Presbyteries: where are we now?

Thomas Baldwin looks at the latest developments in presbytery reform.

AMONG the sweeping changes to Church structures agreed at the General Assembly of 2019 was a reduction in the number of presbyteries in Scotland, from 43 to about 12.

There had long been concerns that, with the ever-increasing number of ministerial vacancies, smaller presbyteries in particular were struggling to cope with their statutory responsibilities of governance, finance, superintendence and charity regulations.

Wholesale presbytery reform had been proposed before – most recently in 2011, when it was rejected – but this time the Assembly was in a more receptive mood and passed the measure, to be completed by 2025.

The new, larger bodies, it was hoped, would be better able to fulfil the formal presbyterial functions than the small ones, but would also be better equipped to ‘provide leadership and focus alongside practical support for local congregations, freeing them for mission and ministry’.

Whether that aspiration will come to fruition remains to be seen, but what can be said is that the pace of change has met or exceeded the expectations of that 2019 Assembly. Not only are the final mergers expected to take place well ahead of 2025, but the ultimate number of presbyteries will be as low as nine or ten (in addition to the English and international presbyteries, which are undergoing their own reforms).

First out of the traps were Aberdeen and Shetland, who had already been in negotiations for union and completed the process in 2020, followed quickly by new Presbyteries for Clyde (the former presbyteries of Greenock and Paisley, and Dumbarton) and Fife (Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and St Andrews).

2022 saw the creation of three new presbyteries: Edinburgh and West Lothian, Forth Valley and Clydesdale, and the South West.

This January, barring any last-minute hitches, will bring the biggest round of unions yet, including one of the new presbyteries merging into an even larger grouping.

Aberdeen and Shetland will join Orkney and five north-eastern presbyteries to become the new Presbytery of the North East and the Northern Isles; while Duns, Jedburgh, Melrose and Peebles presbyteries will combine with Lothian to make up the Presbytery of Lothian and Borders.

Meanwhile, five central and eastern presbyteries will join to become the new Perth Presbytery.

That leaves the 10 presbyteries representing the Highlands, including Argyll, and the Western Islands. Proposals for these presbyteries are expected to be brought to the General Assembly of 2023, and to be completed early in 2024.

The new presbyteries have had to hit the ground running, as presbytery mission plans detailing the deployment of each area’s ministry allocation were to be approved and submitted by the end of 2022. At the same time, new Clerks and Moderators have been appointed and are getting to grips with their new roles.

The new Presbytery of the South West held its first official meeting on Saturday October 1, the day after it officially came into being, at St Marnoch’s Parish Church, Kilmarnock.

This included the installation of the first Moderator of the new presbytery, the Rev Brian Hendrie, and the swearing in of its first presbytery clerk, Mrs Christine Murray, as well as the appointment of other roles including treasurer and safeguarding officer.

It also allowed representatives from the former presbyteries to get to know each other.

On the Church of Scotland website, Murs Murray said: “The first meeting was a very positive experience, starting with a moving service involving all the Moderators from the ‘old’ presbyteries leading us in prayer before our new Moderator was installed.

“All our conveners have already proved to be hard working and more than capable, as they grapple with the complexity of unifying so many different approaches and traditions, and I have been overwhelmed by the number of messages of support not only from ministers and members of presbytery but from congregational members from Arran to Lockerbie.

“I am sure that, with such a level of goodwill behind us, we will succeed in advancing the Word of God in the Presbytery of the South West.”