Alex feels blessed to be back home in Argyll

Starting a new life as a minister in Argyll is also a homecoming for Oban minister Rev Alex MacCallum.

Despite the Belfast accent which is a legacy of growing up in his mother's home city across the water, Mr MacCallum has deep family roots in Argyll – even if he was actually born in neighbouring Dunbartonshire.

He was baptised in Inveraray, his father's home town, and would return to visit from Northern Ireland each summer.

So, when he saw the opportunity of taking on his first parish as minister of Word and Sacrament in Argyll, accepting the call was the obvious choice, despite his initial resistance.

"We came up to Oban just to have a look, and from the first meeting, we felt it was a good fit for everybody," Mr MacCallum said, speaking as part of the monthly Talking Ministry feature on the Church of Scotland website.

"A large part of that was the welcome we received as a family. The congregation made us feel as if this was our home, even before we set foot in the church. There was a sense of belonging and a sense that some of the ideas and visions that I was looking at were what they were yearning for.

"I think that even on the way home, my wife, myself and the kids knew this is where we would end up. We got a real sense of calling and just coming back to Argyll through Inveraray, it felt like coming home for me."

Called from an early age

Now resident in the Oban manse as minister of Kilmore and Oban, linked with Tiree, where he lives with wife Adele and Eva (13) and Finn (9), he has come a long way since his first experience of preaching a sermon at the age of just 16.

"Which was awful and still haunts me to this day," he confessed.

"But that just reaffirmed that sense of calling for me. That came about because one of the caretakers at my school, who was a really devout Christian, asked if I would say a few words at his church about faith from a young person's perspective. That was the first time that someone had really affirmed that there was something there."

His ministry ambitions were put on hold as he decided he needed more life experience before he embarked on a career in ministry, so he returned to Scotland to study at the University of Paisley, which led on to an almost two-decade career in various roles in the care sector.

Life was good. He was married, with a good job, a home and a family, but still that call to ministry was there in the background.

"I realised I wasn't happy and there was something missing, so I told my wife I was going to apply for ministry," Mr MacCallum recalled.

"It was a huge leap of faith, to jump into the unknown and become a student again with two young kids depending on you, but throughout the training process, God always provided, and not just financially. There have been answers to prayers in many different ways.

"It was about having that bravery and willingness to acknowledge it. And, when you do acknowledge it, you are just letting God take control. Once you do that, you realise that God will open doors for you and it's up to you to step through them."

An Island parish

Mr MacCallum's charge also includes the island of Tiree, a four-hour ferry ride from the mainland, which brings unique challenges of its own.

"This is new for Tiree because they had ministers on the island in the past, so it is about trying to be creative in our ministry there. That is probably one of the hardest parts of the role, to be honest, especially at those times when you can't be there if somebody is passing away," he said.

"My parish assistant, Emily D'Silva, and I now each go out once a month to lead worship on a Sunday and the congregation themselves lead worship with our support. We are also setting up a livestream so they never have to just watch a recording and always get something more live and interactive.

"Tiree is undergoing a real time of change and we are really trying to get the community involved in the future of the church. It is an island with a rich faith, and we don't want to lose that.

"The question is how to nurture it."

‘A wonderful challenge'

Nine months into his first charge as parish minister, he admits there have been challenges, but he would not have it any other way.

"It has been a fantastic nine months," he said.

"I have been blown away by the people who have been returning to church, the new people coming along and who keep coming back.

"Church attendances have grown significantly and our young ministry has developed. I now have about 25 kids who come along.

"I take no credit for that. You are just preaching the Gospel and trusting God to do the rest, feeling called to do what you are called to do, and having a bit of fun with it as well.

"It's a wonderful challenge. It's something different every day and I wouldn't even call it a job. It's something you are called to and I feel very fortunate, blessed and lucky to have the opportunity to be in parish ministry and also to be a parish minister across the charges I am in."

Read more on our Talking Ministry page.