Showing love in action from pitch to pulpit

For probationer minister Dawn Westwood, sharing the message of God's love can be shared in a sports kit just as naturally as in a clerical collar.

Dawn, who is currently completing her probationary period at Kirkton Parish Church in Carluke prior to qualifying as a full-time minister of Word and Sacrament, is also chaplain to Livingston Women FC.

Dawn, who also has a family interest in women's football thanks to her goalkeeper daughter, is in her second season with the club, thanks to Sports Chaplaincy Scotland, and loving being a part of the team and "a very special ministry".

Speaking as part of the Church of Scotland's monthly Talking Ministry feature, Dawn explained: "They give their heart and soul to what they do and they are just an absolute joy."

That is a lesson she took from her own family, growing up as part of Whitburn South Parish Church where both her parents are elders.

"I was always aware of God in my life as I saw God's love in action through my parents and in my grandparents," Dawn said.

"They love God and love people and that is something that I have carried with me throughout my life and now into my ministry."

Ministry is something she thought about as early as her teens, but instead Dawn followed a career in nursing, acquiring skills and experience she now brings to her pastoral role within the Church of Scotland.

Completing the circle

However, she was conscious that in a nursing environment, there were restrictions on how much she could share her faith.

So, when her minister suggested she look at ministry, she went along to the Church of Scotland's enquirers' conference.

"I had a look around, but nothing really stuck with me until I came to full time Word and Sacrament," Dawn recalled.

"It was actually a woman minister who was there and she just spoke so vibrantly about what she did that it felt as though that was the missing piece of the jigsaw."

However, she was unsuccessful in her initial application, something she admits she found devastating at the time, but instead of giving up, she went on to become a ministerial assistant at Palmerston Place Church in Edinburgh with Very Rev Colin Sinclair, laying the ground for a successful re-application.

"It was a great experience because it gave an insight into pastoral work and living ministry, which is obviously not an experience I'd had," she said.

"That was definitely a formative time."

Dawn studied for her theology degree through Highland Theological College, part of the University of the Highlands and Islands, a period which coincided with the Covid-19 pandemic and saw Dawn and her children, Logan (15), Eilidh (13), and Sophie (8), all studying at home at the same time while her husband Graham "was having to hold everything together".

"It was busy at times, but we survived!" Dawn laughed.

She also gained practical experience with placements at Boghall Bathgate and St Mary's Parish Church in Motherwell, as well as Greyfriars Lanark.

"The biggest thing I learned from my training was that God has called me into ministry as myself and not to fit a mould of what I think ministry should be," she said.

"You learn a lot about yourself during the process and realise that perhaps you have gifts that you didn't think you had and what a privilege it is to come alongside folk and hear their stories. I don't think we should underestimate that. There's nothing else like it."

A different person

Unlike most probationary ministers within the Church of Scotland, as someone serving in a vacant charge, Dawn is not under the direct supervision of an experienced minister, but she and her supervisor, Rev Bryan Kerr, remain in regular contact, leaving her feeling supported, but also free to try new things with the support of the congregation.

Her probationary period comes to an end this autumn, and as Dawn looks forward to the next stage of her ministry career, she can look back and see how far she has come.

"I'm a different person from when I started in lots of ways. You can definitely see the formation that has taken place through the journey and the way that God has shaped you," Dawn said.

"I love all the joys and the challenges of ministry, but the real privilege of ministry is God's call to go and make disciples.

"That call is so exciting and makes each day new as we encounter people in our daily lives and are reminded that Jesus met each person for who they were and that we are called to do the same."

You can read the full interview on our Talking Ministry page.