Church names clerk to lead new look Presbytery in Fife

Rev Dr David Coulter has been appointed as clerk - the ‘minister to the ministers’ - to the new Presbytery of Fife, which will be formally created in January.

The former chaplain general of the army will head up the new structure which will be formed from the Presbyteries of St Andrews, Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline.

It is part of a wider reform underway across the Church of Scotland which plans to cut the number of Scottish presbyteries, from more than 40 to around 12.

Mr Coulter, originally from Northern Ireland, is currently serving as the parish minister of St Andrew's in the Grange on the island of Guernsey. He takes up his new role at Easter .

He said he felt “humbled and delighted” to take up his new post in the Kingdom.

“I was initially attracted to the clerk's position in that the job description said the main purpose was to 'provide strategic and organisational leadership to the Presbytery’,” he explained.

“I felt it sounded very similar to the role I had as chaplain general to HM Land Forces from 2014- 2018.”

St Andrews restaurants launch plans for outdoor seatingMossmorran flaring emissions 'equivalent of 9000 flying return...

Mr Coulter holds a PhD from the University of Edinburgh and his thesis looked at the role of Church Of Scotland chaplains in the Second World War.

Rev Jane Barron, an honorary chaplain at St Andrews University, has been nominated as Moderator of the Presbytery of Fife.

She said: “I’m delighted to be part of a new team commissioned to care, challenge, resource, trust and sustain one another across the three historic areas marked by monarchs, martyrs and economists, and follow Jesus in the 21st century,” she said.

She will also be taking up a post as locum minister in the parish of Ceres, Kemback and Springfield.

Rev Alec Shuttleworth, convener of the Presbytery of Fife Transition Group, said: “We are delighted to announce these appointments.

“In a time when the church nationally and locally has huge challenges to face we have caring, committed, and creative people to lead us.”

Thank you for reading this article on our free-to-read website. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

Please consider purchasing a subscription to our print newspaper to help fund our trusted, fact-checked journalism.

https://www.localsubsplus.co.uk/nord/dm/FFP/V