The Rev Andrew Fraser, who has served the joint Free Church of Scotland congregations of Skerray, Farr, Strathy and Halladale for the last 20 years, has received a call to the Parish of Assynt and will be inducted to his new charge on 13th November at Lochinver. This will leave North Sutherland without a Free Church minister for the first time since the Disruption.
Source: Northern Times.
posted at 7:40 PM

A group from Lewis who sang a Gaelic psalm at the official opening of the new Scottish Parliament building used the Royal National Mod in Perth as the launchpad for a CD of their second volume of Salm - 14 Gaelic psalms in the traditional style.
Source: icPerthshire - Perthshire Advertiser.
posted at 7:31 PM

Tweedbank Community Church celebrated its 10th anniversary with a special service and a Songs of Praise with people from across the Borders and beyond taking part. The minister, Rev Mary Taylor, was joined for the service by the Rev John Arthur, Moderator of the Scottish Synod, United Reform Church.
Source: Border Telegraph.
posted at 7:28 PM

A church is to close after the congregation heard the repair bill would be too high. Camelon Parish Church will be entirely based in the Dorrator Road building, formerly the Irving Church, following the planned closure at the end of the year of the Glasgow Road building, previously St John's Church. The two congregations united at the end of 2003 and are holding Sunday services in the churches on alternative months.
Source: Falkirk Today - Falkirk Herald.
posted at 7:15 PM

A church is to close after the congregation heard the repair bill would be too high. Camelon Parish Church will be entirely based in the Dorrator Road building, formerly the Irving Church, following the planned closure at the end of the year of the Glasgow Road building, previously St John's Church. The two congregations united at the end of 2003 and are holding Sunday services in the churches on alternative months.
Source: Falkirk Today - Falkirk Herald.
posted at 7:15 PM

A new minister is to step into the pulpit at Aberdour, ending a year-and-a-half search to fill the vacancy. The Rev Peter Gerbrandy-Baird is to be inducted at the village's St Fillan's Parish Church later this month. The 400-strong congregation has been without a permanent leader since its last minister, the Rev Peter Park, left to go to Castlehill, in Ayrshire, 18 months ago.
Source: Fife Free Press.
posted at 7:11 PM

Radical plans to transform the face of the Church of Scotland in Greenock are under way in a bid to address the falling number of people attending Sunday services. Two churches, St George's North and Ardgowan, would close under the proposals which would unite the members of five existing churches into one 2,500-strong congregation. Ardgowan Parish Church, in Union Street, was recently refurbished at a cost of more than £100,000. Members of the new 'super church' would worship mostly at St Luke's in Nelson Street, while the Old West Kirk and Finnart St Paul's would also be used from time to time.
Source: Greenock Telegraph.
posted at 7:08 PM

Five stained glass windows at Southdean Kirk, near Bonchester Bridge, have been smashed by vandals. Stone gargoyles at the front of the Kirk were also broken. Session clerk David McFayden said: "This was a thoroughly wicked act which has cast a dark cloud over our small, friendly and close knit community."Source: Hawick Today - Hawick News.
posted at 7:03 PM

Two Dumfries schools have been selected for anti-bigotry lessons. Kids as young as five at St Michael's Primary and older children at St Joseph's College will be taught about the harmful effect of religious intolerance.
Source: icDumfries - Dumfries & Galloway Standard.
posted at 6:59 PM

When a minister leaves a parish these days, there usually follows months of uncertainty until a new appointment is made. But when Rev Jim Cutler left Coldstream Parish Church linked with Eccles earlier this year, former minister Jim Watson was already living in Coldstream and had applied to rejoin the ministry for a third time. Last week he took over officially.
Source: Berwickshire News.
posted at 6:56 PM

Tony Blair has reaffirmed the role that church schools have to play in his vision for the future of education in Britain. Setting out his core principles for a third term in government, the Prime Minister said: "In education, specialist schools will become near universal, and there will be 200 entirely new academies - free to parents, with no selection by ability - run by independent sponsors in areas where schools have been weak or failing in the past," he said. "I will be happy to see these sponsored not just by individual entrepreneurs but also by companies, by churches and other faiths, and by the independent schools sector."
Source: Church Times.
posted at 6:50 PM

