The Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland has backed the Catholic Church in its war of words with the government over Tony Blair's decision to push ahead with controversial gay equality laws. The support from the staunchly Protestant order is a sign that the government's refusal to exempt religious groups from the Sexual Orientation Regulations is uniting Christians in opposition. Ian Wilson, the Grand Master of the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland, last night told The Scotsman that leaders of the Catholic Church had a right to be heard on such moral issues in politics. He said: "There has to be more tolerance of the views of people of faith, and that includes the Cardinal [Cormac Murphy O'Connor]. Broadly speaking, the Lodge would take an orthodox, traditional Christian view of this - we see the family as a man and a woman."
Source: The Scotsman.

In a sermon delivered at St Thomas’s Mount National Shrine in Chennai, India (formerly Madras) yesterday, Cardinal Keith O’Brien re-stated his call to the British government "to abandon its plans to replace the Trident missile and to work rapidly towards the eradication of its entire nuclear arsenal". Cardinal O'Brien is on a 10-day SCIAF (Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund) trip to India. His visit to Chennai includes a trip to a post-tsunami rehabilitation programme assisted by SCIAF.
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release.

The Salvation Army may have to admit people with disruptive behaviour to its centre in Inverness to ensure continued support from Highland Council. Huntly House has received local authority funding since 1984. However, councillor Peter Corbett said the council was under pressure to provide "wet" hostels where rules on alcohol are less strict.
Source: BBC Scotland News.

North Wiltshire MP James Gray, a former Shadow Scottish Secretary and son of the Rev John Gray, a previous minister at Dunblane Cathedral and later Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, is celebrating today after winning a ballot which means he keeps his job. Tory members have voted to keep him on as MP at the next General Election despite his affair with a married countryside campaigner while his wife Sarah fought breast cancer. This week Mrs Gray broke her silence on the affair and condemned her estranged husband for belittling her fight against breast cancer in a letter to the Press Complaints Commission.
Source: Wiltshire Gazette & Herald.

The Catholic Church in Scotland last night furiously accused ministers of creating a "thought crime" after Tony Blair refused to exempt Catholic adoption agencies from gay equality laws. In a significant escalation of the war of words between Church and state, the Catholic hierarchy said the government's decision to force faith-based agencies to consider same-sex couples as prospective adoptive parents would have a knock-on effect on religious people in other professions. A spokesman for the Scottish Catholic Media Office insisted: "This is UK-wide regulation that will impact on anyone who provides goods and services, from the priest who refuses to hire the parish hall to a same-sex couple, to the editor of a Catholic newspaper who refuses to carry a Gay Pride advert, or a printer who refuses to print those adverts - they will all be criminalised by this Draconian measure. This is as close as you can get to a thought crime," he said, in a reference to the George Orwell novel 1984.
Source: The Scotsman.

The Prime Minister's Official Spokesman began the briefing by reading a statement on behalf of the Prime Minister on adoption: "Over the last few days I have listened to the strongly-held views on all sides on the issue of adoption agencies and the new sexual orientation regulations. I have heard from representatives of gay rights groups and the leaders of the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches as well as Jack McConnell, who has been making sure the Scottish perspective is heard in these discussions ... I start from a very firm foundation: there is no place in our society for discrimination. That is why I support the right of gay couples to apply to adopt like any other couple. And that is why there can be no exemptions for faith-based adoption agencies offering publicly-funded services from regulations which prevent discrimination ... This will be made clear in the regulations that the Government will lay before Parliament shortly. In the interests of children, they will include a transition period before these regulations come fully into force at the end of 2008 for existing adoption agencies. This will be coupled, during this period, with a statutory duty for any adoption agency which does not process applications from same sex couples to refer them to another agency..."
Source: 10 Downing Street.

Britain would be left with nowhere to store its nuclear weapons if it could not store them in Scotland, according to advocate John Mayer, who drafted an SNP bill which would criminalise Scottish ministers who order the use of nuclear weapons. He was speaking at a Scottish Parliament debate on the future of Trident and its possible replacement, organised by the United Nations Association of Edinburgh. It was attended by the consul generals of Germany, Japan and the US as well as trade union officials and church leaders from the Church of Scotland, the Catholic Church, the Society of Friends and the Scottish Episcopal Church.
Source: BBC Scotland News.

Katy Whitelaw talks to the Reverend David Gordon, the new minister at Kirkintilloch Baptist Church. Originally from Bangor in Northern Ireland, he spent 17 years as a pastor and prison chaplain on the Isle of Man and was a National Mission Advisor for the Baptist Union of Scotland.
Source: Kirkintilloch Herald.

Tributes have been paid to Alex Porter, 54, who froze to death after falling in Paisley on New Year’s Day. His funeral was conducted at Elderslie East Gate Church by Pastor Arthur O’Malley, who baptised Alex in the sea at Irvine when he turned to God and became involved with the church after encountering personal problems in his life. Pastor O’Malley said: "Alex helped to rebuild the church when we took it over six years ago after it had lain derelict for a quarter of a century."
Source: Paisley Daily Express.

Scottish ministers were accused of discrimination yesterday for asking Westminster to permit Catholic adoption agencies to turn away gay couples. Yesterday, it was made clear the Executive is on the side of the religious organisations in retaining a criterion for potential adopters. Last June, Peter Peacock, the education minister, wrote to Meg Munn, the minister for equality, to ask that the faith-based agencies be given the right to set their own criteria. A spokesman said: "We have made representations on the fact that we want faith-based agencies to retain the flexibility that they presently have." It is understood that Jack McConnell, the First Minister, believes the status quo must be maintained in order to allow faith-based agencies to carry on helping children in need. The SNP also wants faith-based agencies to be allowed to maintain the status quo. But Margaret Smith, Lib Dem MSP, said: "Any exemption is basically retaining discrimination. If other adoption agencies said they were going to discriminate against Catholic couples there would be an outcry."
Source: The Scotsman.

The Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) has announced the Moderator-Designate of its next general assembly is the Rev Maurice Roberts, who is currently minister at Inverness. Born in Cheshire in 1938, he began a career in teaching before converting from a non-Christian background in 1957. After marrying in 1965, he moved to Edinburgh, where he was involved in outreach work to the children housed in the Castle Barracks. Mr Roberts studied for the ministry were at the Free Church College and acquired a knowledge of Gaelic, sufficient to enable him to preach in the language.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.

The close-knit Perthshire village of Methven was in mourning yesterday as a horrific road accident struck at the heart of the community. Allison Melville, who was awarded the MBE in 2002, died along with husband William and son William junior on Saturday evening. As a lollipop lady at Methven Primary she ensured the safety of youngsters for 27 years. And as troop leader and district commissioner with Methven Guides she also played a large part in their development. News of their deaths was announced to the Sunday congregation at Methven and Logiealmond Parish Church, though most had long since heard of the tragedy. Yesterday the Rev Brian Bain paid tribute to the family and in particular "a wonderful person and a close family friend".
Source: Dundee Courier.

Episcopalian cleric the Rev Kenneth Wigston, 78, received fatal injuries when he was knocked down by a car near his Glencoe home on Saturday night. Yesterday a colleague, the Rev Peter Rice, who succeeded him at the village church of St Mary, said: "One of Scotland's characters has gone and will be sadly missed." A fluent Gaelic speaker and piper, and president of the Clan Donald Society of Edinburgh, Mr Wigston became a priest in 1959. After working in English parishes, he moved to Airdrie in 1968 then St Oswald's in Glasgow before spending eight years as priest at Glencoe.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.

Former Labour health minister Susan Deacon has attacked fellow MSPs in Labour and the Scottish National Party for trying to get a Scottish exemption from equality law. She called on the Scottish Parliament yesterday to stay true to its founding principle of equality and stand up to pressure from the Catholic church for an exemption from equality legislation over gay adoption.
Source: The Herald.

The SNP stands accused of conning the Catholic Church over its stance on gay adoption. The party's deputy leader, Nicola Sturgeon, wrote to the Catholic Observer last week saying she backed the right of Catholic adoption agencies to turn away gay couples. But Labour has blasted Sturgeon and her colleagues because they voted against an opt-out when gay adoption was debated at the Scottish Parliament.
Source: Sunday Mail.

Catholic leaders north of the Border thought they had secured an opt-out from anti-discrimination legislation for their adoption agencies, but now they fear those promises are worthless. "They believed they had already secured just such an opt-out from the then education minister Peter Peacock and his deputy Robert Brown as long ago as last September. But ... last week it became clear that the new legislation would override any reassurances given by the devolved administration at Holyrood." Campaigner Tim Hopkins,head of Equality Network Scotland, believes the Catholic church knew there were impending Westminster laws and is now trying to spin the issue. Ministers, meanwhile, remain hopeful a solution can be found to allow Catholic adoption agencies to continue operating. An Executive spokesman added: "Nothing in the Adoption Act prevented adoption agencies from setting criteria as to the type of adopters they would consider, and we hope that the outcome of the Sexual Orientation discrimination regulations will not affect this."
Source: Sunday Herald.

Archbishop Mario Conti explains the Catholic view of the debate on gay adoption. "It's worth recalling that, strictly speaking, no person and no couple (whatever their sexuality or marital status) has the 'right' to a child. A child is a gift, not a good or a commodity to be dispensed in a consumerist fashion. The church has, historically, fulfilled the role of helping society to discern what is right and wrong, of encouraging just laws and respect for them. It would surely be a loss to the whole of society if that role were to be outlawed."
Source: Sunday Herald.

When the Archbishop of Canterbury supported the Catholic Church in the gay adoption row last week, many were surprised. Dr Rowan Williams, usually considered a moderniser, was criticised by liberals for asking Tony Blair to exempt Catholic adoption agencies from Government regulations which will force all agencies to offer children for adoption to gays. Now it has emerged that Dr Williams may have been influenced by his close involvement with a remarkable couple who rescued a boy brutalised by a notorious social services paedophile ring. The foster mother, Mrs Kate Cairns, said: "On radio and TV this week I have repeatedly heard politicians insist that every adoption agency, whatever its religious beliefs about the best home for children, must offer gay people 'equality of access to all goods and services'. My blood has run cold every time I have heard that. Children in care are not goods or services, chattels to be claimed or shared."
Source: Sunday Telegraph.

The Catholic Church is to go to war over new legislation on rights for homosexuals, vowing to create "gay rights martyrs" if the laws are passed. In a change of tactics, Church officials now say they will not close down adoption agencies as a result of new laws forcing them to deal with applications from gay couples. Instead, they will deliberately break the law in order to bring a case to court. The Church believes it could then challenge a guilty verdict through Article 9 of the Human Rights Act, which upholds the freedom of religious expression.
Source: Scotland on Sunday.

Dementia victim Catherine MacNeill, 85, who handed control of her £1 million fortune to her parish priest, has died 48 hours after Father Mustaq Azad agreed to give up his power of attorney over her affairs and those of her disabled son. Fr Azad, the priest at St Kieran's church in Campbeltown, is expected to return in a fortnight from leave in Pakistan. A spokesman for the Catholic Church said it was too early to say if he would be disciplined but added: "There will certainly be conversations and discussions with Fr Azad to decide what action will be taken."
Source: Daily Record.

Obituary of Bruce Kenrick, founder of Shelter; born January 18, 1920; died January 15, 2007. "If you were a tourist wandering the white beaches at the northern end of Iona 40 summers ago, the chances are you would have noticed a remarkably fit man living with his family in a collection of tents surrounded by sea canoes and things such as typewriters balanced on shaky card tables. In those days, when ministers of the Church of Scotland were usually respectable pillars of the Establishment, it might have surprised you to learn this Crusoe was no hippy. On the contrary, the Rev Bruce Kenrick was not only one of the world's foremost writers on applied theology but also the recent founder of what was then one of the most discussed charities in the land - Shelter, the housing pressure group that had galvanised the nation into action to improve inner-city dwellings."
Source: The Herald.

