Assembly Trustees Update Oct 2024

Since the previous Assembly Trustees' update there have been some changes in personnel within the Trustees. David Harrison (Vice-Convener) and Ann Nelson (Administrative Trustee) reached the end of their terms in these roles and have been succeeded in these by, respectively, Geoff Miller and Rev Barry Hughes (David Harrison remains as a Trustee). Two new Trustees have also come on board – Michael Yuille and Crawford Gillies, both of whom bring significant experience of the local Church and business acumen to the table.

Since the General Assembly, many important matters have been brought to the table, the most challenging has been the ongoing need to achieve a balanced budget to ensure that we can fund our primary objectives of local ministry, missional outreach and discipleship. Despite the significant savings achieved over the last few years a range of existing and new cost pressures, set against fairly stagnant income, mean that more radical action is necessary to tackle the stubbornly persistent deficit which is why reform stays at the top of the agenda. The proposed national budget for 2025 has been rejected as unaffordable and the Chief Officer has been instructed to progress with further work prioritisation to reduce national costs. This work builds on the plans that were already being progressed but reinforces the urgency and importance of delivering the commitments.

Many long-standing issues are being tackled and our improved governance processes are clearly highlighting areas of concern that are being systematically monitored and addressed. These include assessment of the future viability of some of our historic operations both in Scotland and internationally.

The Seeds for Growth Committee recently presented 5 new projects aimed at new worshipping communities to the Trustees for endorsement of the funding decisions they had made.

During the summer the Convener, Rev David Cameron, met with many of the Clerks and representatives of the new Presbyteries from across the Church in a meeting which was focused on agreeing the scale of the challenge that we face and developing New Directions. A further meeting was held on 28 October. An overarching concern is ensuring that all the required measures are in place to address our ministry shortage regionally that impacts the church's ability to engage in effective evangelism and discipleship. This requires a fundamental rethinking of how we approach our faith, our stories, and our engagement with the nation. To provide a more effective structure for planning and the determination of priorities.

The Trustees are also determined to find ways to turn around the failing financial model we operate under and create new income to invest in the ministries we really need for the church today.

This includes methods of resourcing a regionally funded model working within necessary budget constraints that enables us to balance our budget by 2027.

Enablers will be mission-focused resource allocation, sustainable ministry, compassionate people management, and transparent decision making that frees our ministers and congregations to transform lives and communities for Christ.

At the August meeting of the Trustees progress was reported on the development of new models for funding of parish ministries, as well as implications of our current model of ministerial tenure. In these areas there are key decisions to be made within the Church that are linked to our ongoing year-on-year deficit.

Much of the work of the Assembly Trustees is concerned with planning for the medium- and long-term, across areas such as finance, resourcing and strategy. Our agendas are mapped out for the year, whilst always allowing space for emergent issues, to ensure that all the key areas are brought to the table and progress assessed. The scale of the work remains a problem. We are managing an institution, but we are also committed to bring the gospel to our communities supporting our presbyteries, resourcing for mission and simplifying our governance process. All our resources – whether financial, human, or material – must be directed toward fulfilling our calling as a church. This means ensuring that our local congregations, regional bodies, and national leadership are all working together in harmony, whilst understanding that our resources are finite, prioritisation must be given to support the church's core mission and ministry. At the same time encouraging increased income generation.

At the September meeting the issues detailed above (all of which are key to the Church's future) continued to be on the agenda, as indeed they will be on an ongoing basis at Trustees' meetings. There was also a presentation from Richard MacLennan, Head of IT, on digital transformation across the Church, including the future options for Sanctuary First and other digital ministries. Modernising and simplifying our systems and processes is another critical area for a sustainable future.

If you have any questions on this update please contact the Administrative Trustee, Rev Barry Hughes, via the departmental email address OATadmin@churchofscotland.org.uk.