The historical refusal by successive archbishops of Canterbury to recognise the Scottish Episcopal Church for more than a century is cited as a precedent for Archbishop Rowan Williams doing the same to the U.S. Episcopal Church and its bishops because of same-sex blessings and the election of an openly gay bishop.
Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
posted at 11:42 PM

East Kilbride drama and puppet group Acting Up, based in the town's East Mains Baptist Church, has been invited to perform at the European Puppet Ministry Festival this autumn after winning the Scottish regional final of a top puppeteering competition.
Source: icLanarkshire - East Kilbride News.
posted at 5:52 PM

A Silver Ring Thing sexual abstinence campaign event at Partick South Parish Church in Glasgow "found a receptive, if small, audience".
Source: The Herald.
posted at 3:40 PM

Ben Thorp, a member of Whiteinch Church of Scotland in Glasgow who works for IBM and has studied both theology and computing, has co-founded the Freely Project to promote open source software and use of the Linux operating system in churches.
Source: Search Enterprise Linux.
posted at 3:14 PM

"Scotland is seen as the fount of pure Presbyterianism," the Rev Jin S. Kim told the 216th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). But the pastor of the Church of All Nations in Minneapolis and president of the evangelical group, Presbyterians for Renewal, chided U.S. and European Christians for their tendency to regard Asian and African churches as "less worthy," because they are products of Western missionary efforts. Yet there are more than five million Presbyterians in Korea - twice as many as in the PC(USA) - and Korea has the largest Presbyterian congregation in the world, with 50,000 members.
Source: Presbyterian Church (USA) Assembly News.
posted at 11:05 PM

Bishop Bruce Cameron, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, will light a candle for peace in St Andrew's Cathedral in Aberdeen tomorrow, Wednesday, as part of a day of prayer for peace called for by Scottish church leaders.
Source: Scottish Episcopal Church news release.
posted at 7:13 PM

Fears were growing today for Jayendra Parekh (48) and his sister Indira (51) from Leicester who were reported missing on May 27 after staying with friends in Galashiels. Known as Jay and Ila, they had previously lived in nearby Earlston and had told friends from Galashiels Baptist church how they missed the Borders and were thinking of moving back. On May 26 they were in Oban, where they had also lived for a number of years. Jay and Ila were last seen in their maroon Volvo 440, registration number N474 SSH, leaving behind their belongings, documents and some medication. Their car has still to be traced.
Source: Leicester Mercury.
posted at 6:44 PM

The Church of Scotland Board of Social Responsibility will provide 24-hour individual care packages to 18 people who are currently tenants of Shettleston Housing Association at Tollcross Mansionhouse in Glasgow.
Source: Evening Times, Glasgow.
posted at 2:36 PM

The group of 30 American men and women will be appearing at Partick South Parish Church in Glasgow tonight hoping to recruit new members for the Silver Ring Thing sexual abstinence campaign.
Source: Evening Times, Glasgow.
posted at 2:21 PM

The painting 'Christ and the Adultress' will be among hundreds of Renaissance treasures displayed in the 'Age of Titian' exhibition which will herald the opening of the £30m Playfair Project by the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh this summer.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 12:36 PM

Among new acquisitions exhibited at the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow is Ross Sinclair's Dead Church/Real Life, "a vast scale model of a church, painted red and toppled on to its side. Enter under a neon sign and sit on a pew-like bench to watch a film of Sinclair, sitting cross-legged, naked except for his Real Life tattoo, singing well-known hymns with great gusto. It's not hard to see what he's getting at: an arsenal of words and music which are still part of our lives, yet are stripped of their religious meaning in these secular times."
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 12:07 PM

The Grand Orange Order of Scotland and cairde na hEireann, an umbrella body for republican groups, have welcomed the appointment by the Scottish Executive of Kirk elder and former chief constable Sir John Orr to review the licensing of parades in Scotland.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 11:59 AM

A joint call for a day of prayer for peace in Iraq to be observed on Wednesday 30 June has been made by three Scottish church leaders - Cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien, President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Scotland, Dr Alison Elliot, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and Bishop Bruce Cameron, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church.
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release.
posted at 10:28 PM

Cardinal Keith O'Brien has congratulated Malta for being "a Catholic Christian country" in the newly enlarged EU. He was speaking on a visit to the island of Gozo to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul. Two priests in the Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh are from Gozo - Fr Lorreto Tabone and Fr Joseph Portelli.
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release.
posted at 10:26 PM

