Changing church suits second generation minister Louise

With her lifelong involvement in the Church, Louise Purden was used to being asked if she would follow in her father's footsteps and become a Minister of the Church of Scotland.

Her answer was always a very clear no.

"I found the institution of the Church off-putting and found more freedom outside the Church," she admits in this month's Talking Ministry feature.

Yet she could not resist the call and, as Rev Louise Purden, she has become the second generation of her family to become a parish minister, serving the Midlothian town of Bonnyrigg.

While this might reflect a change in her attitude to the Church of Scotland – a church she has always loved, she points out – she also believes it points to a change in the Kirk itself.

"It has been really interesting in the time since my ordination to see us really thinking about how we do things outside the Church," Mrs Purden said.

"It feels like the right time to be coming into the Church with all the changes and having to re-think things. It's a good fit now."

Though the daughter of a minister, Mrs Purden is not quite "a child of the manse". Her father, Rev John McPake, began training for the ministry following a career with BT and then going on to serve as minister at Edinburgh's Liberton Northfield Church for 13 years.

Having both father and daughter "in the job" has made them even closer, Mrs Purden believes, even though their approaches to ministry may be very different.

"My father has been hands off, but I mean that in a good way," Mrs Purden said.

"He has very much allowed me to carve out my own story and my own approach. We are very different in our styles and opinions, and he has always been very supportive of letting me be me."

Lockdown lessons

Mrs Purden studied at New College in Edinburgh, juggling the demands of a theology degree with caring for two young children, Ryan and Christina, with the help of her journalist husband Richard, then going on to complete her probation under Rev Keith Mack at St John's and King's Park Church in Dalkeith.

However, the challenge of studying for the ministry was soon followed by an unexpected challenge that everyone was to face just a month after she was ordained as minister at Bonnyrigg as the country went into lockdown in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"But that was actually very encouraging because I started in the job thinking ‘I have no idea what I'm doing' and I was seeing ministers who had been in post for 30 years in the same position, so it was a great leveller in that we all just muddled through," she said.

There were frustrations. As a new minister, she felt she had not had a chance to get to know the congregation or where the greatest needs were, but lockdown brought opportunities as well.

"We were able to get screens and cameras installed in the church and there was an adjustment and a moving forward that would have maybe taken a lot longer had it not been for Covid," Mrs Purden added.

"Obviously, the big lesson for all the churches was that the Church is not a building. Then, when we were able to run services, there was a very clear awareness that the Church is not a service either. I will never forget seeing people filing in, sitting apart from each other, and filing out again and knowing that this was not what we were about either."

A role in the community

Four years on, she is thoroughly involved in the growing and busy community of Bonnyrigg, a place that suits all the family.

It has also brought opportunities to work with other agencies and other churches. Bonnyrigg Parish Church has partnered with neighbouring congregations to employ a youth worker, a role Mrs Purden is well equipped to support given her own background as a family support, youth and community worker before she trained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament.

The churches have also joined forces in other community initiatives, such as Toasty Tuesdays to help feed the pupils of Lasswade High School, or the Friday Pop Up Pantry. Offering food for all at reduced prices.

Mrs Purden said: "All the local churches are involved with that, and we are passionate about partnership and building the Kingdom, not building up one particular church or denomination.

"We are passionate about inter-agency work of all kinds. We are realising more and more, as funding and resources are depleting, the importance of working together.

"The Church is in a very important position where we can and should be rising up. In the past, we have trailblazed in medicine and education and the Church has been so relevant, but more recently we have not quite known where to fit in, so this could be a great opportunity."

The delight of diversity

It is this variety to parish ministry, extending beyond the walls of the kirk and the confines of a Sunday morning service, that she finds so rewarding.

"Ministry is a good fit for me because I get bored really easily and so I love the variety and having the honour of leading people through their faith when you are taking a funeral and then having the privilege of seeing new parents and supporting them and then choosing what songs we are going to sing for worship on a Sunday," she said.

"Having each day be so different is just a delight."

You can read the full interview with Rev Louise Purden on our Talking Ministry page.