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Petition
to
the Presbytery of Dumbarton
from
the Kirk Sessions of
Kilmaronock-Gartocharn Parish Church, Alexandria Parish Church, Luss
Parish Church and Arrochar Parish Church
and from
the Parish Ministers
of Alexandria and Arrochar with Luss.
We, the Kirk Sessions of Kilmaronock-Gartocharn Parish
Church, Alexandria Parish Church, Luss Parish Church and Arrochar
Parish Church, and we, the Parish Ministers of Alexandria and
Arrochar with Luss, petition the Presbytery of Dumbarton to take such
steps as are necessary to create a pilot maxi-parish incorporating
the parishes which we serve, the start of this pilot to coincide with
the retiral of the present minister of the Parish of
Kilmaronock-Gartocharn; this pilot maxi-parish to be for five years.
The reasons for this petition are as follows:
1. This new maxi-parish will encompass, as nearly as
is possible at the present time, the lochside communities,
within the bounds of the presbytery, of the new National Park
to be officially opened by HRH the Princess Royal this year.
2. This new maxi-parish will provide full-time
ministry in the community of Kilmaronock-Gartocharn and, in addition,
will provide the possibility of maintaining both Kilmaronock and
Gartocharn Churches as places of worship.
3. This new maxi-parish will enable the Presbytery to
reduce full-time ministerial staffing levels in this area in
accordance with projected shortages nationally and will create a
staffing structure which is affordable to all sections within the maxi-parish.
4. This new maxi-parish is a visionary response to new
opportunities which are exciting the whole people of Scotland and
will enable a team both of ministerial staff and of congregational
members to care effectively for those in the enlarged parish area; to
develop a relevant missionary presence to those who come to
Scotland's first National Park as visitors; and to provide
appropriate spiritual opportunities for those who seek the services
of the Church in an area of Scotland which is special to them and
their families.
5. A five year pilot will enable the maxi-parish to be
assessed and fine-tuned after that period of time.
Proposed Basis of the Maxi-Parish of the Lochside
The Maxi-Parish
The pilot maxi-parish will consist of the existing
Parishes of Kilmaronock-Gartocharn, Alexandria, Luss and Arrochar and
the pilot maxi-parish will run for five years from the date of its
inauguration or until it is reviewed by the Presbytery of Dumbarton
with a view to creating a permanent maxi-parish or discontinuing the
pilot programme.
Review
During the five years of the pilot programme, on-going
review by the constituent members of the maxi-parish with the
Presbytery of Dumbarton Reappraisal Committee will work out final
proposals for the maxi-parish (including an examination of parish
boundaries) after the experimental period has been completed.
Services of Worship
During the period of the pilot programme services of
worship will be held each Sunday within each of the four parishes.
Staffing
During the period of the pilot programme the
maxi-parish will be staffed by the current parish ministers of
Alexandria and of Arrochar with Luss. This ministerial team will be
augmented by a part-time, possibly retired, minister to share both in
the pastoral and preaching work in the maxi-parish on the same basis
as a locum is appointed at present. It is also anticipated that the
congregations which make up the maxi-parish will wish to appoint
secretarial/office staff to be paid for with local funds and to be
located at the Balloch gateway to the National Park. During the
period of the pilot programme procedures will be agreed for the
choosing and calling of ministerial staff once the experimental
period has been completed.
Financial Obligations
The Congregation of Kilmaronock-Gartocharn will be
expected to be self-supporting and to provide the funding for the
stipend and ancillary costs of the part-time, possibly retired,
minister who will work as part of the ministerial team as outlined
above. The appointment of this important staff member will be by a
committee chaired by the minister of Alexandria Parish Church and
comprising the Parish Minister of Arrochar with Luss, one member each
of the Kirk Sessions of Alexandria, Luss and Arrochar and three
members of the Kirk Session of Kilmaronock-Gartocharn. The sale of
the Manse at Kilmaronock will also be investigated and, if it is
sold, the proceeds will be used to refurbish and upgrade the present
Churches at Gartocharn and at Kilmaronock.
The Congregation of Alexandria, already fully
self-supporting, will pay the appropriate stipend and costs of the
Parish Minister of Alexandria. While neither the Congregation at
Arrochar nor the Congregation at Luss is currently-self-supporting,
it will be the responsibility of the joint congregations there to pay
the stipend and ancillary costs of the Parish Minister of Arrochar
with Luss. It is expected that the Church of Scotland will continue
to pay such aid as is agreed to that stipend during the period of the
pilot programme and that both congregations will become
self-supporting during that programme.
In addition, according to a formula worked out and
agreed by each of the constituent parts of this pilot programme, each
congregation will become responsible for a proportion of the salary
of secretarial/office staff to be based in the new Church Office at
Balloch. Each congregation, individually and together, will also set
up a joint fund-raising programme to equip a Church Office and to
make application to fund holders and trusts which may contribute to
this enterprise.
Management
During the period of the pilot programme each parish
will retain its own Kirk Session and Congregational Board. In
addition there will be a twice-yearly meeting of a combined Kirk
Session moderated by the minister of Alexandria Parish Church. All
ministerial staff and all members of Kirk Sessions within the
maxi-parish will be members of the combined Kirk Session. All
additional staff, secretarial, youth or educational, will be
appointed by and responsible to the combined Kirk Session. There will
also be a twice-yearly meeting of a combined Congregational Board and
a formal structure of staff meetings will be developed during the
first months of the pilot programme.
Set Free to Respond to the Spirit
During the period of the pilot, the congregations of
the maxi-parish are encouraged to seek innovative and diverse ways of
serving the needs of their communities. A variety of places of
worship will enable different styles of worship to be presented in
different venues. There will be opportunities for times of
celebration in which all parts of the maxi-parish will come together
to create maxi-celebrations. There will be opportunities for
educational development and for the communities to develop a
'theology of welcoming the visitors in our midst.' There will
opportunities for the ministerial staff to develop a particular
ministry to those who come to the lochside for marriage, for the
dispersal of ashes and for other special reasons. There will be huge
opportunities to develop appropriate ways of responding to the
presence of so many visitors some of whom will wish to worship in a
setting different from their normal Sunday Church and some who will
have no links with Churches at home but who will be attracted to the
joint mission and ministry and innovative approach of the Churches by
the Loch-side.
The signatories to this petition believe that the
time is right for this experiment; the setting up of the National
Park provides wonderful opportunities for us and significant working
together has already begun.
Session Clerk, Kilmaronock-Gartocharn Parish Church
Session Clerk, Alexandria Parish Church
Session Clerk, Luss Parish Church
Session Clerk, Arrochar Parish Church
Parish Minister, Alexandria Parish Church
Parish Minister, Arrochar with Luss Parish Churches
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