Prominent Baptist minister Steve Chalke has criticised fellow Evangelicals for being too willing to punish sinners. The broadcaster and founder of the Oasis Trust and of Faithworks said that some Christians behaved "negatively" because "We believe that God is an angry and a vengeful God who wants to punish sinners, and so we think that we'd better do a bit ourselves, too." Mr Chalke was called to face hostile questioning by a meeting organised in Westminster by the Evangelical Alliance (EA) last week, after writing a book, The Lost Message of Jesus, which rejected the theology of penal substitution. The Alliance's director, Revd Joel Edwards, told the hundreds of people present that it was not a heresy trial.
Source: Church Times.
posted at 6:46 PM

The Christian Medical Fellowship is holding a conference on 'Care of the Soul? - a Christian approach to psychiatric treatments' in London on November 5. Tom Brown, consultant liaison psychiatrist with West Lothian Healthcare NHS Trust will be among those leading sessions exploring models that attempt to integrate psychological treatment with spiritual care.
Source: Evangelical Alliance Media Consultancy.
posted at 6:33 PM

The Scottish Episcopal Church is among the beneficiaries of the will of a retired librarian who left more than £2m to her friends and charities. Patricia Mugliston left property in St Andrews for use by a retired priest, a priest's widow or their unmarried sister. She also left £2000 each to three churches.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 6:20 PM

The terms of a public opinion poll on sex education commissioned by the Catholic Church in Scotland have been criticised. Patrick Harvie, the Green MSP who has campaigned on sexual health issues, said: "There is no proposal for graphic imagery or sexually explicit instruction to pre-school children. (The poll) bears no relation to anything that has been proposed."
Source: The Herald.
posted at 6:05 PM

A move is under way to set up a permanent memorial to the only known Scottish victim of the Nazi death camps. Dunscore community council is seeking Royal British Legion approval for missionary Jane Haining's name to be added to the village war memorial.
Source: icDumfries - Dumfries & Galloway Standard.
posted at 6:30 PM

North Lanarkshire Council claims that a letter about shared school campuses sent to parishes by the Right Rev Joseph Devine, Bishop of Motherwell, was "misleading". It suggests that builders Balfour Beattie will benefit from the letting of new schools' halls to community groups. However, Council Leader Jim McCabe was keen to stress that the income generated from community-lets would go to the council. A spokesperson for the Catholic Church claimed: "The diocese have always been told that it is the contractor who controls the schools and it is because of this the simple error has been made."
Source: icLanarkshire - Hamilton Advertiser.
posted at 6:27 PM

More than 500 people packed into Rhu Church near the Faslane naval base to say farewell to Lieutenant Chris Saunders, the 32-year-old Canadian sailor who died after two fires on HMCS Chicoutimi in the North Atlantic last week.
Source: Evening Times, Glasgow.
posted at 6:23 PM

The Rev Duk Kyu Kwon has been appointed pastor of North Shore United Methodist Church in Glencoe, Illinois. His younger daughter, Rachel, a junior at Emory University in Atlanta, is studying at St Andrew's University in Scotland this year.
Source: Glencoe News, Glenview, Illinois.
posted at 6:21 PM

Scottish painter John Bellany has become reconciled to religion in the hilltop village of Barga in Tuscany, where he now lives. When he was a young boy living in Port Seton, he was overwhelmed by the overriding presence of the church. "It was heavy stuff, not just sing the next hymn and go home," he recalls. "The minister was like a reincarnation of John Knox. This guy was giving his heart and soul. It's not something you just shake off." When he grew up, Bellany says he became pessimistic and slightly bitter about the church. But his experiences with religion in Barga have changed his views. "Religion is not just something that is kept in the church, it's ingrained in the whole fabric of society. It's part of the family out in Barga. There I can feel my cynicism lift and I can see religion as a feasible entity."
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.
posted at 6:17 PM

Reformed drug addict Jay Fallon, who spent his early life in one of Glasgow's most difficult housing schemes, Drumchapel, will explain his conversion to Christianity as guest speaker at the Tent Mission in Blairgowrie each evening for the rest of this week.
Source: icPerthshire - Blairgowrie Advertiser.
posted at 6:12 PM

