The website of the Methodist Church of Great Britain has been redeveloped.
posted at 9:15 PM

The Roman Catholic Church has condemned a proposal by Neil McKeganey, a professor of drug misuse research at Glasgow University, that female drug addicts should be paid to take contraception to stop them having children.
Source: Sunday Telegraph.
posted at 2:10 PM

Cardinal Keith O'Brien is touring churches in Edinburgh and Fife urging parishioners to take action against the Scottish Executive's proposals on school sex education and the immigration plans of the UK government. The Catholic church is also calling on parents to defend the status of Catholic schools.
Source: Scotland on Sunday.
posted at 1:59 PM

Scots are binge-drinking moaners plagued by sectarianism and a chronically over-budget parliament, according to the latest edition of Lonely Planet Scotland, the tourist guide which sells around 60,000 copies of each edition.
Source: Scotland on Sunday.
posted at 1:57 PM

The Scotsman runs a series of historical 'what might have been' features. If the assassination of Cardinal Beaton in 1546 had failed, the long reign of Mary Queen of Scots would have seen the full flowering of the Renaissance in Scotland. "Scotland," as one imaginary historian never wrote, "benefited uniquely from the combination of the strong social fabric bequeathed by the Catholic centuries and the intellectual vitality of enlightened thought" - the latter featuring the Abbot of Dryburgh, one David Hume. So muses Alan Massie, while Richard Finlay wonders what would have happened if Hitler had invaded Britain. "A shift in emphasis would be needed to replace anti-Catholicism with anti-Celticism in order to appease Catholic Fascists on the mainland and emphasise more the racial dimension of Scottish sectarianism. Publications such as the Church of Scotland's 1922 report, The Irish Threat to Scottish Nationality, would become compulsory reading."
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 6:44 PM

Catholic pilgrims are queuing up to visit the Celtic equivalent of Lourdes on a new air route nicknamed "virgin airline". A BMI Regional service from Glasgow to Knock, in Ireland, will begin on Monday. In little more than an hour, pilgrims can be worshipping at the Shrine of Our Lady, a world centre of devotion to Christ's mother.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 6:09 PM

The Moderator of the General Assembly has mounted a powerful and provocative plea to First Minister Jack McConnell to pressurise the Westminster government to intervene in the case of the Iranian hunger strikers in order to avert national disgrace.
Source: Dundee Courier.
posted at 6:06 PM

St Andrew's Cathedral in Dundee last night hosted a special Mass of Thanksgiving to mark the 40th anniversary of the ordination to the priesthood of the Right Reverend Vincent Logan, the Bishop of Dunkeld.
Source: Dundee Courier.
posted at 6:05 PM

The Moderator of the General Assembly, the Rt Rev Professor Iain Torrance, visited Dundee's Al-Maktoum Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies today. "We are seeing the creation of secularism as a new religion, and a persecuting one at that", he said. The Moderator also highlighted the desperate situation of the Iranian Kurdish hunger-strikers, although he deplored the use of the threat of suicide as a political weapon.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.
posted at 8:50 PM

DNA testing has been used to track down an individual suspected of breaking windows at St Mary's Church in Kirriemuir three years ago.
Source: Forfar Dispatch.
posted at 8:38 PM

Appreciation of the late Rev Norman John Macpherson, former minister in Inverness-shire, Humbie and Blairgowrie.
Source: icPerthshire - Perthshire Advertiser.
posted at 8:23 PM

Parishoners of Blackford and Ardoch in Perthshire have said their farewells to the Reverend Hazel Wilson, who has been the charge of the linked parishes for the last 12 years. Her new charge is Lochee Old and St Luke's in Dundee.
Source: icPerthshire - Strathearn Herald.
posted at 8:20 PM

Bothwell Parish Church's minister, the Rev Jim Gibson, is to become a royal chaplain, one of 10 Church of Scotland ministers to hold the title of Chaplain to HM the Queen in Scotland, which involves officiating at state occasions. Previously minister at Grangemouth Old Parish Church, Mr Gibson is also the convener of the Church of Scotland's Board of National Mission and is due to become the moderator of Hamilton Presbytery in September.
Source: icLanarkshire - Hamilton Advertiser.
posted at 8:15 PM

A Glenrothes man has been cleared of starting a fire which caused half a million pounds worth of damage to a Leslie church. Ricky Smith had been accused of setting the blaze at St Mary Mother of God on May 23 last year. But the charge was dropped on the third day of his trial at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.
Source: Fife Now - Glenrothes Gazette.
posted at 8:05 PM

