Kirk Session

The Kirk Session has oversight of the whole life and service of the Church within its Parish and responsibility for the spiritual and temporal oversight of the Congregation’s affairs. Its spiritual responsibility involves “leadership, nurturing the spirituality of the congregation and its members, caring for the spiritual welfare of the parish and parishioners, encouraging members to participate in the worship and life of the congregation, and promoting mission and evangelism in the parish.” 

The Kirk Session consists of the Minister and a number of Elders, each of whom will have been ordained, having been identified by the Session as being suitable for the duties of eldership. Historically, each elder has been allocated a geographical district and is responsible for the  pastoral care of those members within it. While this remains an important role, elders bring other talents to the work of the Session, including fabric, finance, youth work and communication skills.
Under Charity regulations, members of the Kirk Session are regarded as “trustees” and are liable for any decisions taken by Session.

All meetings of the Kirk Session are presumed to be open meetings and any member of the congregation may attend, except where the nature of business requires to be dealt with in private.

Kilbarchan Parish Church has established six Teams to manage specific areas of the church’s work.
The Session is empowered to delegate any of its work to committees and to co-opt non-elders to these groups so that the skills and talents of the congregation may be harnessed. We welcome the active participation of members of the congregation in the work of the Kirk Session.

The responsibilities of each of the Teams include :

Finance
Manage the finances of the church, including free will offerings and Gift Aid, and the stewardship of church funds

Mission
Outreach within the local community, seeking new ways to engage with non-members;
Communication via the church magazine and social media;
Support for, and promotion of the work of, local and national charities, such as Renfrewshire Foodbank and Christian Aid;
Promote awareness, and be active in support, of our responsibilities as stewards of God’s creation

Nurture

Youth work – Tot’s Club, Junior Church and Messy Church;
Ongoing adult Christian education;
Support for new and prospective members

Pastoral Care

Support  pastoral care for those in need, including organisation of events and development of links to specialist organisations;
Distribution of greetings to members celebrating significant events

Property

Maintenance and development work on the Church, hall and manse;
Health and Safety

Worship

Co-ordinate arrangements for all services;
Midweek Fellowship;
Identify new opportunities/resources for worship