Kirk names Moderator Designate for 2018-19

Rev Susan Brown, minister of Dornoch Cathedral, will step into the 12-month role next May.

The 58-year-old says she is “deeply moved and honoured” to be chosen as the Church of Scotland’s ambassador for 2018-19.

Mrs Brown said: “Being Moderator will not be about what I can do, but about what God wants to do.

“I am conscious that it is both a great privilege and a great responsibility - one I can only undertake at God’s prompting.”

Rev Dr George Whyte, Principal Clerk of the Church of Scotland, welcomed Mrs Brown’s appointment.

He said: “I was delighted to hear of Susan’s nomination. She brings great personal qualities and a wide range of ministerial, community and family experience to the post. I look forward to working with her throughout the year.”

50 Years of Women in Ministry

Mrs Brown will take up the role of Moderator 50 years after the first woman was ordained to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament.

“I’m grateful to all those who paved the way for me and other women to follow a calling to ministry,” she said.

“In my mid-teens when I first felt God was asking me to serve him through parish ministry, I had never met or even heard of a minister who was a woman.

“My mother tried to discourage me at first, telling me I was too short to be a minister, (just under 5 feet) but today at 93, she is extremely proud.”

Mrs Brown was the first woman to serve in both Ross and Sutherland Presbyteries and the first woman to be Moderator of both.

“Along the way I have been faced with some people who find it difficult to accept a woman minister, but my belief is that everyone has their own story and I just let people have their stories as I get on with my story.

“I am passionate about being a minister and I happen to be a woman.”