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UPDATE 07/11/2011
The Nominating Committee has decided to impose a closing date for applications for the current vacancy.
The closing date will be Saturday the 12th of November.
If you wish to apply for the vacancy please ensure that any application reaches us on or before Saturday the 12th November.
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UPDATE 25/10/2011
Nominating Committee
On Sunday 11 September,
the congregation elected a Nominating Committee to consider candidates
for the vacant
charge of South Leith. The committee members are Arthur Mathieson
(convener), Alastair Chalmers (clerk), Dawn
Birkinshaw (depute convener), Gavin Booth, Colin Cunningham, Isobel
Evans, Innes Gray, Margaret Gray,
David MacPherson, Fiona Marshall, Pearl Roxburgh, Anne Rutherford, and
William Watt.
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UPDATE 19/09/2011
Vacancy Advert
Please see below the text of
an advert that was placed in the Minister's Forum - the Forum is an A5
newsletter which goes out to all ministers with the monthly mailing.
This was submitted in time for the October issue of the newsletter.
This will also be placed on the Church of Scotland and Edinburgh
Presbytery websites.
South Leith Parish
Church
Edinburgh
Our “Surprisingly Lively and
Purposeful Congregation” would welcome the opportunity to work with a
new minister as it continues to reach out to the community in which it
is set.
South Leith Parish Church
serves a densely populated parish with a varied social mix on the North
East side of Edinburgh. We are looking for a creative and collaborative
leader who is willing to help us to continue to develop our gifts in
worship, outreach, education and leadership. We would offer an
energetic and supportive environment in our journey together.
The Parish Profile will be
available on our website wwwslpc.co.uk or by post or e-mail from the
Interim Moderator Rev Dr Anne T Logan (e-mail
annetlogan@blueyonder.co.uk) who will also welcome informal inquiries.
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UPDATE 14/07/2011
The changing patterns of
Ministry
It was suggested after the
Congregational Meeting that voted in favour of the Basis of Reviewable
Tenure, that it
might be helpful for members of the congregation to have some
information about the ways in which Ministry is
changing within the Church of Scotland. In the past, the Kirk has
operated with a full time Minister of Word and Sacrament in every
Parish or linked Parish in Scotland. That Minister has been expected to
be the Jill or Jack of all trades. For a variety of reasons, that is
changing.
The Church is aware that each
Minister has particular gifts and will be stronger in some areas of
work than in
others. The Church is also aware that there are some areas of work –
for instance, work with young people, or
work with people with Dementia – which are better carried out by people
with specific training and gifts. So the
Church is looking at varieties of ministry rather than simply assuming
that a Minister of Word and Sacrament is the
best solution in all situations.
Over the last 20 years, there
has been a considerable decline in the number of applicants for
full-time Ministry of
Word and Sacrament. As things stood last year, around one-quarter of
ministers were over 60 years and will
probably retire within the next five years. Over two-thirds of
ministers (66%) were over the age of 50 and can be
expected to retire within the next 15 years. Only 4.6% of ministers are
under the age of 40! For many people,
ministry is now a second career, rather than something embarked upon
straight from school and university. At
present, although women represent only about one-fifth of the ministers
in parishes, the numbers of men and women being ordained in the last
few years has been about equal. Whilst the Church is taking steps to
encourage ministers to continue in full-time work beyond 65, it is not
yet apparent whether this will be successful.
For all congregations, the
task of attracting a minister has become more challenging than it once
was. During
Sara Embleton’s holiday we will try to use a variety of ministers to
provide supply, just to remind us a variety of
styles and to encourage everyone to think carefully about what is
important in worship and why. We all have things
that we particularly want to see in worship, or indeed that we don’t
like in worship – but I would encourage the Kirk
Session to think about why some things are important in the context of
South Leith. We will all to continue to pray
for a successful and speedy resolution to the vacancy.
Anne Logan
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UPDATE 05/06/2011
First of all, let me say how
pleased I am to be your Interim Moderator and to have the opportunity
to journey with you for the next few months. This is a challenging time
for you as a congregation. On the one hand, you’ve had to say farewell
to Ian and I know that you will mourn his leaving. On the other hand,
you also need to look forward and to think about the future and about
doing things differently.
