Ministries Council |
 |
PRIORITY AREA PARISHES
The Priority Areas Committee is responsible for the
Church's work within the 58 poorest communities in Scotland.
The list of these communities was drawn up in partnership
with the Scottish Centre for Research on Social Justice
and is based on the Scottish Executive's Scottish Indicators
of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD).
You can find the following information on this page:
List of priority area parishes
Sharing the Pain - Holding the Hope
Presentation on the work of the Priority Areas Committee
Priority Areas enews
'Letting it happen' handbook
Priority Areas videos: Big Hearted
Communities
Download the list of priority area parishes:
These are not the only places in Scotland where people are living in poverty, but they are places where poverty hits you in the face. It is in these communities that people, on average, die up to 20 years younger than in Scotland's most affluent neighbourhoods - a figure which has changed little in the last 150 years.
In 2002 the General Assembly stated: 'priority for the poorest and most marginalised is the gospel imperative facing the whole church' and in the years since then, the Church of Scotland has deliberately bet its resources to support the work of the Church in its poorest communities. This has included increased funding for buildings and staff.
Download a copy of the 2002 report
(Sharing the Pain - Holding the Hope) :
The Church's vision for priority area parishes is 'a
reinvigorated and sustainable worshipping people and
community life in all 54 priority area parishes.' This
vision is taken forward through three, inter-related
spheres of activity.
Engaging with the wider church and society to recognise that Scotland's real problem is our inability to share our wealth justly. Partnerships have been developed between churches serving in rich and poor communities. Work highlighting poverty has been undertaken in partnership with a host of other charitable organisations such as the Poverty Alliance, Oxfam and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. One of the most exciting projects supported has been Together for a Change - an exchange programme between communities in Scotland and Africa struggling together against poverty.
Developing new models of church life in recognition
that the traditional ways of church are now largely
irrelevant to the great majority of people living in
Scotland's poorest areas. Some of the exciting elements
of this work includes: the development of visual arts
in worship through Soul Marks (www.soulmarks.co.uk);
the redevelopment of church buildings as community facilities
open to all; and finding creative ways to connect with
the questions people are asking about life and faith
in Scotland's poorest communities today through Unlock
Glasgow (www.unlockglasgow.org.uk).
Supporting community life by harnessing the work of church people to make the biggest possible difference in their local communities. Much of this work is being undertaken through Faith in Community (Scotland) (www.faithincommunityscotland.org), an organisation developed in partnership with a number of Christian denominations (including the Roman Catholic Church) and the Muslim, Sikh, and Jewish communities. Faith in Community (Scotland) is currently responsible for the work of the Transformation Team (www.transformationteam.org) - working with 20 faith communities in Glasgow - and is in the process of developing a number of centres across Scotland to support ex-offenders and their families.
Download a copy of the presentation on the work of the Priority Areas Committee:
In 2006 the Church of Scotland approved the establishment of the Priority Areas Staffing Fund which will lead to the employment of an additional 60 members of staff in priority areas. The fund is administered by the Parish Development Fund (click here for more information).
Over the next two years (2007 - 2009) the development of worship will be a central element of the Church's strategy in priority areas. The first step in this work will be Holy, Wholly, Hole .. Eh? - the 2007 priority areas consultation which is being held in Carberry Tower (Edinburgh) in September.
Each month, a Priority Areas enews is published in partnership with Faith in Community (Scotland).
Download the Priority Areas enews:
Forthcoming Events:
Letting it happen!
| Letting it happen! is a handbook for
priority area parishes to help them manage and develop
the use of their buildings.
A copy of the handbook can be downloaded below. |
 |
Priority Areas videos: Big Hearted
Communities
The Priority Areas team has produced a number of videos
on the work and projects being undertaken in some of its
areas. You can watch these by clicking on the links below.
A download version is also available for those connected
via a firewall.
Downloadable clips (for
those connected via a firewall):
Ardler, Dundee
(2 minutes 1 second, 3.49MB)
Cranhill, Glasgow
(2 minutes, 3.47MB)
Gorbals, Glasgow
(2 minutes 1 second, 3.48MB)
Gowkthrapple, Overtown
(2 minutes 1 second, 3.49MB)
Provanmill, Glasgow
(2 minutes 1 second, 3.47MB)
Toryglen, Glasgow
(2 minutes 1 second, 3.47MB)
The Village Storytelling Centre, Glasgow
(2 minutes 1 second, 3.49MB)
Wester Hailes, Edinburgh
(2 minutes 1 second, 3.51MB)
For more information you can email:
Martin Johnstone, associate secretary, priority areas:
mjohnstone@cofscotland.org.uk
Noel Mathias, priority areas development worker: nmathias@cofscotland.org.uk
Lynn MacLellan, senior administrator, priority areas:
lmaclellan@cofscotland.org.uk
Or write to:
Church of Scotland Ministries Council
Glasgow offices
759a Argyle Street
Glasgow
G3 8DS
Telephone: 0141 248 2905
[top of page] |
