Report of a recent trip to Zambia by Mary Cullen, chair of the Make Poverty History campaign in Scotland and head of communications and education at the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund.
Source: The Scotsman. posted at 8:29 PM

Obituary of the Rev MacKnight Cowper, Church of Scotland minister and forces chaplain.
Source: The Scotsman. posted at 8:26 PM

Obituary of the Rev Bill Cattanach, Church of Scotland minister; born October 30, 1922, died June 27, 2005.
Source: The Herald. posted at 8:18 PM

A forum of church leaders from around the world, meeting in London and including several representative of Scottish churches, has called for decisive action and a firm commitment on poverty eradication from the G8 leaders.
Source: Action of Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS) news. posted at 8:15 PM

Every church in Prestwick is to be circled with the Make Poverty History white band symbol, including one church tower which is visible from the airport where world leaders and their entourages are expected to arrive for the G8 Summit. Those involved are four Church of Scotland churches, one Roman Catholic, one Scottish Episcopalian and one independent.
Source: Church of Scotland news release. posted at 7:59 PM

Plans for a four-storey building next to St Machar's Cathedral show contempt and a lack of respect for the history and character of Old Aberdeen, say campaigners.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal. posted at 8:43 PM

The Church of Scotland has applied for listed building permission to remove traditional wooden pews from two 18th century churches on the Black Isle. Resolis Church at Balblair and Urquhart Church, Alcaig, were put on the market three months ago. The sale of the pews, together with the pulpit from Urquhart, will help pay for a new church in Culbokie to serve both parishes. The Church of Scotland has applied to Highland Council for planning permission to remove the fixed pews from the buildings.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal. posted at 8:41 PM

The governor of Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria, Obong Victor Attah, has written to the "Scottish government" proposing a joint venture at the site of Mary Slessor's home in Ibiono-Ibom to honour the legendary Scottish missionary.
Source: AllAfrica.com. posted at 8:30 PM

The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Right Reverend David Lacy, is to walk at the front of the huge Make Poverty History march in Edinburgh on Saturday, alongside leaders of Scotland's other churches, faiths and civic society.
Source: Church of Scotland news release. posted at 8:05 PM

The Episcopalian Bishop of Edinburgh, the Rt Rev Brian Smith, will lead Anglicans from around the world on to the streets of Edinburgh for the Make Poverty History March on 2 July.
Source: Scottish Episcopal Church news release. posted at 8:05 PM

The Methodist Church of Great Britain has moved towards adopting Bishops. The annual Conference of the Church voted to receive the report What Sort of Bishops, which commits the Church to make a final decision on the topic in 2007 after a consultation throughout the Church. Rev David Deeks, General Secretary of the Methodist Church,, said: "Although the driving force for the whole review of oversight has been to ensure that the Church is set up for effective mission we must also take into account our ecumenical relationships, especially the Covenant with the Church of England. Discussing Methodist bishops helps us gain a better understanding of what they mean to the Church of England and other Episcopal partners, and this in turn enables us to work better together. We will only adopt bishops if we feel that it will make a positive difference to the Church's work in the world."
Source: Methodist Church news release. posted at 8:01 PM

Rev Frank Ribbons has resigned as minister of Penicuik South Church of Scotland.
Source: Daily Record. posted at 3:14 PM

Rev Stuart Blythe is to leave Kirkintilloch Townhead Baptist Church to become lecturer and development officer at the Scottish Baptist College.
Source: Baptist Union of Scotland news. posted at 2:58 PM

The Church of Scotland has expressed its deep concerns at the government's identity card proposals. The Kirk, which recently voted at its General Assembly to ask the government to "reconsider" its plans, has already made clear that it does not believe the case for ID cards has been made, saying the civil liberties questions around them have not been answered.
Source: Church of Scotland news release. posted at 2:55 PM

Leaders from the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths in England have urged Tony Blair to play "the fullest part" in helping the world's poorest countries. The G8 leaders must cancel the debt of the poorest nations, says a letter from the Archbishops of Canterbury and Westminster, the Chief Rabbi, the Council of Mosques and Imams chair and the Free Churches head.
Source: BBC Scotland News. posted at 11:23 AM

Bereaved parents have united to pay tribute to their lost children at a poignant memorial event. Dozens of families gathered in Castlemilk over the weekend to remember their loved ones by tying floral tributes to a fence in the centre of the community. The Flowers on the Railings Day was arranged by the former moderator of the Church of Scotland's general assembly, the Very Reverend John Miller, who is a local minister. He came up with the idea after 35 years of offering solace and support to families who have lost children and young people through illness, accidents or drugs misuse.
Source: Evening Times, Glasgow. posted at 9:56 PM