Former Lenzie residents David and Olwen Ford were the guests of honour at a farewell party hosted by the International Missions Board last week in Bishopbriggs Free Church.
David (57) and Olwen (54), who were back in Scotland on a six month break, have been missionaries in South America for around 30 years. The couple are returning to Colombian drugs capital Medellin to teach and work in a local church. Olwen said: "It makes me annoyed that people who use cocaine don't realise the impact on ordinary people in South America is enormous." The couple have set up a weblog so that supporters can track their work.
Source: Kirkintilloch Herald.

A Labour councillor has quit North Lanarkshire Council in protest at the party’s ‘pro-gay’ policies. Cambusnethan councillor Tom Selfridge said his feelings were so great he was willing to give up a guaranteed £15,000 pay-out in May to follow his principles. He said he did not agree with laws which allow same sex couples to adopt and civil partnerships between same sex couples. Mr Selfridge, a former vice-convener of the Council's social work and education committees, will now stand for the Scottish Christian Party in the forthcoming Scottish Parliament elections.
Source: Wishaw Press.

The Scottish Covenanters’ Memorial Association were under fire this week from Bothwell Community Council for changing their position on housebuilding at Bothwell’s Covenanters’ field. When the issue of zoning the field for housing emerged last year, the SCMA accused South Lanarkshire Council of ‘flying in the face’ of Scottish Executive policy and ‘betraying the memory’ of those who gave their lives during the 1679 Battle of Bothwell Bridge. But during a meeting with South Lanarkshire Council, the SCMA accepted the case for a ‘small scale, high quality’ housing development at the site. In return, the council agreed to work with the SCMA to draw up plans for a memorial garden, which would involve relocating the current 19th century memorial at the bridge, and information boards telling the story of the battle.
Source: Hamilton Advertiser.

Burrelton Cargill Church Guild members have designed and made a pulpit fall for Lusangazi Church in Mzuzu, Malawi, in Central Africa. It will be taken there for the opening of the new church next week by Guild members Heather Gray and Sandra Petrie with the Rev Dr Hugh Ormiston, a former minister of Rattray Parish Church, and his wife Moira. Dr Ormiston said: ''A number of churches are now helping in the Mzuzu area, including Kennoway, Windygates and Balgonie-St Kenneth Church in Fife who have raised more than £8000 for projects there.''
Source: Blairgowrie Advertiser.

An innovative text message support project has been launched to help people beat the Monday morning blues. The G21 Mobile, set up by The Salvation Army in Goldthorpe, South Yorkshire, allows individuals to sign up to receive weekly support or prayer text messages that will give them an ‘emotional lift’ every Monday morning. Once the project takes off, a website will be launched to provide support 24 hours a day, seven days a week in the form of articles and advice ranging from keeping fit and losing weight, to how to deal with emotional problems and discussions about spirituality.
Source: Inspire Magazine.

Following a three-month due diligence period, International Bible Society (IBS) and Send the Light (STL) have announced their joint intention to merge organisations. IBS is one of the world’s largest translators and distributors of Scripture, and STL is one of the world’s largest distributors of Christian literature.
Source: Inspire Magazine.

Give up your place in a queue, have a TV-free day, or help in an environmental clean-up... These are the kind of suggestions for self-denial and good works that a daily Church of England text-messaging service is to provide this Lent. By texting the word 'Lent' to 64343, churchgoers will be able to sign up to receive these and other daily practical suggestions by phone. The Love Life, Live Lent campaign will cost 10p a day, and users will be charged in weekly amounts. There is an accompanying booklet.
Source: Church Times.