A bellringer has suffered a suspected fractured neck after a bell rope formed a noose round her throat in a freak accident. Jennifer Edge, 64, was said to be "very poorly" at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary today after becoming tangled in the rope at St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Palmerston Place. The experienced bellringer lost consciousness as she was spun between 5-10ft above the ground by the rope attached to the heaviest of the church's ten bells, the tenor bell weighing two tons.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.
posted at 10:12 PM

An unnamed 64-year-old woman bell-ringer is recovering in hospital after a rope became wrapped around her neck and hauled her into the air in the bell-tower at St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Edinburgh, just before yesterday's morning service.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 10:06 PM

Communities minister Margaret Curran has appointed former Strathclyde Police Chief Constable Sir John Orr to carry out a review of the procedures for authorising marches and parades in Scotland with a view to reporting to Executive ministers by the end of the year. At the same time Ms Curran announced the Executive's formal response to the Cross-Party Working Group on Religious Hatred. "This report signals the way ahead in tackling the residue of bigotry and narrow-mindedness which still exists in our society," she said. "Since the publication of the report, we have already undertaken a range of work. Today we are outlining our progress in that field so far, and our plans for moving forward to challenge bigoted behaviour and attitudes wherever they arise."
Source: Scottish Executive news release.
posted at 2:32 PM

Financial difficulties are forcing the Church of Scotland to put up for auction a "priceless" 330-year-old portrait of Thomas Sydserff, who founded Scotland's first newspaper, Mercurious Caledonius.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 1:43 PM

Rev Canon Professor John Riches of the Scottish Episcopal Church presented a paper on Reception during a meeting of the International Commission of the Anglican-Orthodox Theological Dialogue at Canterbury Cathedral last week. The Orthodox position was put by Metropolitan John of Pergamon. At next year's meeting of the Commission, draft agreed statements will be discussed on the ordination of women to the presbyterate and episcopate, and on heresy, schism and reception, in addition to the completion of work of lay ministries and the diaconate.
Source: Anglican Communion News Service.
posted at 1:40 PM

The Rev Will Morrey used his address as the new president of the Methodist Conference to lay out his theme of "the challenge of listening", calling on the Church to "run to the unexpected places where the Listening God is gathering people." The new vic- president, Sister Myrtle Poxon, told representatives that the Church should rekindle hope. She said: "It is time to stop talking about decline, and emphasise that we are a church that is changing."
Source: Methodist Church news release.
posted at 1:32 PM

Western Isles councillors last week voted against opening Lewis's new multi-million-pound sports centre on Sundays, reflecting lobbying by churches and the Lord's Day Observance Society.
Source: The Observer.
posted at 9:59 PM

The Catholic church has introduced psychological profiling for trainee priests in an effort to weed out paedophiles after recognising that child abusers are likely to "gravitate" towards the church, seeking positions of trust and access to children. "We recognise that we have to be open to the whole experience of what psychology offers us," said Fr Willie McFadden, rector of Scotus College in Glasgow. The move follows an influential report, published by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) in 2002, which investigated how trainee clergy were vetted and how sex offenders within the church environment were rehabilitated. A wide-ranging review will now take place with church leaders across Britain to establish which ones need to tighten up their screening procedures. It will include independent churches in Scotland, such as the Free Presbyterians, the Quakers and the United Reformed Church.
Source: Sunday Times.
posted at 5:14 PM

Cricketing recollections of Rev Jim Aitchison, Church of Scotland minister and arguably the Scottish batsman of his generation, scorer of seven international centuries, including an unbeaten 190 versus Ireland and a ton against the 1956 touring Aussies.
Source: Scotland on Sunday.
posted at 4:42 PM

Rev Alan Dunnett, minister of Partick South Church of Scotland in Glasgow, has promised to dust off an extra 100 seats in preparation for next Tuesday's visit by The Silver Ring Thing sexual abstinence campaign.
Source: Scotland on Sunday.
posted at 4:39 PM

Linguistics graduate Hazel Simpson from Portsoy, a former member of Banff Parish Church, is seeking sponsorship of £7,500 before travelling to West Africa next year with Wycliffe Bible Translators to help translate the Bible into local languages.
Source: Banffshire Journal.
posted at 12:25 AM