An opinion poll of a representative sample of 997 adults commissioned by the Catholic Church in Scotland and carried out by the Opinion Research Business has shown that most Scots agree with concerns raised by Cardinal Keith O'Brien that
. graphic sex education should not be given to pre-school or primary school children,
. the morning after pill shouldn't be given in confidence to girls under 16 without parental consent, and
. abstinence-based approaches to sex education should be piloted in Scottish schools.
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release.
posted at 10:50 AM

The privately-run Living Waters Christian school in Bellshill is the subject of a critical report. HM Inspectorate of Education in Scotland said the staff were "caring and committed". But their report also said: "The overall curriculum and the quality of learning and teaching needed to be improved. The school was shaping the character of each child but it was not enabling pupils to achieve their full academic potential." The head teacher, Rosemarie Cochran, responded: "It's an individual programme and the children work at their own pace so if they are capable of doing more work faster then they have the scope to do that." The school uses the Accelerated Christian Education curriculum.
Source: BBC Scotland News.
posted at 10:40 AM

Appreciation of Rev Joseph Blair Gillon, former secretary of the Scottish Reformation Society and minister in Montrose, Dundee, at Lauriston in Edinburgh, and at Borthwick and Heriot churches in Midlothian; passed away, aged 98, in Edinburgh on 24 September, 2004.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 10:24 AM

The Catholic Church began legal action against the Scottish Executive yesterday in a bid to halt plans for seven shared-campus, mixed-faith schools. Pending the final ruling by the court on the petition, the Church could seek an interim interdict against North Lanarkshire Council to prevent it from implementing the plans.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 10:20 AM

Affectionate portrait by Ron Ferguson of "my limping pal" Rev Eric Cramb, the "long-shot outsider" in the race to be next year's Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. "This able working-class boy's passion is to translate the gospel of Christ from bewildering churchspeak into the vernacular and to speak eloquently for the underprivileged. He is a serious theologian who doesn't take himself seriously. Though he would make a great Moderator, my head tells me that the Kirk isn't ready to elect Erik Cramb."
Source: The Herald.
posted at 10:16 AM

The Free Church of Scotland has chosen the Rev Alex MacDonald as the moderator-designate of the 2005 general assembly. Mr MacDonald, 55, is minister of Buccleuch and Greyfriars Church in Edinburgh and is also the church's media officer and editor of The Monthly Record, the Free Church's magazine.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 9:54 AM

Churches, MSPs, and chambers of commerce across the country will today receive letters from Glasgow City Council seeking their support for a new move to amend Scottish legislation so that lap-dancing clubs will be subject to the same controls as sex shops.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 9:52 AM

Obituary of Rev Professor Ernest Best, known to friends and students alike as Paddy, the New Testament scholar who succeeded William Barclay as Professor of Divinity and Biblical Criticism in the University of Glasgow; born May 23, 1917, died October 1, 2004.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 9:27 PM

Michael McGrath, director of the Scottish Catholic Education Service, today acknowledged that the action of seeking a Judicial Review of Scottish Ministers' decision on shared school campuses in North Lanarkshire was "a very grave step".
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release.
posted at 9:14 PM

The Catholic Church in Scotland has gone to court to seek a judicial review of plans for shared school campuses in North Lanarkshire. The church has been opposing plans to build a shared campus in Chapelhall.
Source: BBC Scotland News.
posted at 9:09 PM

The teaching of reading and writing at the Living Waters private fee-paying Christian school in Belshill, Lanarkshire, has been criticised by school inspectors. But their report also said parents were "very satisfied" with the work of the school, youngsters enjoyed being there, and felt safe and confident. Inspectors also found the eight-pupil school pleasant and welcoming and staff caring and committed.
Source: Evening Times, Glasgow.
posted at 9:07 PM

According to the 2001 census Britain has 41 million Christians (71.8% of the population), 1.6 million Muslims (2.8%), 558,000 Hindus (1%), 336,00 Sikhs (0.6%), 267,000 Jews (0.5%) and 149,000 Buddhists (0.3%). There were 8.6 million people who said they had no religion.
Source: The Guardian.
posted at 9:02 PM