The Kirk Session met recently
with a delegation from the Presbytery of Edinburgh Deployment of
Resources Committee. The Presbytery explained to them the need to keep
the situation in Leith under review because of the proposed new
developments in the area. To that end, it is the intention of
Presbytery to retain flexibility in the Leith area by making all the
ministries in the area, as vacancies arise, subject to reviewable
tenure. This means that at the end of each five-year period of
ministry, Presbytery will visit and consider with you, whether the
present form of ministry should continue, or whether there is a need
for additional help, or indeed for a different form of ministry. The
Kirk Session understood the need for a co-ordinated approach to Leith
and the benefits of retaining a flexible approach in a changing
situation. They voted unanimously in favour of accepting a Basis of
Reviewable Tenure. This Basis of Reviewable Tenure will now be
presented to a Congregational Meeting on Sunday 5 June. It would be
important to emphasise that accepting ‘reviewable tenure’ does NOT mean
that South Leith has a limited future. If nothing has changed, then the
ministry would simply be continued for another five years. Reviewable
Tenure is now very common throughout the Church of Scotland and has
positive benefits.
If there is a favourable
outcome of the meeting on 5 June, then we would hope to complete the
first stage of permission to call at the Presbytery meeting on 28 June.
At that stage too, we hope that an Advisory Committee will be appointed
by Presbytery to consult with the Kirk Session on the best way to
appoint the Nominating Committee (formerly called the Vacancy
Committee) and on the type of minister who might be most appropriate
for South Leith. The Presbytery decision needs to go, for ratification,
to the Assembly Committee which meets in early August. Presbytery
intends to hold a special meeting just after that to grant the final
permission to call. Then and only then can we tackle the business of
appointing the Nominating Committee and letting that work get underway.
The process is not quick, but then, no one would wish to rush into
something as important as appointing a new minister.
Meantime, you will be in the
capable hands of Rev Sara Embleton as your locum. Sara is a minister of
many years experience and with a considerable talent in creative
leading of worship and in developing the Spiritual life of a
congregation. I hope you will enjoy learning from her and walking in
new paths with her during your time together.
With Best Wishes to you all!
Anne T Logan (Interim
Moderator)
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Update 11/05/2011
As we enter May, SLPC will
begin a period of vacancy. The vacancy will be an opportunity for us to
review our current position and to assess our future needs. It will
also allow us time to recover from the feeling of loss that we may have
following Ian’s departure.
Throughout the vacancy we
will need to work together to fill the gap that Ian’s departure has
left. There may be challenges for us a congregation and, as
individuals, we may each be asked to give a little more of our time to
SLPC. We will however receive lots of help and support throughout the
vacancy process. Edinburgh Presbytery has appointed Rev Anne Logan to
be our Interim Moderator. She will chair our Kirk Session meetings,
help to look after our interests and work with us to ensure we continue
to serve, to worship and to witness.
In May we will meet several
people who will work with us through the vacancy. Rev Anne Logan, our
Interim Moderator, has agreed to preach on Sunday 1 May and the
Presbytery Clerk, Rev George Whyte, will preach on Sunday 8 May. Our
Locum Minister will be in place from 15 May. We are also in the happy
position of having members of the congregation who are skilled and
experienced in leading worship.
This month we expect that we
will have an opportunity to meet with the Deployment of Resources
Committee who will discuss with us the process for calling a new
minister. We hope that before too long, the Presbytery will be able to
grant permission for us to call a minister and we will then be in a
position to appoint a Nominating Committee. It is the responsibility of
the Nominating Committee to develop a South Leith Parish Profile which
will help prospective applicants understand who we are. The Nominating
Committee will consider applications for the post and they will present
a sole nominee for our consideration.
The process is likely to take
several months and we can reasonably expect a new minister to be in
place in 2012. In the coming months we will have challenges to meet and
opportunities to grasp as we continue to grow as a Surprisingly Lively
and Purposeful Congregation.
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A Fond Farewell
This month we shall, with
great sadness, say farewell to Ian. After leading and ministering to us
for 15½ years Ian will take up the charge at St Andrew’s and St
George’s West Church in Edinburgh. His departure will leave a huge gap
in our congregation and in our community.
Ian’s last Sunday with us
will be Easter Sunday, 24 April when we shall have an opportunity to
express our thanks and appreciation to him for all he has done for
SLPC. If you would like to contribute to our ‘thank-you’ gift please
pass your contribution to Alastair Chalmers, Dawn Birkinshaw or me.
On Saturday 23 April we will
take another opportunity to say thank you and farewell to Ian in the
Church Halls.
In May we will begin a period
of vacancy and Rev Anne Logan has agreed to be our Interim Moderator
throughout this period. The vacancy will be an opportunity for everyone
at SLPC to work together to fill the gap of Ian’s departure and to
ensure that we continue to be the Surprisingly Lively Purposeful
Congregation that Ian has worked so hard to develop.
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