Rev Dr William Phillip has been burgled just four weeks after moving from London to become minister at St George's Tron church in Glasgow. Thieves broke into his study at the kirk manse in Dumbreck and stole thousands of pounds worth of computer equipment - including a backup disk. Dr Philip said: "I had a lot of stuff on there - lots of teaching material, church information and manuscripts for books I've written. The machines can be replaced but the documents can't. I really have lost an awful lot of work that wouldn't be of much use to anyone else - I would be very grateful if it could be returned to me."
Source: Evening Times, Glasgow.
posted at 1:25 PM

The Church of Scotland's Committee on Education has moved to clarify its views on the role of sex and relationships education in Scotland's schools, in an effort to allay some of the fears that have arisen over the content of the Scottish Executive's Sexual Health Strategy consultation paper. "It is relationships education that enables children to interact with society as a whole," says a statement. "As such, it is important in its own right as well as being a necessary precursor to the teaching of sex education in later years."
Source: Church of Scotland news release.
posted at 11:32 AM

Self-styled archbishop Gilbert Deya yesterday held a press conference in Glasgow to launch his campaign against extradition to Kenya to face child trafficking charges. Deya is the head of an evangelical church based in London which is under investigation by the Charities Commission. Its assets have been frozen. Aamer Anwar, the Glasgow-based human rights solicitor who represents Deya, is understood to have advised him against holding a press conference. Before the proceedings began, the lawyer read out what appeared to be a disclaimer.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 10:28 AM

Obituary of Rev David Macleod, who followed a successful international business career by becoming ordained in the Church of Scotland, and served as minister in Cleish, Perthshire, for ten years until his recent death.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 10:16 AM

Campaigners against pornography are stepping up pressure on Bank of Scotland over its role in financing the purchase of pornographic magazines from Richard Desmond, the Daily Express owner. Scottish Women Against Pornography (Swap) is urging account holders with Bank of Scotland (BoS) and Halifax to close their accounts and change banks unless a £5m loan to Remnant Media, which bought 45 top-shelf titles from the publishing magnate earlier this year, is withdrawn.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 10:08 AM

This Friday (1 October) Liz Henderson, minister at Edinburgh's Richmond Craigmillar Church, will be speaking about the award-winning Richmond's Hope project, where a church which had 10 attendees in 1997 has grown to become a central part of the community in one of Edinburgh's least-well-off areas. It's an 'Off the Wall Café' event, organised by the Kirk's Church without Walls planning group to take the church and its positive message into the nation's communities.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.
posted at 10:59 AM

"The Roslin Institute's application today for a license to create cloned human embryos should be treated with caution," says Dr Donald Bruce, director of the Society Religion and Technology Project (SRTP) of the Church of Scotland. "It is unwise at this time to allow cloned embryo research until there is a United Nations ban on reproductive human cloning," says Dr Bruce.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.
posted at 1:38 PM

Four major Christian agencies have combined to produce a booklet for local churches encouraging Christians to listen and respond to the experience of people from the 'two-thirds world'. 'Voices from the South: Inspiration from developing countries for Christian group study' is a practical, 64-page booklet published by Action of Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS) and Churches Together in Britain and Ireland in association with Christian Aid and SCIAF, the Catholic development agency.
Source: Ekklesia.

posted at 1:35 PM

The Evangelical Alliance is concerned that children and those with gambling addictions are left vulnerable by the Draft Gambling Bill. It also fears the heart of many communities could be destroyed if 'mega-casinos' are allowed to open in town and city centres.
Source: Evangelical Alliance news release.
posted at 11:02 AM

Appreciation by Rev Maxwell Craig of the late John Coultas - "a faithful member of the Roman Catholic Church, which he served with distinction and commitment. Beyond that, he was an ecumenist of the first order."
Source: The Herald.
posted at 10:51 AM

The Methodist Church has signed Operation Noah's Climate Covenant, committing the Church to take action against global warming. It is currently assembling a nationwide network of 'Green Apostles' to tackle environmental issues.
Source: Methodist Church news release.
posted at 5:27 PM

Maintenance costs for the Scottish Parliament's temporary home at the Church of Scotland's Assembly Hall totalled nearly £2 million over five years, almost three times the rent for the building.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.
posted at 5:19 PM

