How we operate
About Us
Clackmannan Parish Church is part of Stirling Presbytery in The Church of Scotland. Geographically our parish probably reaches the most easterly part of the Presbytery, bordering Dunfermline Presbytery at Kincardine and at Blairingone, on the Perth and Kinross / Clackmannanshire border.
Being part of a Presbytery means we have a Presbyterian Church Government, which means the minister and an elder representative from each congregation in a Presbytery meet together to oversee the work of the church in the local Presbytery area.
The Church of Scotland has the vision of being a church which seeks to inspire the people of Scotland and beyond with the Good News of Jesus Christ through enthusiastic worshipping, witnessing, nurturing and serving communities. As the national church, each congregation has a pastoral responsibility for its parish. Should residents in a particular area require the help of a church or a minister, the local church and minister should be contacted.
Clackmannan Parish is bounded on the south by the River Forth, from the mouth of the Black Devon to Kennetpans. From there the Parish reaches the county boundary along the A977 Kincardine to Kinross Road at Kilbagie, and up to the Gartarry Roundabout, turning east on the A907 Dunfermline Road, as far as Brucefield, turning north to enclose Forestmill, before coming back along the south side of the Gartmorn Dam, south down Hilton Road and back to the River Forth.
Clackmannan Church operates under the Model Deed of Constitution. This means that leadership and spiritual matters are dealt with by the Kirk Session - that is the church elders meeting together as a group. The minister is "Moderator" (or Chairman) of the Kirk Session. He is also the ‘teaching elder’ whereas the others are 'ruling elders'. The Secretary of the Kirk Session is the Session Clerk. Currently we have 27 ruling elders, 25 of whom have districts and visit the congregation. Issues such as property and finance are taken care of by the Congregational Board.
Along with their leadership role, the elders have a pastoral responsibility to the membership and to the parish. Most elders are assigned a district, which is a geographical area, such as a street, in which our members live. The elder is available to all the residents in that district, and can be available to give pastoral help when needed.
To support the minister and elders in their pastoral role, the congregation has set up a Pastoral Care Team. Their responsibility is to visit on a regular basis those who feel they need that little bit of extra support and encouragement. The team are always looking for someone to visit, so if you would like them to call and are a resident in the parish, please drop them a line. We are eager to visit parish residents who are in hospital or residential care. If you know of someone who would like us to visit, or to drop them an encouraging card, please get in touch.
Finance and Property
Financial and property matters are dealt with by our Congregational Board, chaired by the minister, which consists of 12 elected members of the congregation along with 12 elders. The Session Clerk is allowed to attend Board meetings but would have no voting rights should the circumstances arise.