Fair trade campaigners in Stirling have set up their own website at www.stirlingfairtrade.com to build on its success as one of the first Fair Trade Cities in the UK.
Source: icStirling - Stirling Observer.
posted at 12:08 AM

Bishop John Mone is to stand down as spiritual leader of thousands of Catholics in the Paisley Diocese after 16 years because he believes that at 75 he has become too old for the role.
Source: icRenfrewshire - Paisley Daily Express.
posted at 12:02 AM

Thousands of pounds worth of fake merchandise seized from Perthshire market stalls have been donated to the Mercy Ships charity who will transport it abroad to Nairobi in Kenya, to give to underprivileged people.
Source: icPerthshire - Perthshire Advertiser.
posted at 11:59 PM

A thug landlord and his accomplice were jailed for three years at Ayr Sheriff Court last week after creating terror in the Christian-led Highfield Farm drug rehab centre run by the Lydia Trust just outside Ayr. The gang led by Joe McEwan and Steven Sneddon used baseball bats, knives and hammers to inflict horrific injuries on recovering drug and alcohol addicts. The court had heard how the farm's tenants, the Lydia Trust, believed landlord McEwan wanted them out and the attack was an effort to intimidate the staff and residents of the clinic.
Source: icLanarkshire - Hamilton Advertiser.
posted at 11:55 PM

'Beyond Our Tears', an anthology of worship resources for times of remembrance, has been launched at Dunblane by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) and Joint Liturgical Group (JLG). Edited by Jean Mayland, it includes extracts from memorial services for those who died at Dunblane, Soham, on 11 September and during the conflict in Iraq. Scottish contributors include Derek Browning, Gerry Fitzpatrick, Kathy Galloway, Donald Macaskill, James Murdoch Ewing, Neil Paynter, John Bell and Andrew Scobie.
Source: Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.
posted at 2:37 PM

Six members of the Scottish Association of Change Ringers will attempt a two-hour, full peal of 5040 changes in St Andrew's and St George's Church, George Street, Edinburgh, on Saturday 26 June using bells located temporarily in the historic church.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.
posted at 2:28 PM

Former Edinburgh University student Rev David G. McKechnie, 63, pastor of the 4,300-member Grace Presbyterian Church in Houston, Texas, is one of three candidates for the position of moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch, Virginia.
posted at 2:07 PM

The National Trust for Scotland is to present an exhibition of erotic paintings by Glasgow artist Bill Blackwood at Hutchesons' Halls in Glasgow. Hugh Brown, from the Church of Scotland's board of social responsibility, said: "One wonders what the motivation of the trust is for this kind of exhibition."
Source: Evening Times, Glasgow.
posted at 2:03 PM

Leslie House, the former care home near Glenrothes which was at the centre of a dispute last year between residents and its owners, the Church of Scotland, has been put up for sale.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 1:59 PM

Patients of all faiths will soon be able to consult their own chaplain from Edinburgh hospital beds. Humanists, Sikhs, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and Jehovah's Witnesses are among the faiths set to get their own religious representative in hospitals across the Capital. Until now, so-called "generic" chaplains, employed by the Church of Scotland's Board of National Mission, have served the spiritual needs of all patients.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.
posted at 1:57 PM

The Baptist church is engaged in an extraordinary internecine row, incorporating accusations of slander and deceit, after the US Southern Baptists split from the rest of the worldwide church. The Rev David Coffey, general secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, said: "This is a sad and regrettable moment in the history of the Baptist World Alliance. I encourage the Baptist family to respond to this situation by praying for a spirit of repentance and reconciliation to prevail."
Source: The Guardian.
posted at 10:55 PM

Increasing tolerance of liberal ideas by members of the Baptist World Alliance has led to the Southern Baptist Convention withdrawing its membership. "I don't think it was the right thing to do, but I won't lose any sleep over it," said Steve Scoggins, pastor at First Baptist Church in Opelika, Alabama. Scoggins has been to other countries for missionary work. "I hate to see us lose the commitment to churches in Africa, Scotland and other places," he said.
Source: The Auburn Plainsman, Alabama.
posted at 7:05 PM

Oxford Presbyterian Church in Oxford, Pennsylvania, has been celebrating its 250th anniversary. Early settlers of America began worshiping on the Oxford Green in the 1730s. In 1754, Reverend Alexander Gellatly was summoned from Scotland to be the first minister.
Source: Oxford Tribune, Pennsylvania.
posted at 6:56 PM

