Assembly Trustees Update May 2024
Thank you everyone who makes time to read the trustee updates.
At our March meeting Robert Burgon provided an update on the work of the Church of Scotland Investors' Trust (COSIT) which he chairs. This trust, one of a few within the national Church family, will be familiar to many with its three funds available for investment, the Growth Fund, Income Fund and Deposit Fund.
We continued the process, led by the finance team, of reviewing the national Church's restricted funds to make them as accessible as possible. We also neared finalisation of the Annual Report and Accounts which go to the General Assembly and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).
Neil Glover, convener of the Seeds for Growth Committee, and colleagues came to our meeting with some proposals for adjustments to their arrangements, which we discussed and agreed to recommend to the General Assembly.
Trustees also learned of the encouraging response in the trustee recruitment process. The names of two new Assembly Trustees are coming to the General Assembly. They will replace a trustee who resigned in November and our Administrative Trustee, Ann Nelson, whose term is about to end.
The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Group, which the Rev Mandy Ralph chairs, is looking for Church members with EDI skills. This is one of the trustees' groups, on which two of the trustees serve, and appointments are made by the trustees through a process which includes the Nomination Committee.
We continue to have updates regarding buildings that are our responsibility. For example, the top floor of 121 George Street has been refurbished and is available for let, as Church staff are now located on lower floors.
A main item of business for us is discussing further how we might release resources for ministries and mission. Ministries and mission are so important for the future of the Church, and part of our job as Assembly Trustees is to help create the conditions for renewal. As we said in the February update, in talking about the Church's serious financial situation, the heart of the matter is about seeing the Good News of Jesus Christ both shared and changing lives and communities for the better. That happens in and through local congregations and local ministries. There is, we consider, a real and responsible role for Presbyteries in this too. We all have to work out just what that is, and how to do it. That will take time, many conversations, and effort, but we believe that it needs done, and is the way to go.
At the March meeting we said farewell, and expressed our appreciation, to Anne Macintosh, on her retiral and in April welcomed Jenny Simpson, the new Head of Finance and General Treasurer, who had been shadowing Anne for a period of transition. Brian Waller, Chief Executive of the General Trustees, joined us for our April meeting. As nationally we seek to work increasingly together, Brian is part of the staff Senior Leadership Team, along with the Principal Clerk, Fiona Smith, who also attends many of our meetings, Viv Dickenson CrossReach's Chief Executive Officer, who joins us from time to time, and our Chief Officer, Dave Kendall and senior staff in his team. We are greatly appreciative of the skills, expertise, and kindliness of the staff team.
Like others, among other things we are in preparation mode for the General Assembly. We're holding the trustees' webinar mentioned in the last update after the Assembly rather than before.
Those of us who serve as Assembly Trustees see it as a huge privilege – and a significant responsibility. All of us take on additional roles through being an Assembly Trustee. Some are on other committees, such as the Audit Committee, some are liaison trustees, such as with CrossReach or the Faith Action Programme Leadership Team, and all of us are committed to the monthly meetings onsite or online. In readiness for the period after the General Assembly the outgoing and incoming Vice-Conveners, David Harrison and Geoff Miller respectively, will be working with trustee colleagues to fit people to roles.
Throughout all that we do we rely on the encouragement and commitment of colleagues, and the enabling of the Holy Spirit. We know that many of you pray for us, and we appreciate that. Thank you.