The survey is now closed. Thank you for your help! You can find a summary of the responses below.

Due to the challenges we face – smaller congregations, a reduced number of ministers, reduced income – there are some decision that we need to take, and this is our opportunity to shape the future of the church here in our parishes.
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Firstly, we need to acknowledge that some buildings will need to close, and that, in time, there will be a reduced ministry allocation for the parishes.
But there are plenty of things that will remain the same – first and foremost, that we are a church serving God and our community, and that God is with us in all that we do. The Church has always been evolving (with the Church of Scotland’s declared motto ‘Reformed, always Reforming’), and where there are changes now, it will be up to us to shape these. Here are some questions for you, and the answers will hopefully help us in moving forward. Please take your time in reflecting on the questions.

​In your reflections, it might help you to have the five marks of mission, as adopted by the Church of Scotland (along with the Church of England and other denominations), before you.
 
The mission of the Church is the mission of Christ:

1. To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
2. To teach, baptize and nurture new believers
3. To respond to human need by loving service
4. To seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and pursue peace and reconciliation
5. To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.

Here is a summary of the responses we have received to the survey.
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1. What are the three most important aspects for you of being part of your church community?

• Keeping in touch with members of the community
• The social aspect
• A feeling of belonging
• Fellowship
• Fellowship
• Fellowship
• Fellowship and friendship in the church of Christ
• People

 

• Being part of a team promoting faith for the local community
• Sharing the love of God with friends & neighbours
• Meeting the needs of the community
• Outreach within the community
• to proclaim the Good news of the kingdom
• To promote Christian Fellowship in our rural area
• helping with the mission
• Offering my help and expertise in supporting the work of the church
• Being available in the community and seeking to live out the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

 

• Personal development of my own faith
• Joining in the services
• Involving everyone in worship
• Joining in praise and prayer
• Faith
• The opportunity to participate in communal worship in a beautiful church
• Being part of a larger community of believers.
• Being part of a worshipping community and meeting together.
• Being able to join others for worship & fellowship.
• Being part of a worship community
• To worship God as a community
• worshiping and meeting together
• worship
• Being led in our worship by our own Minister
• To worship regularly together and share my faith with very long standing friends
• opportunity for meditation/deeper understanding/prayer

 

• to respond to human need by loving service
• To respond to human need by loving service
• Helping where I can
• Mutual support in times of stress or illness
• The ability to help others
• To get to know the community
• belief that the church is a force for good

 

• to seek to transform unjust structures of society
• Seeking fairness and justice for everyone
• Being able to serve and contribute to the wider needs of the world
• Caring for God's earth
• The church is inclusive
• Life
• acting as an Elder
• dealing with property matters

 
2. Are any of these three aspects you named above likely to change in a significant way? Please tick as applicable.  
          Yes, all of them - 0​
          Yes, one or two of them - 7
          No - 10

3. If you answered yes to the previous question, what would make it easier for you to navigate these changes?  

• Confirmation that local rural needs will be taken into consideration.
• The preservation of Humbie Church as a place of worship (not necessarily owned by the Church of Scotland).
• Answered NO above but recognise that some of these aspects will be potentially subject to change as a result of future disposal of church buildings and changes in the forms of worship. Consequently it will be important to retain some church "presence" in the local community and to be able to reach out and be welcoming to those in our community who may feel less comfortable at present in formal church services
• Opportunity to meet congregations we will be joining with, hear their concerns and share their worries
• It is such a wide reaching area that we are bringing together. I wonder if the churches, as they are now, can gather to worship locally, let's say in a village hall once a month, if there is one available. I think for YBS it is a little easier as we are so used to gathering together now and we are much more close by than, let's say, Humbie, Garvald and Morham. I think the real difficulty would come if we closed all the rural churches and were left going to church in Haddington. I think the sense of rural community would so easily get swallowed up/lost.
• It would make it easier if we could be sure that our own minister could lead our services as often as possible
• Very difficult re the first two points if we are left without any Christian building in the two parishes. Families with Primary schoolchildren will have a connection with Gifford, but not otherwise.I am hopeful that some of our congregation might attend services in Gifford. Others might be willing to watch services from Gifford by Zoom if we are allowed to keep Garvald Church Stables. Without the retention of Garvald Church Stables, I see no hope of extending the Christian mission in Garvald and Morham parishes.