A bitter row has broken out in Scotland's Jewish community after a pro-Israel group was accused of suggesting its opponents would not have been worthy of surviving the Holocaust. The Scottish Friends of Israel has clashed with an organisation called Peace Now, which was established in 1982 to promote dialogue and understanding between Israelis and Palestinians. Ruth Wishart analyses the story.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 8:45 AM

Thoughtful piece by Catholic columnist Katie Grant prompted by the latest twist in the shared school campuses controversy. "I think Catholic schools in Scotland should be preserved without any of the 'deterioration' which secularists hope shared campuses will effect. To this end, we need from the Catholic Church less political tub-thumping and more explanation as to why, although opposition to shared campuses may look peculiar and unhelpful, it is, in fact, both justifiable and necessary."
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 8:25 AM

Orkney's St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall is to be fitted with state-of-the-art toilets, costing £171,000. Visitors will no longer have to use toilets at the nearby town hall.
Source: Sunday Mail.
posted at 3:48 PM

Gilbert Deya, the evangelist facing baby-trafficking charges, has based himself in Scotland to fight extradition to Kenya.
Source: Sunday Herald.
posted at 3:36 PM

The Catholic Church in Scotland last night sparked a row with Labour by claiming the party faced an "inevitable electoral backlash" over its policy on shared school campuses. The Church suggested that support for Labour had already "died" among some voters over controversial plans to house Catholic and non-denominational schools at the same sites. A source close to First Minister Jack McConnell said it was not helpful of the Church's official spokesman, Peter Kearney, to "fan the flames".
Source: Scotland on Sunday.
posted at 3:30 PM

Gargunnock Parish Church was among the beneficiaries in the £2.2m will of Tim Brown, 90, former headteacher at the Hurst Grange private school for boys in Stirlingshire, who died in May.
Source: Daily Record.
posted at 12:38 PM

An archaeological excavation is revealing that Scotland's first Cistercian nunnery - St Leonard's, near Bondington on the outskirts of Berwick-on-Tweed - must have been one of the wealthiest religious establishments in the country.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 8:26 AM

Rev Yvonne Atkins has been inducted as the new minister of St Andrew's Church in Musselburgh.
Source: East Lothian Courier.
posted at 10:32 PM

Father Jeremy Bath of Ss. Mary and David's RC Church in Hawick has blasted couples who opt for weddings in old ruins and on foreign beaches rather than in church. "The husband-and-wife-to-be have turned their backs on the parishes, churches and congregations that have brought them up in the world," he said. "If they are not baptized or have rejected their Christian identity then it does not matter where they get married - but if one or the other or both profess to be baptized Christians then their own church or parish should be the place to exchange marriage vows."
Source: Southern Reporter.
posted at 10:29 PM

Rev Robert Kent, minister of St John's Church of Scotland in Hamilton, this week paid tribute to Mrs Elizabeth Brown, the mother of the Chancellor of Exchequer, Gordon Brown, who died on Sunday aged 86. Her late husband, Rev John Brown, was minister at St John's from 1967 until the end of 1980 when he was succeeded by Mr Kent. Mr Kent recalled Mrs Brown as "a traditional minister's wife, who was very active in the church." He added: "She was very down to earth, homely, and a great leader and hard worker. She also had a particular rapport with the ladies of the congregation. She was a good personal friend to me and was greatly loved by everyone at St. John's."
Source: icLanarkshire - Hamilton Advertiser.
posted at 10:23 PM

A historic Perth monastery's £1.6 million restoration appeal received a boost with the news that Historic Scotland has pledged up to £500,000 towards its fundraising target. The ecumenical St Mary's Centre of Spirituality, in the shadow of Kinnoull Hill, launched its appeal last year.
Source: icPerthshire - Perthshire Advertiser.
posted at 10:06 PM

Around 400 people witnessed the dedication of a memorial to the Covenanters in Dalry at the weekend. The five-metre-high sculpture of a burning bush - the symbol of the Church of Scotland - was erected on the edge of the village on Saturday.
Source: icDumfries - Galloway News.
posted at 10:02 PM

Holy Island's magnificent new Gospel Garden might well prove as popular an attraction as the historic manuscripts it is based upon. The garden lies just yards from where the 7th century Lindisfarne Gospels were originally penned by Northumbrian monks - and next door to the Holy Island Heritage Centre where today's visitors can see an interactive display of the manuscripts.
Source: Berwick Advertiser.
posted at 9:59 PM

