Nine firefighters who refused to offer safety advice to people attending a gay pride march have been disciplined. Strathclyde Fire and Rescue said all nine would undergo 'diversity training'. Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow said: "We have followed this case with concern. They were asked, while in uniform, to hand out leaflets during a demonstration where they had legitimate concerns about being the subject of taunts and jokes, and in which in some cases, their religious sensibilities would have been grossly offended by people dressed as priests and nuns lampooning the Church." He added: "That the officers concerned are being forced to undergo diversity training is alarming. The duty to obey one's conscience is a higher duty than that of obeying orders."
Source: BBC Scotland News.

Twenty years ago Father Jim Byers of St Charles’ Church in Paisley made history by becoming the first person with insulin-dependent diabetes to climb all Scotland’s Munros – mountains over 3000 feet high. And this month the superfit priest celebrated the occasion by completing the strength-sapping circuit for a second time.
Source: Paisley Daily Express.

St Andrew's Cathedral in Glasgow has won a Noisy Parish Award after a visitor complained about chatting in church. Meanwhile, campanologists at Steeple Church in Dundee provoked complaints from shopkeepers and landlords as the bells rang for three-and-a-half hours on Monday.
Source: The Herald.

Father John Eagers is quitting as parish priest at St Peter’s in Glenburn, Paisley, to take up a post at the Scots College, where he first studied to become a priest more than 20 years ago.
Source: Paisley Daily Express.

Brain scans of nuns have revealed intricate neural circuits that flicker into life when they feel the presence of God. The images suggest that feelings of profound joy and union with a higher being that accompany religious experiences are the culmination of ramped-up electrical activity in parts of the brain.
Source: The Guardian.

Parents are being encouraged to talk to their children about their own experiences and opinions of sex and relationships as part of a programme of sex education "homework" in Scotland. The schem, part of the Healthy Respect "sexual-health demonstration project" being piloted in primary and secondary schools, came after research claimed that many parents wanted to get more involved in sex education but lacked the confidence to speak to their children about it. Peter Kearney, a spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland, said it was key that any sex education was appropriate to the age of the child taking part. "We are currently developing our own resources based on respect and responsibility which will be adapted for different age groups," he said.
Source: The Scotsman.

A Kirk minister is offering Hells Angels divine intervention. The Rev John Cook of Howe Trinity Church in Alford, Aberdeenshire, will use a motorcycle as a pulpit for the one-off event ahead of Grampian Motorcycle Convention. Mr Cook, who can't ride, said: "It's a way of welcoming those taking part and bring together bikers and the community." The move has been welcomed by the Christian Motorcyclists Association.
Source: Daily Record.

So much tosh in the DaVinci Code, writes John Gibson. Never read it myself but critics of the 40million-seller told me it was so much bunkum. Where, then, do we seek the fact and the true story what inspired the book? Look no further than local author Roddy Martine's forthcoming book, The Secrets of Rosslyn. "It debunks a lot of the nonsense in the Code. Largely twaddle and the trouble was that so many readers took it deadly seriously."
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.

Scots are being targeted by a "cult" which charges £12,000 for mind-training seminars. Educo, led by hypnotherapist and former butcher Dr Tony Quinn, has been accused of manipulating the minds of its followers and plunging people into debt. Dr Mhairi Livingston, an immunologist, is recruiting members to her new franchise, Educo-gym Scotland. She claims that Quinn has used faith healing to cure cancer. Supporters of Educo claim that Quinn's techniques help followers become happy, wealthy and successful. But medical psychologist Dr John Butler, of King's College London, said it was "more than fair" to refer to Educo as a cult.
Source: Daily Record.

Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc was cautioned for inciting an Old Firm crowd rather than for blessing himself, the Crown Office has stressed. In a statement issued today to "set the record straight", it said the "very limited" action had been taken against the player for gesticulating at the Rangers support. He had also blessed himself in the incident during the Ibrox match, but the Crown Office stressed it would not take action against individuals for "acts of religious observance". First Minister Jack McConnell said politicians should be "very careful" when commenting on such matters. However, Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond said the Crown Office had "bungled" the affair. Bishop Joseph Devine welcomed the clarification and the fact that the fiscal did not refer to the blessing. He added: "Equally, the Crown Office statement that they fully respect religious belief and practices and 'would not countenance formal action against individuals for acts of religious observance' is both welcome and reassuring."
Source: BBC Scotland News.

The row over a police caution for the Celtic goalkeeper who made the sign of the cross during an Old Firm match escalated yesterday following the intervention of a Cabinet minister. Ruth Kelly, the Communities Secretary at Westminster, said she was "surprised" at the move in a country which was supposed to value diversity and freedom of expression.
Source: The Scotsman.

The Crown Office has refused to rule out prosecuting Old Firm players who bless themselves as anger grows over a police caution given to Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc for making the sign of the cross during an Old Firm match. The Catholic Church and leading politicians have declared their alarm at the possibility of a religious blessing being treated as a criminal offence. A spokesman for the Catholic Church told the Sunday Herald yesterday that they are seeking clarification from the Crown Office on “whether or not it deems the sign of the cross to be an offensive action which is the equivalent of gratuitous hand gestures”. “This is not simply a Catholic issue but a human rights issue,” said the spokesman. “Freedom of religion is part of the UN Declaration on Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights.”
Source: Sunday Herald.

Every schoolgirl in the UK is set to be vaccinated against a sexually-transmitted virus which causes cervical cance. Following trials of the vaccine on women in Glasgow, health chiefs are about to authorise nationwide jabs for girls as young as nine. A spokesman for the Catholic Church said: "Our concern would be that this vaccine is seen as giving a green light to promiscuity."
Source: Scotland on Sunday.

One of Scotland's most senior Scout leaders has admitted sexually abused boys at his home after conning their families. Perth Sheriff Court heard on Tuesday that Alan Grant persuaded parents to sign bogus consent forms for overnight camping trips. But instead he took the boys back to his house in St Madoes for a sleepover, got them drunk then abused them. It was only after the Scouts started their own investigation that police were called in and the truth emerged. Grant, 42, subsequently resigned as Area Assistant Commissioner for Perth and Kinross, with responsibility for organising camps, trips and jamborees. The Rev Marc Bircham, minister at St Madoes Church in Kinfauns, said: "The first I knew something had happened was when we got a letter about three weeks before the school holidays had started. It told us about the court proceedings because our children are in the junior section of the Scouts, the Beavers. I don't know him."
Source: Sunday Mail.

He’s got more experience with parishioners than parrots and would rather see a winsome lass walk down the aisle than the plank but the Rev Robin Hill is a jolly Roger at heart – and the official chaplain to the global pirate movement. The East Lothian Church of Scotland minister has been capivated by plans for International Talk Like A Pirate Day and is set to make next weekend a pirate-fest of games and events to celebrate the reopening of his Longniddry church following its six-month renovation.
Source: Sunday Herald.

The Catholic Church has criticised Scottish prosecutors for cautioning a Celtic goalkeeper who crossed himself during a match against Rangers. Artur Boruc was cautioned for a breach of the peace over the incident at an Old Firm match at Ibrox in February. Church spokesman Peter Kearney said: "It is extremely regrettable that Scotland seems to have made itself one of the few countries in the world where this simply religious gesture is considered an offence."
Source: BBC Scotland News.

The Rev Albert Penman Bogie has died in Ninewells Hospital, Dundee. He was 91. Mr Bogie retired to St Andrews in 1979 from the pastoral charge of Forgan in north Fife, in which he spent 25 years. Licensed to preach the Gospel by the Presbytery of Haddington and Dunbar on April 11, 1939, Albert was invited to become one of the first worker ministers in the rebuilding of Iona Abbey by Lord George Macleod, and worked to construct the road leading up to the abbey.
Source: St Andrews Citizen.

Recognition of the Festival of Spirituality and Peace 2006 as an official Edinburgh festival has delighted its organisers. Centred on St John's Scottish Episcopal Church on the corner of Princes Street, the interfaith event has attracted wide respect and press coverage.
Source: Church Times.

US-based scientists say they have developed a new method of growing stem cells which avoids the destruction of embryos, and which its advocates hope will make the creation of stem cell lines as uncontroversial as genetic screening. But Father Dan Fitzpatrick of the Catholic Church's joint bioethics committee said: "Even if they are not destroying the embryo they are still putting it at some risk." The Rev David Graham, who chaired the Church of Scotland committee on stem cell research at the last General Assembly, said: "If this can be done without destroying embryos then it would be a very interesting development, as that is the main ethical objection from the church. It is still, however, a very contentious issue."
Source: The Herald.

Obituary of Sister Mary Cyril, nun; born 31 August, 1927, in Co Tipperary, Ireland; died 18 August, 2006, in Swansea, Wales, aged 77. Born Mary Griffin, Sister Mary Cyril left her family in Ireland to enter St Margaret's Convent, in Strathearn Road, Edinburgh, to dedicate herself as an Ursuline of Jesus. At one point she ran a convent of 25-30 nuns, a boarding school and a day school for girls. After 25 years in community life, she was asked to become housekeeper to Archbishop Gordon Gray, later to be made cardinal. She spent the next 20 years caring for him, and in 1982 it was her privilege to welcome and care for Pope John Paul II during his visit to Edinburgh. In 1999, Cardinal Keith O'Brien presented Sr Cyril with the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice.
Source: The Scotsman.

