Serving the needs of the city brought minister full circle

Experience of city ministry at both ends of his church career have reinforced a belief in the power of the Church and its members to make a positive difference in society.

Interviewed for the Church of Scotland's monthly Talking Ministry series, Rev Melvyn Wood says that working with one of Glasgow's biggest foodbanks showed how the Church can continue to play a key role in serving society.

"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," he said.

Originally from the small Aberdeenshire town of Portsoy, where he has returned to live after retiring as a full-time minister of Word and Sacrament last year, he began his Church of Scotland career in the big city with a two-year placement as an assistant minister at Crown Court Church in London.

"London was a great experience," Mr Wood said of his time at one of the Kirk's best-known UK capital outposts.

"One previous Crown Court minister described it as preaching to a procession because a lot of people came and went quite regularly. 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 between, Mr Wood's career took him to a diverse range of parishes, from his first charge at busy Clark Memorial Church in Largs, then back to Aberdeenshire for another seaside parish, but one with quite a different character in Cullen and Deskford, then moving to landlocked Switzerland for four years at the Scots Kirk, Lausanne.

But eventually his ministry came full circle and his final ministry was at Blawarthill, linked with St Columba's Gaelic Church, which serves an area of north west Glasgow where there are a number of social deprivation issues.

Putting Gospel teaching into practice

Fortunately, when Mr Wood arrived to take on the role of minister in March 2009, he found a congregation which was more than willing to support their community.

Mr Wood said: "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."

One example of good practice was in ensuring that those using the foodbank never felt patronised or embarrassed.

"Every effort is made to make the clients feel comfortable," Mr Wood said.

"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."

The Glasgow North West Foodbank was not just well used, it was also well supported with a waiting list for volunteers.

Many of those volunteers were church-going Christians, though not necessarily from the Blawarthill congregation. However, many others were not.

"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," Mr Wood said.

"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."

Society, communities and the Church itself have changed in the four decades since Mr Wood became a minister, and the Kirk may not have the widespread respect with which it was once held, but Mr Wood's experiences during his 15 years at Blawarthill have reinforced his belief that the Church, and its ministers, are still very much needed in Scottish society.

Mr Wood commented: "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."

Read the full interview on our Talking Ministry page.