AN inspirational 80-year-old Church of Scotland minister has taken up his 12th new job since he officially retired.
Tireless Rev Ray Gaston said he will stay in his new post as locum minister at Clackmannan Parish Church for as long as he is needed after stepping into the breach this time and on 11 other occasions since 2002.
His latest locum job involves taking the service each Sunday plus around another 16 hours work each week attending to church affairs and making pastoral visits to people in their homes, as well as those in hospital and residential care.
Mr Gaston, who has been a Church of Scotland minister since 1969, said: "I do the parts of the job that I love, preaching, teaching and dealing with people at all stages of life, births, marriages and deaths.
“That is the role of Parish ministry, it is a real privilege and the most demanding and satisfying part of what it means to be a minister.”
Mr Gaston of Dollar, Clackmannanshire described being a minister as the “best job in the world”.
He said he only officially retired from St Athernase Church in Leuchars, Fife, in 2002 because it felt like the right thing to do at the time because he was 66.
Married to Evelyn with whom he has three children, Malcolm, Gillian and Gail, he added that he has never felt discouraged in his job throughout his 53 year career, since he was first ordained into the Congregational Church in 1963.
Mr Gaston, who spent 14 years as minister of Dollar linked with Muckhart and Glendevon churches, said: "The Church is evolving and I have a real sense of optimism about its future.
“If I can encourage at least one person to go into the ministry, I will be very pleased.
“But times have changed and it is no longer a solo job where the minister does everything – it is a role for team builders.”
He said: "There is such variety in the job, it is not monolithic at all and every parish is different.
“They throw up different problems to solve and different opportunities to develop.”
Mr Gaston said he was very supportive of the Church of Scotland’s Tomorrow’s Calling initiative which encourages people to enter the ministry.
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