Plans to build seven shared campus schools in North Lanarkshire were plunged into fresh chaos last night after council officials rejected demands from Catholic Church leaders that they ditch one part of the project altogether.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 8:59 PM

The Free Church of Scotland is contesting an action raised at the Court of Session by the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) over cash, investments and property. The two factions split in 2000. The centrally-held assets of the church, including the church college on the Mound in Edinburgh and pension liabilities, are believed to total around £10m.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 8:55 PM

A memorial service for Lieutenant Chris Saunders, who died after the fire on the Canadian submarine Chicoutimi, is to be held tomorrow at Rhu church, near HM Naval Base Clyde at Faslane, where the sub is berthed. The service will take place around the same time as a funeral ceremony near Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Source: Daily Telegraph.
posted at 5:22 PM

Profile of the Rev Erik Cramb, Dundee's Industrial Mission chaplain, named today as a nominee for Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
Source: Dundee Evening Telegraph.
posted at 5:12 PM

Church leaders defended Scotland's level of faith yesterday after new census data appeared to show that large areas of England were in the highest band for the level of Christianity, while most of Scotland was in the second band.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 1:40 PM

The Salvation Army has honoured the leader of its emergency services team in Iraq by admitting him to the its Order of Distinguished Auxiliary Service. Mr Muntajab Ibraheem Mohammed, the first Muslim to receive the Order's certificate and medal, has led the Army in the construction of more than 400 homes as well as 30 schools, 20 vocational training centres and five clinics in Al Amarah, southern Iraq.
Source: Salvation Army news release.
posted at 1:37 PM

Nominees for the office of Moderator of the 2005 General Assembly of the Church of Scotland are Rev T. J. Loudon Blair, minister of Galston Parish Church, Ayrshire; Rev Erik Cramb, industrial mission organiser based in Dundee; Rev James Gibson, minister of Bothwell Parish Church, Lanarkshire; Rev David Lacy, minister of Kilmarnock - Henderson Parish Church, Ayrshire; Rev Peter Neilson, mission developments facilitator, based in Edinburgh.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.
posted at 1:32 PM

The Scottish Executive is piloting an anti-sectarian website. It will give teachers and youth workers information, interactive resources and guidance for discussing sectarianism with young people.
Source: Scottish Executive news release.
posted at 5:17 PM

Participants prayed for the Churches to 'get their teeth into the politics of peace' at a conference convened by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland to mark the Decade to Overcome Violence. Rev Kathy Galloway, leader of the Iona Community, asked: "Why has the Christian Church so often ignored the teachings, life and example of Jesus on non-violence? Christians have been remarkably willing to embrace war and engage in conflict. They have been, and are, found on both sides of every conflict, and have often been prepared to kill, not only to defend their own side but to aggressively obliterate the other side."
Source: Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.
posted at 12:04 PM

A leading British Christian working for peace with justice in Israel-Palestine has criticised US evangelist Pat Robertson for fanning the flames of hatred in the region, following a recent rally sponsored by the pro-Zionist 'International Christian Embassy'. The Rev Dr Colin Morton, a Church of Scotland minister who coordinates the Middle East Forum of the ecumenical Churches' Commission on Mission, denounced the theology of the US religious right as 'a misinterpretation of the Bible'.
Source: Ekklesia.
posted at 11:28 AM

Historic artefacts dating back 3,500 years have been unearthed near Loch Lomond. The team of 15 archaeologists excavating the 300-acre site at Midross believe they have uncovered settlements which include 7th century Christian cemeteries.
Source: BBC Scotland News.
posted at 7:46 AM

A bitter feud is set to re-ignite the fierce row over one of Scotland's most contentious subjects: sectarianism. Two of Aberdeen University's most eminent academics have clashed over the subject, following highly controversial claims by one of them that far from sectarianism being the Scottish disease, it no longer exists. Professor Steve Bruce declared in his most recent book that claims of a major conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Scotland were "scaremongering". But Professor Tom Devine, Professor of Irish and Scottish Studies at the University, insists: "It is the case that structural discrimination has gone, but what remains is attitudinal. The spirit of prejudice is still ongoing." The pair plan to set out their competing theses at a head-to-head debate to be called 'Myth and Reality', which will be staged with deliberate irony on St Valentine's Day next year.
Source: Scotland on Sunday.
posted at 4:33 PM