Gorgie Church in Edinburgh has opened for its first service following a major refurbishment. The work was carried out thanks to a £26,000 grant from recycling group Waste Recycling Environmental Limited.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News. posted at 9:53 PM

A mother of two has celebrated 15 years living among a tribe of cannibals who regard women's breasts as a delicacy. Judy Routamaa, 43, from St Andrews, Fife, volunteered to live with the Kamula tribe in a remote village in western Papua New Guinea after her church asked for someone to translate the Bible into the local language. Mrs Routamaa, sponsored by the Wycliffe Bible Translators, which has a base in Linlithgow, West Lothian, worked with local translators to complete a native language version of the Bible. Now, 15 years after her arrival, the first Bible has been printed. A huge party was held to mark the event.
Source: The Herald. posted at 9:36 PM

Obituary of the Very Rev James Whyte, born 28 January, 1920, in Edinburgh; died 17 June, 2005, in St Andrews, aged 85.
Source: The Scotsman. posted at 9:27 PM

Some of the UK's leading development and environmental NGOs have been increasingly vocal in their unease about Make Poverty History - a "campaign high on celebrity octane but low on radical politics". One insider, active in a key MPH working group, argues: "Our real demands on trade, aid and debt, and criticisms of UK government policy in developing countries have been consistently swallowed up by white bands, celebrity luvvies and praise upon praise for Blair and Brown being ahead of other world leaders on these issues." Kofi Maluwi Klu, a leading Ghanian Pan-African activist and international coordinator of Jubilee 2000 Africa Campaign in the late 1990s, is angered by MPH's lack of representativeness: "We have a saying in the African liberation movement - 'nothing about us, without us'. Make Poverty History is a massive step backwards in this regard, even from Jubilee 2000.The campaign is overwhelmingly led by Northern NGOs and its basic message is about white millionaire popstars saving Africa's helpless. The political movements still fighting for liberation on the ground are completely erased."
Source: Committee for the Abolition of Third World Debt. posted at 9:23 PM

Broadcasters, led by Channel 4, are asking for more programmes about faith. Some executives believe there will be a backlash against celebrity programming, with more viewers wanting to explore both religious and non-religious beliefs. Channel 4 is understood to be in early talks with independent production companies, who have been charged with exploring the issue of secular and non-secular faith programming. Its chief executive, Andy Duncan, also raised the issue of faith in a speech last week. He told the audience he was a practising Christian "on what might be called the evangelical wing of the church", and said he would not have joined Channel 4 last year "if I felt the organisation, its culture, or the job itself, were in any way at odds with my Christian values".
Source: The Guardian. posted at 9:14 PM

Steve Webb, the Liberal Democrats' Shadow Health Secretary, has challenged fellow Christians and churches to pray persistently for their local MP and to work actively to befriend them. The challenge comes as Mr Webb spoke to members of the Evangelical Alliance during a week of prayer for Parliament and Whitehall organised by the Parliamentary Christian Fellowship, the Whitehall Network and 24-7 prayer.
Source: Evangelical Alliance news release. posted at 9:08 PM

The ecumenical body Churches Together in Britain and Ireland is facing radical reform, reflecting the fact that its member Churches have shrinking resources and "changing priorities as ecumenism is mainstreamed into church life". CTBI will be an agency of the Churches Together bodies in Wales, Ireland, Scotland and England, enabling them to work together on issues affecting the whole of Britain and Ireland. Their general secretaries will play a key role in running it, to ensure its staff and activities are integrated with their own.
Source: Action of Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS) news. posted at 8:24 PM

The World Council of Churches has condemned mass forced evictions in Zimbabwe and called on the country's government to stop them immediately. Its statement affirmed and supported the recent messages of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) and the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference (ZCBC), which condemned the so-called Operation Murambatsvina because of the "untold suffering" caused and its "cruel and inhumane means".
Source: Action of Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS) news. posted at 8:21 PM

Religious leaders - including Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Kirk Moderator the Rev David Lacy and Rabbi Julia Neuberger - will address the crowds as 200,000 people join the Make Poverty History rally on Saturday.
Source: Sunday Mail. posted at 6:20 PM

