Angus Morrison Announced as Moderator Designate

Tuesday October 28 2014

^{Gavin Anderson Photography}

The Rev Dr Angus Morrison has been announced as the Moderator Designate of the 2015 General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

Dr Morrison, minister of Orwell and Portmoak, was forced by ill health to pull out of the role this year, but has recovered to be able to accept the nomination for 2015. He said that it was 'a great honour' to be nominated again and thanked the Church for 'support and prayers' over the summer.

He said: "It is a great honour to have been nominated as Moderator Designate for 2015.

"I am thankful that a very good recovery, following surgery, has made it possible for me to accept the nomination.

"My wife and I are deeply appreciative of the support and prayers of so many across the Church during this recent difficult period. In dependence on God's grace, I look forward to the opportunities and challenges of the year ahead."

"On various fronts these are difficult days for our Church, as they are for many other denominations.

"We may at times find ourselves perplexed and saddened, but as people of Christian faith there is no real place for discouragement.

"The Church exists, not for itself, but as God's agent for the extending of His kingdom's just and gracious rule in the world.

"The mission of our Lord continues, and it is our privilege and responsibility to join him in this. In that connection, good news stories are plentiful of faithful and imaginative work going on in congregations and parishes throughout Scotland.

"Despite all the problems we face, God's Spirit is evidently at work among us. The challenge before us is to resist distraction, allowing the commission given to us by Jesus himself, to 'go and make disciples', to remain firmly at the top of our agenda.

"My main hope and prayer for the year ahead is that it may be possible to encourage a fresh focus on the centralities of our faith and calling, and that we may find new ways to bring encouragement and support to one another, so that in the power of the Holy Spirit, the vital ministries with which we have been entrusted, in fellowship with all God's people, may truly flourish, for the enrichment of the people of Scotland and beyond."

Dr Morrison was born in Glencoe in 1953. As his father worked for the Northern Lighthouse Service, he attended school in Oban, Stromness and Edinburgh  before higher education at the University of Glasgow.  He undertook further studies at  Pisa University and London University before a PhD at Edinburgh University (New College).

Dr Morrison’s ministry began in when he was ordained in the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland in 1979, but after ministries in Oban and Edinburgh he transferred into the Church of Scotland, became the minister of St Columba’s Old Parish Church in Stornoway and is now minister at Orwell and Portmoak Parish Church.

During his time in the Church of Scotland he has served on a number of church committees, including the Church and Nation Committee and Panel on Doctrine. He has also served as Moderator of the Presbytery of Lewis and was Convener of the Church's Mission and Discipleship Council. He was a member of the Special Commission on Same-Sex Relationships and the Ministry and served as a chaplain to the Lord High Commissioner, Lord Mackay of Clashfern in 2005 and 2006. The Moderator-Designate is also a chaplain to the Queen.

Dr Morrison, who has a degree in Classics and speaks Italian and Gaelic, is married to Marion who is a primary school teacher in Fife. The couple have four children between the ages of 17 and 28.

His decision to withdraw as Moderator Designate in March this year created an unprecedented situation for the Church, which ultimately appointed the Rt Rev John Chalmers as Moderator. This year's General Assembly instructed that the Committee to Nominate the Moderator consult with Dr Morrison 'in the first instance... as to his being available and willing to be considered for nomination' for the role in 2015.

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