I see that another respected pastor from the British Isles is once again being called to serve a church in the Philadelphia area — a tradition as old as American Presbyterianism that seems to be regaining some small measure of renewed popularity.

I speak, of course, of the Rev. Dr. William (Liam) Goligher who is the candidate to fill the vacant head of staff position at Tenth Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia.  TE Goligher is a native of Glasgow, and in addition to college there holds degrees from the Irish Baptist Theological College and Reformed Theological Seminary.  He is presently the head of staff at Duke Street (isn’t there a song by that name?) Church in London.  His impressive resume, training and theological perspectives are on display in the nice booklet the search committee has produced.  Expecting that the committee has done its work and that Rev. Goligher is called and approved by the presbytery, we wish him and his family, and Tenth, well with the pastoral relationship.

As students of American Presbyterianism can probably figure out from the title and intro, this reminds me of the colonial days, and even a bit after, when Presbyterianism was gaining a foothold on these shores and the growth was fueled by Scottish, English and Irish/Scots-Irish pastors, particularly in the Mid-Atlantic region.  Pastors such as Francis Makemie, William Tennent, Samuel and James Finley, and last but not least, John Witherspoon.  These gentlemen brought with them their experience, tradition, knowledge, formal theological training, and sometimes, as in the case of Witherspoon, their reputation.  In this list James Finley is a bit of an exception since the family immigrated when he was in his youth and his training was in the less formal setting of the colonies.

What I have found interesting in our modern setting is the renewed occasional, but high-profile, calling of ministers from Scotland.  In addition to the Rev. Goligher, recent relocations near Philadelphia also include the current President of Princeton Theological Seminary, the Rev. Iain Torrance , and at the southern end of the Mid-Atlantic region, the Rev. Richard Gibbons who took over as head of staff at First Presbyterian Church, Greenville, SC, in 2007.

I should note that while I referred to this as a “renewed” trend, I have not done a systematic search of pastoral calls in American Presbyterianism to verify this statement.  This low level of activity could easily be present throughout the history of the American church and I have just not read the right sources yet.  (Feel free to point me to sources on this.)  And as an argument to the contrary, one of the Presbyterian ministers that married my wife and I was born and educated in England, so the intervening period is not devoid of examples.

Maybe the more interesting question here is why.  Is this just the usual variation that would be found in the standard hiring process or a renewed interest in clergy with European backgrounds?  I don’t know but it seems that the same reasons don’t necessarily apply now as they did in colonial times.  As least in terms of education it is not unusual to see foreign clergy and students taking advantage of American institutions the same way that individuals from these shores look for a change of scenery, educational philosophy and perspective at schools overseas.  I will leave this as an open question, and maybe it needs to be considered on a case-by-case basis.

So, an observation that I find interesting, but one that may not actually be valid or relevant.  Having now been alerted to this in current pastoral calls I’ll keep an eye out in my future reading on church history and try to see if it is a continuing tradition or a renewed trend.