This week, the Catholic Church stated that its adoption agencies would have to close if the Government forced them to accept applications from gay couples. Here, a gay Anglican priest describes how he and his Catholic partner took on a child with severe learning difficulties and behavioural problems, and why they wish to do so again. "This is not an argument with two sides. This is not a debate between Catholic rights and gay rights - this is about very vulnerable children, thousands of them, waiting in inappropriate conditions for a loving family to help mend broken hearts. Many of these kids have disabilities - many have been in as many as 20 and more different short-term placements ... And what of us? We have already had mentioned to us a couple of children who have such profound disabilities that they will never know the gender, yet alone the sexuality of the loving parents they need. They cannot see nor hear and will only know love from the tender way they are cared for. If only the Church could know this love."
Source: The Tablet.

Politicians should not be singled out for criticism because of their religious beliefs, the Evangelical Alliance has said as pressure mounts on Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly. Ms Kelly, a committed Catholic, has again found her beliefs at the centre of controversy as she decides on exemptions to the Sexual Orientation Regulations (SORs).
Source: Evangelical Alliance news release.

The Right Rev Alan McDonald, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, will deliver a challenging address on the plight of homeless people when he preaches on Homelessness Sunday (28 January) at the Glasgow Lodging House Mission. "It is almost incredible that in 2007 the gap between the rich and the poor in our society in actually growing wider," said Mr McDonald.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.

Senior Cabinet ministers including Gordon Brown and John Reid have been warned that Catholic church leaders will campaign against Labour candidates in the Scottish elections if the government requires Catholic adoption agencies to allow gay couples to adopt. Mario Conti, the Catholic archbishop of Glasgow, has written to five Scottish Cabinet members - the chancellor, the home secretary, trade secretary Alistair Darling, transport and Scottish secretary Douglas Alexander, and defence secretary Des Browne - repeating his warning to Tony Blair that preventing Catholic agencies from discriminating will be a "betrayal". Senior Catholic officials said yesterday they planned to turn the controversy into a major political issue in May's elections, and pointed to the Scottish National party's claims this week that it would retain the right of Catholic agencies to bar gay couples. Church leaders will urge Catholic voters to remember the track record of each party and cast their vote for the parties and candidates who were closest to the moral stance of the church.
Source: The Guardian.

Catholic adoption agencies will defy new anti-discrimination laws, the Church warned last night, as the row over allowing gay couples to adopt threatened to divide religion and politics. In Scotland, recent legislation for the first time allowed gay couples to adopt. However, faith-based agencies can vet potential adopters based on their sexuality. Despite accusations of discrimination, the Scottish Executive insists faith-based adoption agencies must be allowed an opt-out, and is in constant contact with Westminster to try to stop the new laws. But as equality is a reserved matter it is powerless. Yesterday, Archbishop Mario Conti said: "It is a raw deal, isn't it, when even our Executive is being undermined by other legislation [from Westminster], when one piece of legislation is fighting with another bit of legislation?"
Source: The Scotsman.

The Muslim Council of Britain has backed the leaders of the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches in the adoption row. The intervention adds to the pressure on the Government to create an exemption for religious adoption societies under the new Sexual Orientation Regulations.
Source: The Times.

A service of celebration is to be held at Kinnoull Parish Church in Perth church on Sunday to mark the completion of a £90,000 refurbishment project. In pride of place is the Parables of Our Lord painted glass window which was designed by the artist Sir John Millais.
Source: Dundee Courier.

For decades, a rather devastating virus has been quietly tearing out the heart of the middle classes and replacing it with a profound dissatisfaction with life. Despite being surrounded by the trappings of wealth and luxury like never before, as a society we have never been more restless and unhappy. Television psychologist and author Oliver James describes it in a new book, Affluenza. He said: "Affluenza is placing a high value on money, possessions, physical and social appearances and fame. People who do that, according to studies in 14 different nations, are significantly more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety, addictions and personality disorders - the most common mental illnesses." He claims that up to half the population of Britain is suffering from these conditions. Morag Milne, convener of the Church and Society Council of the Church of Scotland, says: "The idea of finding contentment not through material possessions, but through family and community, is one which chimes with the beliefs of the church. It reminds me in particular of the Beatitudes; blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. It is nothing new - it's a belief which has been around for a long time, and which Christ himself preached. However, in this time of mass media, celebrity and great uncertainty, it is one that is definitely worth stating again."
Source: The Herald.

