Tarbert Church of Scotland is part of the Church of Scotland, Scotland’s national church. We are governed as a Presbyterian church and as such Tarbert is part of the Presbytery of Uist. The Presbytery of Uist covers most of the southern half of the Western Isles including the Isle of Harris, and to the south across the sound of Harris, the islands of Berneray, North Uist and Benbecula. More information on what Presbyterianism means and how we are organised as a national church can be found here
Our Congregation as a former United Free Church congregation was traditionally governed by means of a Kirk Session and Deacon’s Court, with the Kirk Session responsible for spiritual matters in the congregation, and the Deacon’s Court responsible for secular matters such as the financial affairs and the upkeep of congregational buildings. In November 2014 however, in line with many other Congregations in the Church of Scotland, the Congregation of Tarbert changed to the new Unitary form of Church constitution. This means that the Kirk Session has responsibility for all aspects of congregational life. The major difference is that the Unitary Constitution gives flexibility to the Kirk Session to appoint Committees and Sub Committees and delegate certain functions to them to assist the Session in its work. The following pages give more information on what happens in this congregation.
