IAIN MacIntyre (Letters, August 29) misses the point in relation to those who oppose the assisted dying campaigns which are starting to go through both Holyrood and Westminster. Those who oppose this potential legislation are not fighting for themselves, or what they want for themselves. They are fighting for the most vulnerable people in our society, be they disabled, have mental problems, or perhaps just the old and poor. While I have the greatest of sympathy for those people who wish to end their lives, I believe that all decent societies should protect its vulnerable from the wishes of some who want to change the law to suit themselves.

Have you seen the excellent documentary Better off Dead? by the very disabled actress Liz Carr? If you haven't, can I suggest you get hold of it and watch it? While she covers many countries which have introduced this legislation, she focuses specifically on Canada, a country where all the "safeguards" were put in place before the legislation was passed, only to be whittled away very quickly. What started out as a 90-day cooling-off period can now, in Canada, amount to no more than 48 hours. Yes, 48 hours. And this is not just people at the very end of their lives, but people who just feel they don't want to live any more.

Please, if you value the lives of the disabled, the mentally ill, the elderly and the poor, do not support these bills. Write to your MPs and MSPs and let them know how wrong this legislation is. Please don't let the (albeit understandable) preferences of some lead the way to the suicide regime that this legislation will bring to large parts of our vulnerable population, as it already has to the people of Canada.

Eileen McCartin, Paisley.

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Need for change in the Kirk

IRENE Munro (Letters, August 27) challenges my contention that the Kirk, if it is to retain its relevance and connect with people today, must replace a 1st century world view and also shift its focus towards the issues of this world rather than the next.

She observes that in fact the Church in Scotland is strongest where place is given to the supernatural aspects of the faith and she cites many examples of where the Kirk is engaging with the most vulnerable people in our society through its social care agency, Crossreach.

However, while these facts might be true they are surely no more than crumbs of comfort in a National Church which has lost more than half its members since the year 2000 and with the average age of church attendees being 62 years. It is surely in need of a theological reformation if it is to have any chance of reconnecting with this or future generations. Of course the Church has done this before and could do so again, if it had the courage to share the biblical and theological knowledge of the universities, where its ministers study, with the members of the Kirk up and down the land.

Although, as Irene Munro states, the Kirk is still providing high-quality social care in many settings, in truth it has in recent years reduced its commitment to prioritising its work in Scotland's poorest communities and its voice on issues of social justice in the UK and abroad (eg Gaza and the West Bank) is rarely heard beyond those who read the content of its website, and how many do that? Without being entirely flippant can any of your readers imagine Jesus, instead of overturning the tables, doing the 1st century equivalent of firing off a copy of his blog to his followers? He would, at the very least, have been on a march having convinced the Moderator of the Kirk’s General Assembly et al to join him.

Why does Irene Munro along with so many in the Kirk show such reluctance to consider the possibility that there is a need for change in the nature of our Christian faith, together with a rediscovery of its prophetic voice, and not just a readjustment to structures of the Church, or the reaffirming of a supernatural gospel which may attract the few, but not the many?

John Milne, Uddingston.

Problems with bridges idea

WHILE creative ideas are always welcome they need to be evaluated. In this regard, it might assist George Morton to be aware of some local factors which rather count against his suggestion of building bridges to link Nairn with Invergordon rather than upgrading the A96 trunk road between Nairn and Inverness (Letters, August 30).

These are: • Inconveniently, the narrow point of the Inner Moray Firth is the location of Fort George and it is unlikely that the Ministry of Defence or Historic Environment Scotland would welcome it being replaced by a bridge abutment and approach road.

• Sizeable ships use Inverness Harbour and the Port of Cromarty is used by both massive cruise ships and oil rigs. These bridges (the construction of which Mr Martin describes as "a piece of cake") will need to be very substantial structures to allow shipping clearance. Mr Martin may have spotted three bridges providing such clearance close to his home in Rosyth.

• The destination of most traffic heading west from Nairn is, in fact, Inverness, either in its own right or by virtue of it being on the routes west towards Fort William and south towards Perth. A tiny proportion of traffic leaving Nairn will be heading to Invergordon and points north.

After careful consideration, I think it is probably best that the Scottish Government continues with the plan to connect Inverness to the wider national road network by dual carriageway. After all, it is the only one of Scotland’s seven cities that does not enjoy that benefit.

George Rennie, Inverness.

Paisley AbbeyPaisley Abbey (Image: National Churches Trust)

Saluting heroes of Paisley Abbey

IT is, of course, welcome and gratifying that Paisley Abbey is to share in a £735,326 urgent pay-out from the National Churches Trust and also to receive a Fabric Repair Grant of £10,000 from the Wolfson Foundation ("Not so Holy water to be kept out of Abbey after emergency funds", The Herald, August 29). This funding will help to avoid serious material damage to the fabric of the much-admired and much visited Grade-A listed church .

The award of such financial contributions is, of course, to be greatly appreciated. Paisley Abbey is of much more than local, district and regional significance. It is viewed by many as a national treasure. We should be grateful for all the hard work and resolution of the volunteers, who have the interests of Paisley Abbey at heart, in fund raising. We are living in times when difficult decisions with regard to the allocation of resources are having to be made and those involved on behalf of the Abbey and the two charities concerned are to be congratulated in securing that this "ancient and iconic building" will be kept wind and watertight, still to be enjoyed by congregation members and its many visitors.

Ian W Thomson, Lenzie.