 
 ​4. What are your three greatest concerns in relation to the changes?  

• It will be more difficult to spread the word of God with a smaller physical presence in the parishes
• Not losing sight of the wider mission of the Church
• Making sure that Mission takes priority over property

 

• Loss of a rural presence by the church.
• Possibility that Haddington will become 'the big brother'
• losing our villages’ identity
• Loss of local church attachment & identity
• Losing the feeling of belonging
• Losing personal contact
• Loss of local input
• The difficulty in transitioning from a small closely knit Christian community to a much bigger, more geographically dispersed community
• The loss of community worship
• lack of church presence in communities
• Garvald and Morham, with its farming and rural background, our Christians will feel that they have been abandoned and are most unlikely to attend St Mary's church in Haddington. Garvald and Morham have no bus service and the elderly are unlikely to drive to another village church outwith the parishes for worship. It will be very hard for Christian outreach in Garvald and Morham unless the Garvald Church Stables are retained

 

• People stopping attending because of church closure
• Further decreases in numbers attending church services
• We may lose some people who are too attached to 'their' church building
• Losing church members through church closures
• That members may be less likely to come to services
• Greater distance to get to church for some, which could easily then cause them to stop coming.
• The probability that the task of attracting new recruits to the congregation will become more difficult as we join ever larger groupings
• Less likelihood of attracting new members
• Attracting younger families to feel part of the Church community
• lack of young people coming to Church

 

• losing our minister
• Losing the full time services of the minister
• The eventual loss of a full time minister
• pressure on ministers in place to fulfil their duties
• Minister will be spread more thinly
• anxiety over lack of new ministers
• lack of new ministers coming forward

 

• Loss of a unique opportunity to develop a unique building in a unique location.
• The potential loss of our place of worship
• Loss of much loved buildings
• both our churches closing

 

• Ensuring that all voices are heard when making decisions
• Friction between established congregations
• Working to try and keep everyone involved in the new arrangements
• The ''numbers game''
• Making wrong decisions which could result in splitting the current close knit congregation
• Absorbing enough of everyone’s traditions
• Reluctance to adopt new approaches within limited resources
• Convincing doubters that "church" can work in different ways even although familiar buildings are no longer in use
• dealing with expected changes
• I'm not sure what I can contribute
• The powers that be in the church just wiping their hands of us now that we are no longer an economic threat!
• no great concerns over my part in the Church

 
 ​5. What can we do to address these concerns?  

• We must all move forward in the same direction with the same needs and aspirations for a successful and happy church.
• Implement the Presbytery Plan in a spirit of shared understanding of its purpose and how we can move forward together.

• Get to know each other and find out expectations. We managed it with the combining of Yester, Bolton & Saltoun
• getting to know members of yester village churches
• Meet and talk and understand our fellow worshippers views and try to shape the way Presbytery approaches the changes for the better
• Communicate, listen and encourage.
• Try to embrace changes and open up to the wider kingdom of God but still maintain some form of local identity. Encourage younger people to engage in church life - Youth clubs, Sunday Clubs
• We can make a big effort to go the extra mile in the process of integrating with YBS.
• The further we integrate with YBS and then Haddington, the easier it should be to present a picture of a welcoming, caring Christian community
• Keep meeting to address concerns as they arise. Working out smaller community worship venues where people could meet let's say, once a fortnight/month - led by local worship team.
• support our Ministers and work together in future linkages
• help where we can and support our ministers
• Perhaps by having more social events.

• Maintain a presence in the area using the existing building.
• having live services in Gifford.

