This month will see the General Assembly of The Free Church of Scotland, now in its 179th year, take place in St Columba’s at the top of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.
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 including the Bible Society, OM and Affinity.
The General Assembly
The General Assembly is the highest decision-making body within the Free Church and had its first sitting in 1843. It’s during these assemblies that presbyteries discuss regular business and sometimes make historic decisions that have implications for future generations.
Lord High Commissioner
The Queen has approved that The Right Honourable Lord (Patrick) Hodge be appointed as Her Majesty’s Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland in 2022.
The Lord High Commissioner is the Sovereign’s personal representative to the Annual General Assembly. He attends on behalf of the Sovereign and this year will make a speech to the General Assembly on Wednesday 25th May at 12 noon.
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 #FCGA22