This morning the nominating committee announced the Moderator Designate for the 2010 General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.  I would like to congratulate the Rev. John Cairns Christie on receiving this honor.

Rev. Christie is a native of Glasgow and is a second career minister having a first career as a teacher with training in biology.  He holds the highest professional certification of Chartered Biologist from the Society of Biology.  After nearly two decades in education he was ordained to the ministry in 1990 and his early service included work as a school chaplain.  He has also served as convener of the Glasgow Presbytery Education Committee, among others.  Since 2004 he has been serving in Interim Ministry and currently serves at St Andrew’s Parish Church, West Kilbride and some times at Scots Kirk, Lausanne, Switzerland.  (And I thought I had an interesting commute. )  The Rev. Christie appears to have plenty of activity in his life having served on several GA committees, recreational activity that includes 5-a-side football, and his wife Annette is on the international team for the Scottish Indoor Bowling Association.

The Church of Scotland has an official press release of the announcement and so far the media appears to be using the info in the press release.  I’ll update here when more detailed stories or interviews have been published.

UPDATE: I was glad that we still have an insider view of the process thanks to the Rev. Ian Watson at Kirkmuirhill.

UPDATE: An interesting editorial in The Times about The Kirk needing to have a Moderator for longer than one year so they can “make a mark.”