You can listen right here to the official Basis of Union acceptance by Presbytery. This is a joyful, long anticipated (but at times quite painful), future-pointing moment in the story of our congregation and our sincere thanks go to all on the steering group, to Rev Alan Childs and to Elaine Thomson our session clerk for getting us to this point.
We now look forward to joining with Alan and Rev Moira McDonald in team ministry and with our neighbours from Corstorphine Old Parish in a newly formed and united parish: Edinburgh Corstorphine Old and New, from 1 January 2026.
Please find below a letter from Rev Alan Childs confirming the results of the vote on Union between Craigsbank and Corstorphine Old Parish at last week’s service.
Dear Craigsbank church members and friends
What a remarkable moment in the story of our congregation. I want to offer heartfelt thanks to every one of you following the outcome of the recent unification vote. Both Craigsbank and Corstorphine Old congregations voted – almost unanimously – to move forward as one united church family under the new name Corstorphine: Old and New.
The voting numbers were as follows, distinguishing between the votes of the Sessions (a few weeks prior) and the Congregations (Sunday past):
Sessions votes
Craigsbank
Craigsbank
Cor.Old
Cor.Old
For
Against
For
Against
Basis of Union (excl pa 7 re. ministers)
16
0
17
0
Par 7 ministers in Basis of Union
16
0
19
0
Basis of Team Ministry
16
0
17
0
Congregations votes
Craigsbank
Craigsbank
Cor.Old
Cor.Old
For
Against
For
Against
Basis of Union (excl pa 7 re. ministers)
85
1
78
5
Par 7 ministers in Basis of Union
85
1
79
3
Basis of Team Ministry
82
4
78
5
This is an encouraging sign of faith and hope for the future. It reflects a spirit of openness to where God is leading us – a willingness to embrace change not so much as a loss, but as an opportunity for growth, deeper fellowship, and renewed mission.
These results did not appear overnight. They are the fruit of years of General Assembly instructions, local Presbytery implementation, much patient prayer, dialogue, and discernment. I want to pay special tribute to our Steering Group members, whose integrity and thoughtful leadership have been invaluable throughout the process, and to our Kirk Session elders, who have given so much time, care, and wisdom to guide and support both congregations through every stage.
And I want to thank you, the congregation, for your gracious engagement and your faithfulness. You have attended meetings, asked honest questions, listened carefully and kept your hearts open. In doing so, you have made this transition not only possible but hopeful and life-giving.
As we move forward towards uniting formally by 1 January 2026, our shared ministry will take shape in new and exciting ways. Rev Moira McDonald will continue serving primarily as parish minister for the established communities east of Maybury Road, and I will serve as Pioneer Minister, focusing on the developing neighbourhoods to the west – helping to build community, nurture faith among new residents, and, in time, plant a new worshipping congregation there. Together, along with you, we will form a Team Ministry – working collaboratively across the whole of Corstorphine: Old and New parish to realising the Kingdom of God in both familiar and emerging places.
There will, of course, be much to work out in the months ahead, like structures, services, shared activities, but we can do all this with confidence that God’s Spirit has already been at work among us. The generosity, faith, and unity shown through this process give me great hope for what lies ahead. Keep an eye out for next week’s scheduled monthly Westoverland online newsletter when we will be set out in more detail what the unification process will probably look like.
Thank you again for your faith, patience, and participation through these significant years. I feel privileged to serve alongside you in this new season of ministry, and I look forward with genuine excitement to all that God will do in and through us in the years to come.
Below you will find important information on voting on our proposed union with Corstorphine Old Parish. Please read and if you have any questions at all please contact the church administrator or Rev Alan Childs. In addition, members of the steering group will be available to answer your questions at the services on 5 and 12 October.
This is a long read but it is essential in order to know what you will be voting for.
Dear friend and member of our congregation
A MAJOR step in the life of Corstorphine: Craigsbank Parish Church. Please read the article below.
You will by now have received a copy of the latest Bulletin which contains an article on the process and progress towards our Union with the Old Parish Church. You can also find this on the church website. After many months of hard work and prayer, your session has voted unanimously in favour of this Union.
