Wanted: Kirk minister to go to Jerusalem
MANY Church of Scotland ministers would be content to be posted to a quiet parish within a peaceful community.
But the Kirk is seeking one brave soul to take its toughest posting – a congregation 3,000 miles away in one of the Middle East’s most turbulent cities.
The Church is advertising for a minister for St Andrew’s Scots Memorial Church in Jerusalem – its only presence in the Israeli city.
The successful applicant will ‘support the Christian presence’ in the Holy Land by making frequent trips to the hazardous Palestinian-controlled West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Kirk officials warn potential candidates that ‘physical and mental resilience’ is essential due to the ‘unpredictable’ nature of the region.
The job is becoming available because Reverend Paraic Reamonn, minister there since 2014, will retire next April.
The £28,494-a-year role, which will initially be for four years and three months, involves preaching ‘at least’ three out of every five Sundays and leading worship at Tiberias, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, once every three months.
Housing and transport will be provided by the Church’s World Mission Council.
The job description reads: ‘You will be primarily responsible for strengthening the relationships between the Church of Scotland and its partners in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, mainly through regular visits and working closely to build partnerships.
‘As an ordained minister of the Church of Scotland, you
‘Good mental resilience’
will be in sympathy with our aims in Israel and Palestine.
‘An understanding of the theological background of the situation in the Middle East and an ability to reflect theologically on this is essential, along with experience of working with people of other faiths and cultures.’
One hazard is the tensions between the Israelis and Palestinians. The job listing states: ‘This, combined with the Arab Spring and emerging new political realities, turmoil in Syria, disturbances in Egypt and the Lebanon, and tension with Iran, continues to make the Middle East unpredictable.
‘It is crucial that the person has good physical and mental resilience.’
There is a dwindling number of Christians in the region. The Kirk said the local Arab Christian presence in the Holy Land has fallen over the past 60 years from 20 per cent to less than 2 per cent, leaving only 150,000 Christians in the region. St Andrew’s Scots Memorial Church looks out to the golden walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. The church is beside ancient tombs on the original road to Bethlehem.
It was built as a memorial for Scots soldiers who died there during the First World War and was dedicated in 1930. Since the State of Israel was founded in 1948, the church’s role has been to serve local and expatriate Christians. The closing date for applications is August 31.
A Kirk spokesman said: ‘The Church of Scotland has had a presence in Israel since the mid-1800s, and today has congregations in Jerusalem and Tiberias.’