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After the opening worship the 2013 General Assembly elected the Right Rev as Moderator. the outgoing Moderator gave his successor a small wooden cross which he had carried through his year. He said, “ .. it reminded him of the first cross ... on which Jesus Christ gave absolute assurance of God’s power and peace.

Other moderators have been handed things.

One moderator (Rt Revd Anonymous) was given a small model of Noah’s ark complete with a bearded Noah, staff in hand, a dove sitting on his shoulder, and two tiny lions and two woolly sheep at his side.

The giver of this gift whispered to the newly elected moderator that he hoped that ... he would be able to keep the lions and the sheep living together peacefully in the ark of the Kirk!

Some hope!

The Moderator called for the Queen’s Commission to Lord James Douglas-Hamilton ... – the Queen’s personal representative to the Assembly.

Addressing the Assembly, Lord James Douglas-Hamilton took as his theme the defence of human rights for all. He drew attention to the problems that Christians have been experiencing in the in North Africa and the Middle East.

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He went on to comment that in there is a memorial to Abraham Lincoln for whom Scots had fought in the Civil War.

It commemorates Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation 150 years ago ending slavery. Pointedly, it is also 50 years since Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech in which he dreamed of his children not being judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.

“It is,” Lord James Douglas-Hamilton said, “the task of the Church to stand against all situations where human rights are set aside. And he reminded the Assembly of one of its own sayings, “To remain silent is to be unfaithful.”

Chief Executive, Elaine Duncan presented the Bible Society’s report. It consisted of a series of snapshots of its work, including China, where the Amity Printing Press has just printed the 100 millionth copy of the Bible.

The Report of the Legal Questions Committee followed

Legal Questions proposed that the Moderator should be nominated by a committee of 15, elected by the preceding Assembly.

The Assembly then clarified the problem of a retired minister, a minister’s spouse or an employee of the Church serving on a congregational nominating committee. This is no longer allowed.

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The committee is continuing with its work on supporting and protecting ministers when the Government’s act on gay marriage comes into being.

The Assembly then moved to the Report of the Council of Assembly. The Convener reported on its work on the strategic plan for the Church

On finance, 98.4% of amounts requested from congregations was contributed in 2012 – a total of £45.7 million. The Church’s operating deficit is currently £4.5 million with the Social Care Council’s, (CrossReach), difficult year contributing significantly to that deficit.

The Convener referred to this being the third year of the National Stewardship Programme and went on to say that some Presbyteries and congregations have not yet participated in the scheme.

The Assembly went on to consider the joint report of the Council of Assembly and the Mission and Discipleship Council on the place of Doctrine and Theological Reflection in the life of the Church.

The report proposed the creation of a Theological Forum answerable directly to the Assembly. This was accepted without debate.

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The Joint Report of the Council of Assembly, dealt with the increasing cost of pensions due to pensioners living longer and the current pension schemes being no longer affordable or sustainable.

The Assembly went on to consider the sections of the Supplementary Report of the Ministries Council.

The Ministries Council proposed to have salaries and stipends approximately in line with inflation. Ministers, Deacons and Parish Workers have only had one increase, of 2%, in the past four years.

On Saturday evening a number of items from the steel band from St Andrews Church of in Jamaica served as the introduction to the retiring Moderator’s the Very Rev Albert Bogle, report on his year in office.

Sunday’s service in St Giles was followed by Heart and Soul. More than 5000 people attended the event in Princes Street Gardens. There were bands, comedians, clowns, ministers and magicians just like a good Sunday anywhere in this presbytery.

On Monday after the Communion Service the Assembly considered the Report of the Theological Commission on Same Sex Relations and the Ministry.

The media were out in force; sadly it was clear that many within the press scrum lacked a commitment to accurate reporting.

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This report is 94 pages long. In its preface the Commission admits that there were two separate theological and biblical positions and that clearly there are irreconcilable differences.

The Commission uses the words “Revisionist” and “Traditionalist” to describe the two sides of the debate.

The Revisionist section of the report was prepared by those members of the Commission who believe that the Church was right in 2011 to move towards the acceptance of gay and lesbian people in committed relationships into all forms of ministry.

It concludes with what the Commission was asked to produce, a suggested form of service for the blessing of same sex relationships and civil partnerships.

The Traditionalist section of the Report was prepared by those members of the Commission who hold the well-argued Scriptural position against such a move.

The report concludes with a warning that should the Assembly accept the Revisionist position, many ministers may wish to leave the and it may do damage to ecumenical relations.

The Convener, the Rev. Dr. John McPake. emphasised that it falls to this Assembly to determine the will of God for the Church of Scotland on this issue.

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He said that the lack of agreement within the membership of the Theological Commission was not surprising and that it will require legislation under the Barrier Act – namely that a majority of the 44 Presbyteries – will have to vote for it in order to change the church’s traditional position.

Any final decision would be ratified in 2014. We were still debating this at 5.30 pm and the Moderator had still 21 people wishing to speak. It was clear after a long harrowing day that like me many of the commissioners had almost lost the will to live.

