Glasgow is the next stop on Fiona’s wonderful adventure

Rev Fiona Morrison has embarked on her latest "wonderful adventure" in ministry – an adventure which has already taken her from the hills of Argyll and the shores of Loch Ness to the East End of Glasgow.

Ms Morrison was inducted as the new minister of the joint charge of Baillieston Mure Memorial Parish Church linked with Baillieston St Andrews in a service led by Glasgow Presbytery Moderator, Rev Roger Sturrock.

"The Induction was very special: the warmth of the welcome from the folk in both churches and presbytery was wonderful," Ms Morrison said.

"Family and friends came from near and far and were struck by the hospitality and friendliness of everyone too."

The induction service also included a sermon from Springburn minister, Rev Brian Casey, while depute presbytery clerk Rev Hilary McDougall gave the narrative while family and friends came specially to help her celebrate from as far as the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Oxfordshire, as well as Argyll, Inverness-shire and Nairn, Edinburgh and closer to home in the wider Glasgow area.

"I was very touched that so many came from far and wide to share such a special night," Ms Morrison added.

"The hardest part of ministry is leaving the folk behind who God used me to minister to. He blessed me so much in Inverness-shire with the churches he took me to. They are so much part of my journey and I continue to pray for them all.

"For the hymns, I chose ‘How Great Thou Art' as I had that at my Ordination in Urquhart and Glenmoriston Church, Drumnadrochit in 2019 and ‘Not I But Through Christ In Me', as that sums up my ministry: it is all about Jesus and I am a mixture of the old and the new!"

A varied start to ministry

With a background in education, where she worked as a special education needs assistant in a primary school and in adult education for people with learning difficulties, Ms Morrison studied for the ministry via distance learning at Highland Theological College UHI (University of the Highlands and Islands). She then trained as an Ordained Local Minister (OLM) in Argyll at Oban and Benderloch and North Connel, before completing her probationary year at Drumnadrochit by the side of Loch Ness, where she spent her first year of ministry.

She remained in the Inverness area to work alongside Rev Scott McRoberts, the parish minister at the New Charge of St Columba in the south of the city, before transferring to parish ministry and spending six months at fellow Highland capital church Ness Bank with Rev Fiona Smith, now the Principal Clerk to the General Assembly. This was followed by a 15-month period as interim moderator and full-time locum minister at Ardersier and Petty to the east of the city.

"While waiting for a charge, I covered at Nairn Old Parish Church while the minister was off sick, so God has given me a very varied start to ministry, which has been fantastic," Ms Morrison added.

Ms Morrison is now looking forward to more fantastic new experiences at Baillieston.

"God's next wonderful adventure has taken me to Mure Memorial church at Garrowhill and St Andrews's at Baillieston," she stated.

"God has given me a strong call to community, so I am so looking forward to taking Jesus' love, light and hope out into the local communities in the parish, learning and growing ever closer to Jesus with the congregations, working with other local ministers, partnering with groups and joining in with what God is already doing.

"Exciting times!"