Now we turn to you. Your vote counts – be sure not to miss the opportunity to make your mark on our Union. To do so, you MUST attend IN PERSON at 10.30am on 19 October at Craigsbank Church. (Transport can be arranged upon request.)
Postal and proxy votes are not permitted (Presbytery ruling).
Please note that this vote is on the two congregations uniting and sharing ministers in team ministry. It is not a vote on buildings – that decision will be taken with Presbytery at a later date.
All members of our congregation and those who worship with us on a regular basis – whether at Craigsbank or East Craigs – are invited to vote in this instance.
As already agreed, our new Parish name will be Edinburgh: Corstorphine Old and New Church of Scotland but the individual centres will retain their names as Craigsbank, East Craigs and Old Parish.
There will be three votes:
Basis of Union – voting on the Union itself rather than those who will minister.
Ministers within the Basis of Union – the sharing of ministers in team ministry.
Basis of Team Ministry – including the ministers’ new roles.
For your prayerful consideration, included with this letter, you will find the two documents on which the votes will be based.
Please note that the vote on the ministers is required for the following reason: As the proposed new Union would have a team ministry, the Old Parish congregation will be asked to give permission for Moira to be ‘shared’ with Craigsbank (as parish minister) as well as to ‘accept’ Alan (as pioneer minister to the new development west of Maybury Road), and Craigsbank will be asked to allow Alan to be ‘shared’ with the Old Parish (as pioneer minister to the new development west of Maybury Road) as well as to ‘accept’ Moira (as parish minister). This is to comply with the Church of Scotland law that congregations choose their minister and do not have ministers imposed upon them.
On the morning of the vote, ballot papers will be given to members of the congregation and regular worshippers (adherents) as they enter. Names will be cross-checked by an elder with the roll. The ballot papers will have three boxes, each relating to one of the three votes described above.
After the service, a Presbytery representative will open our meeting with prayer and then share general thoughts, some description of major points or issues and give time for questions or comments. The votes will then be taken.
The votes will be counted by the representatives of Presbytery who will then let the congregation know the results. They will then liaise with their counterparts at the Old Parish and their results will be shared at roughly the same time.
If the ‘Basis of Union’ and the ‘Basis of Team Ministry’ are approved at both churches, then the vote is reported to Presbytery for their approval on 4 November. If this is granted, we will become a United Congregation on 1 January 2026. If there are significant numbers of ‘no’ votes to give cause for concern, Presbytery will consider the issues and re-engage.
What about our buildings? Where will I worship?
The times of our future services will be decided by the Ministers and the new unified Kirk Session, following Union.
At present it is anticipated that the services will alternate between buildings. However, Presbytery have still to decide which buildings will be kept in the Corstorphine area and therefore please note that regardless of the outcome of our vote, the fate of our buildings will be unknown for some time to come. In the meantime, we will continue to make good use of the buildings of the Old Parish, Craigsbank and East Craigs.
If you have any questions or comments or would like to talk to anyone about the unification, please speak to any of the kirk session elders or to us. There will also be time for questions at every service between now and the morning of the vote on 19 October.
At this point, we want to express our personal thanks to the members of the Steering Group for their integrity-filled leadership of the process, to the Session elders for their sincere and committed care of our congregation, and to you as a member for your loyalty to, and active involvement in, the life and relationships of Craigsbank congregation.
May the Spirit of God guide us with grace and wisdom.
Sincerely,
Alan Childs (Minister) and Elaine Thompson (Session Clerk)
Document 1
BASIS OF UNION
The congregation of Corstorphine Old Parish Church, Church of Scotland, Edinburgh (SC016009) and the congregation of Edinburgh: Corstorphine Craigsbank Parish Church (Church of Scotland) (SC014719) shall be united on 1 January 2026 or from a date to be determined by Presbytery, and that on the following terms and conditions:
Name: The name of the united charge shall be Edinburgh: Corstorphine Old and New Church of Scotland and SC014719 will be retained.
Transference of Property and Funds: The property and funds belonging to or held on behalf of each congregation shall belong to or be held on behalf of the united charge and any transference necessary shall be duly effected.