A Catholic bishop last night called for cash help from the Scottish Executive in implementing new child safety guidelines in the Church. After accusations of serious shortcomings in the way they handled child sex allegations, the Catholic Church in Scotland now designate child protection officers in each diocese. Bishop of Motherwell Joseph Devine said hundreds of volunteers in his diocese alone are being checked but the cost is stopping them taking on new helpers.
Source: Daily Record.
posted at 6:15 PM

A collection of more than 100 crosses and crucifixes assembled by Rev Tom Macintyre is to go on display at Paisley Museum.
Source: icRenfrewshire - Paisley Daily Express.
posted at 10:17 PM

A Perth teenager who broke into several city churches, stole cash and caused damage amounting to more than £2000, was put on probation for 18 months and ordered to carry out 200 hours of community work. The youth broke into Trinity Church of the Nazarene, St Matthew's Church and Kinnoull Parish Church. A plea of not guilty to breaking into a Methodist church was accepted. His solicitor said that the accused had had a difficulty with drug misuse at the time of the offences and urged that his client be given some form of support.
Source: icPerthshire - Perthshire Advertiser.
posted at 10:12 PM

A service for the laying-up of a Squadron Standard of the Blues & Royals Regiment will be held at Minto Church on Sunday. The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons) distinguished themselves during operations in the Falkland Isles in 1982, the Gulf in 1990, Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq where there are two squadrons currently. It is the first such standard to be laid-up within a Church of Scotland parish for some years.
Source: Hawick Today.
posted at 10:08 PM

Jack Glass, the militant preacher who died in February after a year-long battle with cancer, has left his entire estate to his widow. The founder of Zion Sovereign Grace Baptist Church had a personal wealth of £52,000 when he died, aged 67.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 9:52 PM

Mary Carroll MBE, former chairperson and a founder member of Churches Action for The Homeless, has been invited to tomorrow's official opening of the Scottish Parliament by Perth MSP Roseanna Cunningham.
Source: icPerthshire - Perthshire Advertiser.
posted at 2:48 PM

David Murray, chairman of Rangers FC, discusses the club's future. "Rangers are the most important institution in Scotland after the church," he says.
Source: Daily Record.
posted at 2:35 PM

The refurbishment of the North Church in Penicuik has won an inaugural Midlothian Award for Good Design.
Source: Peeblesshire News.
posted at 2:32 PM

Pressure is mounting on Executive ministers to meet a pledge that no homeless children should spend this Christmas in bed and breakfast accommodation. The charity Shelter and the Church of Scotland have called on new Communities Minister Malcolm Chisholm to make the target his highest priority.
Source: BBC Scotland News.
posted at 2:31 PM

Profile of Rev Fred Hibbert, minister of St. Andrew's Scottish Church in Tiberias. With his wife Diana he ran the Scottish Hostel in the city and since October 2000 has been in charge of the establishment of the Scottish Hotel, whose construction has just been completed.
Source: Haaretz, Tel Aviv.
posted at 2:25 PM

Allegations of serious shortcomings in the way the Catholic church in Scotland handles accusations of child abuse by its priests have been reported by the Catholic magazine the Tablet. The allegations are apparently contained in a confidential 28-page report sent to the eight Scottish bishops this year by a non-Catholic lawyer who was briefly the director of the church's new child protection directorate. The magazine quoted May Dunsmuir as saying: "Unacceptable levels of risk to children may have been and could remain present."
Source: The Guardian.
posted at 2:21 PM

Three Victorian time capsules holding secrets about John Knox's House in Edinburgh have been discovered in foundations of a neighbouring church. The bottles, which have been sealed since the 1850s and hold dozens of scrolls, were uncovered in a stone chamber by workmen building in the foundations of Murray Knox Church at the site of the former Netherbow Centre in the Royal Mile.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 2:18 PM

