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Kirk Session |
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The Kirk Session of St Mary's consists of around 40 men and women who
are ordained as Elders of the Church of Scotland and admitted
specifically at St Mary's.
Session normally meets every two months and is chaired by the minister
who is referred to as the Moderator.
The Session Clerk, Isobel Colley, is responsible for the administration of Session matters.
Recently the church changed to the Unitary Form of Constitution.
This meant the disbanding of the Congregational Board and some of its
members became Elders.
To quote the Church of Scotland's guidelines for a Unitary
Constitution:
The Kirk Session has oversight of the whole life and service of the
Church within its Parish; responsibility for the spiritual and temporal
oversight of the Congregation’s affairs. Its spiritual responsibility
involves "leadership, nurturing the spirituality of the congregation and
its members, caring for the spiritual welfare of the parish and
parishioners, encouraging members to participate in the worship and life
of the congregation, and promoting mission and evangelism in the
parish."
The Session is sub-divided into several groups who discuss their
respective remits and report back to the full Session. They might also
be responsible for implementing their recommendations.
These groups, some of which have their own web page under Groups are:
Finance
Fabric
Social
Worship and Prayer
Pastoral Care
Local Mission
Communications
World Mission
In addition each organisation under the church's umbrella has an Elder
allocated to it who will attend some of its meetings and report back to
the Session on its situation and any problems which Session may be able
to address on its behalf.
One of an Elder's duties is to care for a group of
members and this involves regular visits to their home, inviting them to
communion. For St Mary's, Haddington is divided into many
districts and each has an Elder associated with it. Not all Elders have district responsibility. Some
are involved with other aspects of the church and some are no longer
able to be fully involved as an Elder - ordination is for life.
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3 Star attraction |
In 2012 St Mary's Church was awarded the
prestigious 3 star award by the Scottish Tourist Board. The scheme focuses on the welcome, hospitality, service and
presentation of visitor attractions.
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