25 April 2026

There is a crisis in the Kirk. We are working together on a radical action plan – and that’s one thing. There is a lack of young people and  families  – and that’s another. But there is a third – and that’s the pastoral care of the people and the parish.

The pastoral care of the parish belongs to the minister and the Kirk Session. There is a pastoral dimension to the eldership. Traditionally, the parish is broken up into districts with an elder responsible for the pastoral care.

The calling is evident in Peter’s remarks about the eldership. ‘I exhort the elders among you to tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you do it – not for sordid gain but eagerly.’

Inevitably some elders are brilliant at this. They have evident gifts of compassion, understanding and wisdom. But others do not and some districts are cared for poorly. As the age profile of the elder increases and recruitment stalls, we need a rethink.

Some Kirk Sessions are doing this imaginatively. One development has been the establishment of pastoral care groups were members of the congregation with pastoral gifts are identified and deployed. It has been an enriching experience.

In all of this, it has become evident that the pastoral care of the people belongs to everyone. We all have a responsibility to shepherd one another because we are all participating in the pastoral ministry of the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep.

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