Ten people were found by police to be drunk and incapable in the streets of Inverness on Monday. Such a large number on a weekday in the city has startled even experienced local cops as it emerged that the area's only drying out centre has been full on a dozen occasions this summer. Beechwood House, in Inverness, run by the Church of Scotland, has four acute beds for overnight stays available for police and other authorities to send the drunk and incapable. Calum Murray, the church's head of services for addictions, said: "We help more than 1,000 people every year and are one of only two such facilities in Scotland - the other is in Aberdeen. More beds are needed and if we had the funding we could provide them, but the church is already subsidising the service and is in discussions with Highland Council about that. Alcohol abuse is a growing problem. The Scottish Executive lays a lot of emphasis on drugs, because they are illegal, but alcohol creates far bigger problems for society."
Source: Highland News.

Obituary of George Gerrard, chartered surveyor; born February 8, 1917; died August 15, 2006. As a member of Greenock's Nelson Street Congregational Church, as it was prior to becoming Nelson Street United Reformed Church, he served in every lay capacity: Sunday school superintendent, elder, building convener, session clerk, church secretary and gave free counsel to the wider church in Scotland where his surveying skills were often sought. George's church has amalgamated, but was opened specially for the pre-cremation memorial service last Saturday. The attendance at both services bore testimony to the affection and respect he had earned.
Source: The Herald.

The new leader of Scotland's capital has condemned Tony Blair for taking Britain into an "illegal" war in Iraq and promised to distance the Labour party in Edinburgh from the UK government in the run-up to next year's council elections. And Rev Ewan Aitken explained how his religion has influenced his politics. He cited South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu as saying that he could not understand which gospel people read if they claimed that politics and the bible did not mix. He added: "The way I read the bible, it demands that I stand up for social justice, equality of opportunity, the very values at the base of the Labour party."
Source: The Scotsman.

Ewan Aitken, the incoming leader of Edinburgh City Council, is a Church of Scotland minister who gave up working in the Restalrig parish in Edinburgh to become a full-time councillor. A member of the Iona Community, an ecumenical Christian organisation, he told The Scotsman earlier this week: "I have no fear about being called Old Labour. I would even call myself a Socialist."
Source: The Scotsman.

Ewan Aitken will take over as leader of the City of Edinburgh Council next Tuesday. The capital's education leader, an ordained Church of Scotland minister who became a full-time politician, defeated fellow councillor Elizabeth Maginnis by 17 votes to 13 to win the nomination from the city's ruling Labour group.
Source: The Scotsman.

Ewan Aitken, an ordained Church of Scotland minister who says his faith influences his politics, is one of three candidates in tomorrow's election for a new leader of the Labour group on Edinburgh City Council. As one who lays emphasis wealth redistribution he says: "I have no fear about being called old Labour. I would even call myself a socialist - a bit like sin in the church, that seems to have gone out of fashion."
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.

Girls as young as 13 have been given controversial contraceptive implants that can make them infertile for up to three years. At least 100 under 16-year-olds have been fitted with the matchstick sized hormone implants at NHS family planning clinics in the past year. Doctors admit the long-term side-effects of the implants, known as Implanon, are still largely unknown, and teenagers could be especially vulnerable as their bodies are still maturing. Dr James McLay, a clinical pharmacologist at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary said: "Only a quarter of all contraception is dispensed by family planning clinics, which means the figures for GPs could be four or five times higher." A spokesman for the Scottish Catholic Church said: "Society is failing its young if it thinks that contraceptive implants are progress. Indoctrinating young people into the 'contraception culture' is obviously counter-productive." Tim Street, director of the Family Planning Association in Scotland, said: "We would like to see contraceptive implants being made far more available. Around a third of young people are having sex by the time they are 16 years old, and long-acting contraceptives are considered to be highly effective for young people."
Source: Scotland on Sunday.

Around 200 folk from Cambuslang and Rutherglen said an emotional fairwell to the Salvation Army Hall in Croft Road at a service to mark 111 years of ministry and service in the local community. The hall, which has served the people of Cambuslang since 1964, has been sold for housing development. The Army will continue to operate from a room at the day care centre at the Eva Burrows Centre.
Source: Rutherglen Reformer.

The organ at Macdonald Memorial Church in Bellshill has been refurbished at a cost of £17,000. Fitted in 1930 by Glasgow firm Hilsdon and Co, this is the first time it has been completely repaired.
Source: Motherwell Times.