• We can investigate the possibility of establishing a trust to purchase Humbie Kirk
• Retain small buildings like the Stables and hold occasional events like speakers/fundraisers/charity events/Christmas/Easter etc to maintain presence and message in a community
• let us keep Garvald stables or we have no focal point in our villages.
• Retain Garvald Church Stables as a focus of worship and fellowship. Services in Yester Church could be relayed by Zoom to the Stables. Informal smaller church meetings could be held there and social events which have become annual church village events could be saved . We could continue with Tuesday Prayer meetings at 9.15am in the Stables and could meet for coffee before or after Sunday services elsewhere . We could retain the Sat suppers held on the night before Communion even if the communiom was held in another church .We could reinstate children's Sunday school in the second Stables meeting room at a time which would not clash with other church services in Yester and this need not be held on a Sunday. We would wish to continue to hold outdoor services on Armistice Day beside the Garvald War Memorial on the outside south wall of Garvald church attended by people from the village who do not normally attend church and meet afterwards for tea/coffee in the Stables. We would move the Morham village War memorial from Morham kirk where it serves as our communion table to the Garvald Stables, so that the fallen from Garvald can be remembered on Armistice day too. We would want to transfer several moveable items from the churches to the Stables including our wooden Baptism Font and would hope that some small baptism services might be held in the Stables. It would also be great to have small informal communion servcies there as we have in Garvald Kirk on Maundy Thursday at present. On Christmas eve, we hold a family service at 6pm at Garvald, which is a joint service with the Lord Abbot and monks from Nunraw Abbey. Many from the village and around attend this service and stay for refreshments afterwards in the Stables. We also hold a watchnight service at 11.30pm umtil midnight at Morham Kirk, which might be continued in Morham churchyard and many young people from Morham village walk to the Kirkyard to take part. We do need some joint social events with churchgoers from other churches in the Yester rural group before the formal church closures take place. If John V decides to move to another Parish in the future, then Garvald and Morham will already know folk from the other rural churches
• Learn from the experience of others who have had to address similar challenges and concerns.
• These will be common problems which others may already have solved.

 
6. In our church life, what are you most passionate about?  

• The community joining together in worship, holding special services and activities. This opens the church up to many who are not regular Sunday attenders.
• Sharing praise, hearing God's Word and meeting friends
• The love of God and the fellowship of the other members of the congregation
• Pastoral care. Making sure the church is not confined or constrained by a building.
• Maintaining the bonds of Christian fellowship in our community.
• Supporting and reaching out to those in our community (and beyond) who are not currently engaged in "church life".
• People need to see that the church is not just a local building but it is very difficult to share that idea. We should be as active as we can in causes outwith our local congregation.
• Coming together to worship God and learn and grow together as we do so. Exploring God's Word together. Learning to bring the Gospel to the community. I'm also passionate about actually looking after the congregation that we have. They need to be nurtured. In the mission statement it is so much about outreach but the people in the congregation need looking after too. If they get discouraged and feel ignored then there will be far fewer people to actually do the outreach - sort of chicken and egg.
• The strong feeling of being part of a community in the Church of Christ
• The mission of Christ
  
• to be part of a caring and helpful congregation which I feel is like a family .
• worshipping alongside local church friends and keeping in touch with them and hearing if anyone is ill and in need of pastoral care
• The fellowship of our church members and our minister.
• Personal circumstances limit participation in some areas at present, but just being available for service in and out of church. Local communities need to know that the church is always going to be there for them.
• Joining in and helping where possible within my abilities.
• Opportunity to engage in activities which help people
• Our fellow elders whom we have worked alongside for many years .
• The local farming connections and love of rural life which we all share.
• The lovely historic churches where we worship.
• Worship at Humbie
• maintaining our existing properties
• Continuity
• The early morning services at 9.30am which leave us free to prepare and enjoy Sunday lunch.

 
7. ​In relation to the previous answer, how can we sustain that in our future set-up?