Places of Worship: All places of worship at present used and occupied by the congregations shall be the places of worship of the united charge in the first instance. The times of all services will be decided by the Ministers and Kirk Session, subject to the approval of Presbytery. However, the places of worship at present used by the congregations are all currently designated as B in terms of the approved Presbytery Mission Plan, as are all those in neighbouring Corstorphine congregations. Presbytery decisions on possible release are pending. Should Presbytery agree to release any of the buildings named above, then the places and times of worship shall be reconsidered and decisions made, subject again to the approval of Presbytery.
Territorial Responsibility: The bounds to be served by the united charge shall be designated as the bounds of the parishes of Corstorphine Old Parish Church and Corstorphine Craigsbank Parish Church, or as the Presbytery shall determine.
Kirk Session: The elders of both Kirk Sessions shall form, with the ministers, the Kirk Session of the united charge.
Congregational Management: The temporal affairs of the united congregation shall be administered by the Kirk Session in terms of the Unitary Constitution, the Delegation of Assembly being authorised to issue the appropriate Deed of Constitution to the said congregation.
Ministers: The Rev. Alan Childs, currently minister at Corstorphine Craigsbank, and the Rev Moira McDonald, currently minister at Corstorphine Old, shall be the ministers of the united charge operating under a Basis of Team Ministry in terms of section 7(10) of the Presbytery Mission Plan Act (Act 8, 2021), which should be read in conjunction with this Basis of Union. The instruction that one of the two ministers should be a Pioneer Minister is contained in the Edinburgh & West Lothian Presbytery Mission Plan.
Manses: The manses of the two congregations shall both be retained as the manses of the united congregation.
Ministerial Support: The stipend of the charge shall be paid in accordance with the terms of the National Stipend Scheme.
Power to Readjust: While the articles and terms shall form the Basis of Union for the two congregations now uniting, the united charge shall be free, like other congregations, to adjust arrangements under the authority of Presbytery as need may arise.
Document 2
BASIS OF TEAM MINISTRY
As agreed in the Basis of Union for Edinburgh: Corstorphine Old and New Church of Scotland within the Presbytery of Edinburgh and West Lothian, a Team Ministry shall operate there as follows.
1 TEAM ROLES
The Team Ministry shall comprise two Full Time Ministers of Word and Sacrament (FTMWS). At the point of Union the Full Time Ministers of Word and Sacrament are the Rev Moira McDonald (Parish Minister) and the Rev Alan Childs (Pioneer Minister).
Each of the FTMWS has equal status, except that the Parish Minister will moderate the Kirk Session. Both current FTMWS shall continue on a Basis of Unrestricted Tenure and shall each occupy the manse provided for their use.
One Parish Minister will work primarily in a traditional parish minister role to the east of Maybury Road for the parish areas currently in Corstorphine Old Parish Church and Corstorphine Craigsbank Church. This will entail pastoral care of church and parish members, leading worship, school chaplaincy to Corstorphine, East Craigs and Gylemuir Primaries and sharing chaplaincy at Craigmount High school, in addition to other traditional duties of parish ministry and other roles that develop.
One Pioneer Minister shall be designated as the Pioneer Minister and shall primarily be responsible for developing Christian mission, ministry, community development and worship in the developing communities to the west side of Maybury Road in the parish areas of Corstorphine Old Parish Church and Corstorphine Craigsbank Church. This will primarily be pioneering and so the nature of the pioneer minister’s work will include developing a pioneering team of volunteers, exercising pastoral care for the new residents, building relationships with and within the community, and developing logistical capacity to establish a future worshipping community. The pioneer minister will also be chaplain to Maybury Primary School (and eventually the other planned schools west of Maybury Road) and share the chaplaincy of Craigmount High School.
It is anticipated that in the first year of the pioneering ministry this would involve two thirds of the workload. In addition to this the pioneer minister will take the lead in developing ‘Growing Young’ within the new union, take the lead initially in developing the younger family focused services, and in developing Craigsbank as a missional arts centre. It is anticipated these responsibilities will involve one third of the workload. The portion of ministry workload is foreseen to annually increase in favour of pioneering and will be reviewed accordingly each year by the Kirk Session.
Both ministries constitute the team, and each person is a team member. It shall be the duty of team members to work collaboratively to further the mission of the church, sharing or covering for each other’s duties where necessary and permissible in terms of church law, but not so as to make any material alteration to the terms of service of any team members working under a contract of employment without the agreement of that person.
