The Church of Scotland is under criticism for misusing its funds to invest in a luxury hotel rather than supporting vital missions in less developed countries.

The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which was held in the summer this year has revealed the alarming financial situation of the Kirk. In the past four years, the Kirk’s pension fund has moved from a surplus of more than £8m to a deficit of £56m, and donations have dropped from the declining congregations.

The General Assembly is also being blamed for the controversial plans of the Board of World Mission. The Board has spent £10m in converting a former Kirk hospital at Tiberias in Israel into a luxury hotel, which aims to enhance the dialogue between Jews and Arabs. The hotel project was started in 1999, however, due to political and social instability in Israel, the hotel finally opened in October this year after long delays. The project is commented as the "black hole" of church funds.

This "black hole" can partly explain the £20m cash shortfall recorded this year in the Kirk’s missionary programmes. The General Assembly decided in May to cut the budget of the Board of World Mission, which oversees missionary work, by £426,000 as part of overall savings of more than £800,000. Now 10 missionary posts in poverty-stricken areas of the world will be axed due to the lack of funding.

Some examples of the affected areas include Jamaica, South Africa, Thailand and Lebanon. Particularly in South Africa, where the Kirk has set up the hospital for AIDS/ HIV patients, the local partners have expressed their deep regret of the withdrawal of missionaries.

In Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, two AIDS sufferers die at the Church of Scotland Hospital a day. The hospital has been serving the Africans since the beginning of last century. It became a South African government hospital in the 1970s and treats more than 1,000 Aids sufferers.

Dr Tony Moll, a local AIDS clinic owner, said he was amazed the church was pulling an AIDS worker out while South Africa was facing an epidemic.

"We desperately need more doctors. This is an epidemic worse than anything the world has seen before, worse than the bubonic plague, and it has not yet reached its peak," he said.

The Board of World Mission is currently funding an HIV/AIDS co-ordinator at St Paul’s United Theological College in Limuru, Kenya. However, the minister, who is also specialised on education and church development, will leave the country.

The Kirk’s two medical workers stationed in Thailand will also be pulled out. In collaboration with the Church of Christ in Thailand, the Kirk has set up Bible training centres and a hospital for handicapped people.

The Church of Christ of Thailand responded on the departures of the missionaries scheduled for next year, "Please pray for the Church of Christ in Thailand, particularly that good relationships will be maintained despite inevitable feelings of being let down by the Church of Scotland."

Rev Roy Dodman and his wife Jane have spent more than two decades in Kingston, Jamaica to help the poor with work, training and community development projects. They will be going back to Scotland next year because the Kirk can no longer pay their wages.

The couple have won respect and admiration on the Caribbean island for their sacrifices. Dr Maitland Evans, the General Secretary of the United Church of Jamaica and Cayman, with whom the Dodmans worked, said, "They are very highly regarded and are doing very important work."

However, sadly their work will now come to a premature end.

[Source: Scotsman]