The Open Episcopal Church in Scotland

Organisation

Operating only in Scotland we are too small, with only around 2,000 adherents, to have delusions of grandeur. We have just one bishop with no fancy titles and the balance of power within our church lies with the people. This is evidenced in the synodical, almost congregational, way we run our church

The church has a formal constitution by which it must legally abide and is registered as a Scottish charity. Our constitution gives every member of clergy a vote in Council and provides a lay representative from each congregation a vote as well. Three further lay Trustees are appointed by the bishop, in consultation with the Council, who each have a vote whilst a further vote and Trustee status is granted to the President of the Standing Committee, who may be either a cleric or a lay person. The Standing Committee deals with mission and special events throughout the year whilst the Trustees along with the bishop form the Executive Committee who administer the church between Council meetings, ensuring that the wishes and policies of the Council are followed

The result is always that lay representatives outnumber clergy and so hold the balance of power over the running and administration of their own church. Only matters of faith and morals are reserved to the bishop and his clergy,  within the normal constraints and understanding of Catholic Christian theology, doctrine and practice

Annual accounts are prepared and externally examined in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) 2005 Act and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 making us transparent and fully accountable to the people we serve

Complaints Procedure

for members of the clergy and members of the public

If the complaint is related to charity administration

In the first instance a formal enquiry should be addressed to the Bishop of the diocese who is also Chief Executive of the charity. In the event that you are not satisfied with the response you receive this may be escalated to a formal complaint. The Chief Executive will then, within 28 working days, provide you with a final response

If you remain dissatisfied you then have the right to make a formal complaint to the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator whose contact details will be supplied to you along with the final response as detailed above

If the complaint is related to a member of Scottish clergy

In the first instance full details of the complaint must be submitted to the Bishop of the diocese and should include as much information as possible, including date, time, location and precisely what was said or done that constitutes the complaint

After investigation, and usually within 28 working days, the bishop will provide an answer to your complaint. If you are not satisfied with the answer you receive you may escalate the complaint and within a further 28 working days you will receive a final response

If you remain dissatisfied with the final response provided by the bishop you may appeal to the President of the Standing Committee of the Open Episcopal Church, in Scotland. Full details of how to contact him will be provided to you at the same time as the final response is sent to you

If the complaint is related to the Bishop of the diocese

In the first instance full details of the complaint must be submitted to the President of the Standing Committee of the Open Episcopal Church in Scotland,

IMPORTANT NOTES REGARDING COMPLAINTS

All complaints, whatever their nature, must be fully documented and the complainant must note that the person being complained about will usually be informed of the nature of the complaint and who it is that has made the complaint. This is in the interests of fairness in order to ensure that the subject of the complaint is able to adequately defend themselves against the possibility of malicious behaviour towards them. Anonymous complaints will NOT be accepted

In the event that the situation is serious enough to warrant it then formal complaints may be directed the the Police. Your local constabulary will be able to advise you

In the event that the complaint or concern is related to the protection of children or the protection of vulnerable adults in the first instance you should report the issue directly to the Police and/or Social Services. In the second instance you should notify either of the church's protection officers (contact links are below) together with the Bishop of the diocese. It is important to note that, in Scotland, we have no power to investigate Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) issues ourselves and are obliged to notify the authorities

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