Prince Charles is to try his hand at TV presenting when he fronts a Songs of Praise special from Wick. The royal edition of the show is being screened in tribute to his gran, the late Queen Mother, and her love of the Castle of Mey in Caithness. The Reverend Bill Wallace, minister at Pulteneytown Parish Church for 30 years, said: 'It is a great advert for the area. We have had a few knocks lately with the closure of things such as Caithness Glass but this gives us the chance to show the place off.'
Source: Sunday Mail. posted at 6:18 PM

Police and organisers last night expressed "disappointment" after more than 70 people were arrested during Scotland's first major Orange parade and rally of the year. Around 18,000 people joined the procession through Glasgow's city centre in the first major Orange march since Sir John Orr's review of parades in Scotland. But 74 people were arrested for breach of the peace and sectarian offences as members of Glasgow's 182 lodges and 90 bands paraded through the city.
Source: Scotland on Sunday. posted at 6:13 PM

The two leaders of the Catholic Church in Britain will lead the Make Poverty History march in Edinburgh next Saturday to put pressure on world leaders who are due to meet for a G8 summit. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, and Keith O'Brien, Scotland's Cardinal, will lead the mass protest rally which is expected to draw at least 100,000 people.
Source: Reuters. posted at 5:47 PM

The Church of England demanded last night that the government stop its forced removal of asylum seekers to troubled Zimbabwe. The call came as a cabinet rift over this emotive issue threatened to widen, with ministers understood to have expressed profound concerns about the government returning people to a country whose President, Robert Mugabe, is under attack for abuses of human rights.
Source: The Observer. posted at 5:45 PM

A papal throne made for the late Pope John Paul II's momentous visit to Scotland more than two decades ago is to go on public exhibition for the first time. The huge solid oak chair, built with extra thickness to stop assassins' bullets, was constructed by noted Scots furniture maker Tim Stead, who died five years ago.
Source: Scotland on Sunday. posted at 5:37 PM

An Irish anti-trafficking campaigner is set to create a pro-family pressure group to sue Scotland's largest local authority over its plans to make sex education compulsory. Gregory Carlin will front a new organisation, called The Rights Of The Scottish Child, to head off Glasgow City Council's attempt to scrap the parental opt out, mounting a legal challenge against a move he describes as "appalling" and "illegal". He said: "I am going to handle the political end and the fundraising end is going to be done for me by Catholics and Christians overseas. We are not actually going to fund it locally in Scotland. We are going to collect money for it in the United States." Rev Ewan Aitken, education spokesman for Cosla, said he thought Glasgow should not push ahead with plans to make sex education compulsory: "I would urge them to rethink their stance. You can't force people to learn about sex and sexuality. Even if it is legal, I think it will cause a lot of problems."
Source: Sunday Herald. posted at 5:34 PM

A diverse delegation of American religious leaders will depart for a joint UK-US ecumenical forum on the G8 summit in London on Monday 27th June.
Source: Christian Today. posted at 5:30 PM

Cardinal Keith O'Brien has begun a six-day visit to the Ukraine.
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release. posted at 5:27 PM

Cardinal Keith O'Brien is to call on Edinburgh marchers to tell G8 leaders next weekend that they are "scandalized by the needless suffering which poverty causes". He will say he is participating in the Make Poverty History campaign because to be passive or indifferent "is to be an accomplice in barbarity".
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release. posted at 5:25 PM

Anglicans yesterday voted to urge their member churches to consider disinvesting from companies involved in Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands. The Anglican Consultative Council voted unanimously for the measure, which was opposed by the last archbishop of Canterbury and the Chief Rabbi, who fear it will damage Jewish and Christian relations. Among those voting for yesterday's measure was Dr Rowan Williams, the current Archbishop of Canterbury. The move followed a decision by the church in the US to disinvest. The motion "commends the resolve of the Episcopal Church (USA) to take appropriate action where it finds that its corporate investments support the occupation of Palestinian lands or violence against innocent Israelis". The Communion's 38 provinces across the world will be asked to implement the measure, but are not obliged to do so.
Source: The Guardian. posted at 9:02 PM

Scotland's tallest house plant, a 12-foot yucca, will be auctioned today after outgrowing the Rev Tom McIntyre's manse at Wallneuk North Church in Paisley.
Source: Daily Record. posted at 1:51 PM

Pope Benedict XVI won't be coming to Scotland's Live8 gig in Edinburgh on July 6. But he did reply to Bob Geldof's invitation with a photograph. Singer Sharleen Spiteri said Geldof "was angry when the Pope sent him a bog-standard photograph".
Source: Daily Record. posted at 1:50 PM

