General Assembly to be Hybrid of In-Person and Online

Wednesday March 23 2022

The 2022 General Assembly of the Church of Scotland will be a hybrid event, with a mixture of in-person and online commissioners.

Under the measures, agreed at a Commission of Assembly today, an in-person Assembly will be held in Edinburgh, but at least a quarter of the Commissioners will attend virtually. Non-voting attendees, such as youth delegates and corresponding members, will also be able to elect to take part online if they wish.

This will enable numbers in the Assembly Hall to be capped at 550, leaving every second seat vacant.

The convener of the Assembly Business Committee, the Rev Donald McCorkindale, told the Commission of Assembly: “Legal restrictions have passed, but Government advice calls for personal responsibility. We may meet in person. A risk assessment has been carried out and established that with safety restrictions, we would require to cap on site attendance at around three quarters of commissioners and other participants.

“We also understand and hear that many commissioners would choose not to be in a crowded context.”

The measures were passed almost unanimously, although a requirement that presbyteries submit exact numbers of online and in-person commissioners as directed by the Committee was deleted.

Presbyteries must notify the Principal Clerk’s office which of their Commissioners will be attending online by April 8, and other participants who wish to do so by April 15. There will however be provision for people attending in person to switch to online before or during the Assembly, for example if they test positive for Covid-19.

This year’s General Assembly, which opens on Saturday May 22, will be the first in person Assembly since 2019. 2020’s Assembly was cancelled apart from a short ceremony to install the Moderator, and last year’s event was held virtually, with only the Moderator, officials and speakers in the Hall.

March Life and Work out now.

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