The Catholic Church in Scotland has launched a text alert service for mobile phone users, enabling its media office to issue news alerts and run opinion polls.
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release.
posted at 3:29 PM

The Church of Scotland is to hold a "stakeholders' conference", described as "a milestone of faith" in May 2005.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.
posted at 3:25 PM

Obituary of Rev Ronnie Samuel, born 1931 in Glasgow, died 2004 in Rothesay. Ronnie Samuel spent most of the 1960s as a missionary in South Africa, regularly preaching to more than 1,000 students and lecturing alongside Desmond Tutu, before coming home to Scotland where he was minister of Trinity Church, Rothesay, for 30 years.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 3:13 PM

Mel Gibson's film epic, The Passion of the Christ, has led a former Episcopalian Bishop of Edinburgh to attack the Hollywood star as self-indulgent and claim that Gibson's portrayal of Christ showed that he had misunderstood the Bible. The Most Reverend Richard Holloway said: "I think this guy gets off on pain. All his movies are full of beatings and pain and it seems he is using The Passion as another vehicle to indulge himself. Even in Braveheart there was some of that. I'll not be going to watch two hours of blood- letting."
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.
posted at 3:10 PM

The Right Rev Neville Chamberlain, Episcopalian Bishop of the Diocese of Brechin, is to retire early next year. He and his wife will return to Edinburgh, where he was rector of St John's Church, Princes Street, for 16 years.
Source: Dundee Courier.
posted at 3:01 PM

Professor Donald Macleod, principal of the Free Church College in Edinburgh, has called for a radical rethink of church practice and procedure in a bid to end the "scandal of division" that has blighted Highland presbyterianism for about 200 years. He said the obstacles to greater unity were frequently based on traditions which were having a devastating effect on all denominations. Prof Macleod said as many as five presbyterian churches now had a presence in sparsely populated parishes in Wester Ross and Skye - the Church of Scotland, the Free Church, the Free Church (Continuing), the Free Presbyterian Church and Associated Presbyterian Churches. Even if they worshipped together in the same building, he added, the numbers would in some cases still barely amount to a respectable attendance figure.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 10:18 AM

Elton John, the musician, and his boyfriend, David Furnish, have been invited to tie the knot in Scotland. Clackmannanshire Council, the first in the country to introduce same-sex commitment services for gay couples, hopes a celebrity wedding will get the service off to a flying start. If Sir Elton and his Canadian consort drop by in Clackmannanshire, the council promises a fairy-tale [sic] wedding in fourteenth-century Alloa Tower. Father James Wallace, of St Bernadette's RC Church in Tullibody, said: "I certainly would not welcome Elton John marrying his boyfriend in Alloa. Same-sex relationships are completely against the teachings of the Bible and the Catholic Church would not tolerate it." The Rev Graham Brown, of the United Free Church, said: "This would be unbiblical and wrong. I cannot understand why the council is encouraging this."
Source: The Herald.
posted at 10:05 AM

The government is irresponsible to ignore public opinion on genetically modified crops, according to Dr Donald Bruce, director of the Church of Scotland's Society, Religion and Technology Project.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.
posted at 5:30 PM

Fr Philip Tartaglia, a former Glasgow priest and rector of Chesters College in Bearsden, is to be the new rector of the Scots College in Rome in succession to Mgr Chris McElroy.
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release.
posted at 5:27 PM

Senior Catholic and Church of Scotland church figures have urged First Minister Jack McConnell to intervene in the cases of three Kurdish asylum seekers on hunger strike in Glasgow who fear for their safety if they are sent back to Iran.
Source: BBC Scotland News.
posted at 5:19 PM

An icon commissioned by the Pope during his Jubilee year will be presented to Scottish Bishops at a ceremony in St Andrews on Saturday. Intended to provide a focus for universities, the Sedes Sapientiae - Seat of Wisdom - icon has already passed through Greece, Russia, Spain, Ukraine, Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Slovakia and Ireland. It will tour Scotland's universities before being handed on to the English Church in October.
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release.
posted at 11:49 AM

A packed itinerary of appointments has been drawn up for a visit to the north-east which begins this week by the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Right Rev Professor Iain Torrance.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 11:41 AM

Feature on Tabeetha School, a Church of Scotland foundation school in the Israeli port town of Jaffa. In a country torn by cross cultural conflict for more than 50 years, and where state schools in practice - if not in official policy - tend to segregate Jew from Arab, Tabeetha is a rare, and possibly unique example, of multicultural educational success.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 1:22 PM

Hundreds of staff of the Church of Scotland have been warned that economy measures to be put to the general assembly in May will affect jobs.
Under proposals for more efficient use of resources and financial savings in its organisation, the work of the Kirk's 28 boards and committees will be taken over by six new councils.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 1:06 PM

Jewish and Christian supporters of Israel gathered recently at a Glasgow synagogue to discuss ways to combat media bias against the Jewish state. A spokesman for Christian Action for Israel, one of 30 pro-Israel Christian groups in Great Britain, outlined his organization's efforts and pledged that they would support Israel and the Jewish people and would work to expose bias in the media.
Source: Jerusalem Post (requires free registration).
posted at 6:46 PM

An organisation that runs a sexual advice clinic for young people in Dundee has come under attack for arranging abortions for girls as young as 13 without their parents' knowledge. Caledonia Youth yesterday received heavy criticism from several campaigning groups and the Roman Catholic Church. However, a spokesperson today stressed that any child who visits a centre is encouraged to talk to their parents or guardian about their relationships and visit to Caledonia Youth."
Source: Dundee Evening Telegraph.
posted at 6:37 PM

The March edition of the Free Church magazine The Monthly Record is now online. In it, the Rev David Robertson, minister of St Peter's, Dundee, considers the "death of the Church of Scotland".
posted at 4:09 PM

A conference to motivate Christians to witness in their workplace as the "front line" for evangelism will be held at the University of Stirling on March 20. Led by Mark Greene, executive director of the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, the event is being arranged jointly by CARE (Christian Action Research and Education) for Scotland and the Evangelical Alliance in Scotland. Getting God to Work will encourage Christians at work, at home or in the community; affirm them in their calling and help equip them for the task. It will emphasise the importance of working christianly, building relationships and witnessing both by example and word.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.
posted at 4:00 PM

The Church of Scotland "stands at a moment of opportunity", says its Assembly Council.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.
posted at 3:50 PM

It's "Time to Declare War on Militant Religionists" says gay campaigner Gary Otton in a thorough review of press coverage of joint school campuses and sundry sexual issues.
Source: Scottish Media Monitor: examining the treatment of sexuality in the Scottish media.
posted at 11:54 AM

Demands for state-funded Muslim schools to be established have spread across Scotland. Campaigns so far have been based in the Glasgow area, but pressure is now mounting in Edinburgh and Dundee. The Muslim Education Council is preparing a report which they say will allay fears about schools becoming extremist breeding grounds and spell out how an Islamic institution could work.
Source: Scotland on Sunday.
posted at 9:21 AM

The Fairtrade movement is contributing to the plight of the farmers it sets out to help, according to a report published by an economic think-tank. The Adam Smith Institute said "prop-up pricing schemes" might have good intentions but are maintaining a worldwide over-supply of coffee.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 9:18 AM

The Scottish Council Foundation, a think-tank with strong ties to the Scottish Executive, believes that the various agencies who deal with ex-offenders - including churches - should be brought together under one roof, providing a comprehensive service to help give criminals a fresh start.
Source: Scotland on Sunday.
posted at 8:25 PM

A schoolgirl is suing the Catholic Church for £500,000 after an accident that lawyers say has jeopardised her ability to have children. Elizabeth Cooklin broke her femur when she slipped on a rain-soaked linoleum floor in Glasgow's exclusive St Aloysius College in 1999.
Source: Sunday Mail.
posted at 8:14 PM

Ministers are to hire a mobile cinema so that their more isolated congregations can see Mel Gibson's film The Passion Of The Christ. The 'Passion wagon' is set to tour the remotest parts of Scotland showing churchgoers Gibson's controversial portrayal of the crucifixion.
Source: Sunday Mail.
posted at 8:09 PM

Broadcaster and writer Sally Magnusson has written for the first time about the death of her brother, who was killed in a road accident aged just 11. She reveals the impact of the event on the whole Magnusson family in her autobiography Glorious Things, which tells the story of her life by looking at 35 of her favourite hymns.

posted at 8:03 PM

The Lord's Prayer and traditional hymns are to be replaced by spiritual reflection and "person-centred discussions" under radical new plans to revamp school assemblies in an attempt to reach out to children turned off by organised religion. The report was compiled by an expert group - known as the Review Group on Religious Observance - set up by the Executive, which includes senior education officials, inspectors, Church groups and teaching bodies. It found that a majority of Scottish headteachers believe religious ceremonies in their schools lead to tensions among pupils. Protestant and Catholic faiths are widely associated with bigotry amongst many teachers.
Source: Scotland on Sunday.
posted at 8:00 PM

