Written by: Samuel H Lamarti
Published by: Handsel Press
Price: £10
Many people overcome adversity to achieve their goals and dreams. But for Sam Lamarti, listening to the small still voice that questioned his life and called him to a life of vocation meant giving up his faith, homeland and family, leading to near destitution, a move to unfamiliar lands, personal successes – and failure – and ultimately (perhaps against the odds) becoming the first Arab minister with a Muslim background to enter the ministry of the Church of Scotland.
It is a moving and honest account that deserves to be read, not only to give a greater understanding of Muslim life in north Africa – and of the price to be paid for following a different path, but also as a searingly honest account of parish life: he will be forever haunted by a decision to follow the rules and regulations and not baptise a baby – with the same mother asking him to conduct the infant’s funeral a week later. It was a harsh, but moving lesson and one he has never forgotten – but is one that it was important to share, along with the indelible emotional impact.
There are many highs and lows in the book – the death of his mother as a child, childhood illness and the account of the unexpected death of his second wife after only seven years of happy marriage and manse life are particular low points – but it is an account of a life well lived and an example of how a call to Christianity is not always comfortable or easy. It is not a self-indulgent work, but rather seeks to share the lessons learned and life experience of one who has overcome incredible adversity to fulfil a call to service.
By the end of the book, the author feels like a good friend, who has shared the wisdom of his experience and service to the Church before retirement in 2006 – but not before earning a doctorate from the University of Glasgow simply to honour his last congregation in Stewarton, Ayrshire.
The book is endorsed by the retiring Principal Clerk of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (and Moderator in 2014/15), the Very Rev Dr John Chalmers, a contemporary of Sam’s as they studied divinity together at Trinity College at the University of Glasgow. Commending the book, Dr Chalmers writes: “The reader will enjoy pithy wisdom and sayings collected from all over the literary world; but mainly they will be rewarded with an insight into what it is like to have come from another culture, and perhaps come to appreciate the need to be more generous and more gracious in accepting of the stranger in our midst.”