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Church announces consultation in Mission and Discipleship

THE Church of Scotland today announced a major consultation on the results of a review by the Mission and Discipleship Council.

The review found that the Council's core objective of defining the overall mission of the Church was not being achieved effectively and efficiently.

Now a consultation has been launched with employees over recommendations to centralise the work of the Council and focus on the key areas of Worship, Witness and Discipleship.

Under the proposals three regional offices in Glasgow, Perth and Inverness would close and the number of posts across the Council would be reduced. This would help to address the £1.2m deficit faced by Mission and Discipleship.

Council Convener Reverend Mark Johnstone said: "There is a need for Mission and Discipleship to have a clear vision and purpose and we feel that has been lost in recent years. Too many of our areas are operating in isolation from each other with a repetition of work taking place as a result.

"Our focus has to be firmly on what congregations expect of us and that is to enable and empower people to engage in Christ's mission through resourcing worship, witness and discipleship in the context of the changing contemporary culture in Scotland. The proposals being put forward will enable us to operate far more efficiently and effectively and will bring real benefit to the work of this Council."

Employees of the Council were informed of the consultation process at a meeting today and all of them will have the opportunity to comment on the proposals before any final decisions are taken. The Trade Union Unite has also been invited to take part in the consultation.

Mr Johnstone added: "The proposals involve a reduction in the number of employees we have across the board. At the moment we have 44 posts and under the proposals that would reduce to 24. I recognise that this will be a difficult and uncertain time for many of our employees but we are committed to working with them to ensure that any changes are managed sensitively.

"It is important to state that this is not about the performance of individual people or posts but about the overall shape and effectiveness of the Council. As a charity, the Church of Scotland has a duty to ensure that every penny it spends is spent wisely and I'm sure every one of our members would endorse that view."

The consultation process will take place over the next month with a report being prepared for the Church's Council of Assembly at the start of March before any final decisions are taken.

Mr Johnstone said: "Nothing is in tablets of stone at this stage, these are simply proposals. However, this has to be set against the findings that the Council does not work well together at a strategic level, that it lacks a clear purpose and vision and has a growing financial deficit. Doing nothing is not an option but we want to ensure that what we do is right and our consultation will be both robust and transparent."

Ends.

Note to News Desks

For further information please contact Stuart Wilson, Head of Media and Communications on 0131 240 2243 or 07527 541 701.

nr/10/02/10

Friday 5, February 2010

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