Our presbyteries

Thomas Baldwin learns more about the presbytery of South West Scotland.

DESPITE the complexities of bringing together six legacy presbyteries, the Presbytery of South West Scotland was among the earliest of the new Presbyteries to be formed, holding its first meeting on October 1 2022.

Maybe the apparent speed with which everything was agreed is partly because the presbytery feels like a natural geographical fit, encompassing the western half of Scotland south of the Central Belt. That includes a number of small to mediumsized towns, particularly in the north and down the coast – Largs, Kilmarnock, Irvine, Troon, Ayr, Stranraer – but the area is predominantly rural and agricultural.

The presbytery includes island ministries on Arran and Cumbrae, and extends across the Border to Carlisle (one of two Church of Scotland parishes that are located in England but are in Scottish presbyteries). It is also home to Whithorn, site of the earliest known

Christian church in Scotland, and a major pilgrimage destination as the terminus of the 143-mile Whithorn Way from Glasgow. From Largs in the north to Carlisle is about 120 miles, or a drive of nearly three hours. However, a statistic of greater interest to the Rev Gavin Niven, minister of John Knox Parish Church in Stewarton and convener of the presbytery’s mission committee, is that at the last census 52 per cent of the population declared that they were ‘no religion’.

He says: “We are trying to be pioneering, recognising the 52 per cent of people in the presbytery who need the Lord Jesus.

“I think it’s been very positive so far. We’re trying to create a ‘can do’ culture rather than ‘we have tried that’. It’s hard when so often we feel like we are managing decline to have that kind of attitude, it’s very easy for us all to go back to what we are used to, but an experimental, adventurous ‘can do’ culture is what we are trying to form.

“The determination early on was that we were going to be a mission focused presbytery. At presbytery meetings (four a year; in-person in the summer, online in winter) we try to allocate a good hour, hour and a half, to mission, and that has been well received. I think we are seeing some movement in the right direction.”

The Rev Stephen Ogston, who is minister of a three-way linkage in Dumfries and Galloway, and convener of the presbytery’s Ministry, Education, Resource and IT (MERIT) Committee, agrees. “All of the committees have mission as part of our remit, and are aware we cannot just do what we did in the past,” he says. “We have to draw a line under what is gone and push ahead with what we decide from now on.” One example they give of becoming more missional is that they have allocated funding to train new worship leaders across the presbytery. Another is of trying to look at the local church review in a fresh way, so that it is more mission focused. “We are trying to get congregations and groupings more focused on their mission plan rather than filling in statistical forms,” says Gavin.

He and the mission committee are also looking to extend a missional approach that began in his former presbytery of Irvine and Kilmarnock. “With the help of the Rev Alan McWilliam and CAIRN (a network of missional practitioners) we ‘mission mapped’” he explains. “We put a huge map of the area on the floor in a big space, and we pointed to where mission was happening and to whom in the area. Then we looked at where the gaps were, and asked people to dream dreams and think about what we could do (in those areas).”

They also deliberately sacrificed four parish ministry posts in order to recruit pioneer posts to take forward those dreams, and to employ a mission facilitator to support these pioneers and facilitate new ventures. Six projects are now up and running across the old presbytery, including outreaches to young people, an intergenerational church, a project seeking to include people with disabilities, an online church community and a sports-based ministry.

Gavin and his team were keen to repeat the exercise across the South West, and held four gatherings which resulted in eight proposals. The plan was to apply for Church of Scotland Seeds for Growth funding to send people on the Forge Pioneer Scotland Course, an intensive training and mentoring programme for anyone who feels called into a new expression of church.

While only one of those eight has so far managed to get a team together to be able to send someone on the Forge course, Gavin remains undaunted. “We had wanted to get people on to Forge starting this academic year, but the seven other projects may gestate for a few months and may be ready for 2025, and I’m sure Seeds for Growth will be supportive.”

Stephen adds: “We have done very well to have these exciting ideas come forward, and maybe people are still just figuring things out. All the new presbyteries are still trying to figure out how they operate, and there is a lot of uncertainty. But you have got to have these visions.”

He says, however, that it is not just about completely throwing out the old to make way for the new. “We want a mixed economy of the old and the new coming together. We can’t just do new things, but the hope is that the new will refresh the old and lead to greater strength. If people see a vision, see something new happening, that can really excite them and inspire them and refresh their own faith.”

“One of the pioneers working on a project called Thrive, which has really revitalised my congregation, talks about the existing congregation being the scaffolding,” says Gavin. “Quite a number of people in the congregation have got involved, and through this initiative we have been able to get grants to take out pews, and get a flexible space.

“It’s hard to put your finger on it, but there’s just a tangible energy to the congregation. Alongside that we have a youth worker, and we are seeing some great work and young people joining the church.

“There is a working through of how does the established church and the pioneer church work in tandem, and cross fertilise. It’s very positive and brings benefits beyond a little group of pioneers: they are actually revitalising the existing church.” ¤