Kirk selects next Moderator of General Assembly

The Church of Scotland has announced the Rev John Cairns Christie as the next Moderator of the General Assembly.

Rev Christie, 62, is presently the interim minister of St Andrew’s Church in West Kilbride and Scots Kirk in Lausanne.

After a career in secondary education, Rev Christie was ordained in 1990 and inducted into Hyndland Parish Church in his native Glasgow, where he served for 14 years.

During that time, he was school chaplain at Hyndland Secondary School, Broomlea School, and Middlefield School, and was active in interfaith dialogue, raising ecumenical awareness, and supporting the work of Christian Aid.

He has held a variety of ministerial roles in Glasgow Presbytery, including Convenor of the Education Committee, Vice-Convenor of the Superintendence Committee, Vice Convener of the Lodging House Mission Committee and supervision of probationers and students for both full time and auxiliary ministry.

In 2004 he was called to Interim Ministry, which deploys ministers for up to two years to struggling congregations. He described his role as “helping congregations over hurdles”.

As Moderator of the General Assembly, Rev Christie will chair meetings of the General Assembly, lead worship, rule on points of order and sign documents on behalf of the Assembly. He will take up the honorary role when the General Assembly meets next May in Edinburgh.

Rev Christie is married to Annette, who is a Scottish Indoor Bowling Internationalist.