“Church Is About People”: Church of Scotland Plans to Sell 15 Aberdeen Churches to Build New Ones

• Aberdeen Presbytery plans to sell 15 traditional church buildings
• The plan runs over ten years under a ‘reshape the church estate’ strategy
• Proceeds are meant to fund new, modern buildings
• Some congregations will move towards community hubs

The Church of Scotland in Aberdeen planned to sell off about half of its church buildings in the city, Premier Christian News reported on 10 October 2019. The Aberdeen Presbytery proposed selling 15 traditional churches over ten years as part of an effort to “reshape the church estate” for renewal.

The idea is to sell old buildings and use the money to build new ones better suited to the way congregations now work. Some congregations would be turned into community hubs, and the presbytery also planned lay training and more shared worship.

Rev Scott Rennie, the presbytery’s planning convener and minister at Queen’s Cross Parish Church, explained the thinking: “There’s too many traditional buildings and not enough buildings of the kind we need for a modern way of being church.” He went further: “In some cases, we’re better not to have a building because really church is about people, it’s about ministry and mission.”

The presbytery also wanted to reduce the sense that grand traditional architecture can be a barrier to people walking in. The report did not name the buildings to be sold or give financial figures, but said sales would generate the resources to build the new ones.

The plan is an example of a denomination treating its buildings as a portfolio rather than a set of individual monuments. Selling some to fund others is a hard choice for congregations attached to their own sanctuaries, but it can keep a church solvent and relevant.

Jamaican denominations with many small, ageing buildings face a similar question: which properties serve today’s mission, and which are a drain? An honest audit of the church estate, followed by a plan to consolidate, repurpose or build, can free money for ministry. The Aberdeen approach also shows the value of deciding at a regional level rather than leaving each congregation to struggle alone.

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