When it came to the vote 624 votes were cast and from the three options before the Assembly the traditional option fell.

On taking the vote between the amended revisionist option of the Commission and the motion proposed by Albert Bogle, the immediate past moderator’s motion was approved.

The matter is now goes to the Legal Questions Committee to bring an Overture to the 2014 Assembly.

On Tuesday we considered the Report of the World Mission Council introduced by the Convener of the Council, the Very Rev Dr Andrew McLellan.

This year’s report focused on the people of Africa. He began by saying that in the Church in Zambia, when people are called to worship the leader says “I greet you in the name of the Father

7 and the Son and the Holy Spirit”, which is responded to by three claps. We gave him three claps.

Turning to the bicentenary of David Livingstone, being celebrated this year, the Convener said that Livingstone was immensely important to the Church and to our faith and then he introduced three great grandchildren of David Livingstone and the widow of a fourth, who were in the Assembly.

The Convener said that the Council had asked African partners what they wished the General Assembly to hear. The first point was about Slavery, which was the price black people paid for white prosperity. A church with a conscience can change the world.

The second point is Faith. The African Church serves the Lord with mirth, with joy and dancing, which the Convenor said was a little different from the worship in Dunfermline.

The third point is Climate Change. For example tidal waves are damaging Ghana’s fishing trade while the encroaching desert is ravaging Ghana’s agricultural land.

The fourth point is the economics of world poverty.

The Convener drew attention to the “Enough food for everyone … if?” campaign. One billion people go to bed hungry every night and two million die every year from malnutrition.

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This cannot continue and the Prime Minister and the G8 summit must be made aware of it. The Convener’s final comment was to return to the concept of slavery because the new slavery is that in which the poor never escape from the domination of the rich.

He quoted former slave Harriet Ross Tubman who said “If you are tired, keep going. If you are scared, keep going. If you are hungry, keep going. If you want to taste freedom, keep going.”

He concluded with this counsel: Church of Scotland, in your quest for justice, keep going, in your love for Africa, keep going. In the mission of God, keep on going.

We went on to consider the situation in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan. Pakistan and Korea.

The Report of the Church of Scotland Guild, was presented by the National Convener, Mrs Mary Ford.

The report emphasised the six projects for the 2012-2015 period, ranging from the use of art therapy for individuals living with dementia to the building of homes for victims of the Rwanda genocide. For the Projects in the years 2009-2012 the Guild raised a total of £790,555

The Convener, of the Social Care Council, the Rev Syd Graham then presented his council’s report.

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He said that the imperative for its work was Christ’s call “in as much as you do it to the least of one of these my brothers, you do it to me.”

Rev Colin Sinclair, convener, presented the Report of the Mission and Discipleship Council.

The council has now eliminated its debt and appointed new staff. They have worked on Congregational learning; a conference for Session Clerks with 100 attending, and another is proposed for later this year.

The online resource Starters for Sunday has been exceptionally well used. There was the Different Voices conference organised by the Music Committee with 250 people participating.

There is a new website with resources and links to other sites.

On Wednesday the first report to be presented was that of the Special Commission on Ministerial Tenure, presented by the Convener, the Very Rev Bill Hewitt.

This has to do with how long a congregation can have a minister.

The Commission discovered that the matter of reviewable tenure has not hindered the mission of the Church. It also discovered that the term “Reviewable Tenure” is widely misunderstood. It is simply a tool by which the Presbytery can regularly rethink the pastoral and mission needs within its bounds. Some form of ministerial review would be helpful to most ministers.

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The programme of Local Church Review is an opportunity for congregations and ministers to reflect on their pastoral needs; it also helps ministers to ask, “Am I at this moment in the right place at the right time?”

The Commission asked for another year to conclude its work and promised to bring a final report in 2014.

We went quickly through the reports of The Church of Scotland Housing and Loan Fund.

Then we heard the report of the Ministries Council. The Convener, the Rev Neil Dougall, began by drawing attention to the celebration this year of the 150th Anniversary of the Diaconate.

The Council believes that ministerial support should be at Presbytery level and the Council is working on resources to support Presbyteries.

A real concern is the lack of numbers entering training for the ministry. Of those who are, few are under 40.

The next Report was Safeguarding, presented by Mr Ranald Mair the Convener. The need for Safeguarding is clear in this current time in the context of abuse of children, and other forms of danger to young people and adults.

Those who are involved with the care of children and adults must now join the new Protection of Vulnerable Groups Scheme. The

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Only 500 applications are being processed each month. Those who currently have an Enhanced Disclosure Certificate will have to apply to join the Scheme from November this year.

The report of the Panel on Review and Reform presented by the Convener, Donald Campbell.

The Panel has been exploring how the Church uses digital communication for its mission?

It asked three questions:

1 How do we understand a world being transformed before our eyes?

2 How will the Church need to transform itself to meet the challenges of a rapidly evolving future?

3 How can the Church make decisions that help make the transition to a different kind of future in the confidence that the future belongs to God?