Obituary of Rev Angus David MacLeod, who left a very successful career in industry and international banking in 1989 to study for the ministry of the Church of Scotland, and served two years as an assistant at St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh before becoming minister at Cleish, linked with Fossoway St Serf's and Devonside; born July 20, 1946, died September 19, 2004.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 5:27 PM

The Mothers' Union has launched 'Relationships Matter', an eight-stage programme of tools and resources that will address issues such as marriage, community involvement, key communication skills and conflict.
Source: Evangelical Alliance Media Consultancy.
posted at 5:17 PM

Pope John Paul II has accepted the resignation of Bishop John Mone, Bishop of Paisley, in accordance with Canon 401.1 of the Code of Canon Law, which requires that a Bishop submit his resignation when he reaches the age of 75. The Pope has appointed Archbishop Mario Conti, Archbishop of Glasgow as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese, until a new Bishop is appointed.
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release.
posted at 5:13 PM

The Inverness, Lochaber and Ross presbytery of the Free Church has called on its Church of Scotland counterpart to "take appropriate action" against an unidentified Kirk minister who allegedly blessed a lesbian relationship between two women in Inverness in June. "Sexual relationships between persons of the same sex are clearly and plainly forbidden by scripture", said the Rev Angus MacRae, presbytery clerk and minister of Dingwall Free Church. "We are also concerned that the minister responsible for the service of blessing does not wish to be identified. It is significant that the two women concerned sought maximum publicity and took the opportunity to ridicule the biblical position." The Kirk's presbytery clerk, Rev Alistair Younger said: "We have not identified the minister concerned, nor have we assiduously searched to find out." He said the Kirk's position was laid out in guidelines which acknowledge matters of human sexuality "are not easy issues for the church". He added: "If the General Assembly comes out with a document, the presbytery has to abide by it."
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.
posted at 9:14 AM

First Baptist Church of Southern Pines, North Carolina, will commemorate its 125th anniversary on Sunday October 10. Among those taking part in the service will be the Rev Ian Macinnes, pastor of First Baptist's sister church in Scotland, Alness Baptist Church.
Source: The Pilot.
posted at 2:27 PM

Four Glasgow pubs near Rangers' Ibrox Stadium raided by police in a major crackdown on sectarianism have been named as the Clachan, Grapes, the District and the Angel.
Source: Evening Times, Glasgow.
posted at 1:51 PM

At least four pubs near Ibrox Park in Glasgow which are the haunt of Rangers supporters have been raided by police in a new clampdown on bigotry. Pictures and posters considered to be sectarian or offensive were seized and could lead to the pubs being closed or having their hours restricted.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 10:03 AM

Fundraisers from across Scotland who helped the Great Scottish Walk break the £1 million barrier have been recognised at a special awards ceremony. The junior trophy was presented to the Sunday School bible class team from St Columba's Church in Stirling, who between them raised £1300 for the Scotland Charitable Housing Association.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.
posted at 9:42 PM

An American law firm today claimed it had a "strong case" against an oil giant which it is suing over alleged genocide in Sudan. Human rights attorneys at Philadelphia's Berger & Montague have filed a complaint on behalf of the Presbyterian Church of Sudan against Talisman Energy Inc and the Islamic Government of Sudan, which alleges they conducted a "deliberate campaign of ethnic cleansing" to clear land in southern Sudan for oil exploitation. In a joint venture with Scottish and Southern Energy, Talisman's Aberdeen-based British subsidiary has recently received millions of pounds worth of funding from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Scottish Executive.
Source: The Scotsman/PA News.
posted at 9:39 PM

A dinner lady has quit serving school meals after 17 years to pursue a career as a minister. Catherine Beattie from Newton Mearns, a member of Maxwell Mearns Castle Parish Church, last week she left her job as catering manager at St Luke's High School, Barrhead, to study for a Bachelor of Divinity degree at the University of Glasgow. It will enable the mum-of-two to become a minister with the Church of Scotland.
Source: Evening Times, Glasgow.
posted at 7:42 PM

The new Scottish Hotel in Tiberias, owned by the Church of Scotland, registered a high occupancy last week as Israelis enjoyed the Sukkot holiday.
Source: Haaretz.
posted at 12:06 PM

