Island churchmen and councillors yesterday denounced the decision of Caledonian MacBrayne to begin a Sunday ferry service to Harris, which has traditionally observed the Sabbath. The Rev David Murray of the Stornoway Free Church Continuing said: "This is yet another example of the money grabbing, culture destroying commercialisation imposed on the islands of Lewis and Harris against the will of God, and most of our people."
Source: The Herald.

(SNP news release behind which may lurk a story.)
"Scottish National Party MEP Alyn Smith has taken action on the organ pipe ban. Mr Smith, who has been contacted by many constituents and church groups on the issue has now been assured by the (European) Commission that action is being taken." The 'Head of the European Commission in the UK' is quoted as saying: "The European Commission has taken very seriously the concerns expressed by both the industry and the general public with regards to this sensitive issue. Therefore we have decided to take urgent action to address your concerns. Yesterday the Commission has written to the Member States, with a view to clarifying, together with them, to what extent pipe organs fall within the scope of the RoHS Directive."
(The release does not clarify what ban, issue or directive it refers to, nor whether it means organ pipes or pipe organs.)
Source: Scottish National Party.

The Moderator of the Kirk's General Assembly, the Right Rev David Lacy, begins a 10-day visit to Ayr Presbytery this weekend.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.

Coldstream Churches Together have been prominent in their opposition to the proposed closure of Coldstream and Jedburgh cottage hospitals, which will be decided on today by the board of NHS Borders.
Source: Berwickshire News.

The last bastion of the Hebridean Sabbath will be breached this summer after Caledonian MacBrayne agreed yesterday to introduce the first ever Sunday ferry service to Harris.
Source: The Herald.

Background to this summer's Sabbath sailings from Harris. "Things change slowly in the Western Isles. It is almost 20 years since Caledonian MacBrayne, the publicly-owned ferry company, first proposed a seven-day service between Uig on Skye and Tarbert in Harris..."
Source: The Herald.

Quick Q&A occasioned by the prospect this summer of ferry services linking Harris to the outside world on Sundays.
Source: The Herald.

A Church of Scotland minister and a film producer were among witnesses who told Glasgow Sheriff Court yesterday that a demonstration last November against the use of early morning raids to deport failed asylum seekers was entirely peaceful. The Rev David McLashan, of the Church of Scotland in Langside, Glasgow, said: "There was no trouble. There was absolutely no hassle."
Source: The Herald.

Advice to help ministers and clergy respond to transsexual people who may wish to marry in church is contained in a new booklet published by the Evangelical Alliance and Parakaleo Ministry. The booklet draws attention to the need for churches and others to understand and respond to implications of the Gender Recognition Act, which came into effect in April last year, especially as it relates to marriage and religious liberty.
Source: Evangelical Alliance news release.

Rev Alex Forsyth of the Royal Army Chaplains’ Department led a service of commemoration in Perth yesterday as the Black Watch regiment became part of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. Referring to steady drizzle falling on those who had come to pay tribute, one veteran said the regiment was being blessed by “God’s tears”. Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Murdo Fraser recalled: “This is the end of a regiment that has fought across the globe with the highest of dignity and has battled in some of the most ferocious battles in history. They have fought in North America against native tribes during the seven years’ war. They have defeated George Washington in the Battle of Long Island. They have fought in the Boer War. They fought at Waterloo, the Somme and Ypres. Black Watch soldiers were among the first forward in some of the most intense fighting of world war two in Normandy after the D-Day landings. The 1st Battalion of The Black Watch became the first British unit to enter German territory in world war two.”
Source: Dundee Courier.

One of Aberdeen's historic landmarks is about to get a facelift in a £5million project aimed at regenerating the city centre. The Kirk of St Nicholas, or Mither Kirk, is set to become an inspiring new community venue in a project led by the members of the church. Last night a campaign was launched to raise the remaining £2.7million needed to complete the project.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.

Religious leaders met in Aberdeen yesterday to discuss "the best ways to achieve unity and diversity" and how to respond to national religious matters. The event was supported by the Scottish Interfaith Council, hosted by the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Most Rev Bruce Cameron, and attended by representatives of Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Ba'hai, Sikhism and Buddhism.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.

Gay couples will be able to foster children for the first time and unmarried couples, including same-sex couples, will be able to adopt in a planned upheaval of children's services in Scotland. The Adoption Bill, published yesterday, has been drawn up in response to a falling number of places for vulnerable children. But Peter Kearney, of the Catholic Church in Scotland, said there was not enough evidence to suggest gay couples will be good parents. "Why are we putting children at the centre of a social experiment?" he asked.
Source: The Scotsman.