The Archbishop of York dedicated a new chapel when he visited the unique hermitage at Shepherds Law, near Glanton in Northumbria, on Saturday. The Hermitage of St Mary's and St Cuthbert is treasured by the Franciscan Brothers of the Society of St Francis and was set up by Brother Harold some 33 years ago.
Source: Berwick Advertiser.
posted at 9:57 PM

Saint Andrew Press will next month publish a new book about the war experiences - both from the front-line and at home - of 19 working class men and women from Glasgow's Castlemilk. Compiled by John Miller, former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, 'Silent Heroes: Ordinary People in Times of War', gives a rare insight of the personal experiences of ordinary people who lived through these extraordinary times.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.
posted at 9:13 PM

The Anglican Peace and Justice Network has produced a list of steps which it believes will help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Members of the Network - including Rev Alison Simpson of the Scottish Episcopal Church's Isla Deveron Group - spent eight days earlier this month visiting the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem.
Source: Anglican Communion News Service.
posted at 9:09 PM

'Hope, Respect & Trust - Valuing These Three', a new book by Joel Edwards, general director of the Evangelical Alliance, will be published on 1 October 2004. It is the culmination of six years of work coming out of the Alliance's Values Campaign, which is promoting the biblical concepts of forgiveness, hope, trust and respect.
Source: Evangelical Alliance news release.
posted at 9:02 PM

The annual lecture at Craigmillar Park Church in Edinburgh is to be given by journalist Magnus Linklater. The former Scotsman editor will speak on the theme of 'Religion: the Media and the Message' on Tuesday, October 12 at 7.30pm.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.
posted at 8:59 PM

Cafod, the Catholic aid agency, has admitted that it ignores "oversimplistic" solutions such as the Vatican's prohibition on the use of condoms when advising those at risk of contracting HIV/Aids in the developing world. An article by Ann Smith, the charity's HIV corporate strategist, in today's issue of the Catholic magazine The Tablet, suggests that the church's insistence on abstinence as the only protection from infection is unrealistic.
Source: The Guardian.
posted at 8:52 PM

The medieval kirk of St Michael's in Covington, near Biggar in Lanarkshire, has been put up for sale on internet auction site eBay. The historic property was owned by the Church of Scotland until they sold it to an antiques dealer five years ago. The sale includes the church's graveyard. [The starting bid is £75,000 and bidding closes in six days time. See details here.]
Source: Daily Record.
posted at 8:41 AM

Almost half of all babies in Scotland are born to unmarried mothers, according to statistics released by the Registrar General yesterday. The percentage of children born out of wedlock has risen from 31.2% in 1994 to 45.9% during the second quarter of this year. A spokesman for the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland said: "These figures certainly give cause for concern. All the evidence suggests that children do better when born into the stability of a married relationship."
Source: The Herald.
posted at 8:20 AM

Profile of Sheila Maxey, incoming Moderator of the General Assembly of the United Reformed Church. She comes from a long line of Church of Scotland ministers - she is the 9th generation to enter the ministry and her daughter Ruth the 10th.
Source: United Reformed Church.
posted at 10:46 PM

The Scottish Catholic Church has called for an immediate review of all sex education in Scottish schools and branded much of the teaching material now in use as "pornographic". Mike Judge, who is a spokesman for the Christian Institute and who also studied the material, says: "These kind of teachings are completely inappropriate for primary school children."
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.
posted at 10:39 PM

St Andrew has an entry for the first time and John Knox is the subject of a new article in the latest edition of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 8:22 AM

The Church of Scotland has welcomed Government confirmation of limits on the placing of slot machines offering unlimited prize money, but said the government's moves still did not go far enough in protecting vulnerable gamblers.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 8:05 AM

The Salvation Army and The Methodist Church are concerned that the Government's latest gambling proposals still do not do enough to protect vulnerable people and children.
Source: Salvation Army news release.
posted at 7:57 PM

A digest minute of the Baptist Union of Scotland's council meeting of 7th September, 2004, is now online.
posted at 7:55 PM

Kenyan-born minister George Ayoma hopes to turn a former convalescent home in Nairn into a Baptist church centre.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 7:53 PM