All roles within the team which are for FTMWS shall, if vacant, be subject to the Call, Election and Appointment of Ministers of Word and Sacrament Act (Act 11, 2025)
2. MODERATOR OF THE KIRK SESSION
The Parish Minister, currently the Rev Moira McDonald, will be the Moderator of the Kirk Session in the first instance.
As a member of the Kirk Session, the full-time minister who is not the Moderator, (currently the Rev Alan Childs) shall be free to speak to debates, submit motions and counter motions, bring forward business for discussion and vote (unless moderating the meeting, as described below).
The Moderator may invite the other minister to moderate individual meetings of the Kirk Session in line with current Church law (see Kirk Session Meetings Act (Act 6, 2004)).
3. TEAM MEETINGS AND CO-ORDINATION
The members of the team shall meet fortnightly in order to co-ordinate and carry out the work of the team as effectively as possible and discuss matters of common interest. Meetings will ensure that ministry responsibilities are shared on a reasonable basis and that cover is provided for holidays and time off for the Team Members. Chairing of the meeting will alternate every meeting between the two ministers and a note taken of decisions, where appropriate, to enable clarity and accountability, in addition to planning and efficiency. Meetings will take place preferably in person, and involve, where possible, the two ministers, and any other ministry staff where appropriate. Local staff members and other office-bearers may attend these meetings by invitation and from time to time. Matters requiring a decision by the team shall be decided by consensus and a note of such decision will be retained. If a member is unhappy with a decision, he or she may invoke the dispute resolution procedure set out below. Each team member will take responsibility for co-ordinating the work of the team; this will include making sure any gaps in the work of the team are filled.
The wider team should, where relevant and agreed upon, include other local appointments (eg workplace and community chaplain, youth worker, musicians, and probationers on placement).
The ministers shall meet with the Session Clerk(s) on a regular basis.
The ministers together should meet six monthly with an agreed upon facilitator in order to review and discuss progress and practice. Place for Hope will be approached in the first instance.
4. KIRK SESSION COMMITTEES
The two ministers shall have specific responsibility for and relationship with the Kirk Session committees listed below:
Worship – Both ministers with the parish minister (focused on traditional service) and the pioneer minister (focused on young family service)
Pastoral – Parish minister
Mission – Parish minister
Social – Parish minister
Pioneering – Pioneer minister
Growing Young – Pioneer minister
Arts Centre – Pioneer minister
Finance and Human Resources – Both ministers and treasurer
Fabric – Both ministers and property convener
5. DISPUTE RESOLUTION
If a dispute arises out of or in connection with this Team Ministry then the procedure set out in this clause shall be followed.
Any member of the team shall be entitled to give to all or some other members of the team (“the relevant team members”) written notice of the dispute, setting out its nature and full particulars, together with any relevant supporting documents. The relevant team members shall attempt in good faith to resolve the dispute at this stage.
If the relevant team members are unable to resolve the dispute within 30 days of such written notice having been given, the dispute shall be referred to the Presbytery Clerk, who shall attempt in good faith to resolve it.
If the Presbytery Clerk is for any reason unable to resolve the dispute within 30 days of it being referred to him or her, the relevant team members agree to enter into mediation in good faith to settle the dispute. The mediator will be nominated by the Presbytery Clerk having consulted with the Principal Clerk. To initiate the mediation, one of the relevant team members must give written notice to the other relevant team members, referring the dispute to mediation.
If there is any point in relation to the logistical arrangements for the mediation on which the relevant team members cannot agree, the Presbytery Clerk will be entitled to decide that point, having first consulted with the relevant team members.
If the dispute is not resolved within 30 days of commencement of the mediation, the matter shall be referred by the Presbytery Clerk to the Presbytery’s Complaints Committee, or other equivalent Presbytery Committee, subject to any issues of discipline which arise and any other matters which may require to be resolved in terms of the employment contract(s) of the relevant team members. Except in relation to matters which properly fall to be dealt with in terms of the employment contract(s) of one or more relevant team members, there shall be no appeal against the decision of the Committee.
