March 2025: Rev Melvyn Wood

For March, Rev Melvyn Wood looks back on a career which has ranged from the big city to seaside towns on the Clyde and Moray Firth coasts and even representing the Church of Scotland in the Swiss Alps.

My ministry: Rev Melvyn Wood

Rev Melvyn Wood retired from full-time Ministry of Word and Sacrament last year after 15 years as minister of Blawarthill Parish Church in Glasgow. Prior to this, he was a minister in Largs, Cullen and the Scots Kirk Lausanne in Switzerland. He lives in his home town of Portsoy in Aberdeenshire with his son Calum.

What sparked your interest in ministry?

Church was always a part of my life from an early age and I always felt comfortable there. People of my generation, if they had any inkling of a calling, really felt they could change the Church and modernise it. We brought guitars to services, which was revolutionary in those days, and thought that we could turn the Church around because even in those days you could see the way the wind was blowing and that society was changing. But it was only after graduating with my arts degree that I firmed up my desire to study Divinity.

Where did your ministry journey begin?

I was very fortunate to be offered a two-year appointment as assistant minister at Crown Court Church in London. That suited me because I was in no hurry to get my own parish and two years in London was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up.

London was a great experience. One previous Crown Court minister described it as preaching to a procession because a lot of people came and went quite regularly. It was very mixed economically too. You had very well-off people, students and some who'd had a hard time in life. My flat was opposite the largest lodging house in London, so we were surrounded by people in very precarious circumstances.

From an early stage, my ministry took account of those who were struggling in terms of economics or addiction. That gave me a taste for city ministry, which I didn't really fulfil until my last charge in Glasgow.

In many ways, it wasn't until then that I felt I was doing something really useful and the Church doing something really needful in the community.

Where did your ministry take you next?

After two years in London, myself and my late wife Doreen moved to my first charge in Largs. It was a growing church in those days with over 1300 members. But being such a big congregation, it was very difficult to do anything new because I had over 50 funerals a year and many baptisms and weddings and up to three services on a Sunday. It was quite a load and you needed to be young and fit to take it on.

The next port of call was in the North East at Cullen and Deskford. All my charges have been very different and one motivation for moving was to keep myself fresh. I had been 14 years in Largs and realised I had to move now or I might never move at all. It was another seaside town, but a much smaller place and a fishing and farming community, so very different and not too far from home.

After that, we went on our big adventure to Lausanne. When we decided it was time to think about moving, I said I was not going to make another move unless it was something really different and then the Scots Kirk in Lausanne came up.

Lausanne had a totally different atmosphere. Again, it was a mixed congregation so it is hard to generalise, but to a large extent one felt one was there to service the needs of the congregation and that seemed at times, to me, to go against the central message of bringing the Gospel out to the world, and affirming the poor and disenfranchised, as Jesus clearly taught we should.

That was why I was glad that eventually my ministry came full circle and I spent my final ministry in Glasgow where there were acute social needs.

When I went to Blawarthill, my session clerk said: "Tell us what you want us to do." I almost dropped through the floor because it seemed to me the particular calling we have to a ministry of leadership was being affirmed. Ministry needs to be collaborative, of course, but ultimately, we are not there to serve one another within congregations, we are there to serve God, and the whole people of God, including those who are struggling.

The congregation were looking for spiritual leadership, but also practical leadership because their way of serving God was to roll up their sleeves and serve in practical ways and they wanted to be encouraged in doing so.

We did that specifically through running one of the biggest foodbanks in the city and made every effort to create a good example of how foodbanks operate and how churches can link into the foodbank system.

Every effort is made to make the clients feel comfortable. And there is no way that we are creating dependence. The whole ethos is to avoid that. It's not just a case of handing out food but exploring where the need comes from. The need for food is what brings people in, but there is nearly always a deeper need, whether it is addiction, illness or anything else.

Many of our volunteers had a very deep faith that worked itself out in practical ways. Quite a number were church-goers, though not necessarily of our church, and quite a few weren't, but when you look at the Gospel and the teaching of Jesus, they were living out that teaching in a way that many Christians fail to do. They weren't doing it in a consciously spiritual way, but it was the Church that provided the infrastructure that was helping them to do voluntary work.

I think to some extent, churches going forward need to realise that not everyone is going to be a member of a worshipping congregation. Nevertheless, they can serve God in different ways and the Church can provide avenues for service.

What are the main lessons you have learned about ministry?

Being a minister in a community is a great privilege and one of the most important things is to build trust and that takes time. You need to build up networks, get to know people and become someone they feel they can be open with.

Being sensitive to the opportunities which then arise naturally is one thing that ministers should be open to. Being sensitive to the needs of your community is such an important thing.

Forty years ago, there was a feeling that the Church had a valued place in society. Now it has no end of critics, sometimes rightly so, but by and large most people in ministry are hard-working people who want nothing but the best for their community.

I don't envy my younger colleagues who have to face these challenges, but each new generation has the experience of their own upbringing and of the Church. If someone has a call, I believe God provides the need to overcome the challenges that are there.

Society has changed, the community has changed, the Church has changed, but if they are certain they are called to ministry, then God will provide the strength to do that ministry.

What keeps you motivated in ministry?

It is easy to become despondent, but the way I have managed to overcome that is to think about the people I have been able to help over the years.

Ministry in the Church is nothing if it is not personal. It has to relate to individual people and provide for them.

I remember as a chaplain at Largs Academy, being at one of the morning assemblies. The mood was awful and the kids were sitting on the floor with their arms folded and the attitude: ‘Go on, impress me.' It was the most intimidating atmosphere, but I did my best and later in the playground I heard this voice go: "Hey, Mr Wood!" I wondered what was going to happen next, was I going to get some cheek? But this young teenager said: "Mr Wood, that was great!"

You never know when the next encouragement is going to come from. That's the kind of wee thing that keeps you going.

More information

If you would like to consider how God might be calling you to serve at this time, you may want to discuss further with your minister or be in touch with your Presbytery to explore local opportunities.

If you are interested in exploring a call to the recognised ministries of the Church, you can find more information on our vocations page and can contact ministry@churchofscotland.org.uk for a Discernment Conversation with one of the Recruitment Team.