Money woes for Church of Scotland as attendances slump
Ministers face being paid from the Church of Scotland’s financial reserves as rapidly declining congregations and empty collection plates force the kirk to take emergency action.
The drastic measure is likely to “extinguish” a multimillion-pound general fund within four years and comes against the backdrop of an accelerating slump in church attendances resulting in a total weekly national congregation of just 60,000.
In a stark report to the General Assembly meeting in Edinburgh, the assembly trustees said “significant and wide-ranging” changes would be required at every level of the church’s organisation to combat the financial crisis and warned of “radical action”.
The report by the kirk’s ruling body states: “Other than its reserves, the church’s main source of funding comes from its congregations. If congregational
