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The Nomination Committee is tasked with identifying members, elders, deacons, and ministers with particular skills and experience for serving on General Assembly Standing Committees.
The Nomination Committee recommends names to the General Assembly. The Assembly has the power to accept or reject these nominations. The Committee's task is to identify people whose skills and experience will be of particular use to a given area of work. It also seeks to maintain age balance and a fair geographical representation.
The Nomination Committee is not currently receiving nominations. Proposals for nominations to be brought to the General Assembly in 2027 will be invited in autumn 2026.
All members of each of the committees are expected to serve a four-year term.
Nominees must normally be members of the Church of Scotland. In addition, due to the high expectations placed on Candidates in Training, Probationers and Ministers in their first year following ordination, they are not normally invited to serve on committees.
Once the Nomination Committee has met, those selected will be contacted. It is possible that nominees may be approached to serve on a Standing Committee other than those they have mentioned on their form. Also, if they are not invited to serve, their details will be retained for the coming year and they may be approached to fill any mid-term vacancies that arise.
For information about your rights as a data subject, see the privacy centre section on the Church of Scotland website.
Appointment of Assembly Trustees and membership of Assembly Trustee sub-groups/committees
The Assembly Trustees hold responsibility for a separate process for the appointment of Assembly Trustees. Assembly Trustees shall consult with the Nomination Committee as to any comments which the Committee wish to make on recommendations for appointment. Any appointment shall be made by the Assembly Trustees, subject to approval by the General Assembly.
Please also note that the Assembly Trustees are responsible for appointing members to its sub-groups/committees. Nomination Committee representatives will be invited sit on the selection panel for the following Assembly Trustee sub-committee/groups:
The nomination form for membership of Standing Committees should also be used by those who wish to be considered for membership of the Seeds for Growth Committee and the EDI Group.
The Legal Questions Committee (LQC) will draw up a list of people whom it considers suitably qualified to serve on each of the bodies involved. If any forms are submitted through the wider nomination process, these will be passed directly to the Convener of LQC for consideration as to suitability.
For the process of nominating to legal bodies, please contact the Office of the General Assembly at the Church offices in Edinburgh. The bodies concerned are the following:
Appeals Committee of the Commission of Assembly
Discipline Tribunal
Judicial Commission
Judicial Panel
Ministries Appeal Panel
Mission Plan Review Group
Personnel Appeal Group
Safeguarding Appeal Group
The Nomination Committee will receive a list of names at its February meeting, as agreed by representatives of the Nomination Committee, the LQC , the Principal Clerk, and the Solicitor of the Church. The Committee will then approve the list, subject to discussion, confident that it came to the Committee with the degree of independent scrutiny required. For the avoidance of doubt, the Nomination Committee will not receive any names other than those actually being put forward for nomination. The names will then be passed to the General Assembly in the normal fashion for appointment.
Nominations to the Legal Questions Committee continue to be handled through the regular process of nomination for all other bodies in the Church.
Our membership
The Nomination Committee has a Convener, Bryan Kerr; a Vice-Convener, Jillian Storrie; and 18 members appointed by the General Assembly.
The Nomination Committee usually meets twice a year, in September and February. Recommendations are reported directly to the General Assembly. Sub-group's will be formed and tasked with specific pieces of work on behalf of the Committee. Members of the Committee may occasionally be called upon to sit on interview panels.