Ministers and priests in the Western Isles have been told to stop laying unwashed hands on hospital patients - for fear of spreading superbug MRSA. The area's health board has drawn up a new code of conduct for religious representatives making hospital visits.
Source: BBC Scotland News. posted at 1:45 PM

Generous members of Bruntsfield Evangelical Church in Edinburgh raised £2000 in a week to help rehabilitate Zambian sex workers into new professions.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News. posted at 1:36 PM

A former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Very Rev Professor Iain Torrance, was among five people to receive honorary doctorates from St Andrews University yesterday.
Source: Dundee Courier. posted at 1:16 PM

Members of Abernethy Parish Church in Strathspey have launched their own "Active-8" campaign, calling on supporters to highlight the plight of the world's most impoverished nations by undertaking a personal pledge with the number eight as the theme. Some of the challenges adopted and signed by witnesses so far include running eight miles between Grantown and Nethy Bridge on the Bacharn Trail, and keeping silent for eight minutes on eight successive days.
Source: Strathspey & Badenoch Herald. posted at 9:08 PM

Fifty years of Christianity in Glenrothes and the founding of St Margaret's Church have been marked by a commemorative recipe book compiled by Glenrothes Churches Together.
Source: Fife Now - Glenrothes Gazette. posted at 8:26 PM

Churches Together in Britain and Ireland has warned that a third of its employees could lose their jobs as part of a cost-saving overhaul. Shrinking resources available to churches has been blamed for prompting the need for reform.
Source: Church of England Newspaper. posted at 8:16 PM

Appreciation by Johnston McKay of former Moderator James Whyte.
Source: The Herald. posted at 8:00 PM

The Church of Scotland's editorially independent magazine Life & Work has been named National Religious Periodical of the Year by the Churches Media Council at its annual Andrew Cross Awards. Muriel Armstrong, the magazine's assistant editor and columnist, was shortlisted for the title of Religious Writer of the Year. Judges described Life & Work as "a classy, well-conceived publication with challenging and stimulating content which would be a welcome addition to any coffee table. This magazine has a good structure and reflects thorough organisation and thought."
Source: Church of Scotland news release. posted at 7:52 PM

The Co-operative Bank has asked an evangelical Christian organisation to take away its business because of its anti-homosexual views, it emerged today. The bank, which prides its self on its ethical stance, has given Christian Voice 30 days from June 6 to close its account. Christian Voice, which recently protested about the BBC showing Jerry Springer the Opera, has always been vocal about its opposition to homosexuality. Stephen Green, national director of Christian Voice, said: "The Co-op bank, for all its fine words, is discriminating against us on the grounds of conscience and religion."
Source: The Guardian. posted at 7:46 PM

The St Vincent Street Church in Glasgow, designed by Alexander 'Greek' Thomson, has been listed for the fourth time by the World Monuments Fund as being among the 100 most-endangered architectural sites in the world. The WMF has consistently criticised its current owners, Glasgow City Council, for failing to restore the building, which is leased to a congregation of the Free Church of Scotland. The situation represents the shameful neglect of a treasure, says The Herald.
Sources: The Scotsman, The Herald. posted at 8:55 PM

Churches will be forced to turn away protesters during G8 demonstrations in Edinburgh amid health and safety fears. Sir Bob Geldof and Midge Ure urged every church to throw open its doors to let people coming to the city have a place to stay during the Long Walk to Justice march on Wednesday, July 6. But most are only offering accommodation to people who have booked in advance. And some say they can only welcome a handful of demonstrators because they don't have the insurance or toilet facilities to allow them to take in the large numbers of people likely to congregate in the city.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News. posted at 8:33 PM

Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, the official national ecumenical body in the UK, has announced that it is to reform radically in the context of "post-Christendom". The most significant challenge faced by CTBI is the 21st century multi-faith Britain.
Source: Christian Today. posted at 7:49 PM

Princeton Theological Seminary and the Church of Scotland joined together for their fifth Joint Institute of Theology in St Andrews last week. The biennial event unified 48 Scottish and American pastors under the theme 'Communicating in today's challenging times'.
Source: Christian Post. posted at 7:41 PM

A festal choral Eucharist will be held at St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Edinburgh prior to the Make Poverty History march on July 2.
Source: Scottish Episcopal Church news release. posted at 7:36 PM