A priest returning from a pilgrimage in Spain had his bag stolen at Euston railway station during a massive security operation in London. Father John Creanor, of Our Lady and St Andrew, Galashiels, said: "The reason I’ve come forward with this is not because I want sympathy, but because my appointment book was also in that bag and now I do not have a clue what I’m doing for the next year! I ask anyone who has made an appointment with me for Christenings or weddings or consultations to come forward and let me know."
Source: Border Telegraph.

Plans are underway to set up a healing room in Haddington following claims by members of the West Church that hands-on prayer sessions have transformed their lives – curing them of mental and physical illness.
Source: East Lothian Courier.

Historic churches will be throwing open their doors to the public next month. Visitors are being invited to admire the architecture of eight churches in East Dunbartonshire as part of Doors Open Day.
Source: Evening Times, Glasgow.

Members of the Vine Church in Dunfermline may been forced to find a new place of worship after neighbours complained they made an unholy racket. Worshippers use electric guitars during services and Pastor James Dowds also organised rock concerts for younger members of his 750-strong congregation. But neighbours complained to the police and council about noise from the church hall and Fife Council have granted an anti-noise enforcement order. One local, who did not want named said: "I am part of a church congregation myself and we never make anything like the same racket as the Vine Church people." Mr Dowds said: "I am not putting up with this nonsense. I'm looking for land and I am looking to move."
Source: The Scotsman.

Sir Tom Farmer is funding a bid to buy a derelict city church and turn it into a home for Tibetan Buddhist monks and 'Mother Teresa nuns', the Sisters of Charity. The Kwik-Fit millionaire and prominent Roman Catholic, who is involved with the Edinburgh Interfaith Association, is thought to have offered more than £400,000 to secure the United Presbyterian Church on Blackfriars Street for an "inter-faith residence and cultural centre".
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.

The Evangelical Alliance has launched an online resource for 'human resources' and personnel managers. The web pages give advice on recruitment and selection, learning and development, health and safety, data protection, and other issues that affect anyone with HR/personnel responsibilities.
Source: Evangelical Alliance news release.

Rangers FC have threatened action after a notorious Ulster pub once owned by terror bosses changed its name to the Ibrox Bar. The Belfast pub, formerly the Bunch of Grapes, became the Ibrox Bar earlier this month after an inquest heard how a senior Loyalist was murdered on the premises.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.

The Scottish Episcopal Church has issued a mandate for the election of a new bishop of Aberdeen & Orkney following the retirement of the Rt Rev Bruce Cameron. Deadline for nominations is September 7.
Source: Scottish Episcopal Church news release.

Jerusalem is a "cauldron of religion", according to Church of Scotland minister the Rev Jane Barron, who arrived there to take up post at St Andrew's Memorial Church just ten days before the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah triggered the latest bloody confrontation in the Middle East. The former Radio Forth journalist and minister of Stobswell Parish Church said: "We are facing a diabolical conflict but the place is full of excellent people in terms of peace and reconciliation, trying to bring together traditional enemies."
Source: Dundee Courier.

In next month's issue of the Church of Scotland’s magazine, the Kirk's new minister in Jerusalem, the Rev Jane Barron, offers her first impressions from a land beset by a new war. The Rev Dr Jon M Walton, pastor of First Presbyterian Church, New York, reflects on life in the world’s most cosmopolitan city on the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 atrocity. And veteran LibDem MSP Donald Gorrie, criticises the ‘yah-boo’ style of politics at the Scottish Parliament, which he describes as "very depressing."
Source: Church of Scotland news release.

High Street music stores have pulled a controversial Rangers fans' CD from the shelves over fears that it was sectarian. Ibrox bosses contacted record chains HMV and Virgin with concerns over the content of The Ultimate Supporters Album: Rangers Anthems.
Source: Evening Times, Glasgow.

Victims of abuse by nuns at Catholic children's homes in Scotland have been awarded state compensation totalling more than £60,000. The awards have been made to 18 former residents at orphanages run by the Congregation of the Poor Sisters of Nazareth in Glasgow, Aberdeen and Kilmarnock and are likely to open the floodgates for criminal-injuries payments to scores of others.
Source: The Scotsman.

Two Scottish novels are in the running for this year's Man Booker Prize, it was announced yesterday - both about clergymen having breakdowns. In James Robertson's The Testament of Gideon Mack, a Perthshire minister - who, despite his job, is not a believer - meets the Devil when he falls into a chasm while trying to save a dog from drowning. Andrew O'Hagan's Be Near Me tells the story of an English Catholic priest adrift in a decayed industrial Ayrshire town.
Source: The Scotsman.