JIM
ON : VISION
You’ve
probably picked up that the Church of Scotland (at the moment!) is in
vision reduction mode. Every Presbytery area (equivalent to a Diocese) is
under orders from the General Assembly (the top decision making body) to cut
centrally paid jobs by 10%. “Centrally paid” means that the Church HQ in
Edinburgh acts as a distribution center for salaries. But it is local
congregations who give the money that is distributed. Each congregation
pays its own minister (when it can) and those with extra resources share their
excess with the congregations who don’t have enough. From Barn offerings
£48,023 goes to pay for “Ministry & Mission”. My pay as the Minister
here is £30,426 (63%). £10,394 goes towards to cost of retirement
& pension provision for ministers etc. (22%). 15% or £7203 goes to help
other congregations. By comparison, the East Church’s Mission &
Ministry allocation is £74,431, with 15% or £11,164 going to support
others. Dores & Boleskin’s figures are £12,730 and 15% or
£1910. The idea is that those of us who are better off help out
those that less well off. With a national 10% reduction in paid posts in
view, Inverness Presbytery area has to lose four jobs. Decisions are
taken not by a Bishop but by the local corporate team of over seventy Ministers
and Elders who represent all the congregations within our given area. This
team is called Inverness Presbytery. Len Cazaly and I represent the
Barn. However, retired Ministers also have a place. So Bart Buell and Jim
Rettie are in on the action too. Since all the retired ministers have to
be “balanced” by an equal number of Elders Issy Freudenthal also sits on
Presbytery as one of those. At this point in the cutting-back process we
have been told that the proposed Inverness Presbytery plan leaves the
Barn with our centrally funded Community Worker, Paul Haringman, intact.
He is paid for by the rest of the Church of Scotland (we cover his expenses)
because the mission value of the post is highly valued. We need to
recognize that others meet the cost of him being with us. He is a
fabulous bargain and blessing for Culloden! Final decisions,
though, have not yet been made. So uncertainty hangs in the air.
Incidentally, our son Daniel, in Aberdeen Presbytery, has been informed that
his job as church planting Associate Minister at Kincorth will probably cease
to be funded after December 2012.
Here in the Barn (and in other churches around) the
Kirk Session wants our mission vision to expand, not contract. We refuse
to allow the issue of the ordination of same sex ministers to put us off
course. As things stand the Church of Scotland does NOT agree with
training or ordaining ministers in a same sex relationship. While we wait
(with hope) for the orthodox position to be upheld i.e. that a minister should
not be in an extra-marital relationship, we aim to give a strong lead in
making sure that the interests of the Kingdom of God are kept paramount.
At our Kirk Session meeting on 13th September we took the leadership
decision to underwrite the cost of Paul Haringman completing a distance
learning, three year MA in Missional Leadership at Springdale College,
Birmingham. This where Bob Stradling is the Vice–Principal. Bob
& his wife Helen were with us until recently before they moved south.
With our support Paul will become a theologically and practically equipped
leader in mission. If he continues at the Barn we will benefit from
his implementing what he learns. If he ends up being moved away from
Culloden he will still be well placed to lead mission work elsewhere.
Either way he will increase the ability of the up-and-coming generation of
young church leaders to set about re-evangelizing Scotland and winning the
nation for Jesus. This is a win–win investment. Increasing Paul’s
mission expertise is us staking a claim in the future of the kingdom of God in
Scotland.
The total overall cost of the degree course is
£7,260. The Church of Scotland Study Leave scheme allows for two weeks a
year, up to seven years; with finance amounting to a maximum of £1200.
Paul has claimed a small amount of his Study Leave allowance to use the
time and money for this course of study. Our support therefore amounts to
£5700, (the cost of course fees, air travel , summer schools and books).
At the moment we are in a position to pay the first year course fee of £1360
immediately and Paul can use the Study Leave allowance for travel costs.
To help cover the total funding for this “Mission Development Project
(Community Work)” we are inviting visionary support from the
congregation. Over the three years we are looking for £160 each month.
This is on the understanding that our regular Sunday offerings are not reduced
or re-directed. We expect that enough of us will be willing to support
Paul and enable him to enhance his community ministry qualifications. The
best way to help is by pledging regular amounts over 36 months. One-off
amounts, of course, are always welcome too. But promising smaller regular
amounts is the way that enables lots of us to be a blessing at a time
when equipped, passionate, young Christian leaders are one of the church’s and
country’s greatest needs. Forty of us giving £4 a month / two cups of
coffee / four newspapers / two bottles of Peroni beer / 13 p a day / etc. is hardly beyond us
as a church!
You’ll find a sign up form and an envelope inserted in
the magazine, with copies in the Barn foyer. Please pray about what
God wants you to do and follow His lead. No cash please at the
moment. But a filled in form indicating what you can give regularly or as
a one off, will be invaluable at this stage. Collecting the money will
follow in due course. Confidentiality about names and details will be
strictly observed by the “Mission Development Project (Community Work)”
coordinator.
All this has resulted in Morag and me having a review
of our tithing and what we are doing with the money God gives us. If you
feel financially stretched, like we and very many of us do, it might be a help
for you to look at your tithed offerings. You will read in the
Treasurer’s report that after a dip earlier in the year our giving / finances
have come back on track. This encouraging news calls out for us to keep our
nerve and ensure that our approach to tithing what we label as “available
income” is done in a way that honours God.
Some other encouraging news on the financial front is that someone is positively exploring the possibility of becoming our new Treasurer.
