The Church of Scotland

1
The Church of Scotland

• Parish Appraisal

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The Church of Scotland

• national
• established, therefore with distinctive
  privileges and challenges
• territorial - presbytery based
• urban, county, rural, island
• parish-based
• induction not to congregation but to church and
  parish

3
The Church of Scotland

• reformans semper reformanda reforming and
  always in need of being reformed constant
  reassessment of itself and its task marking
  time usually means going backwards

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The Church of Scotland

• why? a church which relates to its setting in
  mission and service, through ministers and
  congregations deployed in viable and workable
  units, some financially self- sufficient, some
  not

5
The Church of Scotland

• Change
• when people, communities and society change,
  gradually or quickly, the church must adapt, like
  a piece of machinery constantly being re-aligned
  to maintain its effectiveness

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Parish Appraisal

• Responsible for implementing legislation on
  planning, appraisal of vacancies and vacancy
  procedures
• Act IV 1984
• Acts VII VIII 2003
• Agreeing with Presbyteries where New Charges be
  developed or alternative location for existing
  place of worship

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Parish Appraisal

• Vision of the former Board of National Mission
• That the people of Scotland in all its parts
  might hear clearly the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
  see the life of his Spirit among his people and
  come to know the love of God the Father

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Parish Appraisal

• seeks to assist Presbyteries and congregations
  to achieve a fair distribution of Ministers,
  Deacons, Parish Assistants and Project workers to
  fulfil the ministry and mission of the Kirk
  throughout Scotland and in the Presbytery of
  England

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Act VII 2003

• Every Presbytery to prepare a Plan by May 2006,
  after consultation with each congregation
• Assembly Committee to consider and concur with
  Plan
• Presbytery then to implement Plan at appropriate
  opportunities

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The Presbytery Plan

• not less than ten years
• rolling forward with annual appraisal by
  Presbytery
• concurrence by Assembly Committee every five
  years (and where increased staff in any charge)

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The Presbytery Plan

• will specify
• duration of Plan
• number, nature and pattern of every charge and
  all other appointments at end of period
• indication of likely demographic changes

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For each charge

• either
• no adjustment foreseen during lifetime of Plan
• immediate adjustment
• adjustment when next vacant
• adjustment effected after next vacancy (possible
  Interim Ministry)
• appraisal and any adjustment deferred until next
  vacancy

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Forms of adjustment

• union of two or more congregations
• linking of two or more congregations
• deferred union or deferred linking
• New Charge Development
• transportation
• Parish Grouping
• dissolution
• alteration in number of ministers
• other form of ministry, in consultation with
  Assembly Committee

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Instruments for Adjustment Planning

• reviewable tenure - 3 main forms
• continued vacancy
• transference to another Presbytery
• demission in the interests of adjustment

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Procedure

• Develop and agree general principles
• Consultation with congregations - individually or
  in groups
• Draft Plan
• informal discussion with Assembly Committee
• approval by Presbytery
• concurrence by Assembly Committee

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Presbytery Plan

• is a statement of intent
• congregation may state concerns or lodge appeal
  at time of approval of Plan by Presbytery - but
  not dealt with until adjustment falls to be
  implemented
• congregations maintain their rights

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National Guidelines for Deployment of Ministries

• A scheme for a just and equitable deployment of
  ordained ministry throughout Scotland

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National Guidelines

• requested by General Assembly
• commitment to territorial ministry
• not an attempt to move ministers from one area to
  another
• not a scheme to address recruitment of new
  ministers

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National Guidelines

• scheme to provide each Presbytery with a
  proportion of the total number of ministries
  available to serve in the parish ministry
• purpose to redress imbalances in current
  provision of ministry - mainly geographical and
  sociological
• to be the guiding background to current
  presbytery planning requirements

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Principles(approved by General Assembly 2004)

• provides percentage for each Presbytery of total
  number of ordained ministers available
• is an agreement between Presbyteries - a tolerant
  framework not an Act of Assembly but set of
  regulations
• has a realistic implementation period
• assumes a reasonable percentage of vacancies

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The tools

• Population statistics from 2001 Census
• Committees experience and knowledge of
  presbyteries
• practice elsewhere
• priority areas
• ministry projections

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Basis of Calculation(approved by General
Assembly 2004)

• Population
• National Census and based on postcode returns
• total population of Presbytery
• less
• all indicating affiliation or affinity to other
  denomination or faith group
• equals
• net population for National Guidelines purposes

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Basis of Calculation

• Geographical factors
• Density / Sparsity according to type of
  Presbytery 6 types
• city
• predominately urban
• urban / rural
• rural / urban
• scattered rural
• island

Geographic factors relate to integral nature of a
presbytery, not to its proximity to or remoteness
from Central Belt
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Basis of Calculationgeographic factors

• city virtually all urban charges and where
  geographic distance or barriers between
  congregations do not pose real difficulties in
  deploying ministry
• Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen
• Weighting 1.0

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Basis of Calculationgeographic factors

• predominately urban mostly urban charges,
  possibly one or two more rural but where
  geographic distance or barriers between
  congregations do not pose real difficulties in
  deploying ministry
• West Lothian, Kirkcaldy, Dunfermline, Lothian,
  Falkirk, Irvine Kilmarnock, Ayr, Hamilton,
  Greenock Paisley, Dumbarton
• Weighting 1.0

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Basis of Calculationgeographic factors

• urban / rural presbyteries where bulk of
  population is in comparatively large towns but
  where there is also significant number of rural
  charges
• Buchan, Angus, Moray, Perth, Inverness,
  Ardrossan, Stirling, Melrose Peebles, Lanark,
  Dumfries Kirkcudbright, St. Andrews, Kincardine
  Deeside
• Weighting 1.5

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Basis of Calculationgeographic factors

• rural / urban presbyteries with a relatively
  compact area, with a number of small towns with
  substantial rural hinterland and where population
  is more balanced between town and country
• Gordon, Annandale Eskdale, Jedburgh, Wigtown
  Stranraer, Caithness, Ross, Dunkeld Meigle,
  Duns
• Weighting 2.0

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Basis of Calculationgeographic factors

• scattered rural presbyteries with small
  population, across large area, with considerable
  distances between communities and/or where there
  are significant natural barriers as a factor in
  deployment
• Lochcarron-Skye, Abernethy, Lochaber, Sutherland
• Weighting 3.0

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Basis of Calculationgeographic factors

• island presbyteries in whole or part
  characterised by remote communities where air or
  sea transport is major factor in deployment
• Shetland, Orkney, Argyll, Lewis, Uist
• Weighting 3.0

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Basis of Calculation

• Geographic factors
• Density / sparsity weightings
• city 1
• predominately urban 1
• urban / rural 1.5
• rural / urban 2
• scattered rural 3
• island 3

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Basis of Calculation

• Poverty / deprivation factor
• the fifty-four neediest parishes in the country
  (as defined by Priority Areas Committee) -
• Parish net population
• multiplied by 2
• (Glasgow 39 Edinburgh 2 Dundee 5 Irvine
  Kilmarnock 1 Hamilton 2 Greenock Paisley 2
  Inverness 1 Ardrossan 1 Stirling 1)

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Example

• Assume 1,100 ministries
• city predom. urban presbytery would have 1
  ministry for every 4,000
• urban / rural presbytery 1/2,600
• rural / urban 1 / 2,000
• scattered rural island 1/1,300
• (before taking deprivation factor into account)