Exciting prospect as new minister moves north to Thurso Free Church
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A former Anglican vicar has just moved from the East Midlands to become minister of Thurso and North Coast Free Church.
Rev Jerry Taylor is settling in well in his new charge after a 15-year stint with the Church of England.
Prior to that, he spent seven years in finance, working first for the Bank of England and then the Financial Services Authority as a financial regulator.
The 47-year-old father-of-three was welcomed by the congregation at his induction on December 17.
Mr Taylor's bid to become a Free Church minister was granted at the Commission of the General Assembly in October and his move to the Thurso-based charge was endorsed by the Northern Presbytery in November.
He had preached several services in Thurso in the summer after intimating an interest in the charge.
Castletown-based Rev Howard Stone had been interim moderator for the past two years following the departure of its last permanent minister, Rev John Marker.
Members of the congregation mucked in to help prepare the manse, which is beside the church, for the family's arrival.
Mr Taylor attended theological college in London before becoming assistant minister at Stoke-on-Trent for three years.
The family spent the past 12 years living near Leicester where Mr Taylor was minister of Enderby with Lubbesthorpe and Thurlaston.
He and his wife June, who grew up in Shetland, have three sons, Magnus (19), Erlend (17) and Olaf (14).
Mr Taylor was pro-active in forging links with community, school and youth groups in his previous posts and wants to do likewise in the far north.
He said: “One of the things that I’ve learnt is that you can’t wait for people to come to your church building but to reach out to them and help them where they are living their lives.
"You have to get involved in things. It’s about praying for gospel opportunities to speak to people. It’s about living our lives as ambassadors and disciples of Christ.
"We want the church to be seen more as a lifeboat than a museum."
Mr Taylor is keen to provide a service to people throughout the extensive area covered by his charge.
"We're thinking very carefully about how we can do this, whether by using the church building we have in Bettyhill or in some other way.
"We want to be here for people in the town and those in the rest of the north coast area."
Like other churches, his held virtual services during the pandemic and Mr Taylor is committed to deploying the technology again when there is a need or a demand for it.
Since moving north, he has been delighted to note the large cadre of young members in the congregation.
"It's slightly bucking the trend, the growing number of 20-somethings we have," he said.
"We're kind of humbled about that as it's certainly not the experience of every congregation. It's really quite exciting."