Episcopalians in Edinburgh are to sign a partnership agreement with their opposite numbers in Northern Ireland.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.
posted at 7:50 PM

Muslim and Christian worshippers are set to join together for an inter-faith pilgrimage through Edinburgh. Members of the city's Jewish synagogue and Greek Orthodox Church will also participate in the event on Sunday. The pilgrimage has been organised by Edinburgh's Inter-Faith Association in a bid to promote understanding between communities in the capital.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.
posted at 7:49 PM

Former Queen of the South footballer Graeme Muir, who has spent the last three years as a parish development worker with the Church of Scotland at St George's Church in Dumfries, has been appointed community and education officer with Gretna FC.
Source: icDumfries - Dumfries & Galloway Standard.
posted at 7:41 PM

The future of two neighbouring churches in Aberdeen - St Andrew's Episcopal Cathedral and St Peter's Roman Catholic Church - looks secure after the announcement yesterday they will receive more than £80,000 from the National Lottery's Heritage Fund.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 10:12 AM

Far from being remembered as imperialist zealots, Scots missionaries are recalled with love by the descendants of those they helped. Preview of The Scottish Mission, a six-part series which begins on Sunday at 8.30am on BBC Radio Scotland. "Mary Slessor and David Livingstone would be saddened by the decline of religion in their native Scotland, but glad to see it thrive in their beloved Africa," writes Billy Kay. Among others discussed are Henry Brunton of the Edinburgh Missionary Society, one of the first Europeans to create a grammar of an African language, Susu; William Emslie, who used pioneering techniques of anaesthesia in Kashmir at a time when it was scarcely known in Europe; and Jane Haining, matron of the girls home at the Scottish Mission School in Budapest, who died in Auschwitz.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 9:53 AM

Sex abuse victims of a paedophile priest today said they would never have taken legal action for compensation if the Roman Catholic Church had apologised sooner. About 10 victims of Eric Taylor, a former priest who worked at the Father Hudson's Home in Coleshill, Warwickshire, recently settled claims for abuse they suffered there in the 1950s and 1960s. One of Taylor's victims, now 54 and living in Scotland, said the apology had given him "closure" and transformed his life. "They simply didn't listen to us. I'm not interested in a few quid. We wanted the institution to apologise," he said.
Source: The Scotsman/PA News.
posted at 9:41 AM

The French law banning the wearing of religious apparel or symbols - criticised from quarters as diverse as the Church of Scotland and the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief - raises the larger question of the meaning of secularism, says the Hindustan Times. The positive Indian concept of 'Sarva Dharma Sama Bhava' (let all religions flourish under a benevolent and non-discriminatory regime subject to eschewing State-sponsored religious activity) is replaced by a more antiseptic and negative view of secularism as practised in some western developed economies. The approach is almost anti-religious in the sense it equally limits manifestations of all religions under so-called secular law. In this sense, secularism itself becomes a State-sponsored religion.
Source: Hindustan Times.
posted at 10:21 PM

The first legal white witch wedding to take place in Scotland was held today in Edinburgh. The event has been hailed as the most important event to affect followers of the belief system of Wicca since the repeal of the Witchcraft Act in 1951. The Wiccan marriage was given the go-ahead by the General Register Office for Scotland after it was recognised that the group met the definition of a religious body as stated in the 1977 Marriage Act.
Source: The Scotsman/PA News.
posted at 10:15 PM

Dr David Palmer, former minister at Paisley Methodist Church, is to return with his wife Sue to Sri Lanka, where they were previously involved in missionary work. It follows the closure of Moredun House care home in Paisley, which the couple have run since 1994.
Source: icRenfrewshire - Paisley Daily Express.
posted at 3:57 PM

The Church of Scotland's Church and Nation Committee has requested a meeting with the Minister for Overseas Development to hear from him how the UK Government views events in the Sudan and what initiatives can be expected that might resolve the continuing crisis.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.
posted at 11:53 AM

The sounds of organs which filled 16th-century monasteries and cathedrals are to be recreated at Aberdeen University through a residency of the Early English Organ Project.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 10:57 AM

