The Church of Scotland could hand over St Giles Cathedral to Historic Environment Scotland (HES) as part of a massive shake-up which will also see the number of Kirk ministers in Edinburgh slashed by 40 per cent.
image: St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh – Carlos Delgado, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
.. The Edinburgh presbytery mission plan, now out for consultation, will affect every Church of Scotland congregation…
The Edinburgh Evening News writes:
Proposals have been drawn up to unite congregations and establish ministry teams across the Capital, but detailed proposals on the future of church buildings are still being worked on.
The Edinburgh presbytery mission plan, now out for consultation, will affect every Church of Scotland congregation in the Capital.
But one of the most eye-catching proposals is to unite two of the most historic churches in the city – St Giles in the heart of the Old Town and Canongate Kirk towards the foot of the Royal Mile….
….it goes on to say the insurance for St Giles is “exorbitant” and adds: “Consideration must be given to releasing the building to Historic Environment Scotland and a conversation with them is required to consider all possible options.”…
St Giles, also known as the High Kirk of Edinburgh, dates back to the 14th century, was where John Knox preached and has been at the heart of much Scottish history….
The document acknowledges: ”Closing too many buildings has proven in the past to lead to a reduction in membership and income.”
And it says: “The national accepted wisdom is that there are too many buildings. However, this Mission Plan proposes that where there is a clear mission imperative, then most buildings will be retained in some manner.”…
Dr Campbell said: “We’ve learned over the years churches can exist without buildings…
