August 2025: Rev Liz Henderson OBE

My ministry: Rev Liz Henderson OBE, retired Minister of Word and Sacrament, Richmond Craigmillar

Rev Liz Henderson OBE recently retired as minister of Richmond Craigmillar Parish Church in Edinburgh and now lives in Prestwick with her husband and fellow former minister, Rev Dr Jim Jack, formerly of Duddingston Kirk. The couple, who between them have amassed 76 years of service to the Church of Scotland, are looking forward to having more time for friends, family and travelling – their new home being handily located within walking distance of Prestwick Airport.

What's your faith background?

When I was young, church always seemed a good place to be and when I was 10, I felt the call to ministry and went to see my minister, who said he didn't see that as a career for me because I was female.

That call never went away, but I think the elements that excited me about ministry came much later after I started studying theology at New College in Edinburgh. I was involved in a society there called the Missionary Society which ran clubs on Saturday morning in West Pilton.

At the time it was just a fun thing to do, but working with children who had so much less than I had growing up had a profound impact. It was the beginning of a sense of call to work with the poor which has never left and has always been rewarding.

I have always believed that Jesus gave us a lead in caring for everyone, but particularly the poor and those disenfranchised from society in any way. I felt strongly that was where my ministry would lie.

How did this influence your ministry?

My first church was at Granton, but those things that I enjoyed there – the opportunity to encourage and support people to work within the church – really blossomed when I moved to Richmond Craigmillar in 1997.

What I found there were non-judgmental people with a practical, caring faith that welcomed others, and a willingness to try something new and experiment with what it means to be church today.

We had various services where we turned over the whole church to a theme, such as one on climate change with one half of the church showing what happens if we don't engage with it and other half the beauty of creation and what we need to preserve. We had so many fun, creative services that took lots of work but stay in my memory.

We had people from 14 nations worshipping with us and we also brought in elements of worship from them, things like missing dancing – and it's not a Church of Scotland thing to dance!

But we still had a strong liturgical base so we didn't throw out the familiar or make people feel that this wasn't what they were used to.

What led you to co-found children's bereavement charity Richmond's Hope?

We were developing the Richmond Café at the time, but we had so many young deaths in the community. One of them was the son of Richmond's Hope co-founder Jessie Douglas in a motorbike accident. A year later, his best friend and his friend's wife were also killed, leaving three children. Jessie realised that if it had been devastating for her, then what must it be like for these children?

For me, my concern was pastoral. I was involved with one family where a young boy died by suicide or accidentally hung himself. His mother was worried about her other children. It seemed very obvious to me that the other children were suffering from grief.

We did some research and found there was nowhere in Scotland to help with bereaved children. We got enough money to train one person, but it became more than that. I discovered that my understanding of grief was outdated, so myself and others in the church went on a journey to understand up to date grief theories.

Richmond's Hope is now in Glasgow, Fife and East Lothian because there is a need for it and something like 5,000 children have now accessed support as a result. When I retired, young people came to me to say they would not have managed their bereavements or grown into the adults they are without that support. I found that very moving.

Richmond's Hope also gave me food for thought – conferences to go to, exciting ideas – but things that were absolutely practical and relevant to what we were doing day to day because what we do day to day in ministry is caring for people.

To start two charities, Richmond Café and then Richmond's Hope, would not have been possible without tremendous voluntary effort from people in the congregation who were passionate about their community, passionate about helping folk and passionate about their faith.

In what other ways did Richmond Craigmillar engage with its community?

We always liked sharing our building with people who needed help and had fabulous relationships with different groups. We worked with refugees, recovery groups dealing with drink and drugs, people with additional needs, as well as one or two commercial rents.

My office was in the church and I was there six days a week. We were open, we were available and people would come in looking for help or needing something and the church responded as best we could with practical help. Lots of priority areas are involved in that kind of work. It humbles you and

teaches you so much about valuing what you have and also learning, as Jesus taught us, to see Him in others.

It's an exercise in faith that takes you to the very heart of what scripture is.

As a church, we walked alongside people and they walked alongside us. We learnt from them and were better for it and I think we gave something back: I know that when I left how many people talked about what the church meant for them and will continue to mean.

Working in a priority area is just so enriching, but you need to keep learning alongside the people and keep asking questions. That's what makes it good.

You have also been appointed a Royal Chaplain. Do you see that as a contradiction or complementary to your parish work?

I have been very fortunate in that I have had some wonderful honours.

I received the OBE for my work with the community and Richmond's Hope, and I really value the fact that was for community work.

Being a Queen's Chaplain and now a King's Chaplain is also a huge privilege, particularly for a priority area ministry. It always seemed to me to be an honour for the church and its work, and not just for me. I know the church was very proud and did see it as their honour.

After the Queen died, the Chapel Royal mounted a vigil overnight at St Giles and again, that was a huge honour to be as close to the Royal family as if they were a family in the parish. But having been to Balmoral and stayed with the Queen, I shared in the sadness because she was a wonderful person. One of the great thigs about being in the Chapel Royal is that you see the quality of our Royal family, and their dedication to this country. At a time when politics across the world is full of people who seem to be more motivated against the poorest, they stand out as taking up causes and recognising and caring for people who work for good.

We have had some lovely times. Throughout my career, people have said to me ‘you could do better' or ‘your skills can be better utilised.' But I can look back and say: ‘I had a ball: ministry was fun and I have had these wonderful honours which wouldn't have come if I had been anywhere else.'

Richmond Craigmillar, and Duddingston too, are thriving churches with wonderful, supportive, committed groups of people and there are lots of churches like that in Scotland where ministers have left them in good heart and there is potential for new people to come along and do great things and have the wonderful careers we enjoyed.

I would say to the Church of Scotland that it needs to do all it can to spend money wisely to staff those churches, to encourage creativity and growth and to do new things that people coming into the church will be excited by. The potential is still there.

More information

If you would like to consider how God might be calling you to serve at this time, you may want to discuss further with your minister or be in touch with your Presbytery to explore local opportunities.

If you are interested in exploring a call to the recognised ministries of the Church, you can find more information on our vocations page and can contact ministry@churchofscotland.org.uk for a Discernment Conversation with one of the Recruitment Team.