The April edition of InTouch, the monthly newsletter of the Church of Scotland's Glasgow Presbytery, is now available online.
posted at 11:09 PM

Bosses of religious TV show Songs of Praise are praying for a congregation to fill the pews in Glasgow. Desperate producers of the BBC1 show have only managed to raise enough people to fill half of St Mary's Cathedral in the west end next Tuesday and Wednesday from 7pm to 10pm. The Songs of Praise Glasgow programme will be broadcast on BBC1 on Sunday, May 9. If you want to take part call Evelyn Paterson on 01224 252306 or e-mail her at evelyn@terntv.com.
Source: Evening Times, Glasgow.
posted at 11:02 PM

A Stornoway priest has left his island home following the spate of death threats against clergymen. Father Paul Hackett, 74, told parishioners he was going away for a few days in light of the threats. However, he is to return at the weekend.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 10:56 PM

Appreciation by Archbishop Mario Conti of ex-advertising man Tom Cooney, who became communications officer for the diocese of Aberdeen, a member of the Catholic Communication Commission for Scotland, and also of the Religious Advisory Board to Grampian Television and Northsound Radio; born May 19,1928, died April 7, 2004.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 10:48 PM

Roslyn Presbyterian Church in Dunedin, New Zealand, has appointed a new minister from Scotland to help it and the Maori Hill parish attract younger people to their churches. The Rev Fyfe Blair (39) will arrive in Dunedin from Aberdeen next Wednesday and be inducted as minister of the Roslyn parish on July 29. He will work with Maori Hill minister the Rev Martin Stewart on the The Highgate Mission, in an initiative to offer new ways of worship including targeting people aged under 45. The future of suburban churches lay in doing something different, said Mr Stewart. "It is the intention of both churches to appeal to a younger demographic but not in exclusion of older members." Mr Blair began Cove Bay parish near Aberdeen from scratch, going from a congregation of six to 96 over five years.
Source: Otago Daily Times.
posted at 10:33 PM

In the May issue of the Church of Scotland magazine Life & Work, Dr Alison Elliot, the first female Moderator-Designate, promises a different approach to the role and says she is well aware of the challenges faced by the Church. Natural health guru Jan de Vries speaks of his deep Christian faith and belief that his healing abilities are gifts from God. And on the eve of the General Assembly the Rev Doug McRoberts, a parish minister in Keith, explains why the Kirk needs a chief executive.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.
posted at 7:54 PM

The Board of Trustees of Princeton Theological Seminary, New Jersey, USA, today named the Right Reverend Professor Iain R Torrance TD as the institution's sixth president. Professor Torrance has been Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland since May 2003 and will complete his term in May 2004.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.
posted at 7:52 PM

The Church of Scotland's Housing and Loan Fund is dedicated to identifying housing solutions for retired ministers, and for the widows and widowers of ministers. In a report to the General Assembly, the fund's trustees state that they own 211 houses, having bought 13 homes and sold nine during the last 12 months.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.
posted at 5:03 PM

The Catholic Church in Scotland is to follow police advice and make no further comment on a spate of threatening letters recently sent to a number of Scottish priests.
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release.
posted at 5:02 PM

Scotland's largest annual pilgrimage will take place on Saturday 8 May in the Haddington area with a theme of Peace and Healing. Pilgrims will attend Scottish Episcopal and Church of Scotland joint eucharist service at St Mary's Parish Church, Whitekirk, at 10 am before making their way to Santa Maria Abbey in Nunraw where Holy Mass will be celebrated at 11 am. The final destination is St Mary's Collegiate Church, Haddington, for an ecumenical service of Healing and Peace at 2.15 pm led by the Minister of St Mary's, Rev Jim Cowie, who will be joined by the Abbot of Nunraw, Dom Raymond Jaconelli; the Bishop of Edinburgh, Rt Rev Brian Smith; and Cardinal Keith O'Brien.
Source: Scottish Episcopal Church news release.
posted at 5:00 PM

Women's groups and anti-porn campaigners were today planning to protest at the launch of Scotland's first topless barbers. Churchgoers and Scottish Women Against Porn were also due to demonstrate against the opening of A Bit Off the Top in Paisley.
Source: Evening Times, Glasgow.
posted at 4:51 PM

Obituary of Professor Alexander Youngson, who has died aged 85. An economic historian who chaired the Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland after a wide-ranging academic career, he was born on September 28 1918 at Sialkot in the Punjab province of what is now Pakistan, where his Aberdonian father was a doctor; both his parents were Church of Scotland missionaries.
Source: Daily Telegraph.
posted at 4:36 PM

The next president of Princeton Theological Seminary will be the Right Rev Iain Torrance, the current Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. He will become the sixth president of the seminary on June 1, becoming head of the biggest Presbyterian seminary in the United States. He was in New Jersey briefly for yesterday's announcement but headed back to Scotland in the early afternoon without commenting.
Source: New Jersey Star-Ledger.
posted at 11:06 AM

Obituary of surgeon William Porteous Small, champion of the Aged Christian Friend Society of Scotland (founded by his grandfather in 1889), elder of Wardie Kirk in Edinburgh and supporter of the Norwegian Seamen's Church in Leith; Born 20 January 1920 in Edinburgh, died 25 March 2004, also in Edinburgh, aged 84.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 5:05 PM