The Church of Scotland's website has been restructured and rewritten to take into account changes to the administrative structure of the Church which were approved at the General Assembly in 2005.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.

Dr Alison Elliot has been succeeded as convener of the restructured Action of Churches Together in Scotland and its Scottish Churches Forum by the Rev Jim Jones, chairman of the Methodist Synod in Scotland.
Source: Action of Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS) news.

New hopes of resolving a bitter legal wrangle between the Free Church of Scotland and a breakaway body appear to have been dashed. A proposed solution to the dispute over property, including churches and manses, put forward by the Free Church last week, was rejected yesterday by the breakaway group, the Free Church (Continuing), which said it reacted with "astonishment and disappointment" to the proposal.
Source: The Scotsman.

Scotland's religious leaders are to set up a working party in an effort to improve the coverage of religious affairs in the Scottish media. It will be headed by the Most Rev Bruce Cameron, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church.
Source: The Scotsman.

The 'devil's number' has been daubed on the wall of an Aberdeen church, outraging its priest and congregation. The numbers 666 were sprayed in white paint across the rear granite wall of Our Lady of Aberdeen Roman Catholic Church, Kincorth. Father George Hutcheon said: "It's just malicious destructiveness."
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.

"Catholic schools do not cause sectarianism," says a leader article in the Edinburgh Evening News. "Anyone who doubts that simply has to look at England, where even the suggestion would be ridiculed. That it still dominates the agenda in Scotland is a national disgrace, as is the apparent determination of the National Secular Society to demonise Catholic schools ... The rest of the Scottish state system used to follow a Church of Scotland ethos. They chose to abandon that and many would say that was a mistake."
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.

The Roman Catholic Church in Scotland is about to urge followers to pray, protest and ponder via their mobile phones. The nation's 270,000 active Catholics will be offered the unique text message service, which will send out everything from church news to requests to pray. The service will even attempt to mobilise followers by advising them of radio and television talk shows on moral issues, urging them to call in.
Source: Scotland on Sunday.

A teacher who dumped his pregnant wife for a former pupil is being investigated by education bosses. The Sunday Mail revealed two weeks ago how Bryan Marshall left bride Johanna to be with Jacqueline Livingston, now 18. Marshall, 31, head of music at Glasgow's Catholic Holyrood Secondary, will be probed over claims he had a relationship with Livingston while she was at the school. Glasgow Archbishop Mario Conti has been inundated with letters of complaint from parents and staff.
Source: Sunday Mail.

When the Government decided to outlaw people being discriminated against because of their religion or sexuality, it did not foresee the backlash that would unfold when hundreds of committed Christians who run bed-and-breakfasts were deprived of their right to ban gays, unmarried couples and people of other faiths from staying under their roof. Hundreds of B&B owners across the country have been writing to ministers complaining that the new rules will force them to 'betray God' and their consciences by allowing 'undesirables' to enjoy their hospitality. Dr Don Horrocks of the Evangelical Alliance said : 'The Equality Act is being called "the bed-and-breakfast law". One B&B worker in the north has told me that he would rather cease operating than have gays staying in his house. Homosexuals have human rights, but so do religious people, and potentially there's a clash between them.'
Source: The Observer.

A time team have discovered a medieval palace - in Glasgow's Easterhouse scheme. And they claim that the find will rewrite the history of the city. They say the bishop's palace, dating as far back as 1323, and silver coins from the previous century show the city was a bigger European player than previously thought, thanks to its bishops and strong links to France, Italy and the rest of Scotland.
Source: Sunday Mail.

A Scottish schoolteacher says she plans to return to Iraq to work as a peace activist this summer despite advice from the Foreign Office to stay away. As the kidnapped Briton Norman Kember began his journey home from Baghdad, Jan Benvie, a primary teacher from Inverkeithing, said she believed members of the Christian Peace-maker Teams (CPT) - to which they both belong - had a right to continue their work. Ms Benvie said that if she was kidnapped she did not expect British forces to intervene and that if the government or military commanders chose to do so, it was their own responsibility. But the negotiator Terry Waite, a former Beirut hostage, questioned the tactics of the peace campaigners. He said any westerner in Iraq was exposed to "very grave danger". "Many people say that's a risk we understand and are willing to take - people have to take their own decision and make their own responsible decision about that," he said. "The only problem is that as you take that stance, you do involve other people, and in your situation that might be a problem."
Source: The Scotsman.

A UEFA inspector who is investigating allegations of discriminatory behaviour by Rangers supporters has listed 12 separate counts of offensive chanting by fans, including specific disparaging chants about the Pope, as well as repeated singing of The Billy Boys. UEFA will almost certainly fine Rangers, though the possibility remains of one of Ibrox's four stands also being closed for their next European match at home.
Source: The Herald.