Morag Mylne, convener of the Church of Scotland’s Church and Society Council, has stepped into the debate on adoption law and equalities legislation. "When discussions were taking place in Scotland, the Church of Scotland contribution was to say, firstly, that no one has a 'right' to adopt," she said. "In relation therefore to the current parliamentary discussion, we are content with the general principle of the anti-discrimination legislation and content that the Catholic Church be allowed to continue to work in its own traditional way."
Source: Church of Scotland news release.

Obituary of the Rev Bruce Kenrick, minister and founder of Shelter; born 18 January, 1920, in Liverpool; died 15 January, 2006, in Oban, aged 86. "He was ordained in 1961 into the Church of Scotland and, after a time in India, went to Iona to join the ecumenical community created there in 1938 by the Rev George MacLeod. On Iona, Kenrick wrote Come Out of the Wilderness, a personal plea for the Church to become more involved with the suffering of the poor. 'The Church must suffer and be crucified with those it seeks to serve,' Kenrick wrote. 'It must keep on being crucified even though the nails bite deep and the hope of resurrection is obscure.'"
Source: The Scotsman.

The Scottish Executive has given assurances that adoption agencies run by the Catholic Church will not be compelled to place children with same-sex couples, the Church claimed last night. The Catholic Church added that it would regard any backtracking on the assurance as a "betrayal". The revelation came in a letter to Tony Blair, the Prime Minister, written by Archbishop Mario Conti, the vice-president of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland. A Scottish Executive spokesman said: "The Executive wants to see a way forward that allows faith-based adoption agencies to continue - if not expand - their valuable work. This was made clear at every stage of the passage of the Adoption Act by Scottish education ministers and that remains our view."
Source: The Scotsman.

A frail widow with dementia signed over control of her £1million fortune to her priest. Catherine MacNeil, 85, gave a £120,000 house to Father Mustaq Azad of St Kieran's, Campbelltown, and he took control of the affairs of her disabled son. Fr Azad flew to his native Pakistan after police were called in to investigate the affair. His superiors in the Catholic Church had told him repeatedly to give up his involvement in Catherine's finances.
Source: Daily Record.

The Anglican Archbishops of Canterbury and York have intervened in a growing public row over gay adoption after they warned Prime Minister Tony Blair not to bring in legislation that may make religious people feel unable to undertake public service if it goes against their consciences. In a letter to Mr Blair, Dr Rowan Williams and Dr John Sentamu, said: "The rights of conscience cannot be made subject to legislation, however well meaning. It is vitally important that the interests of vulnerable children are not relegated to suit any political interest."
Source: Christian Today.

In a letter faxed today to Prime Minster Tony Blair, Archbishop Mario Conti on behalf of Scotland's Catholic Bishops has urged him to amend the proposed sexual orientation regulations so that Catholic adoption agencies will not be compelled to place children with same sex couples. The Scottish Bishops' intervention follows a similar letter sent to the Prime Minster by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the President of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. The letter concludes; "What gives the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland added cause for concern is the fact that when legislation concerning the provision of adoption services was recently making its way through the Scottish Parliament, Ministers gave assurances that the services provided by the Catholic adoption agencies was valued by the Executive and that every effort would be made to protect the position of Catholic agencies. Implementation of the proposed Regulations would be regarded as a betrayal of this commitment which was accepted in good faith by the Catholic community in Scotland."
Source: Scottish Catholic Media Office news release.

The February issue review of Life and Work magazine includes a profile of the Rev Ewan Aitken, the Church of Scotland minister who leads the City of Edinburgh Council. The Rev Gordon Jamieson, the Kirk's Director of Stewardship, considers whether congregations' generosity should be measured simply in terms of total income. And two Orkney congregations reveal how they have used inclement weather to their advantage and reduced the size of their carbon footprint.
Source: Church of Scotland news release.

