Ministries Council |
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PLANNING AND DEPLOYMENT
Providing ministry to the huge variety of parishes
around Scotland is no easy task. Constitutionally the
Church of Scotland is required to provide the 'ordinances
of religion' to every part of the country. This has
been achieved most successfully over the years by dividing
the country into parishes, each having a parish minister,
bearing responsibility for a single parish or for two
or more neighbouring parishes. There is not a square
inch of the country that does not lie in some parish,
from the remoteness of Fair Isle to the bustling centre
of any of our major cities, with a minister available
to the community.
In addition to the requirement for parish ministers,
situations are often identified where different forms
of ministry are required and in many cases Presbytery
and Parish Workers (Associate Ministers, Deacons, parish
assistants, young people's and family workers) are appointed
to work alongside the parish minister. Auxiliary Ministers
and Readers are also deployed by Presbyteries in support
of ministry provided centrally, and local congregations
are sometimes also able to support additional ministry
for their own parishes. This amounts to a rich variety
of skills and talents deployed around the country.
It has always been a challenge to match up the availability
of ministers and others with the variety of needs of
each parish, and it is this task for which the Planning
and Deployment Section of the Council bears responsibility.
- Will there be enough ministers for all the parishes
in the future?
- What needs do congregations have of different specialist
ministries as they serve the people of their parishes?
- How can we develop different ways of operating while
retaining the best of existing patterns?
- Where will team ministry fit into the new patterns
of congregational life?
- How can we ensure that ministry is available to
all parts of the country and not become concentrated
in some regions?
- How do we ensure that ministry for the Gaelic community
is adequately provided?
- How do we ensure that the most deprived parishes in
the country are given useful extra support?
- Where is housing development happening,
and how do we ensure that a church is available locally
even in these new areas?
- How do we provide ministry and church fellowship for
people who do not have any immediate contact points
with a local church? In what ways can our Church be
relevant to whole sections of our society with whom
we have little contact at present?
- How can we relate questions over church buildings
to the needs of Congregations and communities?
These questions (and others beside) exercise the members
of the Council's Planning and
Deployment Committee. There are not always easy
answers, but there is always enthusiasm to engage with
the issues, listen to those who are involved with congregations
all over the country, produce policies and plans, and
to dream dreams of what might be possible.
Three Task Groups work under the direction of the Planning
and Deployment Committee.
The Presbytery Planning Task
Group oversees the on-going development and refinement
of the Presbytery Plans - the detailed documents that
lay out the future of ministry provision for every congregation.
Plans are constantly being revised as circumstances
change but give a good overview of what is envisaged
for local ministry in every parish looking ten years
ahead.
Ministry is always developing and changing and these
plans give a national perspective of what is happening,
indicate weaknesses and opportunities too, and provide
a baseline for developing thinking about the nature
of ministry around the country.
The Emerging Ministries Task
Group currently nurtures 10 congregations which
have been established very successfully by the New Charge
Development Committee over a number of years, and continues
to investigate further possibilities for this work.
But it also is responsible for exploring new and different
options and considering new patterns of congregational
life in Scotland. It gives heed to the need to establish
a Christian presence, not only in areas where substantial
new housing development takes place, but also within
segments of Scottish society and culture that have little
natural connection to the Church.
The Employment Issues Task
Group ensures that the appointment and employment
of Presbytery and Parish Workers (Associate Ministers
and other ministries) operates smoothly. This is a major
job involving the drawing up of contracts, operation
of appointments systems, monitoring of placements and
maintenance of handbooks of employment. The group receives
support from the Human Resources department of the Central
Service Committee and from the Law department in meeting
its responsibilities.
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