Tributes have been paid to Tom Cooney, a former media officer in the Roman Catholic Church's Diocese of Aberdeen. Mr Cooney, 75, a close friend of Mario Conti, Archbishop of Glasgow, died at his home at Blantyre, Lanarkshire, last week.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 4:58 PM

Nicky Cruz - the 1950s New York gangster turned evangelist - will be in Peterhead on April 24 and 25 to speak at the Zion Tabernacle church. He will also visit Fraserburgh to speak with local members of Teen Challenge, a global helpline service for youngsters which he founded.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 4:55 PM

Rangers have banned the first supporter to be convicted under the new bigotry laws which were introduced in Scotland last year. Laurence Macintyre, the club's head of safety, said: "Our aim is social inclusion, so no-one feels uncomfortable in Ibrox Stadium. We have Catholic supporters, Catholic players, and a cross-section of the community following Rangers. Times are changing." Rangers have already put exclusion orders on nearly 100 supporters - 14 for life and 82 indefinite - and warnings for inappropriate behaviour have been issued to more than 1200 fans over the past six years.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 4:49 PM

Scotland's leading Orange Order figure has revealed that he opposed plans for a parade around the home of Celtic Football Club in the interest of community relations. Ian Wilson, the Grand Master of the Orange Order of Scotland, says he clashed with his brethren who wanted to march near Parkhead, whose supporters are overwhelmingly Catholic. [The Scotsman does not report when the alleged occurrence happened. Ed.] On the Order's general position, Mr Wilson added: "I take a very 'reformed' stance - we stand for civil and religious liberty. The order is a broad church, open to anybody who accepts Christ as saviour, and accepts scripture as the sole rule of faith. OK, we're 'sectarian' - just as is the Church of Scotland, in the sense of being people all of one mind - like Roman Catholics. But that's not anti-Catholic, it's not bigotry. I genuinely welcome the contribution the Irish, say, have made to this country."
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 4:38 PM

Security cameras have been installed at Elgin's popular Biblical Garden in the hope of deterring vandals. Moray Council has spent several thousand pounds repairing damage to statues in the garden in recent years. The garden, which opens to the public on May 1 for the summer season, lies in the shadow of Elgin Cathedral and attracts thousands of visitors each year. It has statues of a number of biblical characters and has a wide variety of plants and shrubs, many of which feature in the Bible.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 10:21 PM

More than 2000 people, including Big Brother winner Cameron Stout, attended the largest ever Easter Sunday service held in Dundee. Organised by dundee4christ, the Resurrection Day event was supported by 30 churches in Dundee, including the Church of Scotland, Methodist, Baptist, Pentecostal and Gate Fellowship. Event spokesman Ian Black said the service, with music and video presentations, was an idea many churches could take on board to boost attendances. Dundee FC goalkeeper Julian Speroni, a Christian and regular at Central Baptist Church, was at the event after a man of the match performance in the afternoon derby at Tannadice. "It is important that Jesus is known to everyone in the city," he said. "I can save for Dundee but only Jesus can save for the world."
Source: Dundee Courier.
posted at 10:17 PM

The devastating fire that swept through historic Bankfoot church in Perthshire church six weeks ago has been reflected upon by congregation members at an Easter sunrise service at Little Glenshee. Locum minister the Very Rev Dr James Simpson said: "For older people the historic church on the hill held many fond memories. Many had tears in their eyes as they thought of all the banners lovingly sown by members, the stained glass windows and the many memorial gifts reduced to dust and ashes." But he added: "They are looking forward to the day when the walls of their new sanctuary resound with praise."
Source: Dundee Courier.
posted at 10:14 PM

A pilot health project which advocates free condoms and morning-after pill provision for school pupils has been criticised after the number of teenage pregnancies in the area where it was introduced soared above the national average. The Healthy Respect project, launched in the Lothians three years ago and backed by £3m of Scottish Executive funding, has been criticised for its policies which included offering condoms to schoolchildren. It has now emerged that girls aged between 13 and 15 years old in the Lothians are 14% more likely to become pregnant than elsewhere in Scotland. Before the scheme was introduced, they were 3% more likely. Elsewhere in Scotland the number of teenage pregnancies has fallen. Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the head of the Catholic church in Scotland, said: "This approach has failed to tackle the rise in sexually transmitted infections, unwanted conceptions and abortion levels. Its value-free style should certainly not be used elsewhere in Scotland."
Source: The Herald.
posted at 10:08 PM

Clergy in Stornoway have also been targeted by the sender of death threats to Catholic priests in the east of Scotland and north of England.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 10:06 PM

An un-named sixth Catholic priest has received a death threat, according to the Cardinal Keith O'Brien, as it emerged that similar letters have also been sent south of the border in the diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.
Source: The Scotsman/PA News.
posted at 7:12 PM

The Catholic Church is feeling under siege in Israel after the government refused to renew the visas of more than 100 members of the clergy and church volunteers. Along with Arabs - who are faced with special security checks - many other denominations say they are in the same position. These include the Church of Scotland, which has a school in Jaffa, south of Tel Aviv. Rev Clarence Musgrave, who is based at St Andrews Church in Jerusalem, said they had experienced trouble renewing visas. "The government sees itself as a government of a Jewish state. I am not sure it understands or sees what role it wants Christian communities to have."
Source: Scotland on Sunday.
posted at 7:07 PM