Church leaders have united in condemning the use of the Christian cross as the focal point for the refurbishment of a popular nightspot. Charlie's Nightclub, in Justice Mill Lane, Aberdeen, has reopened as the Cross and uses the crucifix as the central theme of its quasi-religious decor. Leading members of the Roman Catholic, Episcopalian and Protestant churches in the city issued a joint statement yesterday, branding the use of the cross by the club's owner, G1 Group of Glasgow, as offensive and tasteless. They said: "Christians are a minority in Scotland, but the cross is a powerful symbol of suffering and hope to literally billions of people across the globe. It is difficult to believe that G1 Group would show the same disrespect to the sacred symbols of Muslims or Jews, or that their doing so would be acceptable to Scottish people at large."
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 10:33 AM

The Diocese of Edinburgh (Scottish Episcopal Church) and the Diocese of Connor (Church of Ireland) are to sign a partnership agreement to link as companions within the Anglican Communion.
Source: Episcopalian Dioceses of Edinburgh and Glasgow & Galloway.
posted at 10:15 AM

Cardinal Keith O'Brien defended the provision of Catholic education in Scotland in a homily given at the national conference of Catholic Head Teachers (CHAPS) at the Hilton Dunblane Hydro on Friday 17 September.
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release.
posted at 8:34 PM

The Catholic church fears Catholic schools could be scrapped by the Scottish Executive. The claims come after the Scottish Executive backed plans by North Lanarkshire Council for a £150m shared campus project.
Source: Evening Times, Glasgow.
posted at 3:48 PM

The Picts, who have been depicted for centuries as archetypal barbarians, were actually a highly sophisticated people with an intimate knowledge of the Bible and Roman classical literature, according to new research by George Henderson, emeritus professor of medieval art at Cambridge University. "A look at their imagery show that they were extremely adept in handling Christian imagery," he said. "They were very sophisticated in outlook and made interesting comparisons between the Old and New Testaments in their work." Professor Henderson's findings are published in a new book, The Art of the Picts: Sculpture and Metalwork in Early Medieval Scotland, co-authored with his wife Isabel Henderson, one of the world's leading authorities on the Picts.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 12:21 PM

Mrs Jessie Elizabeth Brown, who was known as Bunty, has died at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary at the age of 86. Mrs Brown was the widow of Rev John Brown, who died in 1998, and mother of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 12:08 PM

Whopping feature on shared school campuses includes interviews with Father Dominic Quinn of St Kevin's RC Church in Bargeddie; Peter Kearney, official spokesman of the Catholic Church in Scotland; Harry Conroy, editor of the Catholic Observer; Donald MacKay, Midlothian Council's director of education.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 12:04 PM

The Catholic church has accused ministers of seeking to destroy denominational schools. The Scottish executive's backing for a £150m shared campus project in North Lanarkshire could lead to all 403 of Scotland's Catholic schools being scrapped, the church claims.
Source: Sunday Times.
posted at 3:16 PM

Scotland's most senior police officers are calling for local communities to be given the legal right to decide whether sectarian marches can pass through their areas. Chief constables want a change in the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 to compel councils to consult local residents, shopkeepers and other religious groups before approving marches.
Source: Sunday Times.
posted at 3:15 PM

Ornate frescoes hidden behind a wash of brown paint for more than 25 years have been uncovered during the restoration of one Glasgow's most important Catholic churches, St Aloysius'. A stunning mosaic of the Last Supper, towering 80ft over the altar, has been cleaned and new lighting installed to help bring the church back to life.
Source: Scotland on Sunday.
posted at 3:14 PM

Ornate frescoes hidden behind a wash of brown paint for more than 25 years have been uncovered during the restoration of one Glasgow's most important Catholic churches, St Aloysius'. A stunning mosaic of the Last Supper, towering 80ft over the altar, has been cleaned and new lighting installed to help bring the church back to life.
Source: Scotland on Sunday.
posted at 3:12 PM

A court hearing has been avoided in a divorce case in which sacked Free Presbyterian minister Dr Donald Boyd was named. Estranged couple Donald and Alison McLean have agreed terms of their divorce and decided not to contest each other's action through the courts.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 10:25 AM

Obituary of Rev William McKane, a prolific and world-class Old Testament scholar and distinguished academic, Emeritus Professor of Hebrew and Oriental Languages at St Andrews University and a former principal of its St Mary's College; born 21 February, 1921, in Dundee; died 4 September, 2004, in St Andrews.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 10:17 AM

