Culture change needed in church

Thomas Baldwin

THE convener of the Church of Scotland’s Assembly Trustees has warned that organisational reforms ‘may all be for nothing’ unless they are accompanied by culture change.

The Very Rev Dr John Chalmers made the comments in November, as a Commission of Assembly met in Edinburgh and approved the first stage in reforms to the Church’s central administration, which will see four councils replaced by two smaller groups from January 1.

Dr Chalmers, told the Commission of Assembly that behind the reforms was the desire to build “A new way of working… one which leaves managers to manage, one which empowers staffto do what they are good at without having to hold a meeting every time they want to sneeze. And one that encourages the development of cross-departmental teams where no-one belongs to an independent silo, where everyone belongs in a unified workforce supporting one another in delivering the work they have been invited to deliver by the General Assembly.”

Under the proposals, the Ministries, Mission and Discipleship, World Mission and Church and Society Councils are all discharged.

The replacement bodies have the working titles Faith Nurture Forum (combining the work of Ministries and Mission and Discipleship) and the Faith Impact Forum (Church and Society and World Mission) – although Dr Chalmers said the names may change, and were in any case the least important element of the reforms.

The Forums will consist of 15 people each, with individual areas of work looked after by small implementation groups. The two groups are expected to meet and worship together at least twice a year, to ensure the entire organisation is working together and to prevent duplication.

The reorganisation, and the appointment of a chief officer (see p34), represent the early steps in central church reforms agreed at the 2019 General Assembly.

The staffof the four councils will initially be transferred into the new groups, pending detailed discussions between the Trustees and Forum members about the remits and priorities of the Forums. Those discussions will be held in the spring and recommendations made to the General Assembly in May.

They will include assessments of which work should continue, which should be devolved to presbyteries (which are going through their own reform processes) and which can be discontinued, in the context of the target of reducing the cost of the central administration by 20-30%.

However, Dr Chalmers said in his speech that the Church requires culture change above all else: “We can engineer yet another restructuring of the central administration, and this time we might actually manage the reorganisation of presbyteries. But if we do not change the way we think of our colleagues, or learn to speak well of our brothers and sisters in Christ – even those we disagree with – it may all be for nothing.

“Ours is a culture that needs to change. It has been said many times that culture can eat strategy; and, in the history of our Church, culture has had many a hearty breakfast.

“We have to understand and embrace the fact that change may be the only constant. And as we’ve crept closer to this first and very modest change in our culture, it has become increasingly clear that while everyone wants change, mostly people want change on their own terms.

“Each of us, in fact, has to be the change we want to see in our Church.”

The Nomination Committee has been instructed to make appointments of interim conveners, vice-conveners and members of the new Forums, to sit until the General Assembly of 2020.

Of the ‘crossover’ bodies that don’t currently belong to any of the existing councils, Ecumenical Relations and the Theological Forum will sit within the management structure of the Faith Nurture Forum, and interfaith work within the Faith Impact Forum.

Dr Chalmers said that this had been a much-discussed issue within the Trustees. “We are quite clear this is not about administrative convenience. It is an attempt to be more strategic about this than in the past.

“In no way does this exclude (Ecumenical Relations, interfaith or the Theological Forum) from being engaged in wider work that might come under the department of the General Assembly, or because the Moderator or Principal Clerk or others require their input.”

A free Life and Work supplement on the reforms is available to download from www.lifeandwork.org

40 YEARS OF JOINT REMEMBRANCE

Scottish and German congregations in Edinburgh celebrated 40 years of working and worshipping together on Remembrance Sunday 2019.

The service at St Andrew’s and St George’s West Church was jointly led by the church’s minister, the Rev Dr Rosie Magee, and the Rev Verena Jantzen, pastor of the German-speaking Congregation in Edinburgh.

The congregations were joined by Albany Deaf Church, and the bilingual service – with the theme ‘one church, one faith, one Lord’ – was signed in British Sign Language.

Dr Magee, who was inducted to St Andrew’s and St George’s West in May last year, said before the service: “I am looking forward to experiencing the joint Remembrance Day service, especially in this, the fortieth year since its inception.

“In 1979, it was such an inspiring initiative – to ‘ground’ our remembering in reconciliation and togetherness.

“For four decades this service has modelled unity, whilst honouring different perspectives and lived realities.

“Today, there is just as much need for imaginative acts of radical reconciliation, so that our remembering can help shape a peace-filled future.”

The German-speaking congregation in Edinburgh dates back to 1947, and is affiliated to the Protestant Church of Germany.

The joint Remembrance services have taken place annually since 1979, when the congregation of the George Street church invited the German church to mark Remembrance Day with them.

An extract from the German parish magazine of November 1979 reads: “A moving testimony of the Christian desire for reconciliation was the Service on Remembrance Day, which our congregation held with the Parish Church of St Andrew’s and St George’s. The Rev Andrew Wylie and Pastor Schroeder shared leadership of worship.

