For us here at Crown Court Church, faith is a journey of faith and trust in God, made known in the continuing presence of Jesus Christ with us. We could list here a whole host of things we believe in, but that would miss the point.
First and foremost, we believe God is love, and everything else flows from that assurance. From thereon we try to respond to that love by loving others, living justly in the world, and serving the world around us with compassion.
We are firmly in the liberal Protestant tradition of the Christian faith, and as such, although there is much about God of which we are certain, we recognise we are on a pilgrimage of discovery and learning. The main thing is that we are always open to new insights by placing our faith in dialogue with the world around us, its challenges, and joys.
The Church of Scotland
Crown Court Church is part of the Church of Scotland, or the Kirk, which is part of the Catholic or Universal Church. The Church of Scotland emerged from the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century, but its origins can be traced further back to the first stirrings of Christianity in the British Isles with the arrival of St. Ninian and St. Columba, amongst many others.
As a Presbyterian Church, the Church of Scotland gives substantial place in the running of its affairs to its elders, “lay” people ordained to serve. The Kirk Session, the body of ordained elders within a congregation, meets regularly and is responsible for the spiritual and temporal matters of the congregation. The Minister presides over Kirk Session meetings as Moderator. Kirk Sessions and Presbyteries are “courts” of the Church, each with its own area of decision-making responsibility and authority. Crown Court Church belongs to the Presbytery of England and the Channel Islands.
The supreme court of the Church of Scotland is the General Assembly, which meets annually in Edinburgh to decide upon matters related to faith, practical areas of Church policy and the use of resources. Around 800 delegates attend the General Assembly as representatives of the parishes and Presbyteries. Meetings of the General Assembly are chaired by the Moderator of the General Assembly, who leads daily worship, rules on points of order, and signs documents on the Assembly’s behalf. The role is an honorary one, held for a period of 12 months. After the Assembly, the Moderator’s remaining time in office is mainly spent travelling as a Church representative in Scotland, other parts of the British Isles and overseas.
To learn more about the Church of Scotland today, head to its website.
Church Membership
We are always delighted to welcome new members to Crown Court. If you are a regular attender, but have not yet joined the congregation, we would encourage you to consider becoming a member or an adherent.
If you have been a member of a Church of Scotland elsewhere, transferring your membership is a very simple process; please contact Laura Daniels, Church Administrator, at office@crowncourtchurch.org.uk to arrange this.
If you are not yet a member of any church, we hold periodic enquirers’ classes for those interested in finding out more about church membership. If you would like to find out more about these, please contact our minister, Rev Scott Rennie, at SRennie@churchofscotland.org.uk.
