What we believe

We, as a congregation of the Church of Scotland, are part of the worldwide church of Jesus Christ. We are part of the 'reformed' Christian tradition. We call ourselves Presbyterian and have roots going back hundreds of years. We are part of the Presbytery of Lanark.

The Church of Scotland operate a 'territorial' ministry in which every part of Scotland is served by a church. Elders and elected members of our congregation have responsibility for the caring of our finances, buildings and, more importantly, those who live in our parish.

Our minister is a minister of 'Word and Sacrament' meaning that his main roles are to lead worship and administer the sacraments. Our minister also performs many other duties including weddings, funerals, visitations, and community work.

The Church of Scotland, as part of the reformed tradition, celebrate two sacraments - Baptism, where people become members of Christ's 'body', the Church and Holy Communion, where we believe that Christ meets with us, and renews and refreshes us through a meal of bread and wine such as he had with his disciples on the night before his death.

As a congregation we value the Eight Points first formulated by the Centre for Progressive Christianity in America and adapted for the UK by Progressive Christian Network Britain, not as a creed or a statement of faith, but as an expression of how we live as Christians.

We are Christians who...

  1. Have found an approach to God through the life and teachings of Jesus;
  2. Recognise the faithfulness of other people who have other names for the gateway to God's realm, and acknowledge that their ways are true for them, as our ways are true for us;
  3. Understand the sharing of bread and wine in Jesus' name to be a representation of an ancient vision of God's feast for all peoples;
  4. Invite all people to participate in our community and worship life without insisting that they become like us in order to be acceptable (including but not limited to):
    • believers and agnostics
    • conventional Christians and questioning sceptics
    • women and men
    • those of all sexual orientations and gender identities
    • those of all races and cultures
    • those of all classes and abilities
    • those who hope for a better world and those who have lost hope;
  5. Know that the way we behave toward one another and toward other people is the fullest expression of what we believe;
  6. Find more grace in the search for understanding than we do in dogmatic certainty, more value in questioning than in absolutes;
  7. Form ourselves into communities dedicated to equipping one another for the work we feel called to do: striving for peace and justice among all people; protecting and restoring the integrity of all God's creation; and bringing hope to those Jesus called the least of his sisters and brothers;
  8. Recognise that being followers of Jesus is costly, and entails selfless love, conscientious resistance to evil, and renunciation of privilege.
  9. We aim to follow the example of God and be part of the community we serve - and serve in a meaningful and relevant way - in order that people can feel the love of God, through all that we say and do.

At Greyfriars we believe that there is a place for all people, no matter what they believe and that we cannot place limits on the power of God to challenge and inspire us through those we worship with ... whether we agree with them or not!