‘The real deal’

WHEN I was a young journalist in Edinburgh in the 1960s, the question of who would be Moderator of the Kirk’s General Assembly commanded many column inches.

With well over a million signed-up adult members, the Kirk was a force in the land. Some newspapers would send two or three reporters - at least one of whom would be a specialist in religious affairs - to cover the Church of Scotland’s General Assembly. There would be early morning queues for places in the public galleries on the day when the church and nation report was presented, and eloquent giants like George MacLeod and Professor James Pitt-Watson strode to the rostrum to denounce or defend the nuclear bomb. Senior politicians turned up to watch debates; the Kirk’s deliberations on Africa, for instance, had political influence.

Does this mean that the person chosen to be Moderator is of no interest these days? I think not. It all depends on who is chosen, and what skills or experience he or she brings to the table.

The Kirk’s next Moderator-to-be is a case in point. Full disclosure: Jim Wallace is a friend of mine of many years’ standing. In fact, I nominated Jim - Lord Wallace of Tankerness - for the job. What does Jim bring to the table? He is a distinguished public servant with a well-deserved reputation for integrity. Jim’s ability to work with people of various persuasions mark him out as a reconciler who gets things done. His values and convictions are deeply rooted in the Christian faith. He is also well supported by his wife Rosie, an accomplished novelist.

In these troubled times, when public debate tends to be more fractious than fruitful, Lord Wallace has the skills, the experience and the commitment to be an outstanding Moderator. When I was minister of St Magnus Cathedral, Jim was a member of the Kirk Session. His wisdom and his measured temperament were much in evidence. I witnessed this close up time again: Jim Wallace is the real deal. Even when he was deeply immersed in matters of state as Deputy First Minister of Scotland, his concern for his elder’s district was much in evidence.

On the national front, Jim will make his mark. His abilities as a reconciling statesman - seen to great effect in the build up towards the establishment of a devolved parliament in Scotland - may yet be called upon on a wider front; his eirenic, collaborative commitment to respectful dialogue may help to set a more helpful tone in public discussion in times of passionate disagreement.

I look forward to seeing how all this plays out, but I will do so from the sidelines. I have committed myself to a writing project that is daunting in scale and demanding in terms of energy. Not only that, I feel I have been writing columns for Life and Work since the Middle Ages, and a fresh challenge is welcome.

“What does Jim bring to the table? He is a distinguished public servant with a well-deserved reputation for integrity. Jim’s ability to work with people of various persuasions mark him out as a reconciler who gets things done. His values and convictions are deeply rooted in the Christian faith.

It has been a pleasure to work for the magazine; my grateful thanks are due to Lynne McNeil and Thomas Baldwin, two splendid editors. My thanks are also due to Life and Work’s readers over the years.

A Scottish Magazines’ Columnist of the Year, Ron Ferguson was awarded an honorary doctorate by Glasgow Caledonian University for services to journalism.

This article appears in the January 2021 Issue of Life and Work

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