Children as young as three will be taught the dangers of sectarianism in anti-bigotry lessons to be introduced at schools and nurseries across Scotland. The measures received a cautious welcome yesterday as well as re-awakening the debate about separate faith education in schools. The Orange Order said that continued separate schooling flew in the face of attempts to end sectarianism, while the Catholic Church argued that separate faith-based education should be extended to other faiths which wanted it, like Muslims, Sikhs and Jews.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 11:51 AM

Sectarian hatred in Scotland is to be tackled head-on in schools and nurseries with children as young as three receiving lessons on religious intolerance. Ministers have ordered the radical move in a long-term bid to "eradicate the scourge of Scottish society" by challenging sectarianism during children's formative years.
Source: Scotland on Sunday.
posted at 5:49 PM

The leader of Scotland's largest Catholic community will today launch a blistering condemnation of the "raw sewage of anti-social behaviour" which is blighting the country. Mario Conti, the Archbishop of Glasgow, will express his horror at the "deadening grip" of low-level crime on Scottish towns and cities and the profound effect it has on law-abiding citizens. Conti, speaking at a Mass in Edinburgh, is expected to say that priests under his care now regularly complain they cannot persuade parishioners to attend events and services in the evening because many are too afraid to venture outside.
Source: Scotland on Sunday.
posted at 5:47 PM

Profile of Dr Alison Elliot, Moderator of the Kirk's General Assembly. She said: "This is a Christian country. I don't mean by that that everyone is a Christian or has to be in order to be Scottish. But the heart of its institutions and the heart of its traditions are still Christian. And I think that people from other faiths think that we do ourselves as well as them a very great disservice by trying to deny that."
Source: Scotland on Sunday.
posted at 5:44 PM

"It is good to hear the Kirk getting involved" in public debate on current issues, writes Ruaridh Nicoll. "The discussions over the shared campuses, Section 28, sex education and 'quickie' divorces have been dominated by the willingness of the Catholic church to come forward and offer its moral position. Until now, the Kirk has been less stentorian, projecting a voice that may well be calm, thoughtful and rational, but only because it is so peaceful as to be inaudible."
Source: The Observer.
posted at 5:35 PM

Youth For Christ in Scotland today opened its first new local centre for 15 years with the establishment of Shetland Youth for Christ.
Source: Evangelical Alliance Media Consultancy.
posted at 12:51 PM

Youth For Christ have appointed two new national evangelists, Naomi Hill and Paul Flavel. Naomi will be based in Greenwich and Paul in central Birmingham, but both will work nationally.
Source: Evangelical Alliance Media Consultancy.
posted at 12:16 PM

October engagements for Dr Alison Elliot, Moderator of the Kirk's General Assembly, include a two-week visit to South Africa.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.
posted at 12:11 PM

Reverend Max Paterson has appealed for help after precious vestments, two prayer books and a bible went missing from the porch of Banchory St Ternan Episcopal Church. Fr Paterson is convinced none of the items has much meaning to anyone but him, but they represent parts of his life story and his Christian commitment, and have personal value beyond money.
Source: Donside Piper.
posted at 10:46 PM

A former Peterhead pub has been transformed into a fantastic new church. The former WC Fields premises at Pusey Place were bought over by the Church of Christ earlier this year and has since been converted into a church by members of the congregation.
Source: Buchan Observer.
posted at 10:43 PM

New Salvation Army Officers Martin and Leanne Cordner say they already feel at home in the Blue Toon. The couple moved up to Peterhead from Stockport in June to take over from David and Jane Aulton who were appointed to work in Aberdeen.
Source: Buchan Observer.
posted at 10:40 PM

The Scottish Executive should hold an immediate inquiry into why NHS Highland is considering downgrading maternity services in Caithness when its budget has increased by 44 per cent in the past three years. That is the plea made last night by Wick minister the Rev Bill Wallace at a meeting in Thurso of Caithness Church of Scotland Presbytery.
Source: Caithness Courier.
posted at 10:37 PM

The day she was announced as the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Dr Alison Elliot proudly wore a piece of jewellery that had been left to her by her grandmother, the late Christina Macaulay from Breasclete. Dr Elliot spoke of her grandmother to a group of Carloway School pupils last Wednesday, during her visit to the Presbytery of Lewis.
Source: Stornoway Gazette.
posted at 10:33 PM

