The General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland will take place in St Columba’s at the top of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile from this evening (Monday 19th) until Thursday 22nd May.
The assembly will give church leaders time to discuss the work that has taken place and make decisions on the future of the church. Representatives from every presbytery across the U.K. will gather to discuss church business and hear reports from various committees and boards. Over the course of the week, they will also be joined by guests of the Church and other organisations.
The Moderator for this year’s assembly will be Rev Alasdair Macleod.
Alasdair, who hails from the Hebrides, serves as Senior Minister of Smithton Church, Inverness where he has ministered since 2016. From 2004-2016 he served as minister of Lochbroom & Coigach Free Church, located in the beautiful West Coast villages of Ullapool and Achiltibuie. Before training at Edinburgh Theological Seminary (formerly the Free Church College), Alasdair worked as a civil engineer with a consultancy specialising in projects related to the water industry.
Having been involved in the wider Free Church through central committees, Alasdair was the first Chairman of the newly formed Mission Board from 2015-17.
The General Assembly
The General Assembly is the highest decision-making body within the Free Church. It’s during these assemblies that presbyteries discuss regular business and sometimes make historic decisions that have implications for future generations.
Lord High Commissioner
Lady Elish Angiolini LT DBE PC KC FRSE, the first female Lord Clerk Register of Scotland, has been appointed by the King to be His Majesty’s Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland in 2025.
The Lord High Commissioner is the Sovereign’s personal representative to the Annual General Assembly. She attends on behalf of the Sovereign and this year will make a speech to the General Assembly.
The Lord High Commissioner first addressed the General Assembly in 1925. The position has a reduced role within proceedings, largely maintaining a symbolic connection between the secular and sacred through the adherence to the Establishment Principle by the Free Church.
Reports
All committee and associated board reports have been published and are available to view here.
Timetable
The timetable for the week can be viewed here.
Live Streaming
Public viewings of the assembly are due to be streamed live on the Free Church website.
Social Media
You can follow proceedings on all of our social media pages using #fcga25