Former Eco-Congregation Scotland coordinator with passion for social justice ordained at Inverness church

A former coordinator of a Christian environmental charity has been ordained during a service in Inverness.

Rev Judith Macleod, who previously worked as a teacher, was ordained at Hilton Church.

Mrs Macleod, also a former coordinator of Eco-Congregation Scotland, will now be the assistant minister at St Columba Church which currently meets in Drummond School in the south of the city.

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Mrs Macleod and her husband, Calum, have a son, Keir.

Having taken up her new role, she says she is loving St Columba.

"It's a congregation with so many young folk and it's wonderful,” she said.

"The whole ethos of having a church family together, worshipping together and often eating breakfast together whilst studying the Bible is wonderful so these are definitely things I'll go into the future with.

"I do love doing things and getting people up to learn in different ways and explore different ways for people to connect with God in prayer."

The Highland Theological College graduate said that being called to ministry happened gradually.

Caring for creation will be central to Mrs Macleod's ministry.

"I do feel this is something that is part of who we are as Christians," she said.

"I spent part of my probation working alongside the Rev David Coleman on the eco-chaplaincy team at Eco-Congregation Scotland and have learned a tremendous amount from him, including learning new skills in video production and editing.

"If you look at the five marks of missions the environmental stuff really underpins everything.

"It's there very explicitly but it's involves the other parts too.

"How we care for the world around us, how we bring justice to people – all these things are very interlinked, interwoven.

"It's not just the overseas stories that we see on the news, it's about how we deal with this stuff as generations – where is the hope for all these people who are suffering from eco-anxiety?

"The hope is in God, in Christ, the idea that everything will be made new eventually.

"That message that we have can bring hope to people where it can feel hopeless, and a bit overwhelming."

Mrs Macleod said that fellow probationers were very supportive of one another.

"We've gone through the sleepless nights, and supported one another with those essays that you can't get your head around, together," she said.

Rev Scott McRoberts, the minister of St Columba, highlighted Mrs Macleod’s passion for environmental and justice issues.

He said she cared about what happened to the forgotten and the oppressed, the millions around the world she would never meet and those across the street that she had noticed and the rest had not.

"Justice matters to Judith,” he said.

“There are many who hold up placards and then forget what they were doing last week, but Judith has a constant long-term passion for justice.”

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