St. Columba’s Church is a Presbyterian congregation, which means that it is led by elders working together in concert. The word ‘presbyter’ means ‘elder.’ The Church of Scotland is a Presbyterian Church, led by elders at every level of its form of leadership.

In our tradition, the minister is an elder like every other elder, though the minister is a ‘teaching’ elder. This means that the minister’s principal role is to teach the Bible to the congregation. All other elders in the congregation are ‘ruling’ elders whose job it is to caringly oversee the life of the church.

In St. Columba’s Church the elders meet every month to discuss and pray about the life of the congregation. When they meet together, the elders are called the ‘Kirk Session.’ Their role is to discern the will of God for the congregation and to lead the church in the direction in which the Holy Spirit is leading.

The Kirk Session is responsible to the Presbytery of Aberdeen, which is the regional body that governs congregations of the Church of Scotland in the Aberdeen city area.

We would be really glad if you were to pray for the elders of St. Columba’s Church as they go about their ministry. They need wisdom and courage as they try to lead the congregation effectively in an age of disinterest and numerical decline in western Christianity.