Ministry Recruitment Highest in Five Years

Monday November 30

^{New trainee minister Louise Purdon and her father, the Rev John McPake}

The Church of Scotland is welcoming its largest intake of trainee ministers in five years, but warning that it still faces a crisis in ministry numbers.

So far, 27 new candidates have been accepted for training this year, the first year of the Tomorrow’s Calling campaign. With further applicants due for assessment next month, it could be the largest intake for a decade.

However, more than half of the current ministers are due to reach retirement age in the next ten years.

The Rev Neil Glover, Convener of the Church’s Ministries Council, said: “The Church has been slow to get to get to grips with the scale of the problem but now it is a top priority. We currently have just over 800 ministers, and more than 400 of them are aged 55 or over. Ministers tend to work a bit beyond the normal pension age, but we now need to recruit 30 new trainees every year. With around 10 ministers usually returning to parish ministry or joining us each year, then we will be able to continue serving our parishes.”

Louise Purden and her father, the Rev John McPake, are at the opposite ends of ministry. Louise, who’s 39, has just been accepted as a trainee while John, at the age of 67, has come out of retirement to work part-time as an associate minister at Edinburgh’s Gorgie Dalry Parish Church.

Ms Purden said she had never come under any pressure from her father to follow in his footsteps but she recently started feeling “butterflies in her tummy” the more she thought about becoming a minister herself.  “I have worked for the church for many years doing various things – youth and children’s work - and people have often said to me in the past ‘have you ever thought about being a minister to which I very quickly replied no, it is not for me’. I guess I have become more aware of the roles that ministers can have and how much the Church has enhanced my life and my family life and I want that for my children as well so I am looking forward to it.”

John entered ministry at Edinburgh’s Liberton Northfield in his mid-40s after a career with BT. He said he was ‘very encouraged and pleased’ with his daughter’s decision.  “In a way I am not surprised, but I never asked her if she was interested in becoming a minister. I just felt that if it was right, God would lead her forward in that direction.”

Reflecting on the situation many of his fellow ministers are finding themselves in as they approach retirement age, he said: “I retired officially at the end of 2013 and then I was invited by Gorgie Dalry to come back as associate minister with them and I am really enjoying that. I cannot wait to preach every Sunday, that is one of the reasons I couldn't retire, I didn't want to stop talking about Jesus.

“It’s also exciting to be involved in new kinds of community work, like the Saltyard café the Church runs in Dalry. There’s so much going on and it’s great to see the Church trying new ways of connecting with people through the week. It’s not just about Sundays.”

Since the Church launched its ‘Tomorrow’s Calling’ campaign at May’s General Assembly, a series of promotional films about parish ministry have been viewed over 100,000 times on social media.  The success led to the idea of ministers turning movie makers for an online Advent calendar, and more than 2,000 people have already signed up to receive the daily videos. More than 50,000 have watched the promotional video on the Church’s website and Facebook page. A new Tomorrow's Calling website has also been launched.

Mr Glover added: “Tomorrow’s Calling has certainly generated lots of interest. Everyone experiences their calling to ministry differently and many put it off for one reason or another. What we are saying now is come and talk to us, find out if ministry is right for you.  It’s an immensely rewarding role, which has its challenges but also changes lives and makes a real difference in communities across Scotland and beyond.” 

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