Where the relevant team members include one or more employees, this dispute resolution procedure is without prejudice to the grievance and discipline procedures set out in their contract(s) of employment. For the avoidance of doubt, any team member who is serving under a contract of employment shall be entitled to raise with their employer any matter which they wish to have treated as a grievance, and the employer shall be entitled to raise with the employee any matter which it considers to be disciplinary in nature.
6. FURTHER PROVISIONS
Both manses will be retained for use by the ministers and their families in line with regulations. Eventual acquisition of a manse to the west of Maybury will be considered in due course if the eventual development of a worshipping community there requires it and the incumbent minister and family are willing to move there.
7. PRESBYTERY’S POWER TO ADJUST TEAM MINISTRY
The Presbytery shall be free to adjust arrangements relating to the team Ministry, subject to matters of tenure, as Presbytery may determine from time to time. Any material change to this Basis shall require to be agreed by all members of the team and by Kirk Session.
Yes! We are working our way through the Union process with our Neighbours, The Old Parish.
At our Stated Annual Meeting on 17 April 2025 at East Craigs, our session clerk, Elaine Thompson, presented the following, very informative, update on the Union of Corstorphine Craigsbank and Corstorphine Old Parishes. click here for the transcript. Or read the expanded version below:
Where are we?
Since our last up-date on the Union between Craigsbank and Corstorphine Old Parish on this site, much has been going on behind the scenes. We are now able to give an update on progress, stumbling blocks, and moving forward together. You can still read our 2024 Vision Statement by clicking here. If you read both articles together, you will see just how much work is going into making this happen.
Over the last few months, there have been regular meetings with both church ministers, Alan and Moira, our session clerks and steering groups who are all working together on our behalf.Why are we merging?
You will remember the reasons behind the Church of Scotland’s decision to merge parishes and reduce the number of buildings it is responsible for – declining Church of Scotland membership, less people worshipping particularly on a Sunday morning, reduced offerings and not enough ministers to serve the current parishes. It is a long and difficult (and at times painful) process to get this right but at both churches, we are determined to work together to do just that.
We – Corstorphine Craigsbank (including East Craigs) – were guided by presbytery to work towards union with Corstorphine Old Parish. The united parish would retain two full time ministers – one to be the parish minister to the newly merged congregation and the other a pioneer minister to the ever-expanding new developments to the west of Maybury Road. Who is looking after our interests in the negotations?
In January 2024 the joint steering group of Craigsbank and the Old Parish was set up. We have strong representation. Craigsbank members are Alan Childs, Alan Kennedy, Mike Brough, John Baker, Susan Ross, Paul Spencer and Elaine Thompson. They have been meeting with representatives of the Old Parish every month to work out the best way of bringing our two churches together.
Please note that the previously suggested congregational meeting of 20 or 27 October for voting on our Basis of Union with Corstorphine Old Parish Church has been postponed until further notice. The main reasons being delays in Presbytery and uncertainty about the implications of the possible dissolution of St Andrew’s Clermiston on our own unification process with the Old Parish. More information to follow soon.
As many who follow updates on this site and through the Bulletin magazine and services both online and in person will be aware, our church is at a moment of change.
We offer this vision statement now to bring you up to speed with the thinking of both church ministers, session clerks and steering groups who are working together on our behalf to secure a workable future for all. Please read this statement carefully – it is long but important – and raise questions with Alan or Elaine, or indeed any member of the Session.
REMEMBER: Change does not have to be a bad thing. This union with our neighbours offers the opportunity to grow our community and make new friends.
Since 2018 the General Assembly has been working to develop a Radical Action Plan to restructure the Church of Scotland, essentially downsizing the Kirk. Since then, subsequent General Assembly decisions confirmed the plan to reduce the number of ministry posts across the country by about 40% as well as significantly reducing the number of church properties. This was done partly because of the steep continued decline of church members, declining finances, high costs of maintaining too many old buildings, and partly because the Scotland we live in today has very different patterns of church-going and belief from those of earlier generations. Radical changes had to be made for the Church of Scotland to remain viable and effective.
