Hello everyone,
Last week was the annual conference for Presbytery Clerks where a number of conversations on the current and future situation of the Kirk were presented. You won’t be surprised to learn the challenges are getting more acute rather than going away.
Numbers attending church have declined significantly since COVID. It seems a lot of people have chosen not to come back with a knock-on effect of less people being around as well as less people contributing financially.
Coupled to this you have a declining number of ministers. When Presbytery Mission Planning was approved/implemented it was planned to have 600 ministers with 60 vacancies. At the moment there are around 475 ministers; so not enough available ministers to go around and fill even the projected number of vacancies when all the mission planning is completed.
On top of this the denomination is running an annual deficit in the order of between £6 and £8 million pounds which will result in our general reserves being depleted by 2032 at the latest. At the moment only 29% of charges actually pay the full costs of a minister. That 29% (and shrinking) is effectively subsidising the other 71%. Whilst you may pay all your allocation, if you do not pay the full costs of ministry across your charge, you are being subsidised by someone else’s offerings.
None of this is new news. We have known this was the way things were going for years. When I started my divinity degree in 1989 people said the church had to change yet in reality it didn’t. It is only since Covid when things became more acute that reality has really begun to hit home.
What is different is that we need to do something about it now. Unless we address all this in our time there will be no next generation in most congregations.
We need to reach more people with the gospel? We believe Jesus makes such a positive difference to peoples lives we should be shouting this from the rooftops. We do not want them to just come to church, we want them to meet Jesus resulting in their lives being better and their joy being complete. What is it that attracted you to your Christian community, your church, how do you share that with others?
We need every charge to meet their costs. It is likely that at some point in the future the 29% will shrink to the point there may not be a subsidy. At that point there will be no one to bail anyone else out. For the next few years we have the buffer so we need to use this time carefully to prepare for the future.
Think of these as the 7 good years before the 7 lean years. What steps is your charge/congregation taking to prepare for a very different future?
I realise this update will not have made for cheerful reading. Last week Murray Campbell, Andrew Don, Elizabeth Morton, Peter Wood and myself met to plan some positive steps we can take. More on that once they are firmed up. The church has put £25 million aside in a special Seeds For Growth fund to help congregations grow. The money is there, what ideas do you have to reach out and we will help you work them up? Last Presbytery approved a Local Missioner scheme, who do you know (even yourself!) that would be willingly trained to kick start your local mission work?
The future is certainly going to be challenging but as your Clerk I believe we have the people, the imagination and the will to boldly go into this future. Why? Because nothing is impossible for our God.
We stand in faith, we stand together and we stand firm.
God Bless
Norman
Presbytery Council have taken the following decisions under powers in the last couple of weeks:
| 06/02/2025 | Presbytery Clerk | Appoint Rev Muriel Willoughby as Interim Moderator at St Mary’s Haddington from the date of the demission of Rev Alison McDonald |
| 06/02/2025 | Presbytery Clerk | Appoint Rev Lisa-Jane Rankin as Armed Forces Champion for Lothian and Borders Presbytery |
| 06/02/2025 | Presbytery Council | Approve the replacement of the lighting system in Newton Church Hall as per the completed Application of Works form, Jan 2025. |
A series of YouTube videos have been created by Stewardship and Finance in 121 to help congregational treasurers. Grab a cuppa and a biscuit, settle in and watch them here. Church Treasurer’s Guide to Financial Accounting
Out of the blue we received a very generous offer from Edinburgh University, offering to help churches with some of their accounting needs. It’s a quid pro quo situation where under supervision accounting students can act as things like Independent Examiners to get experience and churches get their accounts examined. All for free!!! It is a really generous offer so please do not by she about emailing Angela Cairns who is our point of contact Angela.Cairns@ed.ac.uk
Angela wrote:
Subject: UoE Accounting Clinic
Hi, I am a CA and lecturer at the University of Edinburgh.
I spoke to Dr Grant Barclay last year about a project which I am leading for the students. We are looking to support small social impact organisations or small charities with bookkeeping/accounts preparation. However, he was based in Glasgow and we’re in Edinburgh…
Anyway, we now have a website up and running. https://www.business-school.ed.ac.uk/collaborate/student-projects/accounting-clinic
Best wishes,
Angela
If you recall. At our June meeting last year we took part in the consultation on assisted dying. Click here for a summary of the conversations now that the consultation has been completed. This should be coming back to the GA this year.
Tranent Parish Church are having a Praise Evening in March. Click here for the poster which has more details. Please do support and advertise.
February 16th West Tweeddale Parish Churches
We remember in prayer this week the leadership and all involved in the life of this community.
These updates are intended for anyone and everyone. Please share widely in your congregation. If anyone wants onto the mailing list, drop us a note and we will add them. If you have any ideas how we can improve our Christian walk, send them in. No idea not considered!
God Bless and take care.
Norman