In the first part of a new series, readers are introduced to candidates for different ministries within the Church of Scotland. We shall follow their journey through training over the next two to three years.

Amy-Louise Scott is studying to be a fulltime Minister of Word and Sacrament.

“The last time I wrote a piece for Life and Work, it was for the magazine’s Youth column.

“I had just been ordained as an Elder and my son, Ruaridh, was then aged two. If you had told me that five years later, I’d be writing as a candidate for ministry, I would have laughed.

“Yet here I am!

“I first started considering training for ministry in summer 2022 but I had had a turbulent two years and was sure it was not the right time. By March 2023, I could not ignore the niggle anymore and started to speak to a few people about my sense of calling. To my immense surprise, no one laughed or thought it was a ridiculous idea, and so I started a period of discernment that summer and was accepted at National Assessment Conference in March 2024.

“At the end of August, I left teaching to start studying at Highland Theological College and at the end of September, I said farewell to my home church in Arbroath to start placement at Stobswell Trinity Church in Dundee. It was a time of real mixed emotions: I was sad to be leaving a job and church that I loved but was certain that God was calling me to something new and looking forward to starting a new adventure.

“It has been a strange few months – our day-to-day routine has changed massively, returning to studying was a bit of a shock to the system and there has been a lot of getting to know new people.

“But I don’t think there has been a day when I’ve questioned my choice.

“I am more certain than I’ve ever been that this is what God has called me to and I’m excited to see where the next five years takes me.”

Robert Thomson is studying to be a fulltime Minister of Word and Sacrament.

“I’m 38 and from Linwood, a working-class town famously mentioned in the Proclaimers’ song Letter from America. The song describes it as a place, where people are ‘no more’, and indeed, Linwood never truly recovered from the local car factory closure – stripping the community of purpose, pride and direction. Those who could, left for greener pastures – I myself now live one village over (and a world away) in Houston with my wife and one-yearold daughter.

“I grew up an atheist and sceptical of faith. However, shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic, I inherited a Bible. Out of curiosity, I read it, starting with the Gospel according to St Matthew. Upon finishing that Gospel book, I had become a Christian and the Great Commission had struck a chord deep within me.

“I almost immediately began work as Mission Pioneer, then Youth Pastor in Irvine before following the call into full-time ministry training. Now in my second year of university I have completed one of three required placements. My first was with the Rev Teri Peterson at St John’s in Gourock, which I loved. I truly felt God’s presence, especially when my daughter was born and faced challenges gaining weight. The support I received from my placement congregation was nothing short of incredible.

“I am confident in the future of our Church. I see a bold, missional ministry sharing the Gospel with all – especially those who feel left behind, forgotten, or ‘no more’. The same Proclaimers song that declares the death of towns like mine also holds a challenge for us: We should have held you; we should have told you; but you know our sense of timing; we always wait too long. As a Church, we must not wait too long. The time for action is now. ¤