Triple cause for celebration as Church of Scotland welcomes three new ministers

Churches across the country were scenes of celebration this week as three new ministers were ordained into the Church of Scotland on the same evening.

Rev Jonathan Lyall and Rev Christopher Watt have been ordained as full-time Ministers of Word and Sacrament, while Stephen Miller now becomes a part-time Ordained Local Minister.

Two of the new ministers, Jonathan Lyall and Stephen Miller, are following in a family tradition of ministry with Mr Lyall's father Michael preaching at his son's ordination and Mr Miller joined by two relatives who are already serving ministers, including his mother, Margaret.

Scone ministry

Mr Watt, who was ordained at Thornhill Parish Church in Dumfriesshire, was a lawyer before deciding to study for the ministry.

"I've always been involved with the church and probably from my early 20s I would have told you that at some stage I was going to work within the church, but I didn't know what that would look like," he said.

He began to feel a sense of call, and it was after talking that feeling over with a good friend who was in the Priesthood that he decided to enter discernment.

Mr Watt recalled: He told me: ‘You will know when the time is right to answer that call because all the ducks will line up in a row.' I wasn't sure what he meant then, but he was absolutely right. Things changed at work and all the aspects of my life slotted together to make me feel this was the time to answer God's call."

He went on to study remotely with Dingwall-based Highland Theological College (HTC) and his first placement in St George's Parish Church close to his home in Dumfries.

This coincided with the Covid lockdown, but Mr Watt was able to find a positive in these unusual circumstances.

"Because so much wasn't happening, I was able to devote a large part of my placement to the leading of worship," explained the minister.

"I was also able to get involved in several funerals because that was one thing we could still do – it was all good experience," he said.

By the time Mr Watt moved on to his second placement at Castle Douglas Parish Church, he was able to do more to add to his experience before he went on to his final placement in Gretna with Rev Eleanor McMahon.

He completed his probationary period at Thornhill, Penpont and Durisdeer, and will remain there as assistant minister until he moves to his own charge.

Mr Watt said: "Each of my placement churches have been very different, but they have all been special in their own way.

"People have been so encouraging and welcomed myself and my wife Erin and my wider family.

"I strongly believe that the Church needs to work hard to become a substantial part of the community again and wherever I have been on placement, that has been my goal."

To do so, he has been able to use his own interests and skills in the service of the church. A keen musician and musical director for his local amateur musical company, he has been playing the organ in church since he was 17 and is always happy to step in when needed.

Another passion is baking, the inspiration for his "Scone Ministry".

"We don't charge and anyone can come along and have a coffee and a chat. It's a very good opportunity to use skills I've been given in a supportive way," Mr Watt explained.

"I suppose I'm trying to break down a lot of the barriers that exist with people who are perhaps a generation out from being regular church-goers and think about church as a remote place where they don't belong."

Now he is ordained, he is looking forward to his first communion, but beyond that, he is looking forward to finding out what the future holds.

"I have felt God is with me strongly during this journey and I want to see what He has in store for me," he said.

"I consider myself incredibly fortunate because I love what I do.

"I love the pastoral side, the music, everything. Every day is different.

"The Church is going to look very different in 20 years' time and my generation of newly qualified ministers are going to have to write that change. People ask me about the future of the Church and I fundamentally believe that God will not let his Church die. One of our key roles is going to be reminding people that although the Church is changing, God's not changing."

Next step on the journey

There was more than a usual family feel for Rev Jonathan Lyall's ordination at Viewpark Parish Church in Uddingston, where his father Michael is minister, with Michael preaching at his son's induction.

Mr Lyall did not immediately follow his father into the ministry and worked in the distribution sector before considering a church career.

He said: "I started feeling a sense of call.

"Then it got to a point where I realised I was going to be miserable if I kept ignoring it so I went forward to discernment.

"I wanted to see what happened and if God was really calling me, it would be fine and if not, it would be over very quickly.

"Doing that has been a real blessing, it's helped with my relationship with God and helped me know myself better."

Mr Lyall also studied remotely through HTC, the flexibility it offered and the support of staff and fellow students allowing him to fit his studies around family life with wife Emma and their three children Nancy (12) and twins Mark and Sarah (9), and other commitments.

His first placement was in the linked charge of North Motherwell, linked with Craigneuk and Belhaven with Rev Derek Pope.