Irvine man David McOwat left more than £600,000 in his will to the British Legion and his local church. The Rev Neil Urquhart, minister of Fullarton Parish Church, said ten per cent of the cash would go to the Church of Scotland's work overseas. The youth and community project would also benefit from the windfall while work would be carried out to upgrade the church.
Source: icAyrshire - Irvine Herald.
posted at 3:51 PM

Obituary of John McKee, co-founder of the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF) and first secretary of the Justice and Peace Commission for Scotland; born 11 November, 1905, in Johnstone, Renfrewshire; died 16 June, 2004, in Glasgow, aged 98.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 1:33 PM

Obituary of the Rev Andrew Howe, a Church of Scotland minister who became a stalwart of the international relief effort to poverty-stricken areas of eastern Europe.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 1:27 PM

Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, yesterday received an honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from St Andrews University.
Source: Dundee Courier.
posted at 1:24 PM

In a trend reversal the former WC Fields bar in Peterhead has undergone a transformation and now serves as an evangelical Church of Christ.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 1:16 PM

A ferry route once used by medieval pilgrims to travel between North Berwick in East Lothian and Anstruther in Fife is set to reopen after 500 years. The crossing was first founded in 950 AD to allow pilgrims to journey over the Forth and enabled worshippers in the Middle Ages to reach St Andrews to pray in the presence of its holy relics.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 10:11 PM

Obituary of John Joseph McKee, Knight Commander with Star of the Order of St Gregory; former president of the Scottish Guild of Catholic Teachers, first secretary and co-founder of the Catholic Education Commission, co-founder of the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, and secretary to the Justice and Peace Commission for Scotland; born November 11, 1905, died June 16, 2004.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 9:57 PM

Career civil servant John Graham will succeed Graeme Munro as chief executive of Historic Scotland in August. Historic Scotland is the executive agency responsible for safeguarding the protection and presentation of Scotland's built heritage, and is directly responsible for the upkeep of several cathedrals, abbeys and churches.
Source: Scottish Executive news release.
posted at 9:51 PM

The funeral service of the Very Rev Alphonsus Canon Woods took place in St Aidan's Church, Wishaw, last week. The Bishop of Motherwell, Rt Rev Joseph Devine, was Principal Concelebrant as around 40 priests joined in the Requiem Mass to celebrate the life of the man who worked tirelessly to establish St Aidan's Church in Coltness.
Source: icWestLothian - West Lothian Courier.
posted at 9:45 PM

Live Aid founder Bob Geldof today condemned Tony Blair's "guff and grandiose schemes" to tackle world poverty. Geldof questioned the Prime Minister's commitment to tackling hunger and disease and demanded he immediately "puts our money where his mouth is". Geldof said: "Gordon [Brown] wrestles Jesuitically with this imponderable conundrum of who should get a little bit more. Well, I don't think we have to argue any more ... If you want to get to next year without me and the activists and the churches screaming at you about this lot, then the minimum you do is you take the fourth richest country in the world and you measure it against its pathetic ranking as the 11th most generous."
Source: The Scotsman/PA News.
posted at 5:02 PM

Consultation on proposed government changes in family law ends on June 28. "The majority who are married or hope to marry one day need to make use of the chance to make their opinions known," said John Deighan of the Catholic Parliamentary Office.
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release.
posted at 3:59 PM

Obituary of the Rev Dr J Ian H McDonald, who taught Christian ethics and practical theology and New Testament at New College, Edinburgh University, from 1980 until his retirement in 1998. On his retirement, he was made an honorary fellow, and in 2001 he was appointed editor of the Expository Times. His books included 'Kerygma and Didache', 'The Quest for Christian Ethics', 'Jesus and the Ethics of the Kingdom', 'The Resurrection: Narrative and Belief', 'Biblical Interpretation and Christian Ethics' and 'Christian Values: Theory and Practice in Christian Ethics Today'.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 3:43 PM

The 3,000-image photographic collection of the Rev Archibald Eneas Robertson, a Church of Scotland minister and Scotland's first 'Munro-bagger' is being catalogued by the Scottish Mountaineering Club.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 3:14 PM

