Pastoral letter

The Manse

Dear Friends

In 1997 the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland charged the then Board of Ministry with introducing a Study Leave Scheme for Ministers.  The scheme was introduced with the proviso that any Study Leave should uphold the ideals of continuing education and personal development and that it should be of use to the wider Church.

Entitlement for Study Leave begins with two weeks at five years’ service, four weeks at six years, and so on.  At the moment this means that I have accrued six weeks of study leave.  When the possibility of a Mission Trip to the Broad Street Ministry in Philadelphia for young people from Greenbank and Netherlee came to light it seemed to me that this was something that aptly suited the criteria laid down by the provisos of the scheme.  Glasgow Presbytery and the Ministries Council agreed with me and they have granted me three weeks study leave subject to the condition that I write and submit a 1500 word report on the Broad Street Ministry when I return. 

Four young people from Greenbank are going on the trip - Jennifer Bisset, Lauren Donnelly, Charlie Clegg and Colin Howard.  We travel to Philadelphia at the beginning of July. 

The Broad Street Ministry is supported by all the Presbyterian churches in Philadelphia.  During the summer it offers young people and their leaders opportunities to learn about service and opportunities for relationship-building with the people of Philadelphia.  An effort is made to take groups to different neighbourhoods in the city and discuss poverty, homelessness, hunger, and health care grounded within a theological framework.  The programme particularly aims to engage the groups with the poor and disadvantaged who are trying to make a difference in their community through social action.  The Broad Street Ministry aims to make each day different but the themes of social justice, economic realities, and relationship building, are always included.  The week ends with a service of commissioning on Friday night and sending the different groups back to their own communities in the hope that faithful transformation may continue.  If you want to know more about the Broad Street Ministry you can find it at www.broadstreetministry.org.  If you have any questions about the trip, please feel free to contact me.

I am very much looking forward to the trip and discovering more about this Ministry which attempts to teach, young and old alike, that serving Jesus Christ is something we are called to do each day of our lives as we meet with Him in the poor and needy

Yours,

        Jeanne