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a   History and Background
With around 35,000 members, the Church of Scotland Guild is one of Scotland's largest voluntary
organisation. Although women make up the bulk of our membership, increasingly, men are becoming
members and taking active roles at local and national levels. Members meet in local groups at
congregational level, in regional groups known as presbyterial councils, and once a year at our national
meeting, to which each group can send a representative. a
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, and again in 2010, the Guild reviewed its
constitution to ensure more inclusive language was used and to take account of the need for
flexibility in local groups.a
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aThe Guild Today
       The Guild is about invitation, encouragement, commitment, and fellowship which leads to providing opportunities for continuing growth in Christian faith through worship, prayer and action.a
Worship is an essential ingredient in all meetings and activities. Prayer underpins everything - and is a means of involving those members who cannot be active in other ways. Action means living out the faith through project work, exploration of the discussion topics and local involvement of groups and individual members in various aspects of Christian service.
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aAims 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."a
Annual themes were introduced to encourage guilds to plan their programmes more effectively.
These imaginative resources were introduced in the 1950s to give a focus for guilds but are sufficiently
broad to allow for imaginative planning. Topics were a later introduction. They offer a chance to explore
a particular issue of current concern, possibly leading to some local action. a
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aSTRATEGY
From 2009 to 2012, the work, worship and focus of the Guild will fall under the strategy, What does
the Lord require of you?   based on Micah 6:8.  All six of the current projects supported by Guild
members relate to the theme of the three-year strategy.
CrossReach - On the other side - Scotland                       
 HIV/Aids Project - A New Hunger (various countries)
             International Justice Mission - Terrify No More - Cambodia
  Ministries Council - A Place for Hope - UK                    
            Mission Aviation Fellowship - Mission Run - Madagascar    
              World Mission Council - Interfaith Support - Israel/Palestine
 Guild groups are free to choose to support any or all of these projects, both prayerfully and financially,
while at the same time deepening their understanding of the underlying issues presented by each project.
 Guild projects have often been at the leading edge of the Church's work - addressing issues such as drugs,
prostitution and AIDS, as well as support for training and initiatives for young people. Since 1997
the Guild has supported 30 projects and raised more than £2.75 million.a
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