Disestablishment of the Church of England would have the support of most of the country's non-Christian faith groups and Christian denominations, according to a report by the New Politics Network. The report does not argue for complete separation of Church and State. Instead, it proposes a similar arrangement to that of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, which remains the national church but is largely disestablished.
Source: Ekklesia.
posted at 10:08 PM

'Faith Meeting Faith', a new publication aiming to counter fears about relating to other religions and pave the way forward in inter-faith relations, will be launched at the Methodist Conference next week.
Source: Methodist Church news release.
posted at 7:14 PM

Radical plans to reform Scotland's charities will bring financial ruin to many of them as 25,000 voluntary groups face being vetted by a government watchdog, legal experts have warned. Critics believe the Scottish Executive's charities bill, designed to root out fraud, will force many organisations to fold because donors will be reluctant to fund them until their charity status is confirmed.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 7:12 PM

A Dundee church minister last night refused to comment on a claim that he had left his previous congregation in Fife with massive debts. The Rev James McMillan, of Trinity Church in Crescent Street, and previously of Christ's Kirk in Glenrothes, is at the centre of a local presbytery probe. It is reported that debts of more than £100,000 were uncovered when he moved parish, and that the Church of Scotland has since had to bail out the Fife church with a loan.
Source: Dundee Courier.
posted at 6:58 PM

The Rt Rev Colin Buchanan, Bishop of Woolwich, today describes the Church of England's established status as indefensible, in a pamphlet arguing that the church should lose its political ties to the state.
Source: The Guardian.
posted at 6:12 PM

The Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (Sciaf), part of an international network of Christian aid groups, has launched its own appeal to raise money for the people of Sudan. Along with its partners, Sciaf hope to raise $4m over 18 months to help those who have fled attacks by armed militia.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 6:10 PM

The organisation Justice for Victims Scotland objects to convicted murderers travelling unaccompanied from Saughton Prison in Edinburgh to "train for freedom" at work placements which include the Church of Scotland's Social Responsibility HQ in Charis House, and St Andrew's and St George Church.
Source: Daily Record.
posted at 6:08 PM

Colour piece about Saturday's juvenile parade by the Orange Order in Glasgow. "They were here to march, to proclaim to the community their belief in the Orange Order as a core value in their young lives ... For most of this month and next, similar parades - usually involving adults, not young children - will spring forth from villages, towns, and cities across central Scotland, building up to the commemoration of the Battle of the Boyne on July 12."
Source: The Herald.
posted at 6:01 PM

Global bestseller 'The Da Vinci Code' has turned Rosslyn Chapel into the must-see climax of a mystical tour for a wave of American tourists. Depending on your taste, the 15th-century building in Midlothian is the secret resting place of the mummified head of Christ, a collection of lost biblical scrolls, the ark of the covenant, the real stone of destiny, Herod's gold, a piece of the true cross or, most famously, the Holy Grail, the cup used by Christ at the last supper. Recently the grounds were surveyed by a group of UFO enthusiasts who concluded the chapel was an astral doorway that could transport people into different galaxies and dimensions.
Source: Sunday Times.
posted at 11:10 PM

British Muslims are calling for a boycott of more than 40 UK firms, including Scottish Widows, which are involved with the US-owned corporation accused of directing the torture of Iraqi detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad. Among the firms which use CACI in the UK are Honda, Renault, Barclays, AXA Direct, Friends Provident, House of Fraser, The Woolwich, Cadbury, Unilever, Danone, The Co-op, WH Smith, the Royal Mail, Peugeot, O2 and British Gas. CACI also works for a number of local authorities including Greater London, and British Telecom.
Source: Sunday Herald.
posted at 11:03 PM

De la Salle monk Brother Benedict, real name Michael Murphy, has been ordered at the Court of Session in Edinburgh to pay £50,000 in damages to one of the victims he has been convicted of abusing as young boys at St Ninian's List D School at Gartmore, Stirlingshire, 40 years ago.
Source: Sunday Mail.
posted at 10:53 PM

The government is on a collision course with church groups and opposition MPs over its refusal to tackle the growing problem of exorbitant credit and consumer debt. A Department of Trade and Industry report, due next month, will rule out interest rate ceilings. Morag Mylne, convener of the Church of Scotland's Church and Nation committee, said: "It's certainly disappointing - capping is a sensible approach to the spiralling problems of debt people find themselves in." The Church of Scotland is part of the cross-denomination group Church Action on Poverty, pressing the government to change tack on debt.
Source: Sunday Herald.
posted at 10:39 PM

