Ministry Team
The complement for the
Ministry Team for Camelon Parish Church is three. Currently there are two
full-time members in post: the minister, the Rev Stuart Sharp, and the Parish
Assistant, Ms Margaret Corrie. We are currently seeking to appoint
an associate minister, but in the interim Andrew Sarle assists part-time
as a Reader attached.
Stuart Sharp first saw the light of day in Dundee a few days before Christmas 1963 and lived a normal, happy Dundee childhood attending Dens Road Primary School and Morgan Academy. He enjoyed football and music and was a member of the local Scout Troop. Church played little, if any part of Stuart's boyhood. This changed at the age of fifteen when he met Karen who introduced him to her church, Menzieshill and its minister Rev Stan Brook. Over the next few years their life in the church and their own relationship blossomed with Stuart being ordained as an elder shortly after his 21st birthday and Karen becoming Mrs Sharp shortly before this! Together they worked within the Church both being particularly interested in working with young people. Their interest in young people came nearer to home with the birth of Andrew in 1985 followed by Alisdair in 1987, Matthew in 1990 and Callum in 1992.
When Stuart left School at the end of fifth year he worked for a short time in Wm Low supermarket but left to take up a traineeship with Dundee District Council. He remained with the Council until he left in 1994 as the Senior Maintenance Officer in the Housing Department. Life was not all work and family for Stuart, combining his interests in music and football he started and played for Menzieshill United. Initially an informal church club it developed into a team that played in the local Saturday league and Stuart played with them until he left for Falkirk. On the music scene Stuart played guitar in an ad hoc group that performed around the local churches and social events.
Shortly after the birth of Callum, Stuart started to pay serious attention to the suggestions of friends that he should consider entering the ministry. At first he did not consider such a step as being compatible with his role as a family man and senior council official with the distinct possibility of a major promotion in the foreseeable future. However he was becoming aware that he was not obtaining fulfillment in his chosen career. He discussed this with Karen who gave him every support and even expressed her view that it had taken him so long to reach this point! Like many people faced with a similar dilemma he set himself a number of "rules". He would have one attempt at the selection school. When in the Autumn of 1994 Stuart was one of only two candidates that was accepted from the selection school he set himself another barrier. He would only study for the ministry if he was accepted by St. Mary's College at St. Andrews University. When he gained a place there he knew that there would not be any more barriers! After four years of study he gained a 2.1 degree as Master of Theology and was accepted as a probationer at Mains Church in Dundee. In discussing his time at university Stuart glossed over the difficulties of being a student with a wife and four young children to support but referred to Karen's wonderful support during that time. Everyone at Menzieshill was thrilled that he had opted for the ministry but some of his wider family found his decision difficult to understand. Leaving a secure well paid job with considerable prospects is a step not easily understood in Dundee.
After completing his
probation Stuart answered the call from Camelon St. John's and was appointed as
sole nominee in December 2000. He was inducted on St Valentine's Day 2001 when
Rev. Andrew Donald, our Interim Moderator, preached. The following Sunday he was
preached in by the man who originally inspired him to join the Church, Rev. Stan
Brook who is currently the incumbent at
What of the future?
Following the relatively smooth
o
Building a church – the redevelopment
of the
o
Building a team – the Basis of Union
saw the need for a Ministry Team and the search continues for the right person
to come and share in the work of
o
Building a people of God – the work
goes on strengthening the congregation through the preaching of the word of God
and exploring new ways of worship and involvement which will give people the
opportunity to share their gifts with the church and the community. This is a
work that never can be really completed and is handed on to each successive
ministry as was handed on to the present one.
We welcome people who
want to share in this journey of faith and life even if it is only for a short
time or many years. Stuart looks forward to serving all of the people of
Over the past eight years Margaret Corrie has become a familiar figure in Camelon as she carried out her work as the Deaconess at St John's Church and now in the newly constituted Camelon Parish Church. Margaret is originally from Kilmarnock and worked in various jobs before in 1986 going for two years to St Colm's College in Edinburgh to train as a deaconess. Margaret had been actively involved in her local church, St Ninian's Bellfield, for a few years before going to St Colm's.
Margaret's first appointment in 1988 was at Priesthill & Nitshill Parish Church in Glasgow where she remained for two years. Margaret then moved on to work in East Kilbride at Claremont Parish Church, remaining there until she moved to work at Camelon St John's in November 1998.
Although Margaret's work also involves the many aspects of church life and ministry pastoral care has been the emphasis of Margaret's work in all the parishes that she has worked in. As far as the union is concerned she looks forward to the challenge and to meeting and working with a new group of people. One thing is for certain, the coming year will be a busy one!
Since August 2004, Andrew
Sarle has been working as Reader attached to the Ministry Team as Pastoral
Assistant. Falkirk Presbytery placed
him in Camelon Parish to ease some of the burdens that the lack of an Associate
Minster placed on Stuart and Margaret.
Andrew worked as a Maths
teacher at Falkirk High School until 2001, when he started to study for a
theology degree at Edinburgh University.
He graduated with an honours BD in 2006, majoring in New Testament
Studies. He also works part-time for
CAIRS, the Churches’ Agency for Inter Faith Relations in Scotland, as Inter
Faith Education Officer. CAIRS’ task is
to encourage Church members to engage in dialogue with people of other
religions.
The duties that Andrew
undertakes for Camelon Parish Church include
·
Sharing in the visiting
of members of the congregation at home and in hospital
·
Sharing in the
conducting of funerals
·
Acting as chaplain to
Easter Carmuirs Primary School
·
Co-ordinating the
Traidcraft stall
·
Leading worship most
Sundays at Muiravonside Parish Church, where Stuart is Interim Moderator during
their vacancy.
Andrew is an additional
Presbytery Elder, serving on the Ecumenical Relations Committee and Ministries
Committee. In that committee he has
been delegated responsibility for the Presbytery Readers’ Forum.