Scotland's adoption laws are set to be radically overhauled in a bid to cut the record numbers of children currently in foster care who need a permanent home. Ministers are poised to introduce measures next year which will, for the first time, allow unmarried and same-sex couples to adopt. A spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland said: "All the evidence shows that co-habiting couples are more likely to split up than married couples and same-sex couples are many more times likely to split up. With all that in mind, we have to ask whether it is right to place children in potentially very unstable situations."
Source: Scotland on Sunday.
posted at 7:04 PM

Father Steven Gilhooley, an Edinburgh priest, received death threats two years ago following the release of an autobiography detailing how he himself was abused by a priest as a child. He said: "I know myself what its like when you get a lot of bad mail." In 2002, Archbishop Mario Conti told how priests living in his Glasgow diocese had been threatened with fire-bombs by youths, and accused politicians of "living in ivory towers" and being removed from social problems.
Source: Scotland on Sunday.
posted at 6:57 PM

Douglas Alexander MP, 36, a key figure in Labour's General Election strategy, dismissed quips that he and his sister Wendy - young, enthusiastic and Christian - were the Scottish political equivalent of Donny and Marie Osmond. He said former MSP Wendy Alexander suffered "outrageous" treatment at the hands of the media during her term as a Holyrood minister, in the course of which she drove through legislation permitting the promotion of homosexuality.
Source: Scotland on Sunday.
posted at 6:55 PM

Father Patrick Boylan, one of five Catholic priests to have been sent death threats, was threatened by a stalker earlier this year. Don McAulay, chair of St Michael's parish council in Linlithgow, said: "Father Boylan was threatened by someone who got into the church and was belligerent towards him. I know there were other priests approached after that."
Source: Sunday Times.
posted at 6:51 PM

Teenage pregnancies have soared above the national average under a government-backed project giving schoolchildren easier access to contraception. Girls aged between 13 and 15 in the Lothians, where free morning-after pills and condoms are given to schoolchildren, are 14% more likely to get pregnant than their counterparts elsewhere in Scotland.
Source: Sunday Times.
posted at 6:47 PM

Athiest columnist Iain Macwhirter has been reading the Bible. "The Good News is massively outweighed by the bad. Studying this book left me with a profound spiritual depression. It induced in me not a hope of salvation, but a sense of desolation, hopelessness.It also left me confused over what Christianity is actually about. What has this nightmare to do with the humanitarian vision of the church today?
... God is not dead. His Word is all there, in black and white. Read it and weep." Rev John Miller, a former moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, ripostes: "Macwhirter, by expressing his frank horror at what he has discovered in the Bible, has provided an authentic setting for the surprise which Easter celebrates - the victory of faith and hope and love."
Source: Sunday Herald.
posted at 6:10 PM

One of the last island bastions of Sabbatarianism is to suffer a blow next month with the introduction of Sunday sailings. Raasay, off the east coast of Skye, is to have two return services to Sconser on a Sunday, beginning on the bank holiday weekend of May 2, upsetting in the process those whose faith demands strict observance of the 'day of rest'.
Source: Sunday Herald.
posted at 6:02 PM

Cardinal Keith O'Brien today said he was praying for the safety of five of his priests, who have received "deranged" death threats. Detectives from Fife Constabulary, Lothian and Borders and Central Scotland Police believe the threats may have come from the same person. The priests only realised they had all received similar disturbing letters when they gathered together at Edinburgh Cathedral last week. Two of the letters were sent to priests at St James Church in St Andrews, Fife, and St Bride's Church in Cowdenbeath, Fife. Death threats were also sent to St Francis Xavier's in Falkirk, St Michael's Church, Linlithgow, West Lothian, and St Martin of Tours in Tranent, East Lothian.
Source: The Scotsman/PA News.
posted at 9:07 PM

Father Thomas Spiegel and his brother, Monsignor Bob Spiegel, will study at the Redemptorist Pastoral and Retreat Center at Kinnoull Hill, Perth, during sabbaticals from the Diocese of Davenport, Iowa.
Source: Burlington Hawk Eye.
posted at 6:17 PM

A former Montrose woman whose Tutsi husband was killed in the Rwandan genocide 10 years ago has returned to the country in a bid to meet his killers. Lesley Bilinda, who now lives in Hertfordshire, hopes to discover what happened to her husband, Charles, who was among 800,000 people murdered in the 100-day genocide in 1994. "I have wrestled long and hard in the past decade with issues of forgiveness and reconciliation," she said. "I still do not know how he died or where he is buried. It is easy to talk of forgiveness, but much harder to put it into practice. But as a Christian I hope to be able to offer forgiveness if and when we meet." At the time of the massacres Lesley was working in Rwanda running a community health programme with Christian Relief and development agency Tearfund. On her return to Scotland, Lesley told her story in the best-selling book The Colour of Darkness. Her journey is the subject of a television documentary produced by Purple Flame Media.
Source: Montrose Review.
posted at 12:49 AM

Reverend John Forbes, minister of Birse and Feughside Parish on Deeside, reports on a week spent in Bosnia with the Scottish charity Dumfries and Galloway Action.
Source: Donside Piper.
posted at 12:32 AM