Rev Professor Iain Torrance, former Moderator of the Church of Scotland's General Assembly, has won the Equality Network's Friend for Life award this year. It recognises a person from outside the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community who has made a significant contribution to their equality cause. Prof Torrance urged the church to "shake off its homophobia" in his Christmas Eve sermon last year at St Machar's Cathedral in Aberdeen.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 3:48 PM

The latest row over Sunday drinking in the Western Isles could end up with a test case in a sheriff court. The isles' licensing board has accused Stornoway solicitor Angus Macdonald of "religious discrimination" against its members at an application hearing. Mr Macdonald has been instructed by clients to argue that it is illegal for board members who are also church officers to vote in cases involving official objections from people of their denomination. The Rev Calum Iain Macleod said that many non-Christians signed a 154-strong petition, not for religious reasons but because they wanted to preserve the tranquillity of a rural Sunday.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 3:44 PM

Rev Henry Hanna, whose first appointment following graduation from Princeton Seminary was in Aberdeen, is retiring after seven years at United Presbyterian Church in Superior, Minnesota.
Source: Duluth News Tribune.
posted at 3:41 PM

Today is juvenile parade day for the Orange Order in Scotland. Thousands of followers will take to the streets of Glasgow and Bellshill. Many communities on the routes of the march feel intimidated, but Orangemen say they are misunderstood...
Source: BBC Scotland News.
posted at 3:32 PM

Some 50 churches in Michigan have installed induction loop sound systems for hearing-impaired people since David Myers, a hard-of-hearing social psychologist at Hope College in Holland, Mich., came across the technology while visiting Iona Abbey in 1999. California and Michigan associations of hard-of-hearing people are recommending churches and facilities in their states follow suit.
Source: Centre Daily Times, Pennsylvania.
posted at 3:29 PM

Non-Catholics who want to teach in denominational schools were this week asked to subscribe to a 10-point charter if they want the Church's approval. It hopes to introduce a revised system next session for new appointments but local authorities and unions remain cautious about the employment implications.
Source: Times Educational Supplement Scotland.
posted at 1:22 AM

Local Church of Scotland ministers have stepped into the row over changes proposed by NHS Highland to out-of-hours medical care in the East and Central Sutherland area. Moderator of Sutherland Presbytery, the Rev Ian McCree of Brora. and presbytery clerk the Rev Leslie Goskirk, Lairg, have launched a protest petition.
Source: Northern Times.
posted at 1:14 AM

Brian Wilson pays tribute to the Reverend Murdo Ewen Macdonald, who has died at the age of 89 - "one of Scotland's foremost preachers and theologians of his times. He was also a Hebridean polymath - philosopher, psychologist, Gael, war hero, man of physical and intellectual courage, mimic, conqueror of every Munro. For many within the Church of Scotland, he was the best Moderator it never had."
Source: West Highland Free Press.
posted at 1:09 AM

Harriet Collins, 76, a life-long member of the St Ninian's Church in Stranraer where she is now an elder, has been awarded an MBE for services to the community.
Source: Galloway Gazette.
posted at 1:03 AM

A record £3,290.93 was raised by Kirkcudbright and district this year for Christian Aid Week.
Source: icDumfries - Galloway News.
posted at 12:54 AM

Relics of St Antony of Padua were exhibited this week at St Mirin's Cathedral in Paisley, one of nine Scottish churches where they will be shown during a pastoral pilgrimage around the world. The relics include the embalmed tongue of the saint, who was famous for the eloquence of his sermons and is nowadays known as the patron saint of lost property.
Source: icRenfrewshire - Paisley Daily Express.
posted at 12:48 AM

Ellen Findlay, a member of Wishaw Baptist Church, has been rewarded for 34 years of hard work by being given an MBE for medical services to Nepal.
Source: icLanarkshire - Wishaw Press.
posted at 12:40 AM

Father Simon Lumbela, a young priest who devotes his life to serving desperately poor people in the Congo, will visit Renton this summer to meet supporters of the Gorsilaure Project charity, set up by Dumbarton nun Sister Margaret Rose Scullion, which funds his work.
Source: icDunbartonshire - Lennox Herald.
posted at 12:36 AM

