Category Archives: Free Church of Scotland (Continuing)

General Assembly Season 2012

GA Junkies ready? It is the start of General Assembly Season 2012!  Get your coffee ready, alarm clocks set and your internet streaming tuned up. Here is what I am looking forward to… (based on best available information – I will update as I get full details)

General Assembly
Free Church of Scotland (Continuing)
May 2012
EdinburghGeneral Assembly
Church of Scotland
19-25 May 2012
Edinburgh

General Assembly
Free Church of Scotland
21-25 May 2012*
Edinburgh

General Assembly
Presbyterian Church in Ireland
28-31 May 2012
Belfast

138th General Assembly
Presbyterian Church in Canada
3-7 June 2012
Oshawa, Ontario

138th General Assembly
Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America
4-7 June 2012
Huntsville, Alabama

208th Stated Meeting of the General Synod
Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church
5-7 June 2012
Flat Rock, North Carolina

General Assembly
United Free Church of Scotland
6-8 June 2012
Perth

79th General Assembly
Orthodox Presbyterian Church
6-12 June 2012
Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois

182nd General Assembly
Cumberland Presbyterian Church
17-22 June 2012
Florence, Alabama

40th General Assembly
Presbyterian Church in America
19-22 June 2012
Louisville, Kentucky

181st General Synod
Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America
(researching – will update)

32nd General Assembly
Evangelical Presbyterian Church
20-23 June 2012
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

220th General Assembly
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
30 June – 7 July 2012
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

76th General Synod
Bible Presbyterian Church
9-14 August 2012
Lakeland, Florida

General Assembly 2012
Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand
4-7 October 2012
Rotorua

These are the ones that I am tracking at the moment.  I will update as
appropriate. [* These entries have been updated since the original post.]  If I have missed one, or have information wrong or incomplete, please provide the appropriate information and I will update the list.

And, to make the GA season complete here are two more items…

The first is the series of articles I wrote as an introduction to Presbyterian General Assemblies four years ago.  My GA 101 series consists of the following

GA101: Preface
GA101: Introduction – Why in the world would anybody want to do it this way?
GA101: Connectionalism – The Presbyterian Big Picture
GA101: The Cast of Characters – A score card to identify the players
GA101: The Moderator – All Things In Moderation
GA101: Where does the GA business come from? – Incoming!
GA101: Doing the business of GA — Decently and in Order

Yes, what started as a six part series expanded into seven
completed articles with two more unfinished ones in the queue.  (Maybe
this will give me some motivation to finish those up.)

And finally, on to the ridiculous.  Lest we take ourselves too seriously, a couple years ago I had a little fun with the General Assembly and in the post passed along the GA drinking game and GA Bingo. Please play both responsibly.

So, for all the GA Junkies out there I wish you the best of GA
seasons.  May you enjoy the next three months of watching us do things
decently and in order!

Moderator Designate of the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) — Rev James Gracie


Earlier this week the Stornoway Gazette carried the news that the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) announced that the Rev. James Gracie is the Moderator Designate for the 2012 General Assembly. Rev. Gracie is the pastor of the Free Church (Continuing) congregation in Edinburgh.

Rev Gracie is a second career minister, having worked first in the Agricultural industry after attending the West of Scotland Agricultural College. While working on the Island of Skye he began preaching for congregations in that area and applied to become a candidate for ministry. After attending Free Church College he was ordained and inducted into his first charge on the Island of Arran in 1994. Between there and Edinburgh he also served a congregation in North Uist.

In the Fall Rev. Gracie made headlines when during the open comment period on the proposal to permit same-sex marriages in Scotland he came out strongly against the proposal on a BBC Radio program. Groups in favor of same-sex marriage condemned the tone and content of his comments, and particularly his comparison to pedophilia. He issued his own rebuttal and clarification and others wrote in to support him as well.

Our prayers are with Rev. Gracie for his leadership of the General Assembly and his term as Moderator.