Prayers and hymns will be replaced with spiritual "person-centred discussions" in non-denominational schools across Scotland under new Scottish Executive plans to overhaul traditional school assemblies. The Church of Scotland is expected to give its backing to the guidance, arguing that non-denominational schools should promote an "open and invitational" approach to religious teaching. However, Michael McGrath, director of the Catholic Education Commission, said: "School is not all about knowledge, there is also the question of spirituality and the 'big questions' to consider. Schools need support and training in finding stimulating ways to do that."
Source: Sunday Times.
posted at 7:55 PM

A group of clinics offering girls as young as 13 abortions without their parents' knowledge is to be expanded under a Scottish executive plan to tackle teenage pregnancies. Children will be offered free morning-after pills, flavoured condoms and tests for sexually transmitted diseases at the new clinics, run by Caledonia Youth, the first of which opens in Falkirk this week. However, Malcolm Chisholm, the Scottish health minister, is already facing a backlash from the Catholic church and campaigners for family values about the expansion of the sexual health centres.
Source: Sunday Times.
posted at 7:51 PM

A challenging film with the power to change lives, or a clichéd snuff movie lacking subtlety and depth? Christian artist Peter Howson and agnostic writer Muriel Gray lock horns over Mel Gibson's The Passion Of The Christ.
Source: Sunday Herald.
posted at 7:42 PM

The Dalai Lama's visit to Scotland in May is expected to encourage thousands more to take up one of the few booming faiths in the western world. Dr Brenda E Brasher, an expert in the sociology of religion at Aberdeen University, said Buddhism has lots of appeal for young Scots. "Because Buddhism is a way of understanding the self and the cosmos it is particularly attractive to young people who are not strong in believing in organised religion. The way Buddhism is practised in the West makes it viable for people who want to be spiritual without being religious, it suits a lot of people, it's easy to fit it into the life you have, without denying yourself too much. Christian churches in Scotland seem to be behind the times - while business runs 24/7, the church is still a staid Sunday activity, and people's lives don't fit into that." Erik Cramb, convener of the Church of Scotland's committee on ecumenical relations, agreed that traditional faiths could seem grey compared to the lure of something new. "I think people can be turned off the religions of their childhood - it is a natural instinct for young people especially to venture away from what their parents practise. Buddhism offers the chance to step back and think for a lot of people."
Source: Sunday Herald.
posted at 7:40 PM

Glasgow's Catholic population faces an additional levy on top of its weekly church contributions to meet the costs of the restoration and preservation of St Andrew's Cathedral which are rumoured to be in excess of £1.5 million. Part of the plan involves a shrine to St John Ogilvie.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 6:39 PM

Cardinal Keith O'Brien hosted a reception for Scottish rugby fans at the Scots College in Rome today ahead of Saturday's international match against Italy. On Sunday he will celebrate Mass for Scots travellers in central Rome before joining other Scottish fans and massed pipes and drums in St Peter's Square, where Pope John Paul will include Scotland and Marie Curie Cancer Care in his Blessing. Later in the week Cardinal 0'Brien will present a tartan rug to the Pope on behalf of Marie Curie Scotland.
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release.
posted at 10:33 PM

Church-goers have pledged thousands of pounds to prevent Dornoch Cathedral minister the Rev Susan Brown from making a fundraising parachute jump. A mere £60 was promised in sponsorship for the jump, in aid of the local Church of Scotland Eventide Home, Oversteps, and £6,150 for her not to go through with it.
Source: Northern Times.
posted at 9:37 PM

A new Dumfries Catholic primary could involve a £1.25 million bill for staff relocation, councillors have been told.
Source: icDumfries - Dumfries & Galloway Standard.
posted at 8:29 PM

Drymen and Buchanan Parish Churches have raised almost £6,000 to help Blythswood Care distribute food and other aid to charities working with children and young people in Romania.
Source: icStirlingshire - Stirling Observer.
posted at 8:21 PM

The Rev David McLachlan is leaving Elderslie Kirk to take up a new charge at Langside, on the south side of Glasgow.
Source: icRenfrewshire - Paisley Daily Express.
posted at 8:19 PM