Sir Roy Cameron, former Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders Police, is to replace Richard Dingwall as session clerk of St Mary's Parish Church, Haddington.
Source: East Lothian Courier.
posted at 12:32 AM

A Church of Scotland minister who risked his life to deliver aid to crisis-torn areas of Eastern Europe has died, aged 76. The Reverend Andrew Howe spent the whole of his 32-year ministry in the Highlands, spending 12 years in the parish of Farr in Sutherland amd 20 at Rosskeen Parish Church, Alness.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 12:01 AM

Fyvie Church was last night's setting for the induction of the Rev Ian Thorburn as new minister to the linked and extensive rural parish of Fyvie and Rothienorman. Mr Thorburn was minister at Fairlie Church in Ayrshire for the past 24 years.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 11:57 PM

Dr Alison Elliott, Moderator of the Church of Scotland's General Assembly, will attend a special service on Sunday marking the 200th anniversary of Broughton Parish Church.
Source: Peeblesshire News.
posted at 11:53 PM

Scottish Tory leader David McLetchie has distanced himself from the famous 'Sermon on The Mound' delivered by Margaret Thatcher to the Church of Scotland's General Assembly. He said:"I have always thought that the parable of the talents, stressing as it does the imperative to make the most of what is given to you and thereby helping both yourself and others, was more directly in tune with Conservative philosophy."
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 11:51 PM

Scotland's first woman rabbi has said she believes the sectarian divide may have led to a lack of anti-Semitism in Scotland. In an interview with the Church of Scotland's Life and Work magazine, Rabbi Nancy Morris - a Canadian lawyer who took up her post at the Glasgow New Synagogue in Newton Mearns last year - claims that Scotland's focus on the Catholic and Protestant divide has benefited attitudes towards the Jewish community.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 11:46 PM

Some people in Great Britain are put off the Silver Ring Thing virginity campaign by its close links to the Bush administration and other advocates of public funding of faith-based organizations, said the Rev Alan Dunnett of Partick South Parish Church in Glasgow. "President Bush is a very unpopular figure in Scotland," Dunnett said. Still, that won't keep Dunnett's church from serving as a venue for the Silver Ring Thing later this month.
Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
posted at 11:43 PM

Glasgow's Sense over Sectarianism campaign has been boosted by a £550,000 grant from the Scottish Executive.
Source: Evening Times, Glasgow.
posted at 11:41 PM

Cardinal Keith O'Brien and Dr Alison Elliott, Moderator of the Church of Scotland's General Assembly, were today due to attend the opening of the Edinburgh Refugee Centre at the city's St George's West Church. Edinburgh is home to refugees from 25 different countries, including Somalia, Zimbabwe, Sudan and Pakistan. The centre will work with these communities to help build links, access support and improve their lives in Edinburgh.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.
posted at 11:28 PM

Jake Chadney is certain that God healed his right eye. In the distinctly non-religious surroundings of the Kog cafe on Parnie Street, Glasgow, Chadney, pastor of Vineyard Church, recounts the assorted miracles he's witnessed - $10 notes appearing from nowhere, his children being cured of miscellaneous ailments, being allowed on planes without tickets.
Suffice to say, he firmly believes in the power of prayer and healing, which is why he is working with the Rev Steven Anderson, a Baptist minister, to set up a chain of drop-in healing centres. Every Thursday afternoon, except in the summer, a group of Christians trained by Anderson from a network of 20 churches, are available in the rooms behind the Kog to pray for members of the public...
Source: The Herald.
posted at 11:20 PM

A major coalition of Anglican and Catholic bishops is calling on the government to introduce legislation to restrict the activities of illegal gangmasters. The deaths of 21 Chinese cocklepickers who drowned in Morecambe Bay earlier this year brought the problem to prominence. Bishop Bruce Cameron, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, and Cardinal Keith O'Brien, are among 71 church leaders to condemn gangmaster exploitation.
Source: Church of England Newspaper.
posted at 11:13 PM

Pastor Stephen James Heinzel-Nelson of Allentown Presbyterian Church, New Jersey, and Penicuik minister John Fraser will swap churches next month.
Source: Allentown Messenger Press.
posted at 11:06 PM

A "white witch" plans to hold an overnight seance on a boat in the middle of Loch Ness to raise the spirit of the loch's monster following a recent drop in the number of sightings. Drumnadrochit Church of Scotland minister Hugh Watt said Kevin Carlyon was free to believe what he chose. However if the public got involved in the seance they had to be careful. He said: "It does seem bizarre ... but the church does not express views on individuals like that."
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 10:54 PM

