Getting Ready
3.1 The first thing to do is read right through the Act. The Act has been carefully and skilfully drafted and approved by the 2021 General Assembly. Given its scope and complexity, it is written in an accessible style.
3.2 Three preparatory steps will help in your reading of the Act:
- Read the Preface. It's all about Mission! It's important to get to grips with the Preface since it explains the background to the Act and what the Church intends to achieve through it. This will help you to understand the detail as well as the objectives of the Act.
- Work through the structure of the Act without trying to master the detail. Use the version which you can access through the Church's website. The version at this link has been colour-coded and laid out so that you can easily see the major components of the process of preparing, approving, developing and implementing a Presbytery Mission Plan. They follow a logical pattern.
- Read the definitions. Section 1.1 defines all the key terms used in the rest of the Act. Familiarity with these definitions will ease your understanding of what follows.
3.3 Then you need to be clear how many ministry posts the Presbytery has been allocated. This is the maximum number of ministry posts which will be funded by the Parish Staffing Fund. This was reported to the General Assembly in the Faith Nurture Forum's 2021 Supplementary Report (with adjustments made in the 2022 Supplementary Report), and a copy of the table can be obtained by emailing Presbyteryplanning@churchofscotland.org.uk. As well as inducted ministers, this includes ‘appointments' other than those funded locally by a congregation or by the presbytery (1.1(b))
3.4 Now you are ready to begin something new. Whatever the Presbytery Plan may have been prior to 01 June 2021, it is now redundant. The General Assembly of 2021 has approved transition provisions to cover the gap before a Mission Plan is approved, but these provisions should be used with an eye towards that future plan.
3.5 You might want to consider at this stage how you involve Kirk Sessions and indeed congregations in a discussion about the Mission Plan process. If they understand what is required and can help frame the methodology then there is a much better chance of positive interaction.
3.6 It is also helpful to give a timetable to Kirk Sessions – when (and how) will they be consulted, what are the dates for feedback, when will drafts come to Presbytery meetings for consideration?