Cluster Conversations - Radical change in the Church of Scotland

As many of you may already know, the Kirk is facing a crisis and is following through with plans to radically reduce the number of ministers and Parishes in Scotland. Much of this work has come to its head because of the Covid pandemic, which has left the national Church with profound structural and financial problems. These are being addressed in a process called "Parish Clustering," which allows collaboration and the sharing of resources.

Morningside United Church has been participating in meeting with the South City Cluster. This group comprises Morningside United, Priestfield, Craigmillar Park, Reid Memorial, Mayfield Salisbury, St Catherine’s and Marchmont St Giles. Conversations have taken place to identify common mission goals and frankly - to look at the reduction and use of buildings. At the time of writing (21/4/21), the reports from all Cluster Groups have been received by the presbytery to bring forward a plan for Edinburgh.

We quote the report for this month’s presbytery:

"...there is a very real crisis now affecting the Church of Scotland, therefore the Strategy Team is looking to formulate a plan where the Presbytery will categorise each ecclesiastical building as either:

• (a) to be retained beyond the five years from the point at which the Mission Plan is approved or annually reviewed, or

• (b) to be sold, let or otherwise disposed of by a specified date which is within the five years from the point at which the Mission Plan is first approved. We are in a time of rapid change.”

The Presbytery is also navigating its relationship to neighbouring Presbyteries, moving towards a union with West Lothian and into conversation with Lothian and three Borders Presbyteries with the potential for doing some work on planning together.

As you have read, change is afoot and this can feel disconcerting, particularly since many of us share some of the anxieties associated from the experience of lockdown. This said, we are an ecumenical parish and so any change must be negotiated with the United Reformed Church - our other denominational partner. This is helpful in that the URC can offer a wealth of experience in change management and clustering experiences.