Jeremy Dawson, who once led the youth section at Trinity Church of the Nazarene in Perth, has appeared in private at Perth Sheriff Court facing eight charges of sexual abuse. The offences are alleged to have taken place in Perth and Glasgow, between 1992 and 1998.
Source: icPerthshire - Perthshire Advertiser.
posted at 8:13 PM

Dundee and Aberdeen today became the first two cities in Scotland to achieve Fairtrade City Awards today. When the campaign started in May 2002, there were only 15 retail outlets and four cafes serving Fairtrade products in Dundee. Now there are 31 shops and 16 cafes where it is possible to get a cup of Fairtrade tea or coffee, purchase a geobar or chocolate. A number of businesses, churches and voluntary organisations have also switched to Fairtrade, and both universities and the Presbytery of Dundee are aiming for Fairtrade status.
Source: Dundee Evening Telegraph.
posted at 7:50 PM

Historic Scotland is to recognise religous carved stones at Govan Old Parish Church in Glasgow as being of national significance. Some date back to the 9th century, 300 years older than the earliest remains at Glasgow Cathedral. The church's minister, the Rev Norman Shanks, said: "There's evidence of some sort of Christian presence here from the 6th century, which predates Columba on Iona."
Source: Evening Times, Glasgow.
posted at 6:28 PM

Religious figures in Scotland have been giving their verdicts on Mel Gibson's controversial new film which portrays the death of Jesus. About 600 members of the clergy attended private screenings of The Passion of the Christ in Glasgow and Edinburgh on Tuesday. Adam Dillon, minister of Knightswood St Margaret's Parish Church in Glasgow, said after the showing: "I don't think that any anti-Semitic claims are justified at all." But Ephraim Borowski, director of the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities, warned of an anti-Semitic backlash. The Right Reverend Idris Jones, Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Glasgow and Galloway, said: "I am glad that I have seen the film, and I think that as a devotional aid to people who already have a Christian faith, it might be quite helpful."
Source: BBC Scotland News.
posted at 12:11 PM

A 22-year-old Fife man has gone on trial accused of starting a church blaze that caused more than £500,000 worth of damage. Ricky Smith denies that he broke into St Mary Mother of God Church, High Street, Leslie, stole food and money, set fire to materials in the church causing both the building and contents to be damaged or destroyed, wrote graffiti on a wall, knocked down a statue and overturned items of furniture or ornament.
Source: Dundee Courier.
posted at 12:07 PM

Obituary of the Rev Charles Armour, who retired last year from Holy Trinity Parish Church, St Andrews, at the age of 88. Born October 2, 1915; died February 5, 2003.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 12:03 PM

Historians have taken unprecedented steps to preserve some of Scotland's most important early medieval sculptures which marked a major ceremonial and administrative capital of the kings of Strathclyde. A series of 1000-year-old stone sculptures of at Govan Old Parish Church in Glasgow, including a magnificent sarcophagus that may have held the remains of St Constantine, will now be safeguarded after Historic Scotland took drastic measures to protect the site.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 12:00 PM

Leaders of Scotland's faith communities have expressed concern about moves towards banning outward expressions of faith. Meeting under the auspices of the Scottish Inter Faith Council, they also discussed plans for a Scottish Multi Faith Week, to be linked with St Andrew's Day celebrations in November.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.
posted at 2:13 PM

Obituary of the Rt Rev Dom Gerard Mark Dilworth - Abbot Mark Dilworth - born 18 April 1924 in Edinburgh, died 28 February 2004 in Edinburgh, aged 79. Gerard Mark Dilworth was an important figure in the Catholic Church. He was twice head of the Abbey School at Fort Augustus, spent four years as the keeper of the Scottish Catholic Archives and was the last abbot of Fort Augustus.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 2:02 PM

The Spring 2004 issue of the Scottish Bible Society's magazine Word at Work is now online. It includes articles on the new Bibleworld Experience, a recent trip to China, a new initiative to bring the Bible message into the heart of society and news from branches around the country.
posted at 2:18 PM

The new Mel Gibson film, The Passion of the Christ, should be seen as an opportunity for honest and open dialogue on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, according to the Evangelical Alliance. General Director the Rev Joel Edwards said it was a faithful re-telling of the last hours of Jesus Christ, consistent with narratives in the New Testament and graphic in content. "Although the movie has already been attacked as being anti-Semitic, we do not believe it to be so. In a haste to criticise the detail we risk missing the central theme of the film. From a Christian perspective that must concern not just a victim of violence, a man who suffered an agonising death, but the fact that Jesus was the Son of God who died for the sins of all humanity. For my part, this should have been more clearly presented."
Source: Evangelical Alliance news release.
posted at 2:16 PM

