From The Editor

LOOKING Back –a collection of memories from yesteryear is one of the regular features on our website at www.lifeandwork.org

Every Friday we scour our 143-year-old archive for a piece to offer as our weekly delve into the history books.

It is a fascinating insight into the social history of the Church of Scotland.

In the 1950s and 1960s every issue was awash with the opening of new church buildings and church extension charges – particularly in the new towns which sprung up across Scotland.

These were the boom years for the Church of Scotland when communities, in the years following the Second World War, found comfort and new hope through the Church.

The message of hope today is undimmed and unchanging, but we live in a far more sophisticated society – and a world which is no longer closed on a Sunday with only church buildings open.

Whilst the Covid-19 global pandemic has been hard, it has also brought new opportunities – and a new audience to engage with our Church.

In moving forward to create a Church fit for purpose – and for God’s mission in the years ahead, the question of buildings is on the minds of many people.

But as our cover feature this month shows, if Church buildings are replaced or moved, they are not always lost. Many find new life in a variety of different ways.

And as the Church reforms and discerns its purpose in a post-Covid world, the purpose of buildings may change as a new way forward emerges.

“Whilst the Covid-19 global pandemic has been hard, it has also brought new opportunities– and a new audience to engage with our Church.

It will be difficult to put aside longstanding attachments to buildings – the church of my childhood, for example, is no longer used for worship and (at the time of writing) remains empty and up for sale. The building where a loved one was baptised, married or where a funeral service takes place can hold powerful emotional memories. But these memories will endure – and new ones will be created in new places and sacred spaces.

The heart of the way forward will lie in good communication – ensuring news of transformative change is shared with all involved in the life of the Church of Scotland. There will likely be disagreement and disunity about the way ahead, but what should not be forgotten is the simple roots of our Church. How did Jesus share the Gospel? By talking in the language of the people where he found them. Well maintained buildings in the right places powered in a sustainable way will be important for the future but are surely not the sole primary purpose of the mission of our Church today and tomorrow. 

Lynne McNeil Editor