Mr Lyall said: "That was brilliant because they had lots of community engagement and outreach work, which Derek is very experienced in. It was a great learning experience that helped me find my feet and gave me lots of practical tips."

From there he went on to join Rev Jill Clancy in chaplaincy work in Scotland's largest prison, HMP Barlinnie in Glasgow.

"You had to really step outside your comfort zone," he recalled.

"People would tell you things and your jaw would just hit the floor and you would have no idea what to say.

"But it was an incredible and very humbling experience, seeing how quickly people's lives could fall apart.

"It was intense and I was exhausted every night.

"I felt I learnt a huge amount there, but I couldn't do that full-time."

Mr Lyall's final placement was at Moodiesburn Church in North Lanarkshire, Scotland's newest parish having only been launched in January 2020.

"It was a new charge development which was planted in the 1990s and from a few people worshipping once a month it now has 150 people worshipping every Sunday," he said.

"Being part of such a good news story was incredibly uplifting and encouraging.

"That really has been the benefit of going to different places, you realise there are more good things going on than people realise."

Mr Lyall's probationary period took place at Burnside Blairbeth Parish Church in Rutherglen under the supervision of Rev William Wilson.

"William and the congregation were fantastic," he said.

"There was so much going on that the hardest thing was deciding what to say no to.

"I tried to get a flavour of everything that was going on – lots of great work with children, lots of pastoral care and William was a very wise and patient supervisor, just what I needed at that time."

Law Church, situated in a village between Carluke and Wishaw in South Lanarkshire, will be another new experience for Mr Lyall as it is his first time working in a rural parish.

"My first impressions are that the people are just so warm and welcoming and I'm really looking forward to it," he said.

"Lots of good stuff is going on there and there is potential to do more.

"I'm just excited to see what God has in store next. I feel God has put me in the right place at the right time all the way through and I don't see any reason for that to stop now just because my training has finished officially.

"This feels like the next step on the journey."

A Stephen-shaped call

Rev Stephen Miller's ordination at his home church in Auchterarder in Perthshire also sees him following in a family tradition.

Not only was his late father a minister, but his mother, Rev Margaret Michie, was ordained as an OLM when she was 75 – making him a relative youngster at just 63.

Mr Miller's sister-in-law, Rev Eileen Miller, is also a minister and they were among the many friends and family attending the ordination. Among them were Mr Miller's daughters Paula and Jill and his youngest grandchild Ellie, who was just 25-days old and behaved perfectly throughout the service.

Mr Miller, who retired from an almost 40-year teaching career in 2020 as head teacher at Denny High School, looks forward to combining his experience in education with ministry rather in the manner of the traditional Scottish dominie who was both parish minister and school teacher.

"I had always thought that I would be manly serving in some locum ministry-type capacity, but during my probationary year with Rev Kenny Stott at Perth North Church, I had a strong sense of calling to do something to support staff in schools," he explained.

"Post-Covid, I had become aware of the changing nature of the challenges within schools in terms of the mental health and resilience of both staff and pupils.

"While pupils have a range of mechanisms of structural supports within schools, although stretched and under-resourced, staff have relatively few – and they are coming under increased pressures both from within school communities and in terms of societal expectations.

"Until we review matters in June 2025, I will be devoting 50% of my time exploring, developing and sharing best practice in relation to chaplaincy support to staff in schools, mainly, but not exclusively, based in Perth Presbytery in the first instance.

"For the other 50%, Perth Presbytery has agreed to second me to the national church as co-ordinator of the Education and Schools Group. This work has three strands: supporting the work of Church of Scotland reps on local authority education committees and encouraging good lines of communication between church reps and their respective presbyteries; arranging training and resource circulation for those working in schools' ministry; and advising the national church on policies relating to education."

Mr Miller added that "both roles are actually quite complementary."

An elder for 38 years and a church organist for 39, he will also provide pulpit supply on Sundays.

Mr Miller, who completed his placements at Dunblane and Lecropt and Perth Riverside churches, added: "I want to pay tribute to Perth Presbytery who have honoured that strong sense of call and given permission for me to undertake pioneering work within schools and the world of education

"As a minister colleague said to me on hearing of this development, ‘that seems much more Stephen-shaped!'"