CHURCH OF SCOTLAND
PRESBYTERY OF FALKIRK

CLERK: Rev. Jerome O’Brien
3 Orchard Grove
Polmont
FK2 0XE
Tel: (01324) 718677 	email: akph51@uk.uumail.com

THE SECRETARY
SPECIAL COMMISSION ON STRUCTURE AND CHANGE
CARE OF PRINCIPAL CLERK’S OFFICE
CHURCH OF SCOTLAND
121 GEORGE STREET
EDINBURGH
EH4 2YN
				ATTENTION: REV M. A. MacLEAN

Dear Marjory

RE: SPECIAL COMMISSION ON STRUCTURE AND CHANGE: INTERIM REPORT

I refer to the interim report to Presbyteries of the Special Commission on Structure and Change dated March 2007.

The Presbytery of Falkirk met in June 2007 and agreed to the reports presented to it by its Committees for Business, Stewardship & Finance and Parish Appraisal. The text of these reports is set out hereunder for your consideration.

Structure & Administration
The first requirement of the original Church Without Walls Report to the 2001 General Assembly, was the reforming of Church structures from the grass roots upwards. Whilst the General Assembly had changed the former Boards and Committees into 6 Councils at national level, there was still the need to tackle reform at local (Kirk Session) and regional (Presbytery) level. In particular, more decision-making power and staffing needed to be devolved to the regional level. This would bring about a natural realignment in the relationship between national, regional and local levels of Church organisation.

Finance
The existing formula used in calculating congregational allocations was complicated and not readily understood. While a case may be made for too much information being contained in the allocation sheets disbursed to Treasurers, without this information Treasurers would have no means of checking whether or not their congregation’s allocation fell within the appropriate level. The current method of calculating allocations, however, in the absence of a viable alternative, should be retained. 
With the implementation of the Stewardship & Finance Pilot Scheme now underway within the Presbytery, it was anticipated that the participating congregation’s perceptions of how their givings were utilised by the national church, would be clearer.
The Committee endorsed the Discussion Ideas, shown under Point 15, Section B, Finance, with the proviso that, at point 15.4, the proposal to, “penalise congregations where insufficient effort has been made”, can be seen as being overly punitive. If adopted, this would have to be implemented with considerable tact and diplomacy. The proposal would also appear to be at odds with the Christian principle of encouraging and supporting those congregations seeking help to promote innovative methods of giving.  

Parish Appraisal
The work of a Parish Minister is wide and varied; whether this is seen as maintenance or mission is, in part, a matter of perception. There is a need to deal with the inherited anomalies of the 1929 reunion, particularly in the location of church buildings. Certain improvements in resource-allocation could be made, including:
1. Greater congregational participation. It was noted that one-third of congregations did not respond to the Presbytery Plan;
2. The addition of buildings to the Plan has sharpened minds and pencils and raises the question of protectionism;
3. Although there have recently been introduced a number of alternatives to Parish Ministry, it remains to be seen whether these will be better or more efficient;
4. Training is clearly required, particularly to communicate what is intended by ‘co-operation’ and ‘Parish Grouping’;
5. Learning from the voluntary sector where some charities have a small number of paid employees and succeed in having a large force of volunteer activists. 

Yours sincerely


Jerome O’Brien
PRESBYTERY CLERK