The Roman Catholic church believes that first time Polish voters, many of them devout Catholics, will be receptive to its message on issues including same-sex adoption and 'quickie' divorces. More than 40,000 Eastern Europeans have registered to work in Scotland in the past two years, the majority of them Polish. Many of them will be eligible to vote in the Holyrood election, predicted to be the closest since devolution in 1999 as Labour tries to fight off a challenge from a resurgent Scottish National Party. Church leaders say they will not tell voters which party to support but will highlight the Scottish Executive’s failure to protect family life in the run up to the elections. The church is discussing the translation of its election leaflets and posters into Polish after a successful campaign to attract Polish parents to Catholic schools. Peter Kearney, spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland, said: "The church urges people to use their democratic right to vote and to be guided by their conscience in that vote."
Source: Daily Telegraph.

The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales has said adoption agencies will close if they cannot opt out of new gay rights laws. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor has written to Cabinet ministers saying church teaching prevented its agencies placing children with homosexuals.
Source: BBC Scotland News.

More than £250,000 is to be invested in some of Edinburgh's historic graveyards to make them more attractive to visitors. Most of the money will be spent at Greyfriars Kirkyard on landscaping, and better pathways and markings to guide visitors to look beyond the legend of Greyfriars Bobby and visit graves of interest.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.

A special ecumenical service was held last night at Ness Bank Church, Inverness, to mark the religious faith dimension of the Highland Year of Culture. It marked the launch of a unique series of events under the banner of Highland Faith, which north ministers and priests have described as an opportunity to make a clear statement that almost 1,500 years of Christian faith in the Highlands must be a crucial part of the year's celebrations.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.

A constitutional row erupted last night when it emerged that an English Cabinet minister was preparing to force Scotland to abandon its groundbreaking law allowing gay couples to adopt children. Communities and Local Government minister Ruth Kelly is on collision course with Labour colleagues north and south of the Border over her attempts to slap a ban on gay people adopting children from church-based adoption agencies. Tony Blair is believed to be backing the proposed exemption enabling faith-based agencies to refuse to place children with gay couples. Sources close to Kelly confirmed she wanted to see all elements of the Sexual Orientation (Provision of Goods and Services) Regulations applying throughout the UK, meaning they would take precedence over the Scottish Parliament's own laws.
Source: Scotland on Sunday.

A minister who holds weekly meetings to pray for world peace spoke last night of the inspiration behind the unusual service. The Rev Anne James, of St Andrew's Scottish Episcopal Church at Alford, opened the church doors for an impromptu prayer session after the terrorist attacks in New York on September 11, 2001. More than five years later, the prayers continue as people of all faiths flock to the church each Wednesday morning.
Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal.

Scotland's oldest stonemason has retired after a 60-year career that saw him rebuild Iona Abbey, as well as work on the US Capitol building and rock star Eric Clapton's home in the Caribbean. Ian Cramb, 78, a fifth-generation stonemason who grew up in Dunblane, used little more than his bare hands and a 150-year-old hammer and chisel during his remarkable career.
Source: The Scotsman.

Nadia Eweida, the British Airways employee banned from wearing a cross to work, last night expressed her elation that the airline was changing its policy to allow uniformed staff to wear a "symbol of faith". A spokesman for the Church of Scotland said: "Members of the different faith communities in the UK have a mutual respect for each other's symbols. The sight of a cross was never likely to offend anyone. In that context this is a sensible decision." Peter Kearney, of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, said: "We very much welcome this decision by British Airways. Freedom of religious expression is a pillar of any democracy and should be upheld at all times. "Also, it is to be hoped this decision marks the beginning of the end of thoughtless, politically-correct over-sensitivity on the part of employers and others." Teresa Smith, of the Scottish Christian People's Alliance, which will be contesting the Holyrood election in May, said: "British Airways has at last seen sense. In a democracy people should be able to show the symbols of their religion, whether that be Christian, Muslim, Sikh or whatever."
Source: The Herald.

