Wednesday May 22 2025
Major-General Robin Lindsay address the General Assembly
The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland was told today that military chaplains are as vital as ever in the Armed Forces.
Speaking following the report of the Committee on Chaplains to HM Forces, Major-General Robin Lindsay, General Officer, Scotland, described the chaplains as ‘faithful centurions who both serve and lead’.
He said that, at a time of growing uncertainty and instability worldwide, the spiritual and pastoral support offered by chaplains ‘afford us certainty and constancy… the certainty, solace, and permanency offered by that which is bigger than ourselves and in daily rites that are meaningful’.
Speaking for the chaplains’ committee, convener Andrew Tait said that there had been a positive response to last year’s urgent appeal for more people to offer themselves as chaplains, with four new full time and two reservist chaplains approved this year, and discussions ongoing with another five people. However, he warned that there were retirements to come in the near future and that ‘I would not like the Assembly to think we are out of the woods yet’.
During the report of the Social Care Council (CrossReach), disappointment was expressed that the Scottish Government had not approved continued funding for the CrossReach-run Prison Visitor Centres at Perth Prison and Polmont Young Offenders Institution. Convener, Dr Mike Cantlay, said that the Government had acknowledged the ‘very high quality’ of the service provided, but had invited other parties to submit bids to run the centres.
Presbytery of Perth elder Marjorie Clark said that the presbytery had been ‘dismayed and very disappointed’ by the news. She said: “The visitors have been welcomed, been given a safe space, hospitality and advice and so much more. I hope the church can acknowledge the work of the staff and volunteers.”
In his speech, Dr Cantlay said that CrossReach, like the rest of the Church was faced with ‘extremely difficult decisions’ as it attempts to reach a break-even budget. He said that their new strategy was ‘inspired by love, but grounded in the reality of a broken (care) system and uncertain funding', and called on the church to be ‘part of the plan, and help us to make a difference in a society which still needs its Church to speak up and to act for the most marginalised and disadvantaged’.
The Roman Catholic Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, the Most Rev Leo Cushley, said he had attended a Church of Scotland service of Holy Communion for the first time, at the General Assembly on Monday morning. He said it had been ‘very moving, and lovely for me to be there… and also to see how much we have in common’. He added that the one thing missing had been that Church of Scotland Communion services do not normally include the Nicene Creed – the 1700th anniversary of which is being celebrated this year - and commended it as ‘the bedrock of who we are as the universal church’.
The convener of the Ecumenical Relations Committee, the Rev Ross Blackman, said in his speech that the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which produced the first version of the Nicene Creed, was a reminder ‘that we hold far more in common with all other forms of orthodox and mainstream Christianity than our differences’, adding: “May we continue to commit ourselves to prayer for each other and the work of God in our midst, working together in extravagant love, under the direction of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The chair of the General Trustees, Alan Kennedy, drew attention to three recent projects that the Trustees has supported: refurbishments and efficiency improvements at Newtongrange Parish Church and Downfield Mains Church in Dundee, and at Muckhart Parish Church, where glebe land was used in a flood prevention scheme and environmental enhancements.
A motion calling for conversations with the tax authorities about allowing ministers to own their own homes to be designated as their manse was defeated, after it was pointed out that this had been explored in a report to last year’s assembly. The Rev Robert Allan said that he was not seeking to get rid of manses, but asking for a mixed economy. He said that no-one in the church had had the conversations that might enable this to happen, and that the Baptist and URC churches had been allowed to offer such a system (an assertion disputed by the conveners of both Assembly Trustees and General Trustees).
The Rev Mike Goss, while not backing the motion, said: “There is a reason this keeps coming back. We know there are a lot of ministers living in manses that are quite shamefully kept. There is a new manse handbook out. Make sure you make your manses work well.”
The national convener of the Guild, Christina Paterson, told the Assembly that £553,000 had been raised for the six partnership projects in the three-year cycle that has just finished. She said that her year had been one ‘of challenge and transition, but also a year of many unforgettable experiences’.
She urged churches that are going through changes, including unions, to involve their Guilds in the process. And she praised the development of LIFT, the young adults guild, which was able to meet in person earlier this year thanks to a donation from an Ayrshire Guild.
General Assembly 2025 - full coverage
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