Church of Scotland cuts: Ministers tackle Covid and consider the future

At almost 500 years old, the Church of Scotland is present in every corner of the country, with more than 330,000 members worshipping across around 1280 congregations.

Those congregations are smaller than before and using buildings that are older and more expensive to run than ever.

Assembly trustees were appointed last year to chart a new path, but Covid has reduced the projected annual income by £20 million.

The grim figures paint a picture of an institution on the wane, a religious relic.

Yet they’ve emerged at a time when the Kirk has undergone a resurgence of activity, with increased attendances at services held online during the unprecedented period of closure and its network of community ties used to help deliver pandemic aid to those on the margins.

READ MORE: Church of Scotland to consider cuts as coronavirus costs it millions

Food provision, pastoral care, family support – all have continued during these challenging six months and are set to continue through what promises to be a tough winter.

But with the sale of buildings and reduction of ministries on the cards, how long can the Kirk continue to feed and serve people of all faiths and none, and what will Scotland look like with a reduced Church of Scotland presence?

Already several assets are under offer or for sale on the organisation’s website – stunning B-listed Jamestown Church near Loch Lomond, blonde-stoned Collessie Church in Fife, mothballed Lionel Mission Hall on Lewis.

And there are more – manses, flats, terraced houses. Quarff Church in Shetland, a six-bedroomed home in Fraserburgh. The Kirk furloughed around half of its staff and ceased non-urgent work, but it hasn’t been enough.

Rt Rev Dr Martin Fair, the Moderator, says moves to online sermons may have “broken the dependence on buildings”. But these buildings have allowed ministers and members to carry out work that has changed lives, and continues to provide crucial support.

In Inverness, Rev Fiona Smith of Ness Bank Church says that premises has become “a real hub” for the community thanks to its catering-grade kitchen, paid for by the congregation in 2011. It fuels Inverness Foodstuff, a three-day-per-week drop-in for those in need. Or at least it was a drop-in until the crisis forced the cafe to transform into a collection and delivery service.

Run in conjunction with partners, it helps connect those sofa-surfing, sleeping rough and living in temporary accommodation with hairdressers, council officials, nurses, dentists and mentors.

It is also feeding more people who have fallen into hardship through job losses and income cuts, including families with children. “We have fed thousands, it’s a lifeline for people,” the former solicitor says.

“We accept everybody, it’s transformational – I go in in my jeans and I’m just Fiona. It’s more than the Church that’s involved, but it’s the Church that has been instrumental – without our building, without the vision of this church to put that kitchen in we wouldn’t be where we are.”

Children’s clubs use facilities at Ness Bank Church, as do parents’ groups and others. Like so many Kirk sites, the facilities provide much-needed community space.

Through CrossReach, which offers residential care homes, prison visiting and more, the Kirk also has one of the largest care providers in Scotland.

And yet it’s also been forced to face up to historic harm done through its participation in the UK-wide Child Migrant programme of the 1950s and early 60s, when thousands aged seven and up were sent to Australia and other colonies where many endured servitude, hard labour and abuse.

Then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown apologised for the “misguided” programme in 2010, telling the Commons: “We are truly sorry. They were let down.”

On Friday CrossReach chief executive Vivienne Dickson told the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry the Church was pressured to send more children to Australia to keep up with other faiths and the committee responsible for gaining consent from guardians often struggled to do so.

REV Thom Riddell, convener of the Church of Scotland’s Social Care Council, issued an “unreserved” apology, saying: “We recognise the hurt caused and are deeply and profoundly sorry for the actions which were taken and for the impact that those actions had on the lives of those affected.”

He went on: “Although those involved at the time set out to give children a better opportunity for the future than it was thought they would have in Scotland we acknowledge that this was not what happened, and that in reality children were sent into an unfamiliar and often harsh and abusive environment.”

READ MORE: Scotland’s future vision discussed today in first Citizens' Assembly

In Largs and Cumbrae, Rev Jonathan Fleming is working to help locals who have themselves experienced trauma. St John’s Parish Church was instrumental in the setting up of the Living Room last year, a drop-in centre for those undergoing hardship and seeking mental health support. “We had an increasing situation with mental health,” he says. “We refused to look ourselves in the mirror any more and say ‘that’s a shame, someone else has taken their life’. Nobody else was doing anything, so we did.

“People were very sceptical at first about having a street presence, about whether people would come through the door. We have now worked with 130 clients.

“There may be other services available but those in the mainstream are at breaking point. We are not doing anything pioneering but there would be people who would not have received the care and support they needed without this. We put our time and energy into these things in a way that other parts of society or agencies are not able to do because they are stretched or have other things going on. I would love for there to be a Living Room in every town.”

Fleming’s patch includes a £1m building in Millport that opened one year ago and has been used as a distribution hub during the pandemic. Smith’s church, which is expected to finish the year with a small surplus, is likely to host flu vaccinations this winter.

“Different people have different understandings of what the Church is,” Fleming says. “Some people see it as a big old building, others as a body of believers. A large percentage of care and support is done through the Church of Scotland and groups formed through churches.”

But he believes change will bring new opportunities to congregations. “We have got so many churches that have tens of people gathering,” he says. “All these little silos are wondering ‘what can we do to make a difference?’ I see it as a chance for larger scale projects.

“There are congregations where the closure of a building would be seen as an admission of failure, which is not the case. There are some congregations having to put all their money into a building which has become a millstone around their neck. What more could they do with that money?

“There’s got to be a balancing act. I don’t want there to be this fire sale where buildings are being disposed of right, left and centre. This is not just some sort of business transaction there to cut corners and costs,” he insists. “There are necessary things that need to happen. It’s important as a church that we support one another.”

“The Church will survive,” says Smith. “That’s an absolute certainty. But we’ve got major issues to face.

“There’s so much good that comes out of a parish church like Ness Bank. My congregation are a wonderful bunch who care passionately about people. The place would be poorer without us, and I don’t think people do see that.”