Life & Work Magazine
Life & Work Magazine


14 mins

From The Editor

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AND so a new year dawns with the promise of new beginnings.

What will 2019 mean for the Church of Scotland?

I posed a similar question at the beginning of 2018 on this page.

Who could have predicted then that the General Assembly would (somewhat unexpectedly) rise up and overwhelmingly demand urgent action on a radical action plan for the short and medium term future of the Church of Scotland?

Whatever the outcome, it is clear that the Church of Scotland needs to go back to its roots and reform to find a new way of speaking and reaching out to the people of 21st century Scotland.

However, its cumbersome structures and the disconnect that has long existed between the central church, presbyteries and local churches need addressed urgently.

Over the years I have listened to presbyteries debate business and reference is made to ‘121’ or ‘Edinburgh’, usually followed by ‘has told us…’ The Church’s central offices exist to serve the Church and carry out the work of the General Assembly – it is not a self-sustaining bureaucratic body but is subject to the same rigorous examination and inspection as any local church.

However, many in congregations experience ‘church’ only in a local context. The relationship of local churches with presbyteries and the central church and General Assembly is not an easy one to understand and it is easy to see why many choose to stay within the safe sphere of understanding that is their local congregation.

Yet despite the declining numbers, there are many valuable people and gifts within local congregations that could play a key part in the future of our Church by serving as part of the central church. But any change will also require a new mindset and a new path.

“Whatever the outcome, it is clear that the Church of Scotland needs to go back to its roots and reform to find a new way of speaking and reaching out to the people of 21st century Scotland.

Many will have to accept that the model of ‘one church, one minister’ with worship at 11am on a Sunday morning, is no longer sustainable. The Church of the future may offer seven days a week worship in a multitude of community locations or even 24/7 service on 365 days of the year.

Outside the Church, there is the prospect of turmoil and further uncertainty.

Notwithstanding the impact of Brexit in March, followed by the rollout of changes to the Universal Credit benefits system, the Scotland of 2019 feels a much less certain place than it did even four or five years ago. This offers an opportunity for the Church with its message of hope, love and joy. For history has shown that it is during those most uncertain times that the Church of Scotland has flourished and grown.

2019 may appear to be full of trepidation, but there is always the eternal promise of better days.

Lynne McNeil Editor

This article appears in the January 2019 Issue of Life and Work

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  COPIED
This article appears in the January 2019 Issue of Life and Work