New chaplains to Queen appointed

Four Church of Scotland ministers have been appointed as Royal Chaplains.

It was announced in separate statements in May and June that the Rev Dr Grant Barclay, the Rev Dr Marjory MacLean, the Rev Professor John Swinton and the Rev Moira McDonald were to formally join the Ecclesiastical Household as Chaplains in Ordinary.

All four said they were ‘honoured’ to be invited to take on the role.

Dr Barclay, who has ministered in Kilmarnock and Giffnock, is currently Interim Clerk to the Presbytery of Glasgow and convener of the General Assembly’s Legal Questions Committee. He said:

"I am honoured to be invited to serve as Chaplain to the Queen in Scotland and am humbled to stand in a tradition of Christian service to the monarch which has continued for nearly 600 years.”

Dr MacLean is the minister at South Ronaldsay and Burray Parish Church in Orkney, a former Royal Reserve Naval Chaplain who served in Afghanistan in 2010, and now convener of the Committee on Chaplains to Her Majesty’s Armed Forces. She was the Depute Clerk of the General Assembly from 1996-2010 and served as acting Principal Clerk in 2002, 2003 and 2009.

She said: "The service of our national life by the national Church has always been important to me, so to be asked to join the Chapel Royal is not only an honour but an opportunity to be useful in a new way. It is lovely to have this small new aspect of ministry alongside my parish role."

It is lovely to have this small new aspect of ministry alongside my parish role.

Professor Swinton is an eminent pastoral theologian, particularly in the areas of disability and healthcare, and the current Chair in Divinity and Religious Studies at the University of Aberdeen.

A former nurse in the fields of mental health and learning disabilities, he now sits on the disabilities sub-group of the Church of Scotland's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion group. He also worked for a number of years as a hospital chaplain.

He said: "It is a tremendous honour to be invited to take up this role.

"In these difficult times the role of chaplaincy and ministry is vital, and it will be a pleasure to be a part of this aspect of God's work."

Mrs McDonald is the minister of Corstorphine Old Parish Church in Edinburgh. She said: “The things of life where I thought I would be out of my depth have been the happiest and most fulfilling times I could have asked for.

So here is another call – or a nudge – to do something that feels daunting.

“But that the few people whose counsel I’ve sought have all said ‘go for it’ says to me that I should stop worrying about being out of my comfort zone, and enjoy the adventure.”

There are 10 Chaplains-in-Ordinary in the Ecclesiastical Household in Scotland, in addition to the Dean of the Chapel Royal and the ministers of Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh and Crathie Kirk near Balmoral. All chaplains are personally chosen by the Monarch. ¤