Spiritual crisis?

William Steven concluded the Rev Dr Ian B Doyle’s obituary (29 June) by writing that many would say he was the finest minister never to be Moderator of the General Assembly.

In the last 60 years there has only been a handful of evangelical ministers made Moderator, despite many having made significant contributions to the Kirk. Throughout these decades there was a strategic plan not to give this honour to evangelical ministers.

Liberals of much poorer character and with fewer gifts were not so denied. On one occasion Ian Doyle telephoned the Rev John Campbell but asked to cut the call quickly since he was phoning from a public call box. “There’s a power cut at 121 George Street” [offices of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh], he explained.

Evangelicals enjoyed this unconscious description of the spiritual state of the Church’s bureaucracy.

(REV DR) ROBT ANDERSON

Auchans View, Dundonald