WHEN I read that the phrase "well-equipped spaces in the right places" is now part of the Church of Scotland’s Mission Plan (as quoted in Sandra Dick’s excellent article "Dwindling congregations leave Church of Scotland with a different mission", The Herald December 10, 2022), I was deeply concerned.

It was not, however, until I read the January 2023 issue of Life and Work that I realised the full implications of that plan – a takeover of the National Church involving the apparently thoughtless, but perhaps well-meaning, destruction of much of it.

Rosemary Goring’s heartfelt article ("Face it: the Kirk is no longer our national church", The Herald, January 25) is a very clear statement of what is already happening to our National Church. The full enormity of what is taking place is summarised in two articles in Life and Work, one on the "super-presbyteries" and the other entitled "Go and make Disciples", with an infographic showing the actions proposed in the Plan.

It seems to me scandalous that such information has not been available to most members of the Church and the people of Scotland in general until now. These articles also reveal that these actions were approved during the Covid crisis by General Assemblies held almost exclusively by Zoom, strongly suggesting a reluctance of the Assembly Trustees to expose their plan to informed debate.

All that has leaked out recently has been tiny trickles of information, largely from people who have shared deep concerns about the futures of their much-loved buildings and congregations. Sandra Dick’s article was a timely wake-up call, revealing how devastating is the Mission Plan’s intent to destroy much of what many people see as being the Church – its congregations and buildings.

"Going out and making Disciples" (the slogan of the Mission Plan) is a debatable aspiration, but to destroy for that intent much of what is most valued about the Church of Scotland seems very seriously flawed. Potential "Disciples" would surely see in the body they are being asked to join its apparent cruelty and dismissive attitude to its supporters, something deeply repellent, and entirely contrary to Christ’s teaching about the love of God and of each other. Who could trust such an organisation?

There is very little time to act. The priority must be to halt the closure and disposal of Church buildings and to have a broadly-based discussion about securing the future of as many as possible of these congregations and their much-loved buildings.

In the meantime the role of the "super-Presbyteries" should, I suggest, be strictly limited to supporting a network of smaller bodies tasked with supporting individual congregations. The new bodies must in the meantime stop putting forward recommendations for church closures and disposals.
Professor John R Hume, Glasgow

The big problem with veganism

ALAN Simpson's excellent article about enforced veganism being "virtue-signalling nonsense" was right on the ball ("Edinburgh going totally vegan is just virtue-signalling nonsense", The Herald, January 27). There seems to be a common simplistic misconception, especially among the young, that if vegetarianism, favouring plant-based options, is good then veganism must be even better. But in real life, more is not always better. What you need is a balance.

The problem with veganism is that it cuts out dairy options in food that have been crucial to humans right throughout history. Milk is a vital food source and absolutely essential for babies. Cheese is a very widely-eaten source of protein, and is derived from milk. There is also evidence that milk fat does not contribute much to obesity, because the body recognises it and dissuades us from eating too much of it, unlike sugar which evolution has not yet learned to cope with.

British farms have high standards of rearing farm animals. Is our entire dairy industry, with all our cows and goats, to be sacrificed on a virtue-signalling whim?
Peter Gray, Aberdeen

Sad decline of Radio Scotland

STEPHEN Duffy (Letters, January 26) is obviously disappointed and angered by BBC Radio Scotland’s treatment of various music genres in this country. I agree in principle with him (although I'm not terribly keen on jazz), but I think he is touching on a general decline in the quality from our national broadcaster. For me the decline began with the demise of Jimmie McGregor’s McGregor’s Gathering. The only issue I had with that programme was that the host often seemed to know as much, if not more than, his guests.

Just compare the listings for Radio Scotland with that of Radio Four. Between 9am and 1pm: Radio Scotland one programme, Radio 4, five programmes on a variety of subjects.

As long as London ultimately controls output and budgets our national station is going to remain a branch office – which is unfair on both listeners and staff.
Alastair Clark, Stranraer

Biggars and choosers

THANK you for your "Remember when..." picture and caption with regard to Biggars Music (The Herald, January 27). It brought back many memories.

I remember as a youngster going in to purchase my first guitar and then in the late 1950s going, with my father, to rent a television set – once he had decided that it might add to his beloved radio broadcasts. There was a long discussion as Biggars, at that time, didn’t rent, but my father knew the owner and a deal was struck.

Later in the early 1970s when my church was looking at the choice between an expensive repair to the pipe organ or a venture into electronic, Biggars kindly agreed to bring one through to Dunfermline, with an organist and at no cost or commitment, so that the congregation could judge – in situ.

Biggars was a lovely old-fashioned shop where one could get advice in a friendly and non-pushy manner.
Rev James Watson, Dunbar

Body language

CATRIONA Stewart’s interesting and thoughtful judgment on the dilemmas and pitfalls of Scottish health boards encouraging the uptake of cervical screening ("Inclusive health language doesn’t work if it excludes women", The Herald, January 27), brings to mind a well-known and sadly long-gone obstetrician and gynaecologist who at the point of contact would seem to have covered the situation neatly with “I’m at your cervix, Madam”.
R Russell Smith, Largs

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