Christian News from Scotland

News stories from Scotland and beyond

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Church hotel recognised as one of the best in Israel

General Assembly 2007:
Church hotel recognised as one of the best in Israel
(Church of Scotland Press Release)

The Church of Scotland Trust will present its annual report to the General Assembly 2007. The Trust, which was established in 1932, will report on its function of holding overseas church property and acting as a trustee in a number of third party trusts.

The Trust continues to be consulted by the World Mission Council regarding developments with its property in Israel, in particular St Andrew’s Guesthouse in Jerusalem and the Scots Hotel in Tiberias. Despite difficulties in the region the Scots Hotel has seen a huge increase in visitors at both national and international level, partly as a result of a sustained and targeted marketing project. The hotel has recently received an award from the Israeli hotel industry which recognises it as one of the best hotels in the region.

The St Andrew’s Guesthouse has a long history of being a place open to all, regardless of ethnic or religious background. This continuing policy is very much aided and supported by the local staff, most of whom are from the Arab Christian community.

The Assembly will hear that little progress has been made in the transfer of the Church’s heritable properties in Pakistan in the Diocese of Sialkot to the Sialkot Diocesan Trust Association. It is hoped that a visit by the associate secretary and the secretary of the Trust will result in new initiatives for progress.

The Trust continues its involvement in a number of court cases involving its property interests in Pakistan. It is envisaged that due to the nature of the Pakistan legal system these cases will be ongoing for a number of years.

The conclusion of the report deals with the rotational retrial of two of the Trusts’ members and the recording of the appreciation of thanks to Robert Bow who tendered his resignation after 15 years service to the Trust.

Ends

nrga/07/04/07

Thursday 12 April 2007

Note to news desk
For further information please contact Jennifer Hamilton, secretary and clerk of the Church of Scotland Trust, on 0131 240 2222. A full copy of the report is available on our General Assembly pages online here.