Cornerstone No. 183, page 6
International Presbytery Meeting, 7-9th October 2016
On the weekend of the 7-9 of October, the bi-annual meeting of the International Presbytery was held in Lausanne at the Scots Kirk.
This was the first meeting since the International Presbytery
(previously the Presbytery of Europe) was recognised at the General
Assembly of the Church of Scotland held in Edinburgh in May of this
year. This was not the only change that occurred at the GA. The
International Presbytery officially became a presbytery like any other
presbytery in the Church of Scotland, which involves a few changes
to our relationship with the C of S, and an increased financial
participation.
We have been promised help from Stewardship staff from the
Church Offices in Edinburgh who will attend the next Presbytery
meeting to be held in Rotterdam in March 2017. Also, the Finance
Committee (IP), in conjunction with appropriate personnel from the
Church Offices, is to organise a Treasurers’ Conference early in
2017. There will also be a Local Church Review in Lausanne in 2017,
the date is still to be confirmed.
Apart from the business side of our meetings, there is also a strong
sense of fellowship and keeping in touch with our sister churches,
exchanging news and feeling part of a whole instead of each church
on its own in our separate countries. In order to spend time
together, we arrange meals, outings for spouses and spaces for
committees and meetings. It takes a certain amount of organisation,
but there were many hands to help provide soup and sandwiches,
endless cups of coffee and tea, an excellent meal on the Friday in St
Andrew’s Hall and a wonderful “finger” buffet on Sunday after worship. We also
shared a meal in a local restaurant on the Saturday night.
I would like to thank all who helped to feed and entertain our fellow Presbyters.
It was a great team effort. We had many compliments and expressions of
thanks for our hospitality, which I pass on to you all.
As I mentioned before, the next meeting of Presbytery will be in Rotterdam in
March 2017 and in October we will be going to Malta.
Sylvia McKillop
Presbytery Elder
For your information;
“The General Assembly has three basic functions: legislative, deliberative
and judicial. The ongoing administration is delegated to councils and committees, which have to report annually to the Assembly.