Rosslyn Chapel is boosting its full-time staff to cope with a surge in visitors sparked by blockbuster novel The Da Vinci Code. The mysterious 15th-century building is expected to attract more than 100,000 visitors this year - triple the 38,000 it drew two years ago. Officials at the church, which already has a dozen part-time and voluntary staff, want to recruit a full-time visitor services manager.
Source: The Scotsman. posted at 4:53 PM

Obituary of the Very Rev Professor James Whyte; born January 28, 1920, died June 17, 2005; Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1988-89 and was in the chair for the famous "Sermon on the Mound" by the then prime minister, Mrs Thatcher. Later in his term he preached to a worldwide TV congregation at the memorial service for victims of the Lockerbie Pan-Am bombing.
Source: The Herald. posted at 4:40 PM

Obituary of the Very Rev Professor James Aitken Whyte, a former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland who held the chair of practical theology and Christian ethics at St Andrews University for 29 years until his retirement in 1987.
Source: Dundee Courier. posted at 4:35 PM

Obitiary of Alec Barbour, agriculturalist and chartered surveyor; born 15 January, 1925, in Edinburgh; died 14 June, 2005, in Perth, aged 80. "He was, as his father had been before him, a faithful member of the Kirk, and the tiny but lively congregation of Tenandry had him as an elder and as session clerk for almost half a century."
Source: The Scotsman. posted at 10:15 PM

The Environmental Issues Network of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland has written to the Prime Minister about climate change, ahead of the G8 Summit. "We believe that through your Chairmanship of G8 and EU, we as a nation have an opportunity to set an example that can challenge and encourage the world, and in so doing exercise the stewardship of Creation to which the Bible calls us," it concludes.
Source: Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI). posted at 9:55 PM

Leaders of evangelical Christian churches and organisations in the UK have written to US president George Bush, "as a brother in Christ", asking him to use his unique position to alleviate world poverty.
Source: Evangelical Alliance news release. posted at 9:52 PM

SNP leader Alex Salmond has paid tribute to the Very Reverend Professor James Whyte, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1988, who died on Friday 17th June. Mr Salmond said: "Professor Whyte was a towering man in theology and the Church of Scotland. He was a highly distinguished former Moderator and I found that the personal advice he gave me on the constitution of Scotland was always well informed and at all times extremely wise."
Source: Scottish National Party. posted at 9:45 PM

A former cinema now used as a church is to stage Edinburgh's first religious film festival this summer. Destiny Church in Casselbank Street will host the inaugural week-long Leith Film Festival in August, showcasing films which promote Christian, moral or spiritual themes.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News. posted at 9:42 PM

Obituary of the Rev James Clarence Finlayson, Church of Scotland minister; born 1905, died 2005. "In the recent death of the Rev J Clarence Finlayson at the age of 100, the Church of Scotland has lost a 'Father of the Church' in the sense that he was the longest ordained of the surviving ministers of the Church, having been ordained in June 1930."
Source: The Herald. posted at 9:39 PM

Parents will lose the right to withdraw their children from sex education classes under plans being considered by Scotland's largest local authority. Glasgow city council is expected to scrap the opt-out in an attempt to tackle teenage pregnancy rates in the city, which are among the highest in Europe. Peter Kearney, spokesman for the Catholic church in Scotland, said the proposal showed "outrageous ignorance" and "arrogant disregard for the rights of Catholic parents". "In the main, Catholic parents choose Catholic schools in order to avoid the worst excesses of the sexual health zealots in our health boards and in our councils who have done nothing over the past 20 years but make Scotland's sexual health record one of the worst in Europe," he said.
Source: Sunday Times. posted at 9:41 AM

Allegations that African boys were being trafficked into Britain for slaughter during macabre church services were largely discredited by Scotland Yard last night. A report commissioned by the police and leaked to the BBC included claims of abuse by clerics at fringe west African churches seeking to exorcise evil spirits. Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, said that his officers had no evidence to support the most alarming claim - apparently made at a focus group - that boys were being smuggled in for ritual killings. Angry community workers do, however, accept that some practices cause concern. Three weeks ago, two women were convicted after torturing an eight-year-old Angolan girl accused of being a witch. Scotland Yard is now investigating five other claims that children - two boys and three girls - have been mistreated after being identified by self-styled ministers as being possessed by evil spirits.
Source: The Guardian. posted at 10:42 PM

