General Trustees

New homes on Barra glebe land

The Church of Scotland General Trustees form a statutory corporation set up in 1921 to hold properties and investments for the Church as a whole.

Part of the glebe land at Rathad Na Ceardaich on the Isle of Barra, traditionally used by the local church minister in years gone by to keep livestock, has been put to very good use in the building of six new high-quality homes built for the Hebridean Housing Partnership (HHP). The Church is committed to serving local communities in a wide variety of ways and the General Trustees are proud to play a part in supporting affordable housing by making land available, particularly in remote rural areas.

The General Trustees manage around 12,000 acres of glebe land for the Church of Scotland and encourage congregations who have glebes to engage with them on management, either to generate income by leasing or sale or by using them in their Christian mission. They are charged with ensuring church buildings and funds are managed in the best interest of the Church as a whole and in support of parish ministry. The Chair is Mr Alan F K Kennedy and the Vice-Chair is Rev Scott Rennie.

What do the General Trustees do?

The General Trustees offer practical advice and guidance on maintaining and improving Church properties, manses and glebes. They produce guides and information to help congregations look after their properties. The General Trustees can also offer a limited amount of financial aid to congregations facing expenditure on their buildings. Find out more about looking after church buildings.

Who can be a General Trustee?

General Trustees are appointed by the General Assembly and must be either ministers or elders of the Church of Scotland. While there is no fixed number of trustees, normally there are around 25, of which just over a third are ministers. The elders can come from all walks of life but tend to be accountants, architects, lawyers and surveyors.

Committee Conveners

  • Fabric Committee: Mr D Stewart Toy
  • Glebes Committee: Mr William M Lawrie
  • Finance and Resources Committee: Mr Michael D Craig
  • Audit and Assurance Committee: Mr Nigel W Hicks
  • Presbytery Support & Buildings Committee: Rev Tim Podger

Contact the Trustees

The following e-mail addresses are monitored from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday and all enquiries will be responded to by as appropriate:

Annual Report and Financial Statement