The Archbishop of Glasgow yesterday denounced proposals aimed at improving Scotland's sexual health as a threat to the morality of society. The draft strategy put forward by the Scottish Executive seeks to reduce unwanted pregnancies and cut incidences of sexually-transmitted disease.
However, Archbishop Mario Conti said the plans were a grave threat to the rights of parents, to the work of Catholic schools and to society's morality.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 1:59 PM

The Methodist Church this week overturns the traditional impression that it wants nothing to do with pubs as it takes to bars across Britain to promote a phone text competition to discover what under-40s think are the pressing spiritual issues of the day. 250,000 drinks mats are being distributed which include suggestions for a possible new 11th commandment: 'Stop war'; 'Reduce emissions'; 'Eat more donuts'; 'Remove all packaging'; 'Never give out your password'; 'Do not disturb'.
Source: Methodist Church News.
posted at 10:32 PM

In a series of homilies, which he will preach throughout the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh during Lent, Cardinal Keith O'Brien will urge Catholics to "be prepared for increased action as Christians". He will highlight the dangers of the Scottish Executive's draft Sexual Health strategy, urge parents to speak out in the promotion and defence of Catholic schools and point out failings in the Government's Asylum and Immigration Bill.
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release.
posted at 10:23 PM

The Methodist Church is to abandon its "dry" image with an appeal to young drinkers to dream up an 11th commandment. The church that does not even allow wine to be used in communion services has had 250,000 drinks mats designed for distribution in bars and pubs across Britain.
Source: PA News/The Scotsman.
posted at 10:21 PM

Churches are being encouraged to use Fairtrade tea, coffee and biscuits at their meetings. Christian relief and development agency Tearfund is launching a campaign for Fairtrade Fortnight, which kicks off today, to encourage churches to mark the 10th anniversary of the Fairtrade Mark.
Scotland Acting National Manager, Gavin McLellan, said: "We are asking churches to become a Fairtrade church this Fairtrade Fortnight."
Tearfund has produced a Fairtrade Action Pack, which includes a CD-Rom containing audio-visual presentations, prayer and reflection materials and Fairtrade recipes.
Source: Evening Times, Glasgow.
posted at 10:19 PM

Tayside firemaster Stephen Hunter has admitted to failings in the fire brigade's handling of the Auchtergaven church fire, after a serving firefighter blew the whistle on shortcomings before and during the blaze which destroyed the historic kirk in Bankfoot, Perthshire.
Source: Dundee Courier.
posted at 10:16 PM

Mourners have gathered to pay their final respects to Pastor Jack Glass. Zion Baptist Church elder John McDermott paid tribute to the preacher, saying: "He was ridiculed, mocked by the nation, hated and despised but he never lost his faith. He was a lovely man and a man who knew God."
Source: BBC Scotland News.
posted at 10:12 PM

The Catholic Church in Scotland has criticised Scottish Executive proposals to tackle sexual health problems among young people. Archbishop Mario Conti said the draft strategy placed too much emphasis on medical treatment and not enough on spiritual or social worries. The strategy's publication was delayed when the Catholic Church refused to sign up to the expert report.
Source: BBC Scotland News.

posted at 10:09 PM

The funeral of Pastor Jack Glass, one of the most controversial religious figures in Scotland, was held in Glasgow today. Wife Peggy, 66, led the mourners along with his two daughters and son. The service took place in the Zion Baptist Church on Calder Street, Polmadie, the church Pastor Glass founded 38 years ago. He was later laid to rest at a private burial service at Killearn Cemetery.
Source: Evening Times, Glasgow.
posted at 10:06 PM

The United Reformed Church's Mission Council passed a resolution in January 2004 declaring that support for parties with a racist platform such as that of the BNP is 'incompatible' with Christian discipleship. Church and Society Convener Martin Camroux explains why...
Source: United Reformed Church news release.
posted at 8:01 PM

Three pupils from Lionel School in Ness, Lewis, will withdraw from the Scottish Schools Badminton Championships in Edinburgh later this month in order to avoid breaking the Sabbath. They have been supported by Rev George Macaskill, minister at the Associated Presbyterian Churches church in Stornoway and a former under-21 badminton internationalist, who faced similar pressures when he represented Scotland over 40 years ago.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 8:00 PM