LETTERS

Our common humanity

Dr Frazer’s account of his friendship with Colin Macleod and the work of GalGael (June) inspires reflection on the illustrious provenance of the name. Gal or Gall refers to foreigners, while Gael or Gàidheil denotes the indigenous inhabitants of our nation which used to be almost entirely Gaelic-speaking. The original Gall Gàidheil were a mixed race of Vikings and Hebrideans, one of whom - Somerled - extended his power-base from Kintyre to become Ri Innse Gall, King of the Western Isles. This happened in the 12th century, about a hundred years after the Vikings embraced Christianity.

Somerled’s grandson, Donald, founded the Clan Donald, which ruled as Lords of the Isles until about 1500. They were patrons of Iona Abbey, which maintained the legacy of Columba and continued to provide spiritual impetus for the church in the Hebrides. The ending of the Lordship roughly coincided with the Reformation. Though the two events are not directly connected, they did conspire to bring about seismic changes: a shift of power from the MacDonalds to the Campbells and the publication of the first printed book in Scottish Gaelic, John Carswell’s translation of the Book of Common Order.

Why the history lesson? Well, as Colin Macleod and Richard Frazer’s other friends at GalGael remind us, there is a bit of the foreigner and the local in all of us. Jesus calls his Church to be a welcoming space which, in the finest Hebridean tradition, makes it a place of sanctuary for friend and foe alike. Giving and receiving hospitality is all about celebrating our common humanity, acknowledging our shared vulnerability and opening us to fresh encounters, in which we may expect to meet our Saviour and Lord himself. Turas math leibh!

The Rev Rory MacLeod Isle of Skye

Mission planning stress

In the report of the Faith Nurture Forum presented at the recent General Assembly note was, quite rightly, taken of the number of ministers off sick and those off due to stress.

We all know that statistics can prove anything, but the figures quoted can only be the very tip of the iceberg. I am sure that there are very many ministers, MDS and office staff who are deeply concerned about the impact of the Presbytery Mission Planning process on their future. This also extends to their families who may be concerned about their home.

Completely ignored however, are the session clerks, the treasurers, property conveners and elders who do so much, all of it on a voluntary basis, to keep the local churches effective and viable. In addition to the Presbytery Mission Planning process, we have had to deal with the imposition of the Giving to Grow Scheme (G2G), and the moratorium on spending on our buildings and manses. These latter two items have created their own difficulties, whether it be the need to create additional income streams to meet the increased sums due under G2G, or simply finding the cheapest possible ways to keep our buildings in the best possible condition without incurring any significant expenditure.

Added to the number of regular meetings involved in keeping a congregation active and engaged, are those meetings generated by Presbytery Planning, which are often inconclusive and simply seem to create further meetings with few or no positive outcomes, due to the nature of the process. Everything seems to need to be fed to a Presbytery committee who will decide if the work done is acceptable or not, which all takes time.

As Session Clerk of a congregation which has now been in Vacancy for over four years my question would simply be this. Who cares for me? Am I stressed about all of this?

YOU BET I AM!

Ralph Boettcher Glasgow

Pulpit supply

Like many, I am sure, I read with a considerable amount of amazement that the General Assembly had approved a 66.7 per cent increase in Pulpit Supply fees. At a time of real hardship when doctors, care home workers, engine drivers and teachers, to name but a few, are being denied what they believe to be valid claims for pay increases, the Church of Scotland seems to be living in a different world. Let me stress that this letter does not challenge whether the level of pay proposed is justifiable or not. It is a plea for the Church to be seen to be living in the real world. The action taken on Pulpit Supply fees will lead many to think that the Church and the real world are, to say the least, poles apart - not a positive message for people to hear.

Duncan C McGhie Glasgow

Recruitment crisis

Reading in Life and Work, the summary reports for this year’s General Assembly, and then the account of the Assembly itself, it was disappointing to find nothing about addressing the recruitment problems for the ordained ministry. We have plenty to say about buildings and finance, but nothing about work going on to seek new ways of tackling this issue. This is the real crisis for the Church and I hope we are not ignoring it.

Following the Second World War, we faced up to the dire shortage of ministers by operating an accelerated training programme. This was an imaginative and successful way of recruiting, at the time, young men with some life experience behind them. Have our leaders considered this again ?

Perhaps the success of the Ordained Local Ministers programme offers another possibility. Could we devise a scheme to allow those OLMs who wish, to make the final step into the full or part time ministry?

Our greatest resource is our people, not our buildings or our money. I hope we are working to realise this asset.

C. M O’Brien Drymen

Scripture interpretation

There is quite a prevalent view of Scripture, which the Rev Frank Ribbons (June) seems to adhere to, that maintains that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are inspired but the truths need to be sought from within, like a treasure to be found. For some parts, I believe this is true, particularly the Wisdom books. But in general, Scripture pertains to being a revelation of God through the lives of people of faith. This is most evidently so in the historical life, words spoken, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. There is a literal character in most books of the Bible that does not lend itself to being interpreted as mystery, a form of mantra. The Scriptures of other religions could well be described in this way, but not, I believe, the historical books of the Bible. Either they relate to true events in history, or they cannot be trusted.

Tony Crow Bearsden