FCC misleading Press Release

The Free Church (Continuing) press release* in response to the Free Church’s offer is disappointing if rather predictable, coming as it does from the present leadership of the FCC. This is the leadership that has led their people down a blind alley—a very expensive blind alley, both in terms of legal costs and in terms of divided congregations and communities. We appeal to their leadership to recognise this and to be more realistic. And we appeal to FCC members to seriously consider the invitation to return to the Free Church of Scotland.

In that connection there is a serious misrepresentation concerning office-bearers and members in the press release issued by the FCC leadership. While of course those office-bearers who were suspended from office in 2000 would have to have their suspensions dealt with in terms of normal church regulations and Biblical principles, there is no such problem for ordinary members who left the Free Church to join the FCC believing it to be the true Free Church. The Court of Session has ruled that the FCC is not the Free Church of Scotland, so members of the Free Church who left in 2000 under a misapprehension and who wish to belong to the Free Church of Scotland are invited simply to return. There are no disciplinary procedures involved.

The press release also says that the Free Church are trying to deprive the FCC of their civil and ecclesiastical rights. It is not the Free Church that has ruled concerning civil rights (indeed they cannot do so), but the Court of Session. Equally, the Free Church are offering FCC office-bearers their rights under ecclesiastical law to return to the Courts of the Church that suspended them to have their suspensions dealt with according to the laws of the Church (laws which they themselves agreed to when they were ordained into office).

The FCC leadership say that existing buildings and assets they hold “will be held by them in perpetuity”. Of course churches and manses they have built or purchased since 2000 are legally theirs, but if they mean buildings which belong to the Free Church of Scotland and for which the Free Church hold legal title, that is a different matter altogether. This seems to be flying in the face of the legal ruling of the Court of Session that the FCC are not the Free Church of Scotland and not entitled to any of its assets. Of course that case concerned centrally held assets, not congregational property, but the principle is the same.

In addition, attention should be drawn to the very fair proposals put forward in the Free Church offer. It is to be hoped that fair-minded office-bearers and members in the FCC will recognise this and respond positively.

The FCC press release also alleges that the Free Church has ignored the FCC’s “Proposals for Settlement”. This is not the case. These were carefully considered by the Free Church’s Legal Group, their Stewardship and Policy Committee and by all members of the Commission of Assembly. But in the end it was decided that these Proposals did not sufficiently address the new situation that had arisen from the FCC’s departing from their Appeal in the Court of Session. In those circumstances the Free Church felt it would be counter-productive to spend time in seeking to respond point by point to those Proposals, and instead have put forward the alternatives of the “One Church” or “Two Churches” solutions.

*See FCC Press Release (PDF)