Our Congregation - The Church Family

Northfield Parish Church is a congregation of The Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland is the national Church in Scotland. Every home in Scotland is within a parish area and has a Parish Church responsible for pastoral care of the people of that parish.
The Church of Scotland is a Presbyterian Church and governs its affairs under the presbyterian system. Government is exercised through a graduated series of courts. There are 3 Courts of the Church - General Assembly(highest court), Presbytery, and Kirk Session.
At the congregational level there is the Kirk Session. Above the Kirk Session is the Presbytery with authority over all the congregations in an area of common community interest. Above the Presbytery is the General Assembly, the supreme court of the Church, with authority over the whole Church of Scotland in all its parishes in Scotland and over all its outreach both in and beyond Scotland. [Until 1992 there was a fourth court between the Presbytery and the General Assembly called the Synod. Synods (which historically predated Presbyteries) incorporated several Presbyteries. Some Presbyteries - Orkney, Shetland, and England - where geographical considerations prevented them from being part of a Synod with neighbouring Presbyteries, were given Synodical powers. Over the years, however, the Synod gradually lost many of its powers and functions either to the General Assembly or to the Presbyteries, until eventually the Church came to accept that the Synod had outlived its usefulness and had to be abandoned.]
So, each congregation of the Church of Scotland has its own Kirk Session : Presbyteries are made up of representatives from each congregation within a geographic area : General Assembly is made up of representatives from the Presbyteries.
Each of the courts has its own Committee structure to enable the carrying out of the work of the court.
In Northfield Parish Church at present there are 14 Elders serving on the Kirk Session.

The Congregation of Northfield Parish Church is made up of around 300 Members, a small number of Adherents, and a number of other regular attenders. Everyone within the parish (and beyond) is welcome to attend the worship services held in the church.

If you would like to know more about becoming a Member of the Church or about the Christian faith, or about any of our regular church activities, please come along and speak to someone at any of the events during the week or at a Sunday service. If you would prefer to have a visit from someone then please telephone the Minister or send an e-mail, and arrangements can be made to see you. The telephone number for Northfield Parish Church is 01224 692332 . Please try again if no-one answers your call first time as the minister can often be out on visits or other duties.