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Minute of the Scottish Churches’ Industrial Mission (SCIM) Council held on Tuesday 16 January 2007 at Scottish Churches House, Dunblane
PRESENT:
Mr Ted Wallace, Convenor (Methodist Church), Mrs Cate Adams (Team of Chaplains), Rev Jan Adamson (United Reformed Church), Mr Donald Black (Rock Foundation, Stirling), Mr Pat Foley (Roman Catholic Church), Rev Gordon MacRae (Church of Scotland), Mr George McSorley (Co-opted), Mr Lewis Rose (SCIM Co-ordinator) and Mr John Thomson (Secretary).
APOLOGIES:
Rev Gordon Currie (United Free Church of Scotland), Rev Andrew Jolly (Aberdeen Oil Industry Chaplaincy Trust) and Mr Matt Smith (Co-opted).
37. OPENING DEVOTIONS
Rev Jan Adamson conducted the opening devotions.
38. WELCOME
The Convener welcomed all members to the opening meeting of the New Year and gave a particular greeting to the Rev Gordon MacRae and Mr Donald Black on the occasion of their first attendance.
39. MINUTE
The minute of the meeting held on 31 October 2006 was approved.
40. MATTERS ARISING
40.1 SCIM Conference on Pensions
It was noted that:
i The Rev Alister Goss and members of the Edinburgh Team of Chaplains are
co-ordinating the planning for this event.
ii The Trade Unions in Scotland have been successful in maintaining protection in
pensions until 2020 for those workers employed in local authorities.
iii Although the financial position of many pension funds had improved in the past year
there was still a need for vigilance in future by representatives of workers to maintain their members’ retirement benefits.
40.2 Tayside (and North Fife)
Lewis Rose reported that the Church of Scotland Ministries Council has ratified the decision to recruit a successor to the late Gareth Jones. A selection and interview panel is to be formed and will consist of three members from the Church of Scotland and one from the Methodist Church. It is planned to advertise the post in early February and interview applicants during March.
40.3 Corporate Homicide
It was agreed that Lewis Rose would make contact with Mr Ian Tasker of the STUC to arrange, if possible, another date for him to meet with the Council regarding this topic.
40.4 ACTS Annual Working Agreement
The Secretary confirmed that the required amendments to the agreement had been submitted to ACTS (on 31 October 2006) and that a reply was still awaited. It was agreed that a response be pursued by the Secretary.
40.5 International Workers’ Memorial Day Lecture
Lewis Rose reported that an approach has been made to obtain a speaker from a university to give the lecture in 2007.
41. REPORT FROM SCIM CO-ORDINATOR
Lewis Rose presented his report to Council (see Appendix).
Members asked some questions and a period of discussion ensued.
The Convener thanked Lewis for his detailed report.
It was agreed, however, that future reports be circulated with the call notice in advance of meetings to give members more time to consider issues of importance for full discussion during the meeting.
42. SCIM ANNUAL REPORT
The Council discussed the processes of funding and distribution of the annual report. What was the target constituency? These included the churches, the team of chaplains, and industry and commerce, possibly via the Industrial Mission Trust Appeals. It was agreed that it was the responsibility of Council to ensure that copies were made available to churches at the highest committee or staff level possible.
It was further agreed that the Secretary take to the Industrial Mission Trustees a request from Council that the Trust considers funding the printing and distribution costs of the annual report.
It was also agreed that a draft of the report be circulated to members for comments before it is published. (Lewis Rose agreed to action this during the period before the next meeting).
43. TOPICS FOR FUTURE DISCUSSION
The following were suggested:
i Review the relationship between SCIM Council and the team of chaplains and
voluntary chaplains.
ii The website could be used more but needs to be regularly updated with news and
fresh material – it was noted that Lewis Rose is to have a meeting soon with the web master.
iii Highlighting the work of SCIM in the churches – is it active? Is it effective? The
coverage seems to be mixed!
iv Education and Training
v The Trident debate
It was agreed that any additional suggestions be forwarded to the Secretary who will consult with Lewis Rose to explore how they can be progressed.
44. MEETING BETWEEN COUNCIL AND THE TEAM OF CHAPLAINS (INFORMAL)
It was suggested that this meeting might take place during the team’s overnight conference on 25/26 June 2007.
Lewis Rose and the Secretary agreed to ascertain if this would be possible and firm up on the arrangements for such a meeting.
45. DATES FOR FUTURE MEETINGS
Tuesday 8 May 2007*
Wednesday 29 August 2007
Tuesday 4 December 2007
*To include a presentation/report from a team member or the team member to lead discussion on a SCIM topic which is a major issue for that person.
(Lewis Rose agreed to set this up).
The meeting was closed with the saying of the Grace together.