The new moderator of Inverness presbytery has said he will aim to make the church more supportive to people in need of aid during his year-long tenure.
Retired minister the Rev Fraser Turner, 73, said he has no specific agenda for his time in charge but will look to offