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Call for 'Fresh Vision'

Tuesday May 21 2024

Karen McKay, the Depute Assembly Officer made history at the start of the afternoon session when she became the first woman in the history of the Assembly to lead the Moderator into the Hall. Picture: Andrew O'Brien


The Convener of the Church of Scotland’s Faith Action Programme Leadership Team (FAPLT) today told the General Assembly that the Church needs ‘a fresh vision’.

The Rev Tommy MacNeil said that the Church continues to do ‘truly remarkable work’ but acknowledged that it was ‘in the midst of a deeply challenging and uncertain moment’ as it struggles with shortages of money and ministers, and falling membership.

He said: “In our hurt and pain, we need to know Christ as our healer and restorer if we are to have any hope of having a different future.

“I am convinced this is the need of the hour for all in our church. A fresh encounter with God. A fresh vision of who God is, where God is, a fresh vision of what his plans and purposes for us are. When God enters the occasion, everything changes… We’re in a moment of crisis, but God is not.”

He finished with a plea for members of the Church to respond to God’s call: “Our plea as FAPLT to you today, with all humility and all sincerity, is that we respond like Isaiah and say to God: ‘Here am I, send me, equip me, envision me, fill me, use me.’ And if we do that, we’ll reveal Christ to our world.”


During the afternoon session, the General Assembly passed an Overture from the Presbytery of Lothian and Borders which will reduce the national church’s influence over presbytery mission plans.

The rules agreed in recent years had stated that the annual review and development of presbytery mission plans must be approved every year by FAPLT and the General Trustees. Under today’s Overture, those bodies must be consulted but presbyteries will only need to gain approval every five years.

Introducing the Overture, Lothian and Borders Presbytery Clerk, the Rev Norman Smith, said it was in the spirit of recent reforms meant to move power from the central Church to presbyteries.

Speaking in favour, the Rev Prof David Fergusson said: “This is one of the reasons we have the bigger presbyteries, so they can have greater responsibilities.”

FAPLT resisted the Overture, instead offering a countermotion in which plans would require biennial approval, but this was defeated by 196 votes to 119. When the original Overture was then put to the Assembly, it was approved by 210 to 95.

A separate Overture from the Presbytery of Glasgow, asking for churches to be given permission to call ministers even while the Presbytery was over its allocation (due to ministers in unrestricted tenure being reluctant to move), was defeated.


Earlier, Maureen Jack said the Church ‘should have said more’ than it has on the situation in Gaza. “Within three days of Hamas’s shocking attack the convener of the Assembly Trustees and Moderator absolutely rightly made strong statements condemning it,” she said. “The Moderator issued a statement welcoming the temporary ceasefire. Then we had five months without a single statement from the leadership…. We should have done more. We should have said more.”

The Rev Alistair Cumming, FAPLT Resource and Presence vice-convener, said: “The Moderator had signed 20 documents and statements on behalf of the Church of Scotland so it’s not a question of church being silent.”


There were several comments on behalf of the newly-qualified ministers who have been serving as assistant ministers under special arrangements while churches have not been allowed to call during the presbytery mission planning process. Those arrangements are expected to come to an end by the end of 2027.

One of those affected, the Rev Douglas Reid, said: “There is a great deal of anger within the cohort… who feel they may have to look at options for employment outside the Church of Scotland.”

The Rev Angus Mathieson, the Presbytery and Partnership Manager, told the Assembly that with nearly all the mission plans approved, there would be enough vacancies coming over the next few years to match the supply of candidates, including the current assistant ministers.


FAPLT agreed to a new section instructing them to review the support available to ministers from overseas with the ‘administrative and financial challenges’ of renewing visas. The Rev Everisto Musedza said he had had to pay £19,000 for visas for himself and his family, and will soon have to pay another £14,000 to renew them.


FAPLT also accepted an instruction to consider the implications of the recently-release Cass Review into gender identity services for under 18s, and report to a future General Assembly.


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