Being Presbyterian
Hillsborough Presbyterian Church on Thursday, February 6th 2020.
We will focus on how the Church of Scotland prepared for and conducted the debate on same sex issues.
The Very Revd Dr John Chalmers
The Very Rev Dr John Chalmers, was Principal Clerk to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from 2011 – 2017 – previously he was the Pastoral Adviser and Associate Secretary of the Ministries Council, responsible for the pastoral care, support and development of Ministers and Deacons throughout the Church.
Ordained in 1979 he first served as Minister of Renton Trinity Parish from 1979 –1986 and then in the Edinburgh City Centre Parish of Palmerston Place from 1986 –1995 before moving into the Church’s central administration at the end of 1995.
In 2014 – 2015 he served the Church of Scotland as Moderator of the General Assembly and in 2016 he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from the Aberdeen University for his services to the church and wider society.
A life-long interest in mediation, respectful dialogue and reconciliation has seen him involved in facilitating difficult conversations and working in the complex field of conflict resolution. Most recently he has been working with church leaders in South Sudan as part of a project to address the desperate needs of those who communities have been torn apart by civil war.
He was one of the founders and is now a Patron of the charity Place for Hope which provides training and facilitation in transformational change, reconciliation and peace-building.
He now serves the Church of Scotland as Convener of the Assembly Trustees and is also Chairman of the Carnegie UK Trust Action Group on access to affordable credit.
In his spare time his interests are DIY projects, golf, travel (especially travel with golf clubs) and beekeeping.
The Very Revd Dr Susan Brown
A minister of the Church of Scotland, married to a Healthcare Chaplain with two children and a few ‘borrowed’ along the way.
I have served most of my working life in the Highlands of Scotland and currently serve as the minister of Dornoch Cathedral. I was the first female to be inducted to a Highland parish (Killearnan in 1985), First female Moderator of both the Presbyteries of Ross and of Sutherland. In 2018/19 I had the privilege of being Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland which afforded me so many wonderful opportunities and experiences within and beyond the Church including ecumenically and in an interfaith capacity. I have served nationally in Ecumenical Relations and as Vice Convener of the Church’s World Mission Council. Currently I am involved in the Church’s Faith Impact Forum – a new body which incorporates what was the World Mission Council and the Church and Society Council.