Pope Benedict prefaced yesterday's installation of 15 new cardinals by inviting those who currently hold the office to voice their opinions on problematic subjects. Benedict, who has already taken steps to streamline the unwieldy Vatican bureaucracy, appears to be addressing critics who complain that the Curia, or Vatican administration, has become heavy-handed and tone-deaf to a constituency that spans the globe. "The Pope has wanted to learn, and other cardinals are wanting to learn," Cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien of Scotland told Vatican Radio, in suggesting the session may signal an era of greater cooperation. "It gives one a tremendous worldwide picture of just how the church is at this present time."
Source: Los Angeles Times.

In 1956 a group of people came up with a way of giving young folk in Motherwell something constructive to do, while also teaching them about Christianity. The Maranatha Centre was the result - and now it is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Founder member Wallace Kirkland, who is still involved in the Centre, said: "Many parents don't know what their children are up to when they leave the house in the evenings, but through the Maranatha Centre, which has always been a Christian youth organisation, we can give those parents peace of mind and the confidence their children are being looked after."
Source: Motherwell Times.

A Motherwell minister is back from a trip to South America and his congregation have been inspired to help the continent's forgotten youngsters. Reverend Derek Hughes, minister at Dalziel St Andrew's Parish Church, spent a fortnight in Peru with workers from the Bo'ness charity The Vine Trust who are working in partnership with Scripture Union Peru to alleviate the suffering of abandoned boys.
Source: Bellshill Speaker.

Monsignor Hugh Bradley, parish priest at St Matthew's in Bishopbriggs, has been made a Canon. He was installed by Archbishop Mario Joseph Conti at a special ceremony in Glasgow's St Andrew's Cathedral last Friday.
Source: Kirkintilloch Herald.

The wife of Kirkcaldy's newest minister has just returned from a mission trip to Africa. Stephanie Norczyk spent 10 days as part of a 17-strong group which visited the capital city of Ghana, Accra, in West Africa, distributing much needed medical supplies, holding eye clinics, visiting orphanages and spreading the word of God through sermons, puppet shows and interactive learning. Mrs Norczyk, along with her husband, the Rev David Norczyk and their family, only arrived in Kirkcaldy a few weeks ago when he took up a full-time post at Whytescauseway Baptist Church.
Source: Fife Free Press.

Campaigners called for the Lindisfarne Gospels to have a permanent home in north east England as they took part in a march on St Cuthbert's Day. The Northumbrian Association unveiled a petition demanding the return of the historic manuscripts which were written by monks on the island but are currently held at the British Library.
Source: Berwick Advertiser.

The BBC’s head of Religion and Ethics is to leave the Corporation this summer after five years in the role. There was controversy surrounding Alan Bookbinder’s appointment in 2001, with critics upset that he had no religious faith. Mr Bookbinder, who was the first non-cleric to be promoted to the post, describes himself as an open-hearted agnostic. Despite the initial scepticism from some quarters, the Anglican Bishop of Manchester, the Rt Rev Nigel McCulloch, said that he had made progress in the Corporation’s broadcasting of religion.
Source: Church of England Newspaper.

The Moderator of the General Assembly, the Right Reverend David Lacy, has written to the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, urging him to keep pressure on the Afghan authorities over the case of Abdul Rahman, who faces execution for converting to Christianity from Islam.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.

The Hawick Catholic Church Hall Users Group has received a modernisation grant of £2,500 from Scottish Borders Council's Teviot and Liddesdale Area Committee despite an objection from Councillor David Richardson. "This is a religious organisation and there is something in my head which says it does not qualify," he said. But the committee heard that the hall is used for a cross-cultural project, by local groups and as a 'social space' for people on low incomes and migrant workers.
Source: Hawick News.

Cash has been raised for the renovation of eight bells - believed to be Scotland's oldest peal - and the tower at St Andrew's and St George's Church in Edinburgh where they were installed in the late 18th century.
Source: BBC Scotland News.

The European Social Fund has awarded a grant of £79,000 to Threshold South Lanarkshire, a project operated by the Church of Scotland’s Social Care Council which provides a community support service for adults with learning disabilities.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.

An RAF chaplain is returning to civvy street after 22 years to become minister of a linked Church of Scotland charge in Moray. The Rev Duncan Shaw, 53, will be inducted tonight as minister of Alves and Burghead, linked with Kinloss and Findhorn.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.

