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Home and abroad on agenda for moderator

The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has expressed the hope that the visit to the Middle East by US president George W. Bush can help bring peace to the area.

The comment was made by Moderator the Right Reverend Sheilagh Kesting as she moved into the second day of a hectic spell of activity in north-east Fife.

The moderator will spend this week carrying out a substantial number of visits in the largely rural area and before she set off for Fife’s East Neuk yesterday, she spoke to reporters at the Rusacks Hotel, St Andrews.

Asked about the Israel-Palestine situation, an issue the Church of Scotland has always maintained a strong interest in, the moderator said any attempt to try to bring peace to the Middle East is to be commended.

Asked about the future of the ministry in rural areas, the moderator said there is a question over how this can be sustained and she wants to listen to what people have to say.

“It is a very important part of what the Church of Scotland is about. If we are saying that we are a national church then we have to think very seriously about how we maintain the presence and the ministry in rural areas.

“There are more issues than money and the size of congregations, certainly,” she said.

Full story at the Dundee Courier.