The new Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Right Rev David Lunan, was sworn into office yesterday as the Kirk's annual gathering prepared to tackle theological and political thorns of the year.

The new Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Right Rev David Lunan, was sworn into office yesterday as the Kirk's annual gathering prepared to tackle theological and political thorns of the year.

Mr Lunan, 63, took over from the current incumbent, the Very Rev Sheilagh Kesting, at the ceremony in Edinburgh.

Politics will play a major role in the this year's assembly, with members considering their opposition to military intervention in Iran, and again seeking support over issues such as the stance against the growth of gambling, both traditional and online.

Yesterday's event was held in the presence of the Queen's representative, the Lord High Commissioner the Rt Hon George Reid.

Mr Reid, the former Presiding Officer at the Scottish Parliament, said politics "are too important to be left just to the politicians".

He told the assembly: "You are facing the challenge of extraordinary change: globalisation, mass migration, a world running out of resources, a world in which poverty fuels and fires fanaticism."

Mr Lunan pledged to make "prayer and money" the themes for his year as Moderator.

He explained the choice against a backdrop of dwindling congregations but, it emerged, increased takings.

Offerings received by congregations in 2007 were £60m, an increase of nearly 3% on the previous year as those remaining with the Kirk gave proportionally more. Congregations were also to be allowed to retain 82% of their contributions to help develop local projects.

Mr Lunan said he was "not unduly despondent" about statistics showing a drop in members. A report by the legal questions committee shows 489,118 members last year, down from 504,363 in 2006 and 520,940 in 2005. The number of new members each year has fallen by nearly 80% since 1981.

He said of his choice of theme that we live in a "money culture - almost every decision is taken on the basis of money".

"Having developed an interest in what's happening in poorer countries throughout the world, you realise that money's at the heart of the problem there. We in the West have decided the terms of trade which ensure that half the world starves. This cannot be right."

Mr Lunan was born in London and raised in Cambuslang. The father-of-four was ordained in 1970 and worked for 12 years in Moray before being called to Renfield St Stephen's Church in Glasgow.