As of this evening in Edinburgh we have two General Assemblies meeting as the 2013 General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland convened in St. Columba’s Free Church. They have held their opening worship service, with the retiring Moderator, The Rev. Dr. Iain D. Campbell preaching. They have installed their new Moderator, The Rev Angus Howat. Some preliminary business, such as greeting corresponding delegates and approval of committees. And they have recessed for the evening to convene again at 10 AM tomorrow morning.

Here is what will help you follow along for the next four days:

• The Assembly is being live streamed by St. Columba’s Church (related note – this year is being marked as the 1450th anniversary of Columba bringing Christianity to the Picts in what is now Scotland)
• All of the reports are available on the General Assembly page
• There is also an Assembly timetable
• It is anticipated that Daily Summaries should appear on the Assembly page soon (will update when they are issued)
• The Facebook page is also being used to communicate information during the Assembly
• The official Twitter account is @FreeChurchScot although it is also worth watching the host church at @stcsfreechurch. The official hashtag is #fca13 although I have also seen (and used myself) #fcga2013
• One additional semi-official account to watch is David Robertson (@theweeflea) and it might not hurt to follow the retiring Moderator Rev. Campbell (@revdridc). I will update if others catch my attention.
• Polity documents: Acts of the Assembly, Free Church Practice,  Guidance and Policies

One of the business items that caught my attention were the budget issues discussed in the Board of Trustees report. They note a shortfall of £300,000 for 2012 but also show that the churches are being more faithful in supporting the church as actual remittances are now much closer to the remittance target. They want to rename two of the funds, the Central Projects Levy will be renamed the Mission Levy and the Additional Contributions shall become the Mission Support Fund. There is also a need to bring expenditures into line and several recommendations are made about spending priorities.

Another interesting development is in the College Board report. To expand the enrollment at the Free Church College the Assembly is being asked to approve moving forward with the planning of actions to facilitate this expansion as well as changing the name of the institution to Edinburgh Theological Seminary.

Finally, the Board of Ministry report contains this item in the proposed deliverance. I will let it speak for itself:

9. The General Assembly, in view of the ongoing uncertainty of the church scene in Scotland at present, waive the requirement of Act XXXV, 2005, that authority to grant admission to ministers of other denominations lies solely with the General Assembly and empowers the Commission of Assembly at its meetings before the General Assembly of 2014, to receive and dispose of any such applications seeking admission to the Free Church ministry duly submitted through Presbyteries and the Board of Ministry.

And so our best wishes to the General Assembly and its members and our prayers for your discernment and guidance of the Holy Spirit in your deliberations.