Praise for Guild from Moderator at Guild Gathering

                                                                                                                      Saturday September 7 2019

THE Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has paid a warm tribute to the work of the Church of Scotland Guild and spoken of his personal gratitude for their work.

Addressing the Guild’s annual Gathering in Dundee today (Sat), the Rt Rev Colin Sinclair said: “I am so grateful for the partnership with Guild in the Churches I have served in.”

Outlining the key role the Guild has to play, he said: “One of the great things the Guild offers is company on the road of life, sharing friendship around a common faith and shared values.”

Paying tribute to the Guild as it continues to move forward and change, he said: “As you meet in your Guild branches, as you introduce the programme, never forget in your prayers that Jesus might somehow be present in your meeting.”

He called for the Guilds to look out in particular “for those on the edges of your branches – help them to feel included, make sure there is always a welcome and leave time for them to talk and for you to listen but in that companionship bring Jesus – that is what makes us the Church of Scotland Guilds. We know whose we are and whom we serve and in the midst of that he will be your companion in joy and sorrow.”

In a day which also gave voice to the creative community engagement of Guilds across the country, around 2000 men and women, who were gathered at the Caird Hall, heard about the work of Carolyn Boyd Tomasovic, who is rooted in the Church of Scotland, but has lived in Croatia with her husband three children for over 25 years. She described her early work as war broke out in the Balkans and described the journey which led her to her current role as managing director of the Ecumenical Women’s Initiative.

During her address, she offered harrowing statistics which showed the communities of eastern Europe still felt the impact of war, more than 20 years on. Echoing the Guild’s annual theme ‘Companions on the Road’, she said the roads she walked had not always been in straight lines, but emphasised: “Unknown roads are not to be feared. There is a purpose to all the small things that we do although it may not be clear to us….. know that your actions here today will have far reaching consequences far beyond the boundaries of our faith traditions .”

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