The Reverend Charles Angus MacLeod CF
Minister Elect
Dear Friends,
It was with great pleasure that I was able to announce to a combined Kirk Session meeting on the afternoon of Sunday 6 November 2011, that following a secret ballot conducted in Newcastle St Andrew's the previous week and in St Columba's that day, that the Reverend Charles Angus MacLeod has been nominated as the New Minister to the linked charge and has indicated his acceptance of the election. We now only await the formal acceptance of this by the Presbytery of England and then will be able with Angus to make progress towards him leaving his current Army service and being inducted to St Columba's. This is extremely good news for both congregations and I know that Angus will serve you well as your new minister.
As one of my Army Chaplaincy colleagues I have known Angus for 15 years and he comes to you highly recommended. He is an experienced minister who has many gifts both as a keen sportsman, as a Spiritual Director and most recently as a new Dad. He is very much a team player and I feel sure he will do all that he can to get to know everyone associated with Newcastle St Andrew's and London St Columba's and will lead the charge to a new and an exciting future.
The nomination and subsequent election of Angus has only been possible thanks to the hard work and dedication of two Nominating Committees representing both congregations who have diligently travelled the length and breadth of the land in pursuit of the right person to be the new minister. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to publicly thank both Nominating Committees for their endeavours and for this successful result. Their duty is now complete and the Nominating Committee is subsequently discharged.
It is significant perhaps in the life of this prestigious and influential charge and in the life of the MacLeod family that this appointment should be made in the month of Remembrance. Military Chaplains are in heavy demand and today a team of chaplains representing the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force and the Army are deployed on current operations supporting the Sailor, the Soldier and the Air Force Personnel. Their reputation has never been higher and their service unequalled as they strive to deliver spiritual needs, pastoral care and moral guidance to those in their care. It is demanding and rewarding and we should remember all chaplains and their families in our prayers especially at this Remembrance time.
London St Columba's linked with Newcastle St Andrew's is about to enter a new phase in the life of the Church with the ministry of the Reverend Angus MacLeod. Please continue to pray for Angus, his wife Liz and their daughter Olivia as they prepare to extract themselves from one ministerial field of battle and embark upon a new and exciting horizon.
With best wishes
Reverend Dr David Coulter
Interim Moderator
Angus MacLeod was ordained as a Church of Scotland minister in 1996 and has been serving as a chaplain in the British Army since then. He has served with the King's Own Scottish Borderers, the Scots Guards and on the staff at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. He has also had operational tours in Northern Ireland and Iraq. He is currently the Chaplain to the HQ of 51 (Scottish) Brigade in Stirling. His family roots are on the Isle of Skye, though he partly grew up in Durham, in the North East of England. He studied at the University of St Andrews before travelling and working in America, London, Milan and Romania.
He returned to St Andrews to study Divinity before completing his training with churches in North Carolina and Glasgow.
He was married to Dr Liz Brutus in 2010. Liz is a Public Health doctor; she was also previously in the Army as doctor in the Royal Army Medical Corps. Her family are from London.
Their daughter Olivia was born in September 2011 and her Mum and Dad are currently discovering hours in the night they were not previously familiar with.
Click here for the Declaration of Election result and Intimation regarding Subscribing the Call.