The resting place of Robert Burns is to undergo a security review after it was attacked by vandals. The Burns Mausoleum in the grounds of the town's St Michael and South Church in Dumfries was the subject of two attacks over the weekend. Church and council officials are now considering stepping up security. Dr Maurice Bond, the church minister, said: "What is in most people's minds is that traditionally your average vandal would not attack a church. And no one would attack the Burns Mausoleum. You have to wonder if anything is sacred any more."
Source: The Herald.

The Methodist Church has criticised the newly established Christian Council of Britain, which has connections with the British National Party. Anthea Cox, Methodist Coordinating Secretary for Public Life and Social justice, said: "I am outraged that the BNP and its allies are using Christianity to further their agenda of segregation and division."
Source: Methodist Church news release.

The British National Party has hit back at critics of the newly established Christian Council of Britain, whose founders include BNP members. "The BNP gets it in the neck, being accused by our detractors of hi-jacking the Bible and using it for political means- a classic example of pots and kettles, coming from the mouths of those liberals who have followed a political agenda of their own in forcing multiculturalism into sermons and RE lessons and effectively transforming the Church into a vehicle of liberal-left politics," it said in a statement.
Source: British National Party.

The Church of Scotland has issued a statement denying any association with the British National Party or its offshoot, the Christian Council of Britain, whose website carries a link to the Kirk's own site.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.

Commentary by John Haldane, professor of philosophy at the University of St Andrews. "I think a traditional Jew, Christian or Muslim must remain committed to three ideas: 1) that the universe is the product of creation; 2) that the course of the universe is under the providential governance of God; and 3) that human beings are images of God in the respect of having a spiritual (non-material) aspect to their nature. Those three ideas are each incompatible with cosmological naturalism, though not with evolution by natural selection, and in one sense they constitute a very definite kind of creationism - but not the wild kind."
Source: The Scotsman.

The leader of the Scottish Episcopal Church said yesterday that creationism should not be taught in schools and that a "false battleground" was pitting science against faith. The Most Rev Bruce Cameron was speaking out in support of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, who said creationism - the belief that the world was created in seven days, according to a literal interpretation of the Bible - should not be taught in British schools. The position was supported by both the Church of Scotland and the Catholic Church in Scotland. A spokesman for the Church of Scotland said: "The situation in England with creationism being taught in schools has not arisen in Scotland. Creationism would be a minority position in the Church of Scotland." Meanwhile, Father Michael McMahon, a scholar with the Catholic Church in Scotland, said: "The Hebrews, the people who composed the Book of Genesis, didn't believe it was first-hand reportage, that there was someone peering behind the trees writing it all down. The book is a literary thesis about the creativeness of the world, not a description of the scientific process by which the world was created. You don't read Genesis as you do a science book. To do that is to reduce what it is trying to do, which is explain the relationship between human beings, one to another and those to God."
Source: The Scotsman.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown announced in his Budget speech today: "I will continue to help churches and faith groups by refunding VAT paid on renovation of church buildings, monuments and other sacred places."
Source: Financial Times.

Britain's 700 unregulated madrasas need to be monitored nationally to stop children being exposed to significant physical and sexual abuse, a Muslim body has warned.
The Muslim parliament of Great Britain will today urge the government to set up a national register for the mosque schools, coordinated and monitored by local authorities, to meet their legal obligations under the Children Act 1989.
Source: The Guardian.

Churches and charity campaigners have called for changes to a planned law, the Bankruptcy and Diligence Bill, under which householders could lose their homes for running up debts of just £1501. A Church of Scotland said: "The idea that a new law might compel people to sell their homes for a debt as little as £1501 seems very extreme." Alistair Cameron, chief executive of Scottish Churches Housing Action, said: "This seems to be a recipe for making people homeless."
Source: The Herald.

Gilleasbuig Macmillan, the minister at St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh, was once asked why he always used the King James version of the Bible in his services. Gilleasbuig merely replied: "Well, he used to be a member of the congregation here."
Source: The Herald.

Catholic education leaders last night set themselves on a collision course with the courts after they pledged to purge their primary schools of teachers who don't actively practise the faith. The Scottish Catholic Education Service's director, Michael McGrath, said: "You can't teach religious education in a Catholic school without being of the Catholic faith and having a complete knowledge and commitment to that practice ... But in primary schools, all teachers are teachers of religious education so nearly all have to be practising Catholics - it would be a very rare case where they are not." He revealed that some non-RC teachers had been appointed by councils without the Church's blessing. None will be sacked, he insisted, but the process which employed them will not now be tolerated.
Source: Scotland on Sunday.

First minister Jack McConnell has signalled his support for the creation of separate Muslim schools in Scotland. He is also in favour of the inclusion of Islamic studies in the school curriculum.
Source: Sunday Times.

