Iain MacLeod Greenshields is a Church of Scotland minister, who served as Moderator of the General Assembly from 2022 to 2023. [1] He undertook key roles as Moderator for the funeral of Elizabeth II and the Coronation of Charles III. He was ordained in 1984, [2] and previously served as minister of St Margaret's Parish Church in Dunfermline, Fife. His wife Linda is a teacher of religious, moral and philosophical studies at Levenmouth Academy, Buckhaven.
The son of a Glasgow police officer, Greenshields grew up in Glasgow and studied theology at the University of Glasgow. [3] His first parish ordination was in Cranhill. In 1993, he moved on to Larkhall, Lanarkshire. During this time, he became involved with ministry to offenders, as chaplain of Shotts prison and the Longriggend Young Offenders Institute. He moved to Kensaleyre in 2002, [3] where he remained until 2007. It was then that he transferred to St Margaret's Community Church of Dunfermline.
In May 2023, he took part in the coronation of Charles III and Camilla, presenting a Bible to the king. [4]
Greenshields has publicly attacked the deportation policies of the United Kingdom. [5] He has a keen interest in addiction issues, arguing that drug possession should be decriminalized. [6]
Greenshields and his wife have six children, three of whom have been adopted from China. Their names are Eilidh, Siona, and Siusaidh. [3]
Cambuslang is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a town hall, it may also be considered the largest village in Scotland. It is within the local authority area of South Lanarkshire and directly borders the town of Rutherglen to the west. Historically, it was a large civil parish incorporating the nearby hamlets of Newton, Flemington, Westburn and Halfway.
David William Lacy DL is a minister of the Church of Scotland. He was the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 2005-6.
Robert Douglas (1594–1674) was the only minister of the Church of Scotland to be Moderator of the General Assembly five times.
Andrew Rankin Cowie McLellan is a minister in the Church of Scotland. He was Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland from 2002 to 2009.
Finlay A. J. Macdonald is a retired minister of the Church of Scotland. He was Principal Clerk to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from 1996 until 2010. In addition to his rapid rise up the ranks of the Church of Scotland, Macdonald is known for fostering co-operation between the various boards and committees which administer the Church and for steering the Church smoothly through its annual business meetings.
Alexander McDonald was a Scottish minister of the Church of Scotland who served as the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from 1997 to 1998.
Abbeygreen Church is a congregation of the Free Church of Scotland in the small town of Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire. As a Christian congregation, it is presbyterian and reformed; holding the Word of God, the Holy Bible, as the supreme rule of life and doctrine and the Westminster Confession of Faith as a sub-ordinate standard, which helps explain the doctrines of the Christian faith. Being Presbyterian, it serves as part of the Free Church of Scotland Presbytery of Glasgow and seeks to faithfully serve God in Lesmahagow and the surrounding area. Having a missional outlook it is involved with a number of missionary organizations including, but not only, UFM Worldwide and Rose of Sharon Ministries, and helps with the organization and support of the Scottish Reformed Conference.
William Currie Hewitt is a minister of the Church of Scotland and is a former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (2009–2010).
The Presbytery of Glasgow is one of the 46 Presbyteries of the Church of Scotland. It dates back to the earliest periods of Presbyterian church government in the Church of Scotland in the late 16th century. The Presbytery of Glasgow currently has 125 congregations, making it by far the largest Presbytery in the Church of Scotland.
John Cairns Christie is a minister of the Church of Scotland. He was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland for 2010-2011.
The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every year. After chairing the Assembly, the Moderator then spends the following year representing the Church of Scotland at civic events, and visiting congregations and projects in Scotland and beyond. Because the Church of Scotland is Scotland's national church, and a presbyterian church has no bishops, the Moderator is – arguably alongside the Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland – the most prominent figure in the life of Church of Scotland adherents.
Andrew David Keltie Arnott is a retired minister of the Church of Scotland who was the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from 2011 to 2012.
John Chalmers, KHC is a minister of the Church of Scotland. From 2010 to 2017, he 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, he was nominated to be Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland for 2014-15; 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 a Chaplain in Ordinary to the King - a member of the Ecclesiastical Household in Scotland.
Derek Browning is a minister of the Church of Scotland, who was the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from May 2017 to May 2018
John Pagan (1830-1909) was a Scottish minister and amateur botanist who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1899.
James Pitt-Watson was a Scottish minister and academic. He was Professor of Practical Theology at Glasgow University and served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1953. He has been described as an "ecclesiastical politician".
Colin Sinclair is a minister of the Church of Scotland. He was Moderator of the General Assembly for the year from May 2019. He has served as the minister at Palmerston Place Church in Edinburgh since 1996.
W. Martin Fair is a minister of the Church of Scotland and was Moderator of its General Assembly from May 2020– May 2021. He has also served as the minister at St Andrews Parish Church in Arbroath, Angus since 1992.
Thomas Taylor (c.1770–1831) was a 19th century Church of Scotland minister, who served as Moderator of the General Assembly in 1826.