A Ross-shire church is going hi-tech in a bid to widen its appeal to more people in the community. This Sunday, for the first time, Kiltearn Church of Scotland in Evanton will hold a family-friendly afternoon service in the church hall using mixed media of video/DVD on a big screen on the wall, together with surroundsound. Animated Bible stories will be shown on the big screen, and instead of the traditional hymn books the words to hymns will appear as text on the screen, while the praise group will have the benefit of a PA system. It is all part of a move by the Reverend Donnie MacSween, the go-ahead minister at Kiltearn, to draw more people, particularly those with young families, in through the doors of his church.
Source: Ross-shire Journal.
posted at 12:24 AM

Cromdale and Advie Parish Church is appealing to parishioners to dig deep after their accounts revealed a deficit of £3,000. The Rev Jim McEwan said: "We are encouraging support from those people who value the presence of the church even although they do not attend regularly or contribute on a routine basis."
Source: Strathspey & Badenoch Herald.
posted at 12:21 AM

Calvary Evangelical Chapel in Stirling has booked the MacRobert Theatre on April 26 to show members The Passion of The Christ, which Pastor Stuart Gillespie has described as sobering and gripping.
Source: icStirlingshire - Stirling Observer.
posted at 11:52 PM

Prayers were answered when Dumbarton Baptist Church last week welcomed its first minister in six years. Rev Brian Mulraine, who has moved to the area with his wife Christine from his native Wick, was inducted at a special service in the church.
Source: icDunbartonshire - Lennox Herald.
posted at 11:43 PM

A chapel serving the Highland Hospice in Inverness is to be moved back to its original location in the old building of Ness House.
Source: Highland News.
posted at 11:34 PM

An anti-Harry Potter seminar organised by the Christian Outreach Centre in Inverness has been hailed a success even though it conjured up only seven people. Pastor Owen Morris said: "I think the main concern was about it containing witch and wizardry, and that while it's not overtly about the occult, if youngsters start getting involved in casting spells and so on, then they may go on to have an interest in the real magic, and that would be really concerning."
Source: Highland News.
posted at 11:29 PM

Christian leaders in Jerusalem have condemned all acts of terrorism, regardless of whether the originators are Israelis or Palestinians. In their Easter message, the Patriarchs and heads of Churches said: "We cannot believe it is God's will for anyone to endanger the lives and homes of innocent people." They spoke of the painful situation in the Holy Land: "the lack of jobs, the lack of security, the dark future, and the peace seeming so distant". But, they said, as Christians, "we must go back to the sources of our Christian identity in order to keep hoping and give hope for others."
Source: Church Times.
posted at 11:07 PM

Clifford Longley has some advice for the incoming chairman of the BBC, Michael Grade. "The major problem here is not BBC anti-Catholic bias. For the Church is only one of many groups that feel disgruntled with the way the BBC treats it, not so much in the first instance - we all get things wrong - but when subsequently challenged. That is not necessarily because of personal high-handedness. It is a systemic problem arising from the way the BBC is administered."
Source: The Tablet.
posted at 11:02 PM

Reflections on Easter from the Rev Tom Cuthell, minister at St Cuthbert's Church in Edinburgh and co-producer of The Life of Jesus Christ, to be performed at Dundas Castle, June 16 to 24: www.jesus-at-dundas.com.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.
posted at 2:17 PM

A party from the Livingston Ecumenical Parish has travelled to India to visit a hostel supported by the Bridge of Love project. The scheme, run by the Parish and West Lothian Presbytery, helps children from India's lowest social caste receive an education. The group, led by Rev Colin Douglas of the Church of Scotland and Reverend Dr Marion Keston from the Scottish Episcopal Church, visited a hostel in the small town of Nagari in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
Source: icWestLothian - West Lothian Courier.
posted at 11:52 AM

Folk from all the churches in Peebles were present at a joyful celebration in the Leckie Memorial Church when Rev Tony Maude was ordained and inducted as the new Baptist minister.
Source: Peeblesshire News.
posted at 11:48 AM

Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ may have spelled out the religious significance of Easter but for record numbers of Scots it is increasingly becoming a time for something different: the first sunshine break of the year. Professor Ian Torrance, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, said: "I think the secularisation of the great Christian festivals is always a worry for the Church. But I really don't believe the message of Easter has been swamped by the kind of commercialism we see at Christmas." A spokesman for the Scottish Episcopal Church said: "It would be unfortunate if people lost sight of the importance of Easter. Our hope is that people use their holiday time to reflect on the importance of faith."
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 11:44 AM

The merger between Scotland's only Catholic teacher-training college and Glasgow University has been only a "qualified success" to date, according to an official report evaluating its progress. In its second report since the merger between the university and St Andrew's College of Education, which took place in April 1999, the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC) has found that a number of concerns about implementation remain, although all parties remain committed to making the merger a success. The report said: "The board had concerns that the importance of the formation of Catholic teachers was not well understood by the faculty. On the other hand, the university believes that Catholic students are now benefiting from an education within a more diverse social and multi-faith community."
Source: The Herald.
posted at 11:38 AM