Profile of Gilbert Deya, the millionaire African evangelist at the centre of child-trafficking allegations. Charged with stealing a baby from a maternity hospital in Kenya in February this year, Deya plans to set up a branch of his ministry in Scotland.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 10:01 AM

Plans are afoot to build a wooden chapel on the tiny Shetland island of Papa Stour because the existing 200 year old church, which belongs to the Church of Scotland, is unsafe. The three-strong Apostolic congregation led by pastor Adrian Glover currently meets in a private house.
Source: Shetland News.
posted at 12:59 AM

Talks between the Free Church and the Free Church Continuing have broken down ... and it looks as if the matter will go ahead in the Court of Session. The Free Church said it was 'with a sense of great sadness and disappointment' that the Free Church Continuing had rejected 'the agreement worked out between representatives of the two churches with the help of John Sturrock QC of Core Mediation'. The Free Church Continuing, in their statement, said: "After careful consideration, the Commission of Assembly with great reluctance unanimously decided that they were unable to accept the proposals before them as the proposals provided no meaningful basis for progress towards reconciliation and reunion on the basis of Scriptural principles."
Source: Stornoway Gazette.
posted at 12:52 AM

Celebrating the 100th anniversary of its dedication, St Andrew's Episcopal Church attracted friends and preachers from its past and present to Innerleithen last Sunday.
Source: Peeblesshire News.
posted at 12:42 AM

An exciting series of celebrations are being planned by churches in the Donside area. The Church of Scotland kirks in Blairdaff, Kemnay, Cluny, Monymusk, Echt, Midmar, Cushnie, Tough and Alford, along with Episcopal and Roman Catholic Churches in Kemnay and Alford, will be getting together for a series of Donside Churches' Celebrations. Four of these are planned for the next 12 months, with the first to take place later this month.
Source: Inverurie Herald.

posted at 12:40 AM

An elderly Inverness woman told this week how she was the victim of a despicable sneak theft - as she sat in silent contemplation in the town's Old High Church.
Source: Highland News.
posted at 12:19 AM

Christian aid agencies, charities, trade unions and other campaigning groups joined forces this week to launch an anti-poverty drive for 2005. The coalition, named Make Poverty History, is calling for sustained action throughout 2005 to fight world poverty. Next year the UK will hold the presidencies of both the G8 summit and the European Union. The coalition includes Christian Aid, World Vision, Tearfund, CAFOD, and the Church of Scotland.
Source: Church Times.
posted at 12:12 AM

A major four-day conference held by the Scottish Episcopal Church at Heriot Watt University from 2-5 September has been hailed a great success.
Source: Scottish Episcopal Church news release.
posted at 11:57 PM

Among the many families who lost loved ones in the school siege at Beslan in North Ossetia were those who belonged to the local Baptist church. Three of the pastor's five children were killed and one seriously injured. Four of his brother's children are still missing and only one is alive. Another family in the church have lost a child in the massacre. Bill Slack, General Director of the Baptist Union of Scotland, said: "Please continue to pray for the families of Pastor Sergei and Mrs Bela Totiev, Elder Taymuraz and Ria Totiev, Mr and Mrs Dzhioyev and all who have lost loved ones in this terrible atrocity."
Source: Baptist Union of Scotland news.
posted at 11:56 PM

The congregation of Carinish Parish Church on North Uist raised £120,000 locally over six years to build a new church hall at Clachan-na-luib, North Uist, as well as having doubled their general income from £23,000 a year to £46,000. The hall will be opened this weekend by the Moderator of the Kirk's General Assembly, Dr Alison Elliot.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.
posted at 11:50 PM

The Church of Scotland shares Cardinal O'Brien's passionate concern for the well-being of Scotland's children, and his determination to play a part in tackling the problems revealed in the report of the Working Group on Enhancing Sexual Wellbeing.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.
posted at 11:47 PM

The October issue of the Church of Scotland's Life & Work magazine include a feature on Tam Dalyell, the MP for Linlithgow and the Father of the House of Commons. In her regular monthly message to readers, the Moderator, Dr Alison Elliot, urges readers to put the controversy behind them over the costs and delays involved in the creation of the new Scottish Parliament building. Also in this issue, the first in a series of three articles offers a provocative look at contemporary Christianity. Scottish theologian Elizabeth Templeton and Dr Francis Macnab, a minister of the Uniting Church of Australia, offer their contributions to the debate in the first in a series of lively essays which look at Christianity today.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.
posted at 11:45 PM

