The General Assembly closed yesterday with a view to meeting again on 15 May 2026. There has been much debate and discussion, with a number of significant decisions being made over a range of subjects. We will need to take time, in the coming weeks and months, as a Presbytery to consider how we enact these decisions, particularly in relation to the financial health of congregations and the status of congregations with no inducted minister of word and sacrament.
My hope is to provide a fuller note on the GA next week. But, as a starting point, here is an outline of some of the decisions made which I think will have significant consequences for us in our Presbytery:
On Monday, we agreed changes to the Presbytery Mission Plan Act. Any charge becoming 'vacant' after 1 June 2025 will be designated a reviewable charge. A basis of reviewable charge will need to be agreed and under its terms the Presbytery may terminate the tenure of the minister.
If an adjustment is currently being processed (e.g. a basis of union is being discussed and voted upon), the Presbytery will have until December 2025 to effect the adjustment with unrestricted tenure (unless it is a team ministry, in which case it is already reviewable).
If you are a minister with unrestricted tenure in a charge, and a union or linkage takes place, your tenure is unaffected by these changes.
Under the same report, we agreed a new process with regards to congregations that are deemed to be 'insolvent'. This is in relation to Giving to Grow contributions or other debts. If by 1 January 2026 a congregation has a shortfall in its Giving to Grow contributions, a financial sustainability review will be undertaken over a period of up to three months. The intention is to then put in place a realistic payment scheme and to help the congregation become financial sustainable. This will be led by the Stewardship & Finance department but will involve the Presbytery and the congregation. If this is not possible, the congregation could be deemed to be 'insolvent'. In the worst case scenario, the Presbytery would be required to terminate the tenure of the minister (if there is one inducted), giving six months notice, and carry out an adjustment on the congregation.
I appreciate that this change will be of concern to some within our Presbytery, where there is already a shortfall with regards to Giving to Grow contributions. Please note that we will be looking to work with you on this matter as soon as possible, to ensure that congregations get the support they need.
On Tuesday, we passed a new Act to cover the process around calling a minister of word and sacrament. The definition of a vacant charge is to be changed from 1 June 2025. A 'vacant' charge is one which has been given permission to call. This is important because only 'vacant' charges are entitled to a vacancy allowance. The consequence of this change is that for some congregations the vacancy allowance that currently pays for a locum will be withdrawn from 1 January 2026.
The other changes in the Act do offer some simplifications around the process of calling a minister of word and sacrament which will hopefully allow us to progress vacancies more efficiently.
There will be work required between the Planning and Deployment Committee and the Vacancy Procedure Committee to establish which congregations where no minister of word and sacrament is inducted, have permission to call and as such are 'vacant'.
Later on Tuesday, we also agreed changes to the way in which Presbytery reviews congregations. The Local Church Review Act was repealed.
Instead, each charge needs to have a five year Action Plan that brings together the vision of the charge for its mission, worship, life and service taking account of its present position, its capacity and finances. The Action Plan shall set out aims/objectives, a timescale for achievement, notes of annual progress reviews and a traffic light indicator of status, in each of the following areas:
• Worship & Teaching
• Pastoral Care & Fellowship
• Youth & Children
• Local Mission/Community Outreach
• Wider Mission, including Ecumenism and Interfaith relations (as applicable)
• Finance
• Communications
• Property
• HR/Staffing within the charge eg MDS, Reader, locally employed staff
• Relationship with provisions of Approved Mission Plan for Presbytery
The Kirk Session will have a responsibility to pull together the initial action plan and submit it to Presbytery for review. After that, it should be updated and attested annually.
Alongside changes in church law, we also agreed an end to Life & Work, thanking the current editor and staff for all their hard work, and acknowledging the diversity of sincerely held theological views within our broad Church, we re-affirmed the Church of Scotland's opposition to assisted dying. The latter of these two decisions followed a incredibly profound debate, which saw powerful contributions from many people from across the church.
There was much more besides and at our next Presbytery meeting, we'll hear from some of our commissioners. I would like to thank everyone who attended from our Presbytery and would like to acknowledge the contribution members of Presbytery made to the GA, including our youth delegates and our staff.
Rev Stella
Photos all courtesy of Church of Scotland website
