Church of Scotland to stop printing Life and Work magazine

The Church of Scotland says it can no longer afford to print its 146-year-old magazine, Life and Work.

The Kirk’s General Assembly in Edinburgh was told on Tuesday that publication of the monthly magazine would end later this year.

Falling readership and a “growing” financial deficit was blamed for the situation.

The magazine is editorially independent of the Church of Scotland.

Lynne McNeil, who has edited Life and Work for 23 years, said many print publications were struggling due to a market of “diminishing returns”.

She said the magazine’s core audience was among the 68,160 worshippers on average who attended church on Sundays.

The number of worshippers before the Covid pandemic was about 88,000.

Ms McNeil said that Life and Work lost sales every time a church closed.

Rev Jim Stewart, convener of the Life and Work advisory committee, said the magazine had “enhanced and strengthened” the Church of Scotland’s national identity.

Proposals are expected to be put to next year’s assembly about a new publication.

The General Assembly is an annual gathering of the Kirk’s leaders.

In 2023, it heard warnings that hundreds of churches would have to close due to falling membership and dwindling income.

The Free Church has also said it would end publication of its magazine, The Record, in the coming year.

Rev Alasdair MacAulay, chairman of the Free Church communications group, said 100 years ago it would sell 10,000 copies but readership had fallen to about 1,700.

He told BBC Naidheachdan: “That’s a long way short and it’s continuing to fall all the time unfortunately.”

The Record is published every second month.