The 250-strong congregation of Stornoway Free Church (Continuing) has held its first service in its new £400,000 church building at Sandwick crossroads, one mile from the town. The preaching by minister Rev David Murray was held in English, while some psalm singing was in Gaelic. It is now four years since the Free Church controversy spilt island communities. It centred on allegations of inappropriate behaviour by leading churchman Professor Donald Macleod.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 11:32 AM

The organisers of a major religious event are hoping Hollywood star Mel Gibson's controversial new movie will make young people switch on to Christianity. Teenagers from throughout the north-east are expected to take part in Revolution in Fraserburgh on May 1 and 2. The two-day mixture of rock bands, dance and drama, which will be held in the port's fishmarket, attracted about 800 people last year. James Smith, of Revolution Promotion, said: "The main aim of Revolution is to give a relevant and inspiring time, without the boring and uncomfortable feeling that people often associate with Christianity and churches. It's to show Christianity, as in the new movie The Passion of the Christ, in a youthful, exciting, cool and relevant way."
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 11:30 AM

St Laurence Church at Forres has received £10,000 in the will of local millionaire Lucy Grant, who died last November aged 96 and made her fortune buying shares in Shell Oil with the proceeds from the sale of her parents' farm at Lumphanan. Rev Barry J. Boyd said the money would be used to install disabled toilets in the building, which will be required by law later this year.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 11:26 AM

The joint committee on the draft Gambling Bill has reported that the proposed legislation will lead to an increase in problem gambling. This echoes the fears of organisations including the Salvation Army and the Methodist Church, who both gave oral evidence to the committee. An NOP poll commissioned by the Salvation Army found that 93% of the public felt that there were enough opportunities to gamble in the UK already. Don Horrocks, head of public affairs at the Evangelical Alliance commented: "The Committee seems quite willing to allow a significant degree of experimentation to take place, for example, by allowing alcohol to be served in casinos and children to gamble on fruit machines."
Source: Methodist Church News, Evangelical Alliance news release.
posted at 5:47 PM

The Methodist Church has announced the winners of its 11th commandment competition. Some 2000 people entered via text message after the competition was promoted on drinks mats and postcards distributed to hundreds of pubs, cafes, cinemas and student unions around the country. The winning entries are: Thou shalt not worship false pop idols; Thou shalt not kill in the name of any god; Thou shalt not confuse text with love; Thou shalt not consume thine own body weight in fudge; Thou shalt not be negative.
Source: Methodist Church News.
posted at 5:45 PM

Alford and District Churches today launch a series of events for Easter.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 1:40 PM

A Moray minister has defended his decision to show still clips of the controversial film The Passion of the Christ during a school Easter service. The Rev Doug McRoberts, minister of the Keith North, Newmill, Boharm and Rothiemay parish, discussed the 18-certificate film during Keith Grammar School's service in the North Church for pupils in S1 to S6. He said: "I was encouraging pupils to look at the images - which are freely available on the film's unrestricted website - as an example of a film which has moved a large number of people."
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 1:37 PM

A Baptist minister is to open Scotland's first dedicated "miracle" healing centre in Glasgow. The Rev Steven Anderson has trained an inter-denominational team of healers to cure the sick, including the blind and those suffering from cancer. He stressed the centre would offer physical "miracles", not counselling, at a weekly service. Both the Catholic Church and Church of Scotland have given a cautious welcome to the initiative.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 1:14 PM

The Easter promise of Christ's death and resurrection, and the new life and faith of Scotland's leading artist, Peter Howson, have combined to stop the traffic in Main Street, Prestwick, Ayrshire. Howson painted a 6ft by 3ft original of Christos Aneste - Christ is Risen - which has been translated into the 20ft by 10ft billboard to promote the Easter message. The artist's strangest commission was the brainchild of the Philip Noble, the local Episcopalian minister of St Ninian's, where the artist's uncle is the organist.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 1:12 PM

The Church of Scotland Guild's 36,911 members are in the business of "just getting on with it" when it comes to delivering on its current theme, Dare to Care, says its report to this year's General Assembly.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.
posted at 9:26 PM

Background to the new law giving Scottish shop workers the right to choose whether they work on Sundays, going back to May 2002 when employees of Argos were threatened with the sack unless they accepted compulsory Sunday working.
Source: Dundee Evening Telegraph.
posted at 5:09 PM

Pope John Paul II has appointed Monsignor John Cunningham as the new Bishop of Galloway. He succeeds Bishop Maurice Taylor, who will retire after 23 years as Bishop. Mgr. Cunningham is presently parish priest of St. Patrick's Parish in Greenock and Vicar General of the Diocese of Paisley. He has two brothers who are also priests in the Diocese of Paisley - Canon Thomas Cunningham of St Cadoc's, Newton Mearns, and Canon James Cunningham of St James, Renfrew.
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release.
posted at 3:50 PM

A new sculpture to honour Scots explorer David Livingstone is being unveiled today at the National Trust for Scotland's David Livingstone Centre in Blantyre. DIt was designed and gifted by film producer Ray Harryhausen - responsible for the animation in many 1950s films - who is married to Livingstone's great-grand daughter Diana.
Source: Evening Times, Glasgow.
posted at 3:45 PM

Christians of all denominations are invited to join in two symbolic marches through Aberdeen city centre this Easter Friday.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 3:20 PM

