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Columnist Elected Moderator-Designate to 2014 General Assembly

Tuesday October 29, 2013

Picture: Gavin Anderson Photography

Life and Work columnist, the Rev Dr Angus Morrison has been elected as Moderator-Designate to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 2014.

Dr Morrison, 60, who is minister at Orwell and Portmoak, said he was 'truly humbled' by the nomination. He will take up office in May following the opening of the General Assembly.

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 church career 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 16 and 27.

Speaking today, Dr Morrison said: “I really am amazed and deeply moved to have this honour laid on me. I am truly humbled by the trust that has been placed in me. I shall do my utmost by God’s grace to prove worthy of it.

“It is my great desire to encourage the Church in its vital God-given mission to the people of Scotland and beyond. In these troubled times the peace and unity of the Church are dear to me and I shall endeavour to promote them in every way I can.”

The Moderator-Designate is chosen by a committee with 51 members. It consists of representatives from each presbytery, the three previous Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and three members nominated by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

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