500 years after the birth of John Knox, the church he founded is still part of the fabric of Scottish life.
Before this year’s General Assembly (May 17–23), however, newspapers reported that membership of the Church of Scotland is under 400,000 compared with 1.32 million in 1956. There is a shortage of 107 ministers and this deficit is likely to rise to 220 by 2022 with retirements. There are presently only two ministers below the age of 30.
Kirk in denial
The Kirk denied that this decline has anything to do with the ongoing controversy about same sex relationships; claiming just 1% of its 1,389 congregations have seen their minister and a proportion of their members leave the denomination for this reason. This controversy concerned an openly gay minister who was inducted to a church in Aberdeen in 2009. His call was upheld by the General Assembly and further debates followed in 2011 and 2013.