The Rev Steven Thomson of Wick parish church has told the NHS Highland Board that withdrawing consultant-led services from Caithness General Hospital in Wick would constitute a breach of European human rights law, and warned of a public backlash.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 3:19 PM

Obituary of Canon James Robertson, who has died aged 86. Born, educated and ordained in Scotland, Robertson was an educationist and a missionary statesman who played a leading part in the reorganisation of the Church of England's teacher training colleges and then in its adaptation to the needs of overseas churches in the post-colonial era. He was Secretary of the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel from 1973 to 1983.
Source: Daily Telegraph.
posted at 3:09 PM

Inverurie Catholic Church has applied for planning permission to install steel gates to keep out vandals at its three entrances near North Street, to improve security at the request of police. Father Gabor Czako estimated the cost at "a few thousand pounds". He said: "Unfortunately it (vandalism) is a continuing problem and I think it is just getting worse."
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 12:16 PM

Shopworkers in Scotland can now choose not to work on Sundays without facing the threat of the sack. Laws that come into force today also stop bosses denying staff overtime, promotion or training if they refuse to work on Sundays. And they won't be allowed to single those workers out for redundancy either. The Act doesn't cover those employed specifically to work on Sundays.
Source: Daily Record.
posted at 12:13 PM

A historic church yesterday reopened its doors to the public following a £1.1 million facelift. The opening marks the near completion of an extensive 16-month programme of renovation at Edinburgh's Greyfriars Tollbooth & Highland Kirk. The kirk is perhaps best-known for housing the remains of Greyfriars Bobby, the little dog who faithfully kept guard over his master's grave. In 1562, Mary Queen of Scots granted the land to the town council for use as a burial ground. Building of the church began in 1602, and it opened its doors on Christmas Day 1620. The National Covenant, which separated Church and state, was presented and signed at Greyfriars' front pulpit in 1638, and during Cromwell's invasion of Scotland, Greyfriars was used as a barracks from 1650 to 1653. In 1718 the west end of the church was reduced to ruins after the council's nearby gunpowder store exploded, and in 1845 much of the building was gutted by fire.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 12:11 PM

The Salvation Army is planning to tackle issues of homelessness and substance abuse in the Inverurie area by setting up a dedicated advice and support base in the town. The organisation is working with Aberdeenshire Council to get a pilot project off the ground as soon as possible.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 12:06 PM

The minister who supported the royal family in the hours after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, is to leave his charge of Crathie and Braemar after nine years. Bob Sloan, who previously spent 18 years at North Church, Perth, is to take up a new post on the interim ministry team of the Church of Scotland's board of ministry.
Source: Dundee Courier.
posted at 11:54 AM

The Catholic Church last night stopped short of criticising proposed legislation on family matters but insisted that marriage as an institution had to be protected. If the Scottish Executive wanted to protect children, said a spokesman for the Church, it could change the divorce law where children were involved but leave other relationships alone.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 11:48 AM

The Scottish Executive has published its consultation document 'Family Matters: Improving Family Law in Scotland'. It includes proposals to reduce the minimum period over which couples must live apart before a divorce is granted, and give parental rights and responsibilities to unmarried fathers who register the birth of their child alongside the mother. In addition, ministers are seeking views on how best to provide legal safeguards for cohabiting couples, a recognised role for step-parents in parenting, and better arrangements for grandparents who do not play as great a part in their grandchildren's lives as they would like to.
Source: Scottish Executive news release.
posted at 4:40 PM

More resources are needed if mainstreaming of 'special needs' children is to work, says the Church of Scotland's Education Committee. In May, the committee will also ask the General Assembly to: authorise the distribution of the 'Building a school without walls report' to education policy makers and practitioners; continue to take an interest in the setting up of contemplation areas in non-denominational schools; instruct new work in the area of tertiary education; continue to monitor the restructuring of secondary school management posts; and take an active interest in the work of the new Scottish Childrens' Commissioner.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.
posted at 3:44 PM

Channel 4 is to screen controversial film footage showing an abortion in its entirety. The documentary, My Foetus, includes a five-minute clip of a woman undergoing a "vacuum pump" abortion while four weeks pregnant, according to reports. The film is reported to have provoked an outraged response from the Roman Catholic Church.
Source: The Scotsman/PA News.
posted at 3:40 PM

Glasgow's two main church leaders have been urged to back the campaign against prostitution tolerance zones. The city council's deputy leader Jim Coleman has written to head of the city's Catholics, Archbishop Mario Conti, and the Rev Adah Younger, moderator of the Presbytery of Glasgow, asking for their support. He points to the link between prostitution and drugs, as well as violence against women selling their bodies, and urges the churches to extend their "social responsibility" to "helping these social outcasts". According to Mr Coleman, there are some 1000 prostitutes operating in Glasgow who spend up to £20m a year on heroin addictions. A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Glasgow said the city's Catholic leadership "whole-heartedly" backed the campaign.
Source: Evening Times, Glasgow.
posted at 3:38 PM

Government attempts to reduce high-risk sexual behaviour among teenagers have had exactly the opposite effect, according to a new study. Academics at Nottingham University are reported to have found that expanding contraceptive services and providing the morning-after pill free to teenagers have encouraged sexual behaviour rather than reducing it. They discovered that sexual activity and sexually transmitted diseases have risen fastest in those areas where the Government's policy has been most actively pursued.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.
posted at 3:32 PM