A monk who repeatedly sexually abused a woman was spared jail yesterday and sentenced to carry out 200 hours of community service. Mark Paterson was convicted of carrying out the attacks at Aberdeen University Chaplaincy, where he worked. The incidents came to the attention of the police following allegations of abuse against another priest at the chaplaincy. A solicitor for the Carmelite order said after the case: "The order very much regret any suffering caused to the lady who has brought the complaint. Stringent measures are now in place to ensure the well-being of all we serve."
Source: Daily Record.

A dozen pensioners at Clashfarquhar House care home in Stonehaven have been stranded on its upper floors since Christmas Day due to a broken-down lift. The home is run by Crossreach, the Church of Scotland's social work branch, which recently unveiled plans to close another Stonehaven care home, Keith Lodge. A spokeswoman for Crossreach said it had also been necessary to remove asbestos from the lift shaft. But the main reason for the delay has been the continued non-delivery of a replacement gearbox from Italy. Carrying the patients downstairs is felt to be too much of a safety risk, but it is understood an emergency procedure is in place to evacuate them in the event of a fire.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.

Niddrie Community Church in Edinburgh, built on donations from members of the Charlotte Baptist Chapel and yet to be officially opened, has been forced to spend £10,000 on "fortifications" after being besieged by vandals who have caused damage running into thousands of pounds. Within weeks of the new £700,000 church and community hall being completed, it had been repeatedly vandalised, leaving its windows and central heating pipes smashed. Pastor John Lowrie of Niddrie said children and others living in the area were likely to lose out as a result of the vandalism. Rev Peter Grainger, senior pastor at Charlotte Chapel, said: "It's a group of kids and it's par for the course."
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.

A rallying call has gone out to members of Leven's only Roman Catholic church. St Peter's in Durie Street is due to close after Easter, but local worshippers believe it might be saved if enough people return for services.
Source: Fife Now - East Fife Mail.

Perth's two largest city centre churches are set to proceed with ambitious modernisation projects. The North Church and St John’s Kirk have both unveiled renovation projects aimed at putting the historic buildings to better use.
Source: Dundee Courier.

The minister at Perth Congregational Church will this month preach as sole nominee to a vacancy in Upper Donside, the largest parish in Britain. The Rev Brian Dingwall, a former social worker, will take the united service at Auchindoir Church at Lumsden, on March 26. The Church of Scotland parish takes in a scenic 240-square-mile area of Aberdeenshire and includes five scattered places of worship.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.

The Methodist Church is creating a disability justice strategy as part of a project to make the Church, its buildings and all its activities welcoming and accessible to all. Project leader Alison Parker is keen to hear from anyone who feels that they have been excluded or made to feel unwelcome in any way from a Methodist community.
Source: Methodist Church news release.

Order of service for Jinky's funeral, which takes place at St John the Baptist Church, Uddingston, tomorrow morning, together with the full text of Bishop Joseph Devine's homily.
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release.

In the April 2006 issue of the Church of Scotland's magazine, Life & Work, Lord Mackay of Clashfern, Lord High Commissioner to the 2006 General Assembly, reveals that former prime minister Margaret Thatcher's address to the Church's Assembly of 1988 - dubbed the 'sermon on the Mound' - has its own place in history. He says: “Her speech to the General Assembly was asked for more often than other speech she ever made. I thought it was an extremely well thought out message and I was just vexed by the reception that she received from some of the commissioners.” Jim Wallis, one of the US's leading evangelicals, offers an insight into his friendship with the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, who has endorsed his new book God's Politics. And Professor John Hume, Convener of the Kirk’s Committee on Church Art and Architecture, believes that the Kirk's heritage of silverware should be used regularly, rather than hidden away. "I think that we should seriously consider passing on vessels, perhaps to emerging churches, here or in other parts of the world."
Source: Church of Scotland news release.

Feature on former Montrose woman Lesley Bilinda, currently in Scotland to promote her latest book, With What Remains, about the aftermath of the killing of her pastor husband Charles during the Rwandan genocide.
Source: The Herald.

A new law promoting gay rights could cause the loss of a huge proportion of Highland tourism, it was claimed yesterday. Skye hotelier David Morton was speaking ahead of October's introduction of the 2006 Equality Act which will outlaw discrimination against people's sexual orientation by pubs, clubs, hotels and religious charities. He said: "People about here, with their religious views in particular, are very much against this bill." Tom Forrest, who made international headlines two years ago after refusing to allow a gay couple to book a double room at his B & B in Kinlochewe, Wester Ross, said: "Basically, this law is making it illegal to be a Christian in a Christian country."
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.