The Church of Scotland's magazine, Life and Work, has been slated for carrying an advert from the Tory Party. Retired Edinburgh minister and Liberal Democrat city councillor the Rev George Grubb said he had been surprised to see the ad in the January edition of the magazine, which also carried pieces written by all four main Scottish party leaders. He said: "Many people I have spoken to think this is a great mistake. We have a long tradition that we do not become party political." Life and Work editor Lynne McNeil said the four main parties had all been offered the chance to take out an advert to accompany the articles by their leaders, and only the Tories had taken up the offer.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.

The funeral of Michael Blakey, a devout Christian bludgeoned to death in Dharamsala, northern India, while working for an Edinburgh-based charity, was taking place today in Lancashire. The husband of Tong-Len UK co-worker Rachel Owen was accused of killing Mr Blakey by local police because they said he could not accept his 35-year-old wife's friendship with him, but he was later released unconditionally after passing a lie detector test.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.

Blantyre minister the Reverend William Mackie has died aged 92. He retired from the town’s Church of the Nazarene 10 years ago.
Source: Hamilton Advertiser.

Reverend John Carrie, who has been minister of Queensferry Parish Church for 35 years, is the recipient of one of the Rotary Club's top honours to recognise his contribution to the community. The Paul Harris Fellowship Award is only rarely bestowed on people outwith the Rotary organisation.
Source: Bo'ness Journal.

Rosslyn Chapel, the iconic 560-year-old centrepiece of the blockbuster movie The Da Vinci Code, made a profit of more than £500,000 last year. Visitor figures increased fivefold to more than 170,000 in 2006.
Source: The Scotsman.

The Scottish Bible Society’s latest project for the whole of Scotland, Bibleworld SBS Studios, an education resource, is visiting Aviemore at the start of the Highland 2007 festival (17-21 January). Bibleworld SBS Studios is a travelling hi-tech classroom designed to bring the story of the Bible to life. Churches are being encouraged to invite the trailer to their area for use by the whole of the community.
Source: Inspire Magazine.

Obituary of Ronald Beasley; counsellor, ecumenist, pacifist; born 25 October, 1923, in London; died 28 November, 2006, in Edinburgh, aged 83. "As Bruce Cameron, former Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, said at Ronald Beasley's funeral "Retirement was not a word in Ron's vocabulary." At 83, he was still firing on all cylinders, after a lifetime of being a "bonnie fechter" in a number of arenas: political life, local, national and international; educational affairs; social work and the wellbeing of young people; the life of the Church."
Source: The Scotsman.

The gloomy medieval interior of St Giles' Cathedral will be transformed by a £2 million lighting scheme if a fundraising scheme, launched today, is successful.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News.

Scotland's first female judge has been cleared of allegations of bias stemming from her membership of a Jewish law association. Appeal judges at the Court of Session in Edinburgh yesterday rejected claims that Lady Cosgrove's impartiality when ruling on an immigration case of a Palestinian woman was compromised by being part of the International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists.
Source: The Herald.

More than 1000 condoms a week are being handed out free to children under 16 as part of a controversial safe sex programme in the Lothians. The confidential C:card service hands out contraception to children as young as 13 at youth clubs and other venues on condition youngsters talk to an adviser about safe sex. The latest NHS Lothian figures show around 120 pregnancies a year among 13 to 15-year-olds - a 31 per cent rise in ten years. Simon Dames, a spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland, condemned the service. He said: "Sex isn't like having a pizza, which is why I think we are lying to our youth by having these so-called sexual health services. We are raising the age of smoking cigarettes to 18 and it would be crazy encouraging youngsters to try cigarettes by calling it safe smoking."
Source: The Scotsman.

More than 100 Christians listened to Dr Paul Tan, founder of the Tung Ling Bible School in Singapore, as he led classes at a four-day bible school at Perth Christian Centre, during his 15th visit to Scotland. Dr Tan will next appear in Perth at a day conference for young people on January 20 in Perth Christian Centre. Event co-ordinator Senior Pastor Mervyn Milne, a director of Perth-based People With A Mission Ministries, said Dr Tan’s efforts had helped make the bible school “a resounding success”.
Source: Perthshire Advertiser.