“I have been waiting for such a service for years!” was the reaction of a Scottish ex-serviceman. But we also heard of reservations against our visit that were held by some Scottish members of the congregation.”

COMMUNION BOOKLET

A new booklet has been produced to help churches reflect on their approach to children and communion.

The Together at the Table booklet has been sent to all congregations by the Mission and Discipleship Council, to help congregations gain a deeper understanding of Holy Communion in the reformed tradition, review and explore practice in relation to communion, and suggest ways in which we might welcome and include children, young people and their families to this sacrament.

Church of Scotland statistics show that only 6% of all under 18s associated with congregations have the opportunity to receive communion. Children and young people have been welcomed to receive communion since 1992 and the General Assembly of 2018 reaffirmed the Church’s understanding that those who receive communion be baptised, while recognising that church law allows the offering of communion to an unbaptised person as part of the mission of the Church.

The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Rt Rev Colin Sinclair, welcomed the booklet, saying: “For some, communion is the catalyst for beginning a deeper faith journey. It gives a tangible and experiential way for both children and adults to express their faith.’

“This is not a believers’ table or a members’ table but a kingdom table – there is room for everyone. This bread and wine is not a reward for believing in a certain way or signing up to a course, but an invitation to live more fully in community.’

‘We pray that across the church, we can have family celebrations of Holy Communion that are thanksgiving meals where those of all ages are welcome and in them, may we all know we are deeply loved by God, for Jesus has welcomed each one of us to his table.’

CHURCH WINS CAMPAIGNER AWARD

The Church of Scotland has been named ‘Campaigner of the Year’ for its work to prevent the deportation of a family of asylum seekers living in Glasgow.

The campaign, led by the Rev Linda Pollock of Possilpark Parish Church and former Moderator of the General Assembly, the Very Rev Dr Susan Brown, was recognised at the Herald Society Awards in November.

Ms Pollock and Dr Brown said they were “surprised and delighted” to be recognised for work that led to Somer Umeed Bakhsh, 16, 14-year-old Areeb and their parents winning a seven year battle to stay in their adopted home city.

The family, who are members at Possilpark, believe their lives would be in danger if they were sent back to Pakistan. Following a campaign backed by 13 former Moderators and leaders of six other Christian denominations, and an online petition that gathered 94,000 signatures, they were given ‘limited leave to remain’ until February 2022.

Dr Brown, minister of Dornoch Cathedral in the Highlands, said: “It was great to be on the shortlist, but never did I think we would win.

“Ours was, and is, a campaign to right what seems so wrong on behalf of one family who are a part of our Christian family.

“We are only doing what family do – standing up for each other.

“The family, linked with the passion of Rev Linda Pollock, started the ball rolling.

“The compassionate and persistent skills of the Church’s communications team, alongside partnerships with the local MP and local MSP gave the campaign traction.

“But we still feel that the lovely Umeed Bakhsh family should be given leave to stay in the UK permanently without having to raise fees that are beyond them for future applications.”

At the same awards ceremony St Paul’s Youth Forum, a charity begun by St Paul’s Parish Church in Provanmill, won Community Project of the Year.

Team leader Neil Young and two of his colleagues attended the ceremony. He said: “We are honoured and humbled to have been recognised.

“So many young people, volunteers and staffhave put huge efforts into turning our community around and reducing youth crime.

“Now St Paul’s is looking to tackle the other major effects of poverty through eating, exercise and education through our growing project, bike club and radio station.”

CHANGES TO MINISTRY ASSESSMENT

People exploring a calling to ministry within the Church of Scotland will now be offered a one-to-one discernment conversation, as the Kirk moves away from the Vocations Conference approach and towards individual discussions.

As part of the shiftto one-to-one support, a new ‘ministry’ brand has been developed to bring together the full ministerial journey from the initial vocations exploration through recruitment, to eventual training and ongoing ministry service.

This move merges the previously used ‘Vocations – It’s Your Call’ and ‘Tomorrow’s Calling’ brands, offering a more holistic approach to the ministry journey and all the stages ministries applicants encounter along the way.

In the past, the Church of Scotland has held two Vocations Conferences each year, and these have been a compulsory first step to exploring application for one of the four recognised paths to ministry in the Church of Scotland: Readership, the Diaconate, Ordained Local Ministry and Full Time Ministry of Word and Sacrament.

“What we were finding, however, was what people were really looking for was an opportunity to explore in person their specific questions and possible routes into ministry,” said Lezley Stewart, the Church of Scotland’s Recruitment and Support Secretary.

“Now, in an informal discernment conversation, which can be set up in a matter of days or weeks, the potential applicant meets with one of the Kirk’s recruitment team to explore their questions and pathways, and has the opportunity to apply to enter discernment from that point onwards.”