The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Rt Rev Alan McDonald, is greatly encouraged by the involvement of young people in the church in Midlothian, Scotland.
Rev McDonald made the comments at the start of his ten-day tour of the Lothian Presbytery last Friday at Carberry Tower near Musselburgh.The Moderator said: "The Church of Scotland has always been entrusted in children and young people to take us forward and that is still the case. There are a lot of respectable youngsters out there but they tend to get a bad press with some believing all youngsters deserve an ASBO.
"This simply is not the case and the examples of the work which youngsters in the Midlothian area are involved in through the church shows this and we can learn a lot from them."
The Moderator also took in a visit to Loanhead Parish Church where he witnessed a children's worship event. At Penicuik North Kirk he was given the opportunity to take part in a "Tribal Generation" youth service, reports Midlothian Today.
The Moderator also believes the diversity which is seen among the different communities in Midlothian is something which must be embraced, the newspaper reported.
"I am so lucky to get to make such trips as this one and you can learn something from everyone who you meet, people always have interesting and thought-provoking things to say.
"Some of the churches in Midlothian are in towns and more industrial-type areas and some are in villages but wherever they are they are important to the people in those communities and this is special. Variety is good for the church as a whole and we can all learn from each other," he added.
On Wednesday, the Moderator partook in a visit to the historic 15th century Rosslyn Chapel, made famous by Dan Brown's bestselling book The Da Vinci Code, where he toured the building along with other local clergy and discussed the effect of the novel on the chapel.
Other engagements during his tour of the Lothian Presbytery included a visit to the world famous Roslin institute, one of the world's leading centres for studies relating to animal genetics and development. There he met with the Institute's Director, Dr Harry Griffin, and was given a tour of the facility.
A late afternoon trip to Tranent saw the Moderator visit the East Lothian Home-Start Project where he met with clients and volunteers involved with this organisation that offers a befriending service to parents who are struggling to cope or feel isolated.
On Saturday Rev McDonald will visit the Scottish Mining Museum in Newtongrange and on Sunday the tour will end in Haddington when the Moderator gives his farewell act of worship at St Mary's Parish Church at 7pm.
The Lothian Presbytery covers Midlothian as well as East Lothian.
