THE MODERATOR of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has expressed the hope that the visit to the Middle East by US president George W. Bush can help bring peace to the area.

The comment was made by Moderator the Right Reverend Sheilagh Kesting as she moved into the second day of a hectic spell of activity in north-east Fife.

The moderator will spend this week carrying out a substantial number of visits in the largely rural area and before she set off for Fife’s East Neuk yesterday, she spoke to reporters at the Rusacks Hotel, St Andrews.

Asked about the Israel-Palestine situation, an issue the Church of Scotland has always maintained a strong interest in, the moderator said any attempt to try to bring peace to the Middle East is to be commended.

“We can only welcome such initiatives and what the Church of Scotland wants is justice and peace in the Middle East,” she said.

She added she has no immediate plans to visit Israel and Palestine, but is soon to travel to Syria and Lebanon.

Because of her ecumenical background, she said, she anticipated meeting leaders of some of the other churches in the two countries and would almost certainly be meeting Muslim leaders.

Of her current visit, the moderator said the Presbytery of St Andrews is one of four she will be paying extended visits to, three of them being largely rural and the other in Glasgow.

She said this area is a mix of rural, town, university, fishing and agriculture, and she wanted to get an idea of what the area is about, what people do and how the church relates to these people. “Wherever I go I want to see how churches work together on local issues that affect our society,” she said.

Asked about the future of the ministry in rural areas, the moderator said there is a question over how this can be sustained and she wants to listen to what people have to say.

“It is a very important part of what the Church of Scotland is about. If we are saying that we are a national church then we have to think very seriously about how we maintain the presence and the ministry in rural areas.

“There are more issues than money and the size of congregations, certainly,” she said.

On the question of the church having to maintain a large number of properties in rural areas, where they might not be used often, and where congregations are small, the moderator said this is an issue the general trustees are looking at.

“There are no easy solutions to questions like this, but there is an awful lot more than just money and numbers.

“The church has a concern for the whole community and, therefore, in determining where the church maintains a presence it has to take into account the needs of the community and how the resources of the church can be best deployed.

“I am very much looking forward to the week ahead. I want to learn a lot and I hope I will do that with sympathy, and will be able to give as much support as I can to the local communities,” she said.

Yesterday, the moderator also called at Balmonth Farm, Anstruther, where Ian Brunton and his wife Carole run a mixed farming business. The couple are very much involved with the Royal Highland Education Trust and regularly host local schoolchildren on farm visits.

Also on yesterday’s agenda was a trip to the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther, and a fish supper treat at the award-winning Anstruther Fish Bar.