The rapid growth of multi-faith communities has left clergy lacking purpose and uncertain about the theological basis for their mission, according to a new Church of England study. A report from the Inter-Faith Consultative Group of the Mission and Public Affairs Council, called The Presence of Engagement, concluded that clergy have not been provided with proper theological training to cope with the unprecedented situations in which they are finding themselves. A large number of clergy see fighting to maintain a Christian presence as one of their most important roles.
Source: Church of England Newspaper. posted at 9:15 PM

The decision by G8 finance ministers to write off more than £22.2 billion of African debts owes much to the significant influence of church-led campaigns, according to leading Christian aid organisation Tearfund.
Source: Church of England Newspaper. posted at 9:13 PM

Rev Clarence Finlayson has died in Edinburgh at the age of 100. Brought up in Strathpeffer, where his brother, retired Church of Scotland minister Duncan, still resides, Mr Finlayson served in several churches. A special chapter in his ministry was when he served at Pollok in Glasgow where he was appointed Church Extension Minister to the rapidly growing sprawling new housing estate. He started off with only a few parishioners in a builder's hut and developed this into one of the largest congregations in the country, at one time with a membership of 2,800.
Source: Ross-shire Journal. posted at 9:07 PM

A celebration has been held to mark the Rev T J Loudon Blair's 40 years in the ministry. Mr Blair retires on July 31 after nearly 25 years as minister of Galston Parish Church in Ayrshire.
Source: Kilmarnock Standard. posted at 8:59 PM

The Fullarton Centre Cafe in Irvine is to close for good this summer after 28 years. The cafe, run by helpers from Fullarton Church and popular with pensioners, has been hit by dwindling numbers.
Source: Irvine Herald. posted at 8:57 PM

Donations and pledges totalling a massive £300,000 have been made by members of Cupar Old Parish Church over the last four months towards C4ward, the congregation's development project which includes a £60,000 scheme to build a home for street children in Peru. A total of £500,000 has now been raised, with only a further £160,000 needed.
Source: Fife Herald. posted at 8:47 PM

A couple will be married tomorrow in the first humanist wedding ceremony in the UK. Edinburgh Zoo will be the setting when Martin Reijns and Karen Watts marry under new rules which make humanist weddings legal in Scotland.
Source: The Herald. posted at 8:13 PM

The Methodist Church of Great Britain has expressed deep concern about the political situation in Zimbabwe. Roy Crowder, the church's World Church Secretary for Africa, said: "We pray for those affected and for churches and other groups in the country who at this time are seeking to persuade the government of the injustice of this action."
Source: Methodist Church news release. posted at 8:01 PM

The Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church has welcomed the appointment of John Sentamu as the next Archbishop of York. Bishop Bruce Cameron said: "He is a person with a great passion for communicating the gospel in a way that speaks to the contemporary world and to the issues of justice and peace."Source: Scottish Episcopal Church news release. posted at 7:46 PM

Friends and family last night paid tribute to Douglas Trotter, former north-east minister, academic and founding member of the Iona community, who has died.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal. posted at 10:26 PM

QC Donald Findlay has resigned as chairman of Faculty Services - the Faculty of Advocates' business wing - following his joke about the Pope's death at a Rangers social club dinner. Findlay came under fire from his own colleagues after his quip and they passed a vote of no-confidence in him.
Source: Daily Record. posted at 10:22 PM

A three-point agenda for further collaboration - understanding of the church, spirituality, and ecumenical formation - was proposed by World Council of Churches general secretary Rev Dr Samuel Kobia to Pope Benedict XVI during their meeting today at the Vatican.
Source: Action of Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS) news. posted at 10:02 PM

The Catholic Bishops of Scotland have welcomed the announcement by the G7 finance ministers of 100% cent debt relief for the eighteen countries that have completed the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative. But they say debt relief must be accompanied by more and better aid and by trade justice.
Source: Evangelical Alliance news release. posted at 8:51 PM

The minutes of the Baptist Union of Scotland's meeting of May 17 are now online.
Source: Baptist Union of Scotland news. posted at 8:49 PM

In the July issue of the Church of Scotland's magazine, Life & Work, MSP Jim Wallace describes how his strong Christian faith has shaped his political life. In a direct plea to world leaders meeting at the G8 summit at Gleneagles in July, the convener of the Church and Society Council, Morag Mylne, calls on the richest nations to improve the lives of the world's poorest people. And Royal Naval chaplain the Rev Stevie Thomson emphasises the importance of the prayers and support of the Church of Scotland for the naval service.
Source: Church of Scotland news release. posted at 8:46 PM