St Columba Church of Scotland in Glasgow, although established in 1770, this weekend celebrates 'One Hundred Years of Witness' in the splendid St Vincent Street Sanctuary well-known as The Highland Cathedral.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.
posted at 11:41 PM

Moves by the Catholic Church to block shared-campus schools in Scotland were dealt another blow today when staff and parents at Our Lady & St Joseph's and St Ignatius primaries in North Lanarkshire declared their support for joint campuses and dismissed claims they would threaten Catholic education.
Source: Evening Times, Glasgow.
posted at 11:38 PM

Feature on Wicca, the coven-based branch of witchcraft, and its growing popularity in Scotland. Professor David Jasper, a senior divinity lecturer at the University of Glasgow and an Episcopalian priest, says: "Witchcraft has been much misunderstood and has certain connotations attached to it that are unjustified, but it seems to have become more popular in recent times. It's not exactly a 'religion' as such, but rather is a sense of spirituality that is linked with ecological questions and attitudes to nature." Bill Wallace, a former convener of the Church of Scotland's board of social responsibility and a minister in Wick, said of an impending white witch wedding, he said: "This illustrates people's desperate need for some spiritual dimension in their lives and their willingness to go to any wild extreme. It emphasises all the more need for Christian affirmations."
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.
posted at 11:35 PM

A sacked Free Presbyterian minister, Dr Donald Boyd, has been accused of having an affair with Mrs Alison MacLean, the wife of his deacon, in a divorce action at Dingwall Sheriff Court. Dr Boyd, who now practices as a GP and lives on the outskirts of Inverness, Dr Boyd was formerly the clerk to the Free Presbyterian Church's northern presbytery. He was one of those who took a hard line during the incident in 1989 when Lord Mackay, the then Lord Chancellor, was suspended from the Church for attending a funeral mass for a Catholic colleague.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 11:31 PM

Hilda Russell, 54, and Mick Buckton, 60, scaled Ben Vorlich, near Lochearnhead in Perthshire, to be married on the 3,232ft summit by Ms Russell's brother, the Rev Alex Douglas, a Church of Scotland minister.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 11:26 PM

Obituary of Professor William McKane, one of the most distinguished and respected Old Testament scholars Scotland has produced; born February 18, 1921, died September 4, 2004.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 11:21 PM

Profile of John Maitland Moir, who had been an Episcopalian priest for much of his adult life before converting to the Orthodox Church and joining its priesthood 23 years ago, at the age of 57. Today his home is linked to the church at Meadow Lane where, on Sundays from 9am, Edinburgh's 70-strong Orthodox community gathers to worship. Although in his 80th year, he travels the length and breadth of Scotland, taking Orthodox services as far afield as Aberdeen, Perth, Dundee and Inverness.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.
posted at 11:18 PM

The Catholic Church has threatened to go to court after ministers rejected an attempt to block controversial proposals for shared campus primary schools. The Scottish Executive said it found no legal justification for the church's claim that the proposals for seven shared campus primaries in North Lanarkshire could lead to "a significant deterioration" in the educational provision of the Catholic schools as compared with other state schools.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 11:13 PM

A property feud between rival factions of a church is to go to court after a mediation attempt chaired by a QC failed. The Free Church of Scotland and the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) are to clash in the Court of Session over property both claim to own.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 11:11 PM

Representatives of 17 different religious faiths feature in portraits by photographer Luke Watson which form part of the exhibition 'Keeping Faith', showing at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh from 17 September 2004 to 6 February 2005. Subjects include Bishop Brian Smith of the Scottish Episcopal Church and Major Robert MacIntyre of the Salvation Army.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 11:03 PM

Worshippers in Plean and Cowie are being asked to rally behind a new plan to save their closure threatened parish churches. For five years, both churches, which are categorised as a joint charge, have been without full-time leadership and congregation numbers have dramatically declined as a result. Despite the best efforts of current locum, the Rev Bill Izett, in recent months the Sunday services have attracted as few as 40 members combined, despite an overall membership of 400.
Source: icStirling - Stirling Observer.
posted at 10:57 PM