Growing Young

Presbytery Planning Consultation Paper

The following message relating to Presbytery planning has been received from the Very Revd Dr Derek Browning (Moderator of Edinburgh Presbytery):

The Church is committed to operating more effectively and efficiently to ensure that it is properly equipped to deliver the Good News of Jesus Christ in a dynamic and sustainable way. At recent General Assemblies the whole church has been instructed to begin to draw up plans which will look at the future shape and number of ministries. As you may know, the church in Edinburgh and West Lothian, like churches across the country, is at the very start of a four-year process to ensure that the best structures are in place to meet 21st century mission and ministry needs.

One of the objectives of the current Presbytery consultation is to ensure that congregations work more closely together in efficient and imaginative ways to serve local communities, and to find ways to make this happen. A planning strategy team has produced a consultation document for discussion, but no final decisions have been made and the details contained within the plan are subject to change.

An agreed plan on the best way forward will evolve in due course and will be shaped by the feedback from congregations within the Presbytery, as well as national church bodies that have responsibility for overall planning, and for buildings.
No final decisions about ministries or church buildings have been made, but this will play a part in future discussion this year.

In the meantime, the good work that Edinburgh churches are involved in to support the vulnerable and the marginalised and those with real pastoral need continues.
Across the country the whole Church of Scotland is facing similar challenges in planning, and the process is not an easy or straightforward one, but the ultimate goal, whatever Plan is finally agreed, is to ensure that the good work of the Church continues.

In this sensitive and unsettling time, please pray for your own congregation, your neighbouring congregations in the Presbytery, and the whole Church of Scotland. It will be together that we will, with God, find a way forward.

Use the button below to read the Consultation Document.

Pentecost Display.

The BV Creative Group invited the congregation to help with the Pentecost display and the result was fantastic!

The Ministry team asked the Creative Group to create a display for the railings, using imagery of Holy Spirit as wind and fire, to celebrate Pentecost. To find out more about what Pentecost is, please see our blog (button at the end of the article). This is possibly the most collaborative project the group have done yet as some members knitted the smaller flames, some sewed flames together, some sewed the small flames to the giant felt flames while others created the ‘Wind Twirls’ or helped put up the display. There was a real sense of community as the collaboration didn’t end there! The group invited the congregation to create the ‘Wind Twirls’ too and, thanks to all the contributions, they were featured in the sanctuary too meaning those at home could see them in the live stream of the service.

So, what is a ‘Wind Twirl’? Great question! A Wind twirl is a circle of card cut into a spiral and pulled out to dangle in a long coil, so they move in the breeze. They were made in blue and grey card, then beautifully decorated with words and images relating to God and Holy Spirit. Thank you to everyone who got involved and all those who gave encouragement. The Creative Group is a drop-in group so even if you don’t have much time, we’d love you to join us. We have some on-going projects if you’d like something to pick up once in a while and we have a new project which we will be starting next week (but can be joined at any time). To find out more sign up to the church newsletter or contact creative@barclayviewforth.org.uk.