The Doune Church in Macduff is getting a new 'coat' for the winter. Painters are busy on the web of scaffolding recently erected around the Church of Scotland building, giving the external walls a fresh layer of paint. It is all part of a major freshening up of the kirk in time for its 200th birthday next year, explains the parish minister, the Rev David Randall.
Source: Banffshire Journal.
posted at 10:27 PM

Dogs, cats and other pets will be joining their owners in the pews when Haddington's first ever service for the blessing of animals is held at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church on Sunday. This is a first for the county town - although donkeys have been involved in Christmas nativity services.
Source: East Lothian Courier.
posted at 9:56 PM

Plans for two new primary schools in Wishaw have been given the go ahead by North Lanarkshire Council - but politicians may face a backlash from the church following the decision.
Source: icLanarkshire - Wishaw Press.
posted at 9:53 PM

Rev Elinor Gordon has been officially inducted as minister of Kildrum Parish Church after being a locum for just under a year.
Source: Cumbernauld Today - Cumbernauld News & Kilsyth Chronicle.
posted at 9:49 PM

A Glenrothes priest preached to Her Majesty The Queen at her Highland church. Father Jock Dalrymple, parish priest at St Paul's in Glenrothes and St Mary Mother of God in Leslie, was the first Roman Catholic clergyman to be asked to participate in a service at Crathie Kirk.
Source: Fife Now - Glenrothes Gazette.
posted at 9:29 PM

The congregation of Kilmarnock's Henderson Church is holding a special weekend of 'Time and Talent'.
Source: icAyrshire - Kilmarnock Standard.
posted at 9:26 PM

Music and memorabilia will fill Christ Church in Duns this weekend as the congregation celebrate the building's 150th birthday with a look back on its checkered history. The small church at Teindhillgreen is the mother of the Episcopalian churches in Berwickshire, giving rise to St Ebbas in Eyemouth in 1885 and St Mary's All Souls in Coldstream in 1897.
Source: Berwick Advertiser.
posted at 9:21 PM

The Roman Catholic Church has welcomed the BBC's decision not to transmit Popetown, an animated series set in a fictional Vatican and featuring a Pope described in the pre-publicity as "an infuriatingly seven-year old child whose every whim is to be indulged".
Source: Church Times.
posted at 9:17 PM

A Church Times survey has shown that the practice of praying with a pet is widespread. The news coincides with the season for animal services, most of which take place at the start of October to coincide with the feast of St Francis.
Source: Church Times.
posted at 9:15 PM

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, announced on Sunday that Britain would relieve the poorest countries of another tranche of their historic debt. Low-income countries, including those designated Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs), owe much of their debt to the World Bank and the African Development Bank. Under Mr Brown's plan, Britain would pay off the portion of this debt owed to the UK. The relief could amount to ten per cent of the total debt owed by the poorest countries.
Source: Church Times.
posted at 9:12 PM

A half-day conference will be held in Glasgow tomorrow by Church Action on Poverty to raise awareness of poverty in Scotland.
Source: Evening Times, Glasgow.
posted at 7:29 PM

The Church of Scotland set itself on a collision course with the country's most senior Roman Catholic yesterday after it dismissed his claim that plans to revamp sex education could lead to pre-school children being shown sexually explicit material. David Alexander, the convener of the Kirk's education committee, refuted Cardinal Keith O'Brien's comments and accused him of not giving enough credit to the professionalism of teachers. He also spoke of his regret that the debate surrounding the future of sex education had become bogged down by the row.
Source: The Scotsman.
posted at 9:06 AM

Appreciation of the late George Russell by David Rae: businessman, former chief executive of Scotland the Brand, a member of the Allander Evangelical Church in Milngavie for 40 years, involved in bringing the churches in Milngavie together on a regular basis for various activities, vice-chairman of Mission Scotland, a member of Louis Palau's International Board, chairman of Care (Christian Action Research and Education), and chairman of the board of the Gartmore Activity and Conference Centre, which acquired the Carberry Conference Centre in Edinburgh just 24 hours before his death.
Source: The Herald.
posted at 8:49 AM