October Assembly business

CHURCH REFORM 

The Convener of the Assembly Trustees, the Very Rev Dr John Chalmers, told the Assembly that the Church of Scotland had ‘made a start’ on addressing the challenges identified in recent years, but that the Trustees were asking permission to go further: “We have changed our Council structure and we have been developing a new way of working with a Faith Action Plan which will incorporate the whole work of the church. But the Trustees wonder if we have done enough: so, we are also asking for the liberty to consider more effective and efficient ways of setting our priorities, funding the essential work we have to do at every level, and working smarter to be all that we want to be as a church.”

“That might mean holding to what we have, but equally if might mean further co-ordination across the Forums and across other agencies of the church…

“A very different shape of church lies ahead and against the extraordinary challenges that we face, we have to be ready, lean and fit for purpose.”

The Trustees won the support of the Assembly to explore the implications of unifying the two forums – which were only formed in January – into a single body, defeating a counter motion from the Rev Peter Johnston that would have put the work off for another year. Dr Chalmers said: “We have not made up our minds on this, we want to consult, but we need to do it now.”

The Assembly also rejected an attempt by the Rev Roddy Macdonald to suspend the review of presbytery planning (in which presbyteries assess the number and location of churches and ministers in their areas) for this year. Mr Macdonald argued that there was not sufficient time for presbyteries to conduct the ‘robust oversight’ called for by the Trustees, and that the Covid-19 crisis meant that many people would need to be able to take part in consultations. However, Dr Chalmers said: “A church with over 200 vacancies, many of which will never be filled, needs planning. We can’t use anything, not even Covid-19, as an excuse for inaction.”

During the presentation of the Trustees, Chief Officer Dave Kendall told the Assembly that, when asked whether he saw a positive future for the church, his answer was ‘a resounding yes’, and that ‘what will matter most in taking us forward will be the vision, quality, enthusiasm and ambition of the staff and the willingness of the Church, as people of God, to engage with the changes on our journey’.

BLACK LIVES MATTER 

The Assembly affirmed that Black Lives Matter, reaffirming that racism is a sin and committing to a future report on the legacy of slavery and the Church. However, the Faith Impact Forum’s proposed deliverance was not accepted without some debate on the Black Lives Matter organisation and whether it was compatible with Christian values.

The Rev Dale London said that while he approved of the sentiment of the deliverance and condemned racism, the phrase ‘black lives matter’ had been co-opted by a political group and become associated with disorder and violence. He proposed replacing ‘Black Lives Matter’ with the phrase ‘all lives matter to God’

He was supported by the Rev Seoras Mackenzie, who said: “Of course (black lives matter)… The concern that I have is that Black Lives Matter sadly is linked to a broad organisation whose political ambitions and philosophical basis I suspect might not be wholly compatible with the Christian faith.”

However, the Rev Bryan Kerr said: “I’m saddened that this has even come up. I understand where Mr London is coming from, however we as a church have to stand up and proclaim that black lives matter, and we need to do that because until they matter, we cannot simply declare that all lives matter. When people say ‘black lives matter’, it does not mean that they have been part of civil disobedience but that they want to stand with our brothers and sisters who have been subject to incredible suffering and incredible racism.”

General Assembly 2020 

credit: Courtesy of the Church of Scotland

The Rev Dr John McCulloch added: “Christ says ‘blessed are the poor’. He doesn’t say ‘blessed is everyone’. There are times when structural injustice is such that it needs to be named and called out for what it is.”

Faith Impact Convener the Very Rev Dr Susan Brown said: “We have to be very careful about the message we convey. Indeed all lives matter and all lives matter to God… but the problem is people don’t always love one another.

“We need to live as if all lives matter. Right at this moment, however that is not how this society is shaped.

“All lives matter, but we have not lived as though they do. We have a system in which because of the colour of their skin, some people are treated unequally. Saying ‘black lives matter’ is not about excluding everybody else. It’s about focusing on deepest need. Jesus had a particular passion for the poorest and the most marginalised and those who were suffering most, and he focused on them above all others.”

Mr London’s amendment was defeated and the original motion passed by 315 votes to 116.

CLIMATE EMERGENCY 

During the Faith Impact debate, there was concern that a report on the climate emergency originally intended to be presented to the Assembly had been withdrawn, with Dr Brown, and convener of the former Church and Society Council the Rev Richard Frazer, both expressing frustration. Principal Clerk, the Rev Dr George Whyte, emphasised that there had been several large pieces of work from other committees and groups which it had been decided could not be included in the short Assembly.

The Assembly did pass a motion calling for the church at all levels to work towards achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2030, and to bring an outline strategy to the General Assembly of 2021; and for Faith Impact to report to next year’s assembly ‘on the ethical, scientific and theological arguments for and against urgent disinvestment from oil and gas companies’.

Campaigners later applauded the Church’s commitment to net zero but called on it to disinvest from fossil fuels (see news, p36-37)

PRAISE FROM THE QUEEN 

In her letter to the Assembly, the Queen praised the Church’s response to the pandemic, both in moving services online and in providing practical support. The letter states: “We greatly admire the ways in which the Church of Scotland has responded to these difficult days.

“Care has been offered to the bereaved whose grieving has been constricted by restrictions on funerals while churches have kept open their doors to feed the poor and offer safe space to the children of key workers.

“Many congregations have taken their worship on-line and touched the lives of people who did not in normal times attend church services.

“The Kirk’s care workers have remained faithful in sustaining the services upon which so many older people and their families depend.” ¤