The Steering Group consisting of Ministers, Session Clerks, Elders and church members has been meeting regularly and has agreed this vision for our new parish:
1. The three constituent parishes will unite to form a New Parish that is
committed to serving Christ, the community and each other.
2. In all that we do, we are committed to:
➢ Remaining local to all parts of the New Parish community.
➢ the recognition that we are a priesthood of all believers.
➢ effective communications between all members of the New Parish.
➢ Exercise of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
3. We will build and develop, in a united and integrated manner, Mission
activities that fulfil the Five Marks of Mission.
4. We will provide worship that recognises the need for flexibility, participation,
and relevance.
5. We will cultivate and embed a people centric model and will work with the
General Trustees and Presbytery, to assess all church buildings, with a view
to retaining those that provide a relevant and sustainable base for mission
Our next task is to make our vision into our mission statement/plan. We shall establish our timeline moving forward to presenting our mission to Presbytery by October. The full Presbytery plan needs to be agreed in December 2022.
We are committed to having all three congregations meeting together in September.
In addition to our Steering Group meetings, there will be meetings involving the three Ministers, as well as the three Session Clerks, the three Treasurers/Finance Conveners, and the three Property/Fabric Conveners to familiarise themselves with their individual procedures and practices.
Fuller details are available on our website, www.towardsournewparish.com. The members of the Steering Group are Rev Peter Bluett, John Hodge, Susan Edwards, Colin MacNeill and Jen Robertson from Newhaven; Karen McKay, Anne Lamont, Tim Bell, Michelle Doig and Stewart Lowe from North Leith; and Rev Iain May, Anne Rutherford, Gavin Booth, Sheena Glen and Keith Martin from South Leith.