Arbroath-based group the Knights of Monymusk are preparing to re-enact the events leading to the founding of Arbroath Abbey. The 12th-century abbey was founded by one of Scotland's longest reigning monarchs, King William the Lion, after a chain of events that shocked mediaeval Europe, including the brutal murder of an Archbishop and the dramatic capture of the Scottish king during an ill-advised invasion of England.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 3:26 PM

Edinburgh ministers are unfazed by the prospect of a four-day Dark City festival for Goths which runs from Thursday until Easter Sunday. A similar event held twice a year in Whitby has attracted criticism in the past after serious damage was caused to a local churchyard. At Greyfriars Kirk, Reverend Dr Richard Frazer said he was "happy" to welcome anyone to the churchyard, and his thoughts were echoed by Reverend Charles Robertson, minister of Canongate Kirk. "The cemetery is a public place and provided they behave responsibly and don't cause damage there would not be a problem," he said.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.
posted at 3:21 PM

The Catholic Church's Glasgow archdiocese has created a foundation to oversee the community care it has provided for more than 1000 years. The Mungo Foundation will assume responsibility for the 35 projects previously run by the archdiocese. With 650 staff, it provides community-based care and support to more than 1000 people in and around Glasgow.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 3:11 PM

Profile of Jo Elliot, chief executive of investment bank Quayle Munro, which has made advising on schemes funded by the controversial private finance initiative (PFI)its core business. Mr Elliot is the husband of the Church of Scotland's Moderator-designate, Alison Elliot.
Source: Sunday Herald.
posted at 8:26 PM

Maria Lazzeri, who spends hours making ravioli and cannelloni in the kitchen of the family-run food shop, and goes mass every day at St Paul's Chapel in Shettleston, Glasgow, has celebrated her 100th birthday. Last week, Archbishop Mario Conti held a special mass for the centenarian. Maria said: 'Meeting him was one of the best moments of my life. We spoke to each other in Italian and I cried lots as the church was packed with my family and friends.'
Source: Sunday Mail.
posted at 8:22 PM

Pagans are expected to be admitted to the Scottish Interfaith Council, which represents all the main faiths in Scotland, at its annual general meeting in October. The last census showed there were 1,930 Scots who registered themselves as pagans. Some go by the title of witches, druids, heathens or shamen, or adhere to the tradition of Wicca. Others follow pre-Christian religions that focus on nature and the changes of the seasons.
Source: Scotland on Sunday.
posted at 8:18 PM

The National Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic Scotland have agreed to a £167,000 donation to pay for essential work on the fabric of Kirk o'Shotts. The congregation has raised £40,000, partly thanks to a huge banner, floodlit at night, spread along the wall that faces the M8 motorway.
Source: Scotland on Sunday.
posted at 8:08 PM

Police have launched an unprecedented crackdown on the scourge of religious bigotry in Scottish society, using a tough new law to charge an average of at least one offender a day. Since last June, more than 260 people - most of them in the west of Scotland - have been charged for crimes aggravated by religious hatred, allowing judges to impose longer jail sentences or bigger fines on conviction. Rev Alan McDonald, convenor of the Church of Scotland's church and nation committee, said: "When the General Assembly debated this issue in 2002, it was very much of the view that the law did need to be changed. These figures indicate that ectarianism is a serious problem in today's Scotland. It is chilling to think that there is as many as one case a day." A spokesman for the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland said: "What is heartening is the fact that the police are taking this seriously and reporting incidents of religious bigotry. It is also important to remember that sectarianism is about more than Scotland's traditional orange-green divide. The law must be used to protect all religions." Osama Saeed, Scottish spokesman for the British Association of Muslims, said: "It used to be that people shouted 'Paki bastard', or something associated with colour. Now it's more about the religion: you hear jibes like 'Bin Laden', 'Muslim so-and-so', 'Taliban'. It is an encouragement to hear that the police are acting and that the law is being enforced."
Source: Scotland on Sunday.
posted at 8:00 PM

A pensioner who worked as a secretary for the Church of Scotland has left £2.5 million to charity. The bulk of 90-year-old Miss Edith Johnston's estate was left to ten charities.
Source: Daily Record.
posted at 3:23 PM

Peterhead Methodist Church has been described as "heroic" by the President of the Methodist Conference, Rev Dr Neil Richardson, for starting a drop-in centre for the lonely and homeless people of the town.
Source: Methodist Church News.
posted at 2:52 PM

Obituary of David Crockatt Macnab, stalwart of the Boys Brigade in Edinburgh, of Corstorphine Old parish church and of the Clan Association of the Macnabs; born 21 June 1937, died 3 January 2004.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 2:45 PM

Perth churches are banding together for an unique venture as Mel Gibson's controversial film The Passion of The Christ opens in the Fair City. Cinema One at The Playhouse has been booked for Friday, April 16, and Tuesday the 20th by a number of church organisations. The Rev. David Denniston, minister at the North Church, said various denominations would be coming together to support the initiative. The North Church premises will be open afterwards around 10pm for people to reflect, chat or simply to have a cup of tea and relax. On the Friday, Perth Congregational Church will be available as a creche during the 18 certificate film.
Source: icPerthshire - Perthshire Advertiser.
posted at 9:18 PM

