People must allow themselves to be led by the Holy Spirit

People must put "more trust and faith" in God and allow themselves to be led by the Holy Spirit as Jesus's disciples were.

That is the message from the new Moderator of the General Assembly to mark Pentecost, which commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and other followers of the light of the world, marking the beginning of the Church.

Delivering a sermon at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh today, Rt Rev Dr Shaw Paterson said: "We must allow the Spirit to transform us that we might truly be one in Christ, and that together we can build on the foundations of our Lord and Saviour."

The theme of the Moderator's year in office is Building Together as the Church seeks to move forward in unity after passing major reforms to address a shortage of ministers, a decline in membership numbers and dwindling finances.

Dr Paterson said: "Maybe we need to put more trust and faith in our sisters and brothers that collectively we move away from our focus being on what once was, and allow ourselves to be led by the spirit into the future.

"Into what might be and may be, no wait, there is no maybe about it, we must allow the Holy Spirit to use us as the disciples did.

"It transformed them, we must allow the Spirit to transform us that we might truly be one in Christ, and that together we can build on the foundations of our Lord and Saviour."

Holy Spirit

Dr Paterson told the congregation, which included His Grace, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly, that the Holy Spirit ensures that the tradition of the Church won't be consumed and left as ashes.

"The Church may change, traditions may change, styles of worship may change but just as our motto which surrounds a burning bush says, faith will continue to be passed from one generation to the next," he added.

"That's something we need to hold on to.

"Through us, through the Holy Spirit working in us, faith will continue to be passed from one generation to the next."

Dr Paterson has taken a sabbatical from his role as minister of Trinity Parish Church in Strathaven, South Lanarkshire, where he has served for 33 years, and is a former clerk of the Presbytery of Forth Valley and Clydesdale.

He has been at the heart of Presbytery Mission Planning, aimed at ensuring the Church is properly equipped to share the Good News of Jesus Christ in the decades ahead.

Dr Paterson said: "We would all like to see our own particular church buildings stay open.

"We would all like to see 3,000 people added to our numbers after the sermon as happened on the day of Pentecost but we have to be realistic.

"I don't want to rehearse the messages of previous (General) Assemblies but we, in terms of the church, live in difficult times.

"We have to be realistic about the size of the Church and the number of buildings we have but today, on the Day of Pentecost, we need to believe that with God all things are possible.

"Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, all things are possible.

Building Together

"For too long we have sat back watching and waiting for signs of God's Spirit being at work in our world."

Dr Paterson said God calls "each and every one of us".

"We've all got a calling but unless we respond to God's Call, unless we allow God to use us, will anything ever change?" he asked.

"There can hardly be a minister, or an elder or a church member that hasn't got a little bit down thinking about past glories, where we are at present and what the future will be.

"In response to this I have adopted as my catch phrase or logo, theme or whatever you want to call it – ‘Building Together'.

"Building the church of Jesus Christ together with the Holy Spirit and with each other.

"When we think of the church of tomorrow, we need to remember not bricks and stone laid by human hand.

"Yes, these have been laid to glorify God, but our faith is built on Jesus Christ.

"Our foundations are set much deeper than anything we can dig ourselves, our faith is built upon Christ.

"We need to build together, we need to work together."