• Take God's word out to the people instead of waiting for people to attend in church building
• Being much more brave about how we worship and encouraging the congregation, not just elders, to take part in leading the service - reading, saying prayers - even if it's just an opening prayer. This may well be daunting for some, but people who already do this could come alongside someone and help them.
• By being more pro-active in directing our energies towards supporting others spiritually
• adapting to change
• to be willing to help and care for others
• Maintaining a local presence of people and continuing to hold ''successful' activities. The opportunity is also there to develop the church by moving from the existing set up. (Sunday hour long services).
• With the prospect of a 0.5 minister allocation at some future date, consideration and commitment to a different way of working together will be a pre-requisite.
• It should be easier in a bigger group to find people willing to take responsibility for different aspects of church life.
• To continue links with schools. Community based activities (garden party, Messy Church, Christmas, Remembrance, Easter)
• Sadly the only viable way is to have only one church building ie Yester and one congregation
• I don't think regular worship [at Humbie] can be saved in the longer term, but if the idea of a trust flies, we may be able to keep the building as somewhere Christians can meet in fellowship
• With difficulty. Many of our small church group no longer even live now in the parishes, but had a longterm connection for many years in the past, which has retained their loyalty to Garvald and Morham. We have lost several elders in recent years with job moves to other parts of UK. Having had younger elders than many churches, we have been unlucky in their career moves and lost two longstanding elders from East Lothian to Suffolk for work. We all do prefer to worship early on a Sunday say 9.30or10am
• Good communication and a clear understanding of our roles. Being prepared to travel a little bit more and accept changes to well established traditions
• Perhaps by having more in the way of church social events
• establish ACTION group with a mission to address a social problem like poverty or mental illness or something similar
• there has to be more get togethers with church members of the yester group cluster. like coffee mornings in our stables or in church meeting rooms in saltoun and humbie.
• our members prefer to meet in person rather than watch services on zoom

 
8. Having seen a list of our current mission and ministry activities, which of these, or any new activities, would you be prepared to be involved in as we move forward? This is in recognition that a reduced ministry allocation will mean that more of our activities need to be led by elders and church members. ‘Being involved in’ might mean (co-)leading, as well as attending training where appropriate. Please tick all that apply.              

• Worship preparation and leading - 8
• Pastoral visiting, including bereavement care - 12
• Prayer and discussion groups - 9
• Children and family activities - 6
• Social and community activities – both weekly ones and one offs (eg Garden Fete, Local History Day) - 15
• Admin and organisational tasks - 8
• Other (please elaborate) - I think the choir is bringing people together and will continue to do so.

9. In your opinion, which buildings, in addition to Yester Church, would serve us best to retain a missional and serving presence across the parish area? Please tick all that apply, and use the box below for any comments you might like to add.  PLEASE NOTE: This is indicative of preferences only, not a decisive vote.

• Saltoun Church: 5
• Humbie Church: 5
• Saltoun Session Rooms: 15
• Humbie Stables: 11​
• Garvald Stables  : 9

Comments:

• Given the geographical spread of the area, Humbie is the obvious church to keep. It is truly rural. The stables should only be kept if the church is kept. The location of the church would allow development of God's word to a fairly substantial area.
  
• I am of the view that a genuine merger of all the parishes would be best served by restricting regular worship to a single church, Yester.
  
• Saltoun is more central than the other villages so it would make sense to keep one of the buildings there
  
• [Keeping the three meeting rooms] retains a presence in the community, with hopefully not too much maintenance needed.
  
• Divesting ourselves of buildings that consume a large proportion of our expenditure and time, would enable us to improve smaller local facilities as a church presence and venue for community fellowship, gatherings, etc. It would also free up some of our current fundraising for supporting wider Church and World causes instead of primarily helping to "balance the books" to meet high building maintenance costs.
  
• Possible use of Bolton and Humbie under a local Community Trust arrangement.
  
• Humbie is a strong community and may rescue some church folk when Fala closes. It is a long way from Humbie to worship at Yester. Saltoun has a much shorter journey to worship at Yester, but very important to keep their Session Rooms. We knew that we could not justify keeping Morham because of severe access and parking problems. Sadly,it seems that we have little hope of keeping Garvald kirk. If we cannot keep Garvald Church Stables, then our community will not attend St Mary's (as they could have done already if they chose to) and it is unknown whether they will choose to worship at Yester. Some of our members are already considering moving to worship at Holy Trinity in Haddington which has many rural members from the Yester and district area.
  
• Humbie is the must rural parish and two car parks are available. There are loos in the Stables. The Church is all level and there are no steps. The Church is straight forward and is not cruciform.
  
• purely because of closeness of buildings. Unfortunately Saltoun Church and Session Rooms have a fairly busy road between them
  
• Saltoun church could not function without the backup facilities of the Session Rooms. Humbie Stables would offer a similar back up to a Humbie church retained on a different basis e.g. as a community facility or festival church.