice appears to break the window, we are a beautiful church in a broken world doing our best to live as Jesus commanded.’

Speaking of her winning snap, Nicki said: “Something about that image struck a chord with me. I’ve visited the Himalayas five times, and it’s the extreme difference between the enormity of Mount Everest down to this little bit of ice on my window, each linked in their beauty.

“I have to say I was astonished to win! We’ll use the money to support the community.”

The image was first announced as one of nine regional winners, before being selected as a runner up in the final of the national competition, voted by the public and a panel of judges.

All regional winners were invited to an online live ceremony via the Ecclesiastical website, and enjoyed a complimentary afternoon tea, in keeping with Government guidelines on social distancing.

Michael Angell, church operations director at Ecclesiastical, said: “We received so many incredible entries, each illustrating the unique and fascinating items, stories and people that make our Anglican churches so special.

“Thank you to everyone who took the opportunity to showcase their churches, and especially to all of the winners. Congratulations to them, and especially to the overall national winner Freedom Church in Blackpool who showed us the impact the church can have in our local communities.”