Today the Church of Scotland announced that the moderator designate for the next General Assembly will be the the Rev. David Arnott.

Following his training at St. Andrews University and the University of Edinburgh, Rev. Arnott served his probationary placement in Greenock and was ordained to Stobhill Parish Church in Gorebridge (now part of Gorebridge Parish Church ).  After six years there he was called to Netherlee Parish Church, Glasgow, and then Hope Park, St. Andrews. While in Glasgow he served two years as a part-time chaplain at Her Majesty’s Prison Barlinnie. (It is Scotland’s largest prison and a bit infamous, as noted in this article from 2000 about a reported closure that did not happen, but the prison was extensively renovated soon after.)

Rev. Arnott also has rendered extensive service to the Kirk.  As Convener of the Glasgow Presbytery Business Committee he helped restructure the presbytery’s committee structure. While in St. Andrews Presbytery he served as a chaplain to a hospital and two schools, in addition to presbytery service as the convener of two committees and the Moderator of Presbytery in 2007.  He also has extended service on various national church committees.

The Kirk press release gives more details and there is a BBC article and an AllMediaScotland release that both closely follow the official press release.   UPDATE: No sooner had I posted here than Davidkhr’s post appeared on his blog with a little reflection on whether this was the right choice for the church or a “safe” choice.

As we anticipate a General Assembly meeting with some controversial topics, the Rev. Arnott has both my congratulations on being selected as Moderator designate and my prayers for his skill and wisdom guiding the meeting and for his year visiting around the Kirk.