A new news article “Church of Scotland leaders see many parallels with PC(USA)” talks about a visit by two Church of Scotland ministers to the Presbyterian Church (USA) offices in Louisville.  The story from the Presbyterian News Service discusses the ministers’ trip and how they talked with PC(USA) staff, particularly Rev. Tom Taylor, about similar issues for both churches.  These include the decline in membership, lack of young people joining/participating in the church, restructuring the national offices, and the controversy over ordination standards.  The story says that Rev. Taylor had visited the Church of Scotland offices last spring for similar discussions.

Beyond those listed in the story, the list of parallel challenges between the two churches goes very deep.  Three or four years ago, at a meeting of a presbytery committee I was on, I read off a list of issues before the General Assembly that included the ones mentioned above plus some more that included more subtle polity and membership issues.  I then informed the committee that I took the list from the Church of Scotland GA and everyone in the room recognized that they would also be issues at the PC(USA) GA the following month.