Kirk’s new leader: Good health is a walk in the park
Moderator wants Scots to step up
The new Moderator of the Church of Scotland wants to highlight the importance of walking to improve mental and physical health during her year in charge of the Kirk.
The annual General Assembly got under way in Edinburgh yesterday with Rev Susan Brown, 59, saying she was “deeply moved and honoured” to be chosen for the role.
She is only the fourth woman to hold the title.
Mrs Brown – known for having been the minister who married Madonna and Guy Ritchie in 2000 – said she wanted to raise the profile of the ancient spiritual tradition of walking.
Around 730 commissioners from Scotland and beyond are expected to attend the General Assembly where they will discuss a new plan to reverse dwindling revenues and congregations.
The kirk has seen congregational giving fall by nearly £2 million over the last two years and is considering selling off its Edinburgh HQ.
Mrs Brown, the minister of Dornoch Cathedral in the Highlands, said: “The prospect of becoming Moderator of the General Assembly is slightly scary but incredibly exciting.
“It will be a challenging year but I am really up for it.
“As the ambassador for the Church, I am really looking forward to meeting people and hearing their stories as my theme is ‘walking with’.
“I also want to highlight how important walking, which is an ancient spiritual tradition, is for our physical and mental health, an issue that I plan to raise with political leaders.”
The General Assembly meets for a week every year in May. It has the authority to make laws determining how the Church operates and can also act as the Kirk’s highest court.
During the Church of Scotland’s Assembly on Tuesday, a public procession will take place to mark 50 years of the ordination of women within the Kirk.
Yesterday there was a key vote on whether to allow ministers to conduct same sex marriages if they wish to do so.
The motion orders the kirk’s Legal Questions Committee to draft a Church law that would permit such a move.
If passed, the motion would give the committee two years to come up with the draft law, with a final vote expected at the 2021 General Assembly.