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After the Opening Worship the 2013 General Assembly Elected the Right Rev Lorna Hood As Moderator

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After the Opening Worship the 2013 General Assembly Elected the Right Rev Lorna Hood As Moderator 1 After the opening worship the 2013 General Assembly elected the Right Rev Lorna Hood as Moderator. Albert Bogle 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. 2 He went on to comment that in Edinburgh 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. 3 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. 4 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 Scotland 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. 5 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 Church of Scotland 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. 6 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. 8 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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