Kirk closures could be rolled out all over Scotland

● Church going though ‘time of reformation’ says minister

The Church of Scotland’s decision to close two-thirds of its churches on Shetland is likely to be replicated across the country, according to one of the ministers in charge.

Reverend Ian Murray said the Kirk was going through “a time of reformation” caused by dwindling congregations, a lack of ministers and buildings falling into disrepair.

He is one of three “assessor ministers” appointed by the Church of Scotland to review the challenges faced by worshippers in some parts of the country and decide what to do next.

The Kirk has ordered the closure of 20 of its 31 churches on Shetland over the next three years, after ministers on the island raised concerns about their sustainability.

Some of the ageing buildings require significant investment to continue operating despite attracting only a handful of worshippers, while two of Shetland’s five ministers have recently retired.

“We’re not the National Trust, we’re not Historic Scotland, we’re not in the process or in the business of maintaining buildings,” Mr Murray said. “There’s a legacy in Shetland that we’ve got more buildings per head of the population than anywhere else in Scotland...some of them are not in a good state of repair.”

He added: “It’s not good stewardship to invest £250,000 in a church building which has a congregation of five or six people who meet once a month.”

Mr Murray said the “radical” change should be viewed as “a time of reformation”, with one change likely to be an increase in churchgoers worshipping alongside members of other denominations.

“We’re reducing the number of buildings, but we’re not reducing the number of worshippers,” he said.

“We’re bringing people together.”

The locations of the churches earmarked for closure on Shetland will not be revealed until later this week, when all of the local congregations have been informed.

It is understood that churchgoers will be able to appeal against individual church closures, some of which have been used by generations of the same families since the 18th century.

One of the proposals is for the island’s parishes to be merged into one, as well as the formation of a new Presbytery of Aberdeen and Shetland.

Mr Murray added that the Kirk’s new model of worship could “absolutely” be rolled out in other parts of Scotland, which has seen a steady decline in church congregations in recent years.

Research published in August suggested that Scots are becoming increasingly indifferent to religion, with the vast majority of young people describing themselves as not having any faith.

The poll of more than 1,000 people, commissioned by the

0 The Kirk has ordered the closure of 20 of its 31 churches on Shetland

Humanist Society Scotland, also found that 60 per cent of adults never attend church outside of weddings, funerals and special occasions.

In the same month, statistics showed that the number of humanist weddings carried out in Scotland had overtaken Church of Scotland ceremonies for the first time.

In response, the Kirk has taken steps to modernise, appointing its first ever “digital minister” last year in an attempt to reconnect with worshippers who no longer attend on Sundays.

It is hoped that the initiative will gradually increase worshippers embracing modern technology.