The growing friendship between mainstream churches was demonstrated in St Ninians when clergy and parishioners of the Roman Catholic parish of Holy Spirit celebrated the 40th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone. The parish does not have a large church hall so the neighbouring Church of Scotland parish, St Ninians Old, loaned their hall for a reception following a Mass held in Holy Spirit RC Church.
Source: icStirlingshire - Stirling Observer.
posted at 9:14 PM

The Salvation Army in Rutherglen have a busy month ahead of them as they celebrate 115 years in the town.
Source: icLanarkshire - Rutherglen Reformer.
posted at 9:10 PM

Dumbarton churches will gather for an ecumenical service of worship on Good Friday, April 9. Three crosses will be carried from west, east and north of the town, meeting in the town centre at noon for hymns, prayers and the reading of The Passion.
Source: icDunbartonshire - Lennox Herald.
posted at 9:06 PM

Churches in Aberdeen will be taking part in a special celebration of Palm Sunday in preparation for Easter. A procession will take place on Sunday, assembling at 2pm in Union Row and proceeding to St Mark's Church, Rosemount Viaduct, where the Easter story will be told in music, mime, drama and dance.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 1:11 PM

The Catholic Bishop of Argyll and the Isles, Bishop Ian Murray, has welcomed the election of Canon Martin Shaw as the new Bishop of Argyll and The Isles in the Scottish Episcopal Church. "I look forward to working with him in promoting and maintaining the Christian Faith," he said.
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release.
posted at 1:05 PM

The Catholic Church in of Scotland has created a new national commission, Priests for Scotland, to replace the existing National Vocations Commission and Priestly Formation Commission. Its first director is Fr Andrew McKenzie, currently pastoral director at Scotus College.
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release.
posted at 1:02 PM

Fr. Willie McFadden has been named as the new Rector of Scotus College in Glasgow, Scotland's national Catholic seminary.
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release.
posted at 12:59 PM

Obituary of James McGibbon, educationalist and for many years editor of Catholic Education Today; born 1916 in Greenock, died 2004.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 12:42 PM

American black gospel music has its roots not in Africa but in the Gaelic psalms of presbyterian Scotland, a Yale professor said during a talk in Dundee yesterday. Professor Willie Ruff (72), who played with jazz legends Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie, was speaking at the Bonar Hall as part of the Celtic Film and Television Festival. His research has uncovered evidence that gospel music was not brought to America's deep south by slaves as had previously been assumed, but by the Scots who worked as their masters and overseers.
Source: Dundee Courier.
posted at 12:30 PM

Reverend Dr David Ross has left Peterhead Old parish church to become full-time chaplain at Peterhead prison and Aberdeen's Craiginches jail.
Source: Buchan Observer.
posted at 8:44 PM

Attacks on Jews have increased in five EU countries including Britain in the past two years, with white males rather than Muslims being blamed for many of them, according to a report published yesterday by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC).
Source: The Guardian.
posted at 3:07 PM

Full text of the letter on terrorism to mosques and Muslim leaders from Iqbal Sacranie, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain. "We therefore urge you to ... develop active contacts with other faith communities and civic organisations in order to help maintain social peace and good community relations."
Source: The Guardian.
posted at 3:04 PM

Profile of Jalal Chaudry, who represents the Lothians' 9000 Muslims. "We fully condemn terrorism, whichever quarter it comes from. We had a joint prayer with Christians after September 11 in Central Mosque."
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.
posted at 2:58 PM

Labour hopes to mend its "patchy" relationship with faith communities by giving their concerns "full consideration" in key policy decisions, the Government announced this week. The Home Office entered into the new working relationship with Britain's [should read "England's" for accuracy. Ed.] faith communities in a bid to tap their experience in engaging with communities at all levels in a country where nearly 77 per cent of the population have religious affiliations. Government recommendations made to faith communities ahead of any greater co-operation include speaking with a "common voice" and "coming to the consultation with a position that has been negotiated and agreed" among representatives of Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Bahai, Jain, Zoroastrian and other faith communities. The report later remarks, "it is usually possible to work out differing positions and to make sensitive or multiple recommendations that accommodate them."
Source: Church of England Newspaper.
posted at 2:46 PM

Religious groups should be consulted as a matter of course over a wide range of government policies and local authority initiatives, with civil servants receiving faith awareness training to inform their work, the Home Office said. The official document, Working Together: Cooperation between Government and Faith Communities, says officials should consult all relevant groups, including minorities such as Zoroastrians and Pagans, as well as representatives of mainstream religions and secularists, in drawing up policy.
Source: The Guardian.
posted at 2:45 PM

Kirk ministers are set to banish evil spirits from parishioners' homes. The Church of Scotland's Board of Responsibility have recommended a service of blessing for houses haunted by poltergeists. Two-thirds of ministers believe supernatural forces of evil exist today, and one minister sat on the chest of a 'possessed' person and read the gospel. The Roman Catholic Church and the Scottish Episcopal Church carry out exorcisms. Only the Catholic Church has a specific rite.
Source: Daily Record.
posted at 2:45 PM