Church leaders have called on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority not to allow Newcastle University to carry out controversial cloning of human embryos. The Church of Scotland's Dr Donald Bruce said: "It is a concern to see claims of therapeutic cloning still being made when it seems unlikely to become a clinical reality." Peter Kearney, spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland, said: "We can already get stem cells from our bodies, from bone marrow for example - we don't need to clone. It is all about scientists playing God."
Source: Daily Record.
posted at 10:52 PM

The Methodist Church is to launch 'Presence', a new handbook outlining how an effective Christian presence can be sustained and promoted in rural areas. Its editor, Rev David Emison, said: "New patterns of worship will be encouraged. There is a growing demand for simple rituals to help people express the sorrows and joys of human experience. An effective Christian presence is not necessarily building-centred or Sunday focused. The church must learn how to respond to popular spirituality, though at the same retain its authentic Christian witness."
Source: Methodist Church news release.
posted at 10:45 PM

On the 3rd anniversary of the death of Cardinal Thomas Winning, Richard McCready, the national secretary of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Scotland, today praised the late Cardinal's contribution to the debate on asylum and immigration. Speaking at a meeting in Edinburgh organised by Helsinki Citizens Assembly, he said: "The Cardinal condemned not only the violence and intimidation faced by some asylum seekers but also what he described as 'institutionalised discrimination suffered by asylum seekers'."
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release.
posted at 10:22 PM

In the July issue of the Church of Scotland's magazine, Life & Work, Rabbi Nancy Morris, Scotland's first female rabbi, says she believes sectarianism may have led to a lack of anti-Jewish feeling in Scotland. Meanwhile, Lorna Hill hears how members of the Kirk are involved in combating human trafficking and speaks to Carolyn Boyd, who works for the Ecumenical Women's Solidarity Fund in Eastern Europe for women who have been trafficked. Also in this issue, the magazine investigates how the Church of Scotland has helped broker a partnership between doctors in Zambia and the Lothians to tackle AIDS.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.
posted at 5:54 PM

Caledonian MacBrayne has confirmed that its plans for a new winter Sunday ferry service between Uig and Lochmaddy will go ahead, starting in October. At a public meeting in Tarbert, on May 7, those present overwhelmingly rejected CalMac's proposal to sail from and to Harris on a Sunday.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 2:45 PM

Councillors on Harris have reacted angrily to Caledonian MacBrayne's announcement yesterday that it is set to sail a "ghost ferry" with no cars or passengers on Sundays between the west coast isle and North Uist this winter.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 2:37 PM

Orange lodges have warned government ministers planning to curb sectarian parades they risk provoking a backlash if marchers are not allowed to put their own house in order. The Orange Order of Scotland is already planning to cut the number of marches in the west of Scotland as a result of an internal audit which was launched several months ago. Ian Wilson, the Grand Master of the Order, asked ministers to "cut them some slack". He said: "If we find we are guilty of parading ourselves too much and making ourselves unwelcome we have got to take a long hard look at that because we have got to be realistic." The Orange Order admits there has been an increase in parades and say this is due to a marked increase in membership, the opening of several new lodges in Glasgow, and the celebration of the Queen's golden jubilee in 2002.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 2:30 PM

Interviews with two men - one Catholic, one Orange Protestant - about the controversy over Orange marches. Eddie Marley says: "Since about the age of 12 I've kept out of the road. I don't want to be anywhere near a march. Some of the people taking part let themselves down, shouting vicious words. But I don't think they mean it. They are only words." Clark Fulston says: "I don't come out to be contentious or to rub people's noses in it. It's just a day to celebrate and be with your friends, your family and your lodge members."
Source: The Herald.
posted at 2:27 PM

Mega feature about the four-and-a-half-hour epic play, 'The Life of Jesus Christ', being staged on the Dundas Castle Estate this week. "Once viewed as a medieval phenomenon, the passion play is coming back into fashion. Fifteen thousand attend a similar performance every year in Wintershall, Surrey, and passion plays and mystery plays are cropping up in Cornwall, Birmingham, South Wales, the Isle of Arran. Next year, plans are being laid for an Easter passion play in the centre of Edinburgh."
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 2:19 PM