As I was contemplating titles for this post the good old “And now for something completely different” came to mind. The only problem is that this year the whole GA season would resemble that remark.

The bottom line, of course, is that the Church of Scotland, along with a good number of other branches, will not have a General Assembly this year.

But in the midst of this quiet year for the GA there are still two GA-related events that will occur: The installation of the Moderator and an online Heart and Soul event.

While there is no GA to preside over, the role of the GA Moderator in the Kirk goes well beyond the meeting and is a full-year commitment. Unlike other branches, such as the Presbyterian Church in Canada where the moderator will continue for another year until the next meeting, the Church of Scotland will pass the symbols of office to their Moderator Designee Rev Dr Martin Fair. He will be installed in a special service at 11 AM Edinburgh time on Saturday 16 May, about the time the GA was scheduled to open. It will be live-streamed.

The service will be unique as only five individuals will be participating and there will be no audience or congregation present. Besides Mr Fair, there will be the outgoing Moderator, the Rt Rev Colin Sinclair, and the Principal Clerk the Rev Dr George Whyte who, we are told, “will ensure the correct process is followed.” In addition, the incoming and outgoing Moderators’ wives, Elaine Fair and Ruth Sinclair will be part of the group. The ring and the cross will not so much be passed as they will be present to be put on at the appropriate time. In addition, a socially distanced BSL translator and a technology crew will also be present for the live streaming. The live stream will be available on the Church GA streaming page and the Facebook page.

A major event at recent General Assemblies has been the Sunday afternoon Heart and Soul festival in Princes Street Gardens. This year there will be an online version with some of the same features. It will begin with a replay of the installation of the Moderator, it will include some musical components and a number of conversations about the church and its work in social care and social justice issues. The program begins at 2 PM local time and will last two hours. The streaming will be available from the same sites, the Church GA streaming page and the Facebook page.

Finally, it should be mentioned that while there will not be a full GA, there is still the hashtag. So follow along at #GA2020.

So there is the line-up. It gives us something to look forward to on this lockdown or safer at home weekend.