As a result, each presbytery was allocated an agreed number of posts to be distributed as that presbytery decided, through what is known as the Presbytery Mission Plan. In what was then Edinburgh Presbytery (we have since joined with the Presbytery of West Lothian), the number of ministry posts was to decrease from 78 to 48 – this included parish ministers and ministry support workers such as youth workers, parish assistants and deacons who were funded not by individual local churches, but by the central church. After a lot of hard work and planning, and various Presbytery meetings and Kirk Session meetings, a plan was agreed for the whole of Edinburgh and West Lothian Presbytery. Everywhere across our own presbytery and in every other presbytery is required to make radical changes, not just us.
It was agreed by Presbytery that in our area of Edinburgh, the ministry posts in our local grouping of five congregations – St Andrews Clermiston, Craigsbank, the Old Parish, St Annes, and St Ninians – should be reduced from five to three and a half ministry posts. St Ninian’s, St Annes and St Andrews Clermiston would become a united charge with one minister and a part time ministry support role which could be a pastoral worker or youth worker or whatever they decide is needed.
Meanwhile, and this is the bit that concerns us, our neighbours the Old Parish and Craigsbank were allocated two posts within a union structured as a team ministry. The reason for retaining both posts, contrary to the downsizing impetus elsewhere in Presbytery and the country, is the rapid growth in population in the extraordinary large number and areas of new housing developments to the west of Maybury Road – which will be within our Parish. Therefore, one of the posts would be allocated as a pioneer minister in the vast new housing development while the other post would be as the minister of the united charge of Craigsbank and the Old Parish. So, Alan and Moira would remain in this area, but one would be the pioneer minister in the western expansion, and one would be the more traditional parish minister for the united parish.
How will that work in practice?
Pioneer ministry is a specialist field, asking the pioneer minister to work in an environment that changes every day – new houses, new communities, new habits forming, and being part of that community as a church presence, but not necessarily with a church premises yet to invite people to. Instead, pioneer ministry can mean finding new ways and times of worship such as gathering for meals or groups, growing disciples, forming relationships, working with schools and other groups to support and encourage and build faith. The goal is to form a new worshipping community in due course, but initially pioneering involves building relationships, sensing the work of the Spirit of God amongst the local people, serving flexibly and responsively. For the pioneering ministry to succeed to the west of Maybury requires the wholehearted support of the members of both the current Old Parish and Craigsbank congregations as we go forward in this exciting adventure.
The traditional ministry is more of a known quantity – conducting worship, school chaplaincy, pastoral care, community links over the area currently cared for by Craigsbank, East Craigs and the Old Parish. The minister and teams will continue to make connections, encourage faith, respond to changing times and habits, as well as bringing together two congregations.
Since the beginning of this year a steering group, consisting of six members from each congregation, has met monthly and we have discussed and discerned where we might be being led and what is possible in this new partnership. One of our challenges has been the question of buildings – the five churches in our area grouping have been instructed to dispose of at least one church building, in line with the General Assembly’s general instruction.
Five key areas to look at in detail
Here are five areas our steering group have discussed, provisionally agreed to by both Kirk Sessions, and which we now want to let the wider congregation know about to give you an idea of our direction of travel.
Alan, the current minister of Craigsbank, becomes the pioneer minister in the western expansion, and Moira from the Old Parish becomes the parish minister of the united parish.
Two different styles of Sunday morning services will be held every week, one in the Old Parish and one at the East Craigs centre: one service being a contemporary family focused service geared towards the younger (and possibly less ‘churched’) people of our parish, and the other a more traditional service. Each week the venue for these services will alternate.
Craigsbank church sanctuary and halls would be retained as a basis for missionally reaching out with the love of God to the greater Corstorphine and west of Edinburgh area through performing and creative arts. The halls and sanctuary have already been used for various performances over the years and have even more potential as a community hub serving the greater area creatively. The sanctuary would still be used for united services for the two congregations on the typically four times of the year when there is a fifth Sunday in the month, providing an opportunity for the whole congregation to come together and meet and mingle. It could also be used for some of the larger services to accommodate the whole enlarged congregation, such as Easter Sunday. On this point we recognise there are many challenges involved. Congregations love their own churches because they are so much more than bricks and mortar. They are places where couples have been married, children baptised, and the lives of loved ones celebrated. They are also places where we meet friends and share memories and feel safe. Not having weekly worship in Craigsbank would mean that members there are being asked to make an enormous change in their lives and we do not underestimate the courage that change will bring. Also, having two services in different places at the same time presents its own challenges. People might be tempted to attend what they consider to be ‘their’ church every fortnight when the traditional service is being held there, and to take a week off in between. We hope that will not be the case. Instead, we hope our members see the necessity of change which will lead to growth and find, in travelling between the Old Parish and East Craigs, new fellowship and friendship. There is parking at both East Craigs and around the Old Parish and the number 31 bus stops within a few minutes’ walk of both churches regularly, taking a whole 11 minutes to travel from one church to the other.
