LONDON -- The Church of Scotland is fighting back against a serious shortage of ministers that has left more than one in eight parishes or groups of parishes without full-time clergy, according to the Ecumenical News International.
The church's general assembly in May will be asked to approve a more attractive pay structure for ministers, although church leaders denied press reports that an increase of about 20 percent - more than 10 times the rate of inflation - was planned.
The Scotland on Sunday newspaper claimed in a report about clergy pay that "ministers have grown tired of waiting for their reward in heaven."
However, William Storrar, convener of the church's Board of Ministry, and James Gibson, convener of the Board of National Mission, said the aim of the new pay structure was adequate financial provision for ministers.
"The ministers the church needs are not motivated by financial incentives, but the church is committed to providing an adequate living for those called into ministry in today's world," they wrote in the Scotsman newspaper.
The present minimum annual stipend - the equivalent of a salary for clergy - is 18,106 pounds sterling (US$25,900) plus free housing - well below typical professional salaries.
