23 November 2011

Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] Gaelic Watchnight Ecumenical Service in Stornaway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland, to be Led by Clergy from Church of Scotland, Free Church of Scotland, and Roman Catholic Church

[2] Trifecta of Syncretism Scheduled in Edinburgh, Scotland, 25-27 November 2011

[3] Free Church of Scotland Begins to Confiscate Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) Properties

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[1] Gaelic Watchnight Ecumenical Service in Stornaway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland, to be Led by Clergy from Church of Scotland, Free Church of Scotland, and Roman Catholic Church

A Gaelic Watchnight Service scheduled for 3 December 2011 at Martin’s Memorial Church (Church of Scotland (COS)) in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland, will be led by clergy from the COS, the Free Church of Scotland (FCS), and the Roman Catholic Church (RCC). The overall service will be led by FCS former general assembly moderator the Rev. James MacIver, and assisted by COS minister the Rev. Angus Morrison and RCC priest Father Roddy Johnson.

The service is scheduled to be recorded by BBC ALBA, and will be available on Freeview (Channel 8), Sky (Channel 168), Freesat (Channel 110), Radio nan Gàidheal, and on BBC ALBA Christmas Eve 2011 at 11:00 p.m. and again on Christmas Day 2011. The service will additionally be available on the BBC iplayer following Christmas 2011.

An ecumenical service at the same church and with the same cast of denominations was held in October 2011, which is detailed in the 9 November 2011 Presbyterians Week article “[1] Church of Scotland Minister Joined by Free Church of Scotland Moderator and Roman Catholic Priest Lead Ecumenical Service at October 2011 Gaelic Music Festival.”


+ BBC, 201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TS, England, Fax: 020-8008-2398

+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN, Scotland, 0131-225-5722

+ Free Church of Scotland, 15 North Bank Street, The Mound, Edinburgh, Scotland EH1 2LS, 0131-226-5286, Fax: 0131-220-0597, catherine@freechurchofscotland.org.uk

+ The Vatican, Città del Vaticano, Rome, Italy, 39-6-69-88-35-11, Fax: 39-6-69-88-54-47, Contact Page


[2] Trifecta of Syncretism Scheduled in Edinburgh, Scotland, 25-27 November 2011

A 23 November 2011 Ekklesia article titled “Three Faiths to Worship Together in Edinburgh Mosque” reports that the Rt. Rev. David Arnott, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (COS), Rabbi David Rose of the Edinburgh [Scotland] Hebrew Congregation, and [an] as-of-yet unidentified Muslim[s] will attend each others’ services in Edinburgh, Scotland’s Annandale Mosque on Friday 25 November, Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation on Saturday 26 November, and St. Andrew’s (COS) on Sunday 26 November, as “part of a unique three-day programme in Edinburgh of talks between the three main Abrahamic traditions.”


+ Ekklesia, 2nd Floor, 145-157 St. John Street, London EC1V 4PY, England, 0845 056 5445, press@ekklesia.co.uk

+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN, Scotland, 0131-225-5722


[3] Free Church of Scotland Begins to Confiscate Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) Properties

The following notice from the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) (FCSC)’s Legal Advice & Property Committee was sent to all FCSC congregations on 19 November 2011:

“Notice To Congregations

“Please note that the (FCSC) Commission of Assembly will meet this Tuesday evening to discuss our position regarding the legal action taken by the Residual Body [Free Church of Scotland] to dispossess our congregation in Partick of all its assets. Please pray that the Lord will help the brethren as they meet.

“In the meantime, it is with great sadness that we must report that the Residual Body of the Free Church of Scotland has gained entry into and taken possession of the manse in Ardelve. We deplore this action as unwarranted and totally improper while legal action is in progress. It demonstrates, in our opinion, contempt for the civil magistrate who is the Minister of Christ for good (Romans 13:4) and who alone possesses the God-given authority to settle such disputes. Further, at a time when the Free Church (Continuing) congregation in Ardelve is contemplating the Call of a minister, the timing of this action constitutes utter disregard for the furtherance of the Gospel in the area.

“We pray for our congregation in Ardelve at this time, and encourage them in the Lord their God: "The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up...He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail." (1 Samuel 2:8,9)

“D S FRASER

“(Convener, LAPC)”

The 17 August 2011 Presbyterians Week article “[2] Court of Session in Edinburg, Scotland, Rules that Isle of Skye’s Broadford Church Belongs to the Free Church of Scotland” reported that:

“the Court of Session in Edinburg, Scotland,…upheld a 2009 lower court decision giving ownership of the Broadford Church on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, to the Free Church of Scotland, thus taking the church from the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) congregation that has worshiped there since 2007.

“….

“Lord Drummond Young, one of three appeals court judges, concluded the court’s written opinion with a recommendation to both parties:

“May I, in conclusion, respectfully suggest that this is a case where such an arrangement might be reached? It is true that the right to the Broadford property belongs to the congregation who adhere to the structures of the pre-2000 Free Church, and that the minister and communicants of that congregation must be members of the Free Church as governed by those structures. Nevertheless, I can find nothing in the trust that prevents the congregation so determined from permitting the use of the church to other bodies of Christians who follow similar doctrines and forms of worship. The defenders appear to me to be such a body. In this respect, the exhortation to longsuffering, forbearance and unity of the spirit within a congregation may be as relevant to Broadford and other communities in Scotland in the twenty first century as it was to Ephesus in the first century.”

The Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) separated from the Free Church of Scotland in 2000 after the majority declined to pursue church discipline against Free Church College Professor Donald Macleod, who was alleged to have committed six charges of indecent assault involving five women between 1985 and 1992, and was acquitted of the charges after a trial in the Edinburgh Sheriff Court.


+ Free Church of Scotland (Continuing), Rev. John MacLeod, Free Church Manse, Portmahomack, Ross-shire, Scotland, principalclerk@fccontinuing.org

+ Free Church of Scotland, 15 North Bank Street, The Mound, Edinburgh, Scotland EH1 2LS, 0131-226-5286, Fax: 0131-220-0597, catherine@freechurchofscotland.org.uk