On Saturday, at our Presbytery meeting, we heard from our Congregational Support Officer, Natasha Hepburn, about the Annual Inspection of Congregational Records. A tremendous amount of work was undertaken by office-bearers across the Presbytery to submit digital records. A huge thank you to everyone who engaged with the process and showed diligence in responding to queries - we had the best response to date. And those congregations which struggled to do things digitally were given the option of having their records reviewed physically.
Five reviewers took time to go through all the records and identify any issues. There were some common themes:
- A lack of evidence of attesting Safeguarding records;
- Problems with signatures on minutes;
- Problems with holding a Stated Annual meeting (or providing a record of it); and
- Problems with Congregational Action Plans.
The Congregational Support and Supervision Committee have identified ways in which they can support congregations in addressing these issues and practical guidance will be prepared for next year's inspection. Hopefully each year we do this, it will get easier.
At the same time, we are now preparing for the annual inspection of the Presbytery's records. This is undertaken by the Presbytery Review Committee and we have a questionnaire to complete by the end of September. We are asked to provide copies of our policies, minutes and risk register. It is quite a long list, but we are pretty much there in terms of pulling everything together.
This year's inspection coincides with a bigger review by the Presbytery Review Committee. They visit two Presbyteries every year, and this year it is the Presbytery of West Lothian and the Borders, and us. The committee will report to the General Assembly in 2027. The starting point is a questionnaire, which covers all the different aspects of Presbytery life, including planning, vacancies, meetings, safeguarding and much more. We have shared it out to Committee Conveners and asked that they complete their own section. Hopefully we will then be able to collate it by the end of the month. In addition, there will be a congregational questionnaire, which will go to about 20% of congregations in the Presbytery. It asks about communication, training, contact and support. It is a great opportunity for congregations to give feedback on how we are doing. If you congregation is asked to complete one, please do engage with it.
On Saturday, we also agreed to the introduction of an appraisal process for Presbytery Staff. This year, the focus will be on setting appropriate objectives. In many it is the equivalent to Congregational Action Plans, for which there is now guidance for Kirk Sessions.
In lots of ways there is currently a focus on setting homework, or marking homework. Coming under scrutiny can be challenging. We'd all prefer not to draw attention to the things that have gone wrong or where mistakes have been made. And sometimes we are reluctant to dwell on the things that are going well and which should be celebrated. These attestations and appraisals give us an opportunity to take stock, to share good practice, and to learn more about where we can improve.
The Presbytery Review Committee will be visiting us in Aberdeen and attending our online meeting in November. Look out for more information from them on the work they are doing.
Rev Stella