Bulletins

The 2025 Post Graduate fund is now open and will close on the 19th May 2025

The 2025 Post Graduate fund is now open and will close on the 19th May 2025 More information can be found here 

Applications are now open for the 2025 Alexander J MacLeod Gaelic fund. Applications will close on the 10th January

The Alexander J MacLeod Gaelic fund – Applications for 2025 are now open and will close on the 10th January 2025. Find out more

YOU ARE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN PRISONERS WEEK 2024,17th – 23rd November

  Prisoners Week Launch Service Invite  

BFF

I’m writing from the top deck of a bus and we’ve just gone by a shop called Lonely Planet. And I’ve just finished reading an article published in The Lancet which begins like this: Imagine a condition that makes a person irritable, depressed, self-centred and is associated with a 26% increase in the risk of …

The Impossible Job Description – Part four

Trigger Warning: This conversation touches on sensitive topics, including infant loss.   There is a season….. As I write this article, I am looking at the beautiful orange and rust leaves on the cherry blossom tree outside my study window. The striking colours in this autumn season remind me strongly of how this tree changes …

Safeguarding – Join us as we come together with churches across the country to celebrate Safeguarding Sunday on November 17th 2024

The Safeguarding Service encourage you to take the opportunity to celebrate your work and the work of volunteers who help ensure safe churches for all on Sunday, November 17th, 2024. There are over 2000 churches that regularly mark Safeguarding Sunday, so why not join them? Remember, safeguarding is more than just child and adult protection; …

Goodness in a world of evil

We live in a world where the common perception of life is often upside down and needs to be challenged. Many people think that goodness is dull and boring, whereas evil is fun, lively and entertaining. The reality is that there is nothing more repetitive and destructive than evil and nothing more creative, winsome and …

Missional Vision

Almost every time l met with my training vicar, he would ask this question, “What is God saying to you?” Although l knew to expect this from him, l was usually surprised at how challenging this made our encounters. l did have to regularly ask myself why enquiring what God might be saying would challenge …

Ministerial Development Conversation – ‘You are not Alone’ Ascend eNews article

I always find myself very encouraged by the title of this section of the Ascend eNews – ‘You are not Alone’. In so many types of ministry, it is easy to feel alone, but one thing that the Church has worked so hard on in recent years is finding ways in which those in the …

Theology in Scotland journal: Call for contributions for Spring 2025 issue on faith and language

  Theology in Scotland journal: Call for contributions for Spring 2025 issue on faith and language For the Spring 2025 issue of the journal Theology in Scotland we will be exploring the vital role and limitations of language in faith and the church. From Scripture to worship, theological discourse to private devotion – how does language shape, …

Scripture Union Scotland Christmas Resource

Scripture Union share their brand new RME resource, Explore Christmas for 8-11 years olds. The content is extremely transferrable within a church context in the lead up to Christmas. Over three video episodes, featuring young hosts, animation, and interviews with school children, we unpack ‘the promise’, ‘the surprise’ and ‘the light’ of Christmas. This free resource is accompanied …

Sign up to the monthly Ascend E-Newsletter here

The Church of Scotland website allows you to sign up to a number of newsletters including the Ascend monthly E-newsletter Sign up here Newsletters | The Church of Scotland

New College Festival of Books and Belief

New College Festival of Books and Belief We are delighted to announce that the programme for 2024’s New College Festival of Books and Belief is now live!     Join us on 7-9 November to hear from Michel Faber, Ziauddin Sardar, Francesca Stavrakopoulou and Belle, Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch – and many more. Take a look at …

Learning Community Update – October 2024

At this year’s General Assembly, Tommy MacNeil opened the Faith Action Programme Leadership Team report by pointing us to the story of Isaiah.  He could see something of the desolation and grief that Isaiah 6 starts with in our own story in the Church of Scotland just now.   ‘In the year that King Uzziah …

CrossReach – Join us as we celebrate the impact of the Church of Scotland’s Social Care Arm

‘They helped me recover and get things back on track. It wasn’t easy – and it wasn’t a quick journey, but without CrossReach I can confidently say I wouldn’t be here today.’ Chris McCleary shared his powerful story ahead of CrossReach Sunday. It’s a story of a life transformed, one that radiates hope and encouragement …

The Impossible Job Description – Part three

I was ordained and inducted into Glasgow: Colston Milton in February 2008 – the 3rd most deprived parish in Scotland and one of the Cof S’s Priority Area parishes. Probably like many of you, since then, I’ve watched, feeling somewhat helpless, as the congregation shrank from approximately 50 on a Sunday to an average of …

Fruit of the Spirit – Kindness

  They say kindness costs nothing – but I wonder if they’re right. Kindness is an emptying out of yourself, a choice to do that even when you’re being emptied by people and pressures. We have a Lord who did this. Philippians 2 describes Jesus emptying Himself on our behalf. The greatest kindness ever done …

Join Heather Thorpe in exploring the rich tapestry of outreach experiences and initiatives that are transforming the local landscape

Over my 18 months in post, I have been inspired by the missional ideas bubbling up in Glasgow Presbytery and the courageous heart congregations have for reaching out to their communities with the Good News of Jesus. My role is to facilitate and support mission, pioneering and planting. I have been encouraged by churches seeking …

How I’m changing – Relationships

In 2016, I applied for my current charge. Unsure about continuing in ministry and whether a congregation would want a separated, single mum of four as their minister, I was upfront in my cover letter and CV that my marriage had recently ended. Thankfully, it wasn’t an issue; they’ve loved me and my children for …

The Importance of Retreat.

As a newly ordained and inducted individual in Feb 2022, most of my probationary experience was shaped by the pandemic’s restrictions. Our interactions with other probationers were confined to online conferences, devoid of the personal touch and quiet chats over a meal or before a meeting. The absence of these moments became starkly evident when …