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General Assembly 2008: Committee proposes consultation
to decide Assembly future
The report of the Assembly Arrangements
Committee will begin with a record of gratitude
to The Very Rev Sheilagh Kesting,
the first woman minister to serve as Moderator of the
General Assembly, something which coincided happily
with the year leading up to the 40th anniversary of
the General Assembly's recognition that women were eligible
for the ministry. The Assembly will hear that the choice
of Sheilagh Kesting was determined by her considerable
gifts, not her gender and that the contacts built up
during her time as Secretary to the Ecumenical Relations
Committee stood her in good stead during a moderatorial
year which focussed on the breadth and catholicity of
the Church. An appreciation of her visit to the Presbyterian
Church of Aotorea New Zealand speaks warmly of her ecumenical
commitment.
As Moderator, she engaged thoughtfully with countless
people within and beyond the church community was generous
with her time and her gifts and proved to be an excellent
ambassador for the Church of Scotland.
Commissioners will hear that the Committee has made
arrangements for this year's General Assembly to fit
in with the new pattern of meeting from Thursday to
the following Wednesday agreed by the 2007 Assembly
and that these arrangements will be carefully monitored
in the light of feedback and this year's experience.
The Committee will tell the Assembly that it has continued
to engage with issues relating to the culture and timing
of the General Assembly and the desirability of further
changes which might be considered. A major part of the
report will focus on the view that a broader discussion
within the Church on the role and purpose of the General
Assembly would be timely. The report looks in some depth
at the role - Court or Conference?
- and at the contemporary expectations and timing of
the General Assembly. It concludes by proposing a series
of consultations within the church this autumn and indicates
that Presbyteries and Kirk sessions will be invited
to attend.
Ends
Note to Editors:
For further information please contact the Reverend
Bill Hewitt, Convener of the Assembly Arrangements Committee,
on 01475 721048
A full copy of the report is available on our General
Assembly pages online
here.
GANR/17/04/08
Tuesday 13, May 2008
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