The Guild
History and background
The Church of Scotland Guild is one of Scotland's largest voluntary organisations, with around 35,000 members. Although women make up the bulk of our membership, increasingly, men are becoming members and taking active roles at local and national levels. It began in 1887, when the General Assembly approved "of the suggestions for the better organisation of women’s work in the Church," . . . and commended "the object of training women workers for service in the home and foreign fields to the liberality of the members and friends of the Church”.
The current constitution of the Guild was adopted in 1997, after a major review of the present organisation's predecessor, the Woman's Guild. In 2003, the Guild reviewed its constitution to ensure more inclusive language was used and to take account of the need for flexibility in local groups.
Aims and ethos
Women and men of all walks of life meet together under our common aim:"The Church of Scotland Guild is a movement within the Church of Scotland which invites and encourages both women and men to commit their lives to Jesus Christ and enables them to express their faith in worship, prayer and action."
The aim has been underlined in our motto which is taken from Acts 27, verse 23: "Whose we are and Whom we serve."
For further information see Church of Scotland Guild
The Guild invites its members across the country to support projects on a three year cycle. A new series starts in Autumn 2009 under the strategy What does the Lord require of you? based on Micah 6:8. For further details see 2009 - 2012 Projects.
Blairgowrie Guild
We have just under 50 members in the Guild and meet fortnightly between October and March, alternating with afternoon (at 2.00pm) and evening (at 7.30pm) meetings in the large hall. The past session has been very happy and enjoyable, with the national theme for the year being "He restoreth my soul", coming from the well-loved Shepherd's Psalm 23,
The 3 year cycle of projects has been very successful with considerable sums being raised across Scotland. It was gifted as follows:
Borderline - homeless Scots in London- £145,775.34
Christian Aid (Bangladesh) - £93,452.87
Cross Reach - Beyond the Blues - Bluebell - £135,155.90
Leprosy Mission (Nigeria) - £132,090.31
Lydia Project (Eastern Europe) - £112,352.87
Scottish Love in Action (S. India) - £160,531.59
Total - £779,358.88
The new season began with the Dedication Service on Sunday 4th October 2009.