That we commit to reaching out to younger demographic groups in our future parish, without neglecting our current membership. The Church of Scotland has embarked on a national Growing Young campaign over the past few years that we are planning to engage in actively to help us to reach out more impactfully to younger generations and grow our church membership amongst them too.
There should be a number of working groups to help the new united congregation function. The steering group, proposes that we form new working groups, such as:
a logistics group overseeing finance, properties, IT and HR.
a worship group which will help to plan and lead our two different weekly worship services.
a pastoral group to help visit and care pastorally for our members and parish.
a mission group, looking out into the parish to share the love of God in relevant ways and to grow disciples of Jesus Christ.
a social group helping to grow friendship relationships amongst people and to bring the two congregations together.
a pioneering group (supporting the work in the western expansion).
a creative arts ministry group developing the Craigsbank buildings into a missional creative and performing arts community hub.
a Growing Young group to help the congregation grow our ministry to younger generations
These are broad groups which will contain various smaller groups, but these are our ‘starter for ten’ groups which will realise their strengths and needs as they develop and become established. Please think prayerfully about your own skills and interests and where you might offer your help and talents.
The steering group has a remit to produce ‘“’a basis of union as a team ministry’”’, which we hope will be approved by Presbytery by the end of this year. These 5 points of proposals are at the core of the basis of union and team ministry that we want to present to our Kirk Sessions and our congregations. You will then be able to vote to accept or not – before presenting the same proposals to Presbytery by the end of this year.
We will need your help
You might choose to come along to the family style worship where kind, caring, encouraging adults will be needed to welcome younger families to more informal worship, café church or messy church, and this in itself will be a bit of pioneering ministry, a wee bit unknown, but very much needed in our churches where young people are missing.
To establish and develop our shared services, to keep the show on the road, we will need flexible and willing people to volunteer for door duty or tea making, to travel from one place to another and actively meet with people from both congregations. We similarly need volunteers and prayerful support of the pioneering to the western expansion as this is essentially our collective ‘baby’ that needs to be nurtured into existence.
The role of the Elder
Please note that as part of the overall union into a team ministry the two Kirk Sessions will become one, and elders will be tasked with working out how this new church will evolve and develop, building trust and friendship within the church as well as in the community we serve. Elders will be given the opportunity to continue as active elders or to use the opportunity to step back from active service on the Session should they so wish.
You can imagine how much time has been given to these discussions. Elaine and Jane, the Session Clerks from Craigsbank and the Old Parish, have worked together brilliantly to guide and suggest and keep us all on course. Bold and brave decisions have been put forward and graciously debated and accepted. Possibilities are emerging, but we recognize that there is a certain amount of sacrifice, uncertainty and unknown-ness, and a leap of faith required by all of us. When it was first suggested that Craigsbank and the Old Parish merge, Elaine and Jane, Moira and Alan met for a coffee and a chat, and what we all agreed was that although we didn’t know quite what we were going to do and how we were going to do it, the relationship felt right, that we could work together and the steering group has confirmed that. We hope that the Kirk Session and congregation will support and trust those discussions and help this new union and the pioneering ministry to take root and grow.
A very immediate and practical way of being part of the union is helping to choose a possible name for the new congregation – we will be asking for suggestions over the next few weeks, something that reflects who we are and tells people where we are, so get your thinking caps on, please. Please send any suitable suggestions to the office at administrator@craigsbankchurch.org.uk or mention it to Elaine Thompson or Jane Walker by the 9th of September.
Your prayers and gracious consideration in all of this will be most important.
