June 2025: Rev John Purves

For July, Rev John Purves looks back on a four-decade career in the Glasgow area where he combined ministry with stand-up comedy.

I was studying law and completed my law degree, but I started thinking about theology about half-way through my degree when I realised that I didn't want to be a lawyer and ministry was where I should be. Before that, it hadn't crossed my mind. I had been involved with church, but had not considered ministry.

For me, I don't think a call to ministry is different from any other call. A call is a sense of being in the right place for you at that moment in life, and that is part of my life journey.

I probably didn't start thinking in terms of a life journey until I was in my mid-30s and I think my ministry changed as a result. I allowed myself to be vulnerable. You are only genuinely authentic when you can be vulnerable and share your own journey with people, rather than try and give them the sense that you have got it all worked out.

Early in my ministry, I probably thought I did have it worked out, but as time went on, I realised I was on a journey and there were lots of things that I needed to learn and do.

I found that the more I shared of my journey, the more people identified with what I was saying.

Drumchapel was a bit of a shock. I have never been conventional and there were people there who just didn't like me and didn't want to change. What kept me there were the other people who cared for me and looked after me when I struggled.

But we moved from there and grew together as a church family and by the end of my ministry there, Drumchapel St Andrew's was the church I had dreamt of when I went there first.

The heart of a church is people, so for me, it was about being a family where everyone is welcomed, cared for and affirmed and can be the best version of themselves. They don't need to worry about what other people expect them to do and can do their own journey knowing that there are people there who will care for them and share that journey with them.

That's why we had ‘belonging' instead of ‘membership', so people would feel they were a part of the church because they belonged, not because it was as though they had signed up for a club.

One of the most significant things was the union with another church in Drumchapel where one church kept its building and another church kept its name.

One of the churches was smaller than the other one, but they brought a complete change of mindset and within weeks the whole church became something bigger than we had before. That was a real watershed moment for me.

Then another church in Drumchapel closed and that congregation became part of our church family so there were three churches together, but a huge togetherness.

The church was at the heart of the community and I became heavily involved in a local project called 3D Drumchapel, which started off with a group of mums, a lease on some premises above a bookie and £5,000 in the bank. That project now turns over £500,000 a year and has probably about 20 staff.

It supports families and young people with every range of activities you could imagine to help them to see what they could be. Being part of that growth and seeing the difference it has made in people's lives was one of my real highlights.

I worked a lot with asylum seekers and I learned so much about myself through doing that. There was so much about it that was sad and tragic, hearing about things that I never thought I would have to hear, but it was also uplifting, seeing the resilience that brought people through those horrendous experiences. That was another incredible chapter in my life.

My church was really supportive throughout my time there and I was really fortunate to be in a church that was not demanding of me to the exclusion of what I did in the community.

I have always believed I could change the world. Sometimes that can be frustrating, but sometimes you recognise that you can make a difference.

I have only ever once spoken at the General Assembly when I brought the motion that allowed ministers and deacons to take same sex marriages. That is probably one of the most significant things I have done. Sometimes you can change the world.

That was about including everybody, and that was a big part of who we were as a church family. We welcomed everybody and everybody was significant and valued and cared for and that was at the heart of what we did.

Throughout my life, I have always been able to sense when something has been coming to an end and I did feel this was the right time to move on. I left knowing that the church was in a really good place and they were ready for the next adventure as well.

I had some time out over the summer and then went to St James Pollock (in Glasgow) as locum minster. I was there for six months. I think initially I thought I was just there to fill a gap – but almost immediately I realised it was going to be far more than that.

They were another amazing church family and some wonderful things grew from that. It was an experience that will always be with me.

Then I went to Glasgow Cathedral and that was exciting because I was the strategic development officer and looking at how and why we do things, who we are, and how we can actually plan our journey ahead. Often churches find themselves reacting to what is going on, rather than saying: ‘This is what we want to do because we want to make things happen.'

That was different from what I had done before. I probably only did half a dozen services there because my job was about finding out how we do church somewhere that is so different. On a Sunday, services will have 70% visitors. That is a totally different dynamic from any other church – it's almost like 50 first dates! I hope the wider Church will recognise that about Glasgow Cathedral and see its incredible potential.

I love live comedy and happened to see an advertisement for a comedy course at Strathclyde University. I thought the course would be fun, I'd do the showcase at the end, and that would be it, but the showcase went very well and it felt very natural to keep going.

I did it for seven or eight years, including performing at the Edinburgh Fringe for seven years in a row. It is the most incredible buzz, making people laugh. I don't think there is anything like it.

At first, not even other comedians knew I was a minister because I didn't want to be seen as a novelty act. I wanted to be funny not because I was a novelty, but because my comedy was good.

I loved my comedy journey, but after seven or eight years, I felt had done as much as I wanted to do. I didn't want to be on TV or do it full-time, I just enjoyed doing it.

A couple of years ago, I felt the time was right to go back to it, though I'm not doing as much as before. If someone asks me to do a gig, I will do that, but I don't travel much or look for gigs all the time.

Comedy communication and church communication are not that dissimilar and I do think that a lot of it is about connection. If you connect with people, they will get your humour.

A lot of my comedy is observational. I will see things that other people see every day, but they don't find the humour in it until you flick that switch. I think it's the same with faith. A lot of what I say to people on a Sunday is about opening people up to seeing things in a different way.

At the start of the year I returned to parish ministry at Kilbowie St Andrew's and Radnor Park in Clydebank.

Again, from the moment I walked through the door, I realised I had found an absolutely lovely church family. I said I would be there until the end of June, but I love being here and their journey has changed during this year because Kilbowie St Andrew's is now linked with Waterfront and have permission to call a minister. I want to do the next bit of the journey with them so I will stay until they get a new minister and begin their next adventure.

Be aware that it is a journey and not a destination.

Take some time to celebrate your successes and appreciate your own value and your own worth.

Take time for yourself because that is what gives you the energy to send out to other people. Protect that time and make it special.

One thing that has been a huge benefit for me is meditation. I meditate regularly and that allows me to take time out and have my own space.

Ministry is an incredibly exciting journey, but you need to care for yourself as much as others and caring for yourself is not being selfish. It is not taking any love away from people in your church.

Don't be what anyone else wants you to be, be yourself. Sometimes that's a challenge because people want to put their expectations on you, but you are not there to live up to anyone else's expectations.