On Thursday morning the Report of the Committee on Chaplains to Her Majesty’s Forces.

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This year the Report was dedicated to the late General Sir Michael Gow, an elder of the Canongate Church since 1988. He died in March.

The Convener said that our young people in the Armed Forces have seen and experienced horrific incidents that they will never forget. Chaplains to the forces are there to help them work through it.

The Rev John Murning moved that Presbyteries should be urged to engage with their local authorities’ Armed Forces Community Covenant and appoint a Church champion. The Convener was minded to accept the motion. The Assembly agreed.

Vice Admiral , the Second Sea Lord, addressed the Assembly.

He referred to the fact that the Navy with the other Armed Forces is involved in several patrols – round the Falklands and off the coast of Somalia. The commitment in Afghanistan is coming to an end, but there is always more work to be done. The submarine fleet is constantly on patrol – one of the submarines returned to port recently after an 11 month deployment. For 76% of that time it was submerged.

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The Assembly turned next to the Report of the Committee on Ecumenical Relations, presented by the Convener Dr Alan Falconer.

He took as a theme words from Acts chapter 22: “And now what are you waiting for?” He outlined the Church of Scotland’s participation in a variety of ecumenical bodies including the World Council of Churches, the World Communion of Reformed Churches and the Conference of European Churches. All are under review and some are relocating, mainly for financial reasons.

At home, Action of Churches Together in Scotland and Churches Together in Britain and Ireland have also been reviewing their work.

The Committee has been exploring the possibility with the Scottish Episcopal Church about how the maintenance of Article 3 of the Articles Declaratory – the provision of a territorial church throughout Scotland - might be shared.

The Assembly moved on to the Report of the Iona Community which was presented by the Convener Allan Gordon. The Leader of the Community, the Rev Peter Macdonald, had just returned from the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the Community in the 1450 th year since St Columba first landed on Iona. Peter said that 75 years ago Lord Macleod, the founder of the Community, thought he was establishing a Community of Presbyterian Brothers.

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But over the years the Community has developed so that its membership is now widely ecumenical and not gender-sensitive.

Peter spoke powerfully against the renewal of Trident and said that on Pentecost Sunday a group left the Island of Iona to walk to Westminster to protest against weapons of mass destruction. He then presented a shawl in the new Iona tartan to the Moderator.

The Assembly went on to consider the Report of the Church and Society Council. The Council has a wide remit. The Report was presented by the Convener, the Rev Sally Foster-Fulton.

She said that the foundation of the Council’s work is the Gospel and the commitment of Jesus to all people especially the most disadvantaged.

On Human Rights she said we are a part of a global community intimately interlinked – and our response is from Jesus’ law: love God and love your neighbour.

More and more go to sleep hungry. And too many die from malnutrition. We have more than enough food to feed everyone if, for example, corporations pay the taxes due on their profits. Even in Scotland we are opening food banks.

One of the Council’s biggest jobs is to do with climate change. Our global neighbours suffer disproportionately from our western excesses. The poorest suffer most.

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The Council also brought a report on Bolivia. Why Bolivia? Because it offers a microcosm of many of the issues facing other nations around the world. Its people contribute little to global warming but suffer greatly from it. There is land grabbing by big companies destroying huge areas of the tropical forest: the home of the indigenous people.

The Assembly then considered the report on the Promised Land. The Convener had to defend her section of the deliverance and declare again that there can be no peace and that reconciliation can only be possible if the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem and the blockade of Gaza are ended.

The Assembly moved to the Order of the Day on the Joint Report of the Council, the Committee on Ecumenical Relations and the Legal Questions Committee on the implications of the Independence of Scotland.

The Convener said that if there is change it will be a huge change. Some questioned what the role of the Church is in the Independence issue.

The Assembly then returned to the main report and heard a proposal regarding the fact that the rules of the Data Protection Act prohibit ministers from accessing their members in hospital because the Act means that those on duty in hospitals are not permitted to let a minister know if a member is there.

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One minister said that four of his members had died in hospital without his learning about it until an undertaker phoned.

The first Report to be presented on the final morning of the General Assembly was that of the General Trustees whose responsibility is the care of most of the land and buildings of the Church. It was presented by the Convener, the Rev Dr James Jack.

The Convener admitted that many church buildings are no longer fit for purpose; moreover, the Trustees believe that there are 400 churches that are no longer required.

We then considered the report of the Church of Scotland Investors’ Trust. The Convener said that they used ethical investing – not investing in companies that are involved in gambling, tobacco products, alcohol, and other activities. This came at a cost – this investment policy reduced the return from investments by about £2 million per annum.

The Church Hymnary Trustees report followed with no promises of a new edition of the Church Hymnary, but a promise to produce an edition for the Kindle.

The Central Services Committee report principally dealt with staffing issues in the Church Offices.

And that was the week that was!

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The lions and the sheep continue to live together in an uneasy peace in the ark of the Kirk.

Moderator, members of presbytery I report due diligence on behalf of Kirkcaldy Presbytery’s Commissioners to this year’s General Assembly.