John Chalmers (moderator)

John Chalmers, QHC is a minister of the Church of Scotland. Since 2010, he has served as the Principal Clerk to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. In 2014, following the withdrawal of Angus Morrison on health grounds,^[1] he was nominated to be Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland for 2014-15;^[2] he was duly formally elected as Moderator on the first day of the General Assembly's week-long annual session. He succeeded Lorna Hood as Moderator. After serving his one year term, he was succeeded by Angus Morrison. He is an Honorary Chaplain to the Queen

Background

Born in Bothwell, Lanarkshire, John Chalmers studied chemical engineering at the University of Strathclyde before transferring to the University of Glasgow to study divinity. He is married to Liz; they have three children. In 2011, during the General Assembly, his youngest son John James was severely injured whilst serving with the Royal Marines in Afghanistan.

Career

His first charge as a parish minister was at Renton Parish Church, Dunbartonshire, followed by Palmerston Place Church in Edinburgh (1986-1995).^[3] Since 1995 he has worked full-time in the Church of Scotland Offices, including as Principal Clerk since 2010.

As Moderator, he met with Pope Francis in Rome in February 2015.^[4]

See also

• List of Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland

References

External links

• The Church of Scotland - official website
• Moderator’s page on the Church of Scotland website