This year we are inviting every Scottish Baptist church to send delegates to a new BUS Autumn Gathering, which will take place in Queen’s Park Baptist Church in Glasgow on 15-16 November.
This will be comprised of three elements:
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A National Prayer Gathering, on the evening of Friday 15 November (open to all)
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A day for delegates to discuss issues of common concern to us as a network of churches, on Saturday 16 November
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The BUS Annual General Meeting, included in the programme on Saturday 16 November
We do need to know numbers for both gatherings so please confirm your attendance using the links below:
Friday 15th November 2024 – National Prayer Gathering all welcome – free
Saturday 16th November 2024 – National Conversation and AGM – church delegates – £10 pp (lunch is provided)
So would you make a note of the date and begin to consider who might attend from your church? (There is a note below about numbers of delegates). Further details will follow as the programme is developed. There will be a modest charge per delegate to cover costs.
We believe that the Autumn Gathering will be an important time for our network of churches, creating opportunities to pray together and listen to one another. We really hope that as many churches as possible will be represented there.
Here are the key reasons the BUS Council has decided we should gather in this way:
1. We have been holding national online prayer gatherings since 2020. It now seems the right time to have an in-person national gathering for prayer. Praying together continues to be a top priority for our network as we seek God to bring Increase in our churches. We expect a large number will gather in Glasgow but we hope also to stream the event so local churches can join in across the country too
2. We have lacked a space for a national conversation about issues of common interest since the pandemic.
Canopy in the summer is now highly valued by many people in Baptist churches as an inspirational gathering for worship, teaching and fellowship and has become a central gathering point for our churches. However, Council recognises our network will be enriched by a deliberative gathering attended by delegates appointed by churches, where a breadth of insights and views can be heard from the churches, deepening our communal discernment of the Lord’s will for us.
Normally the insights of the Autumn Gathering will feed into the Council, which is our central decision-making body, though there may be occasions when Council refers specific matters to the Autumn Gathering for decision.
3. The online Annual General Meeting has fulfilled our constitutional requirements since 2020, but an in person meeting will allow more time for reporting and questions within that important meeting.
Note on Delegate Numbers
The National Prayer Gathering on the evening of Friday 15 November is open to all. Churches may send as many people as they wish to this event. Tickets will be available in the autumn.
Attendance at the gathering on Saturday 16 November, incorporating the BUS AGM, is open to all who have powers to vote at an AGM according to the BUS Articles; that is:
(1) all ministers listed in the accredited list of the Union and those in pastoral charge of churches in Membership;
(2) all Council members;
(3) all Directors;
(4) All delegates appointed by Members (ie churches) –
- for a Member, being a church of less than or equal to 100 members, or a micro church SCIO, three delegates may be appointed; and
- in addition, for a Member being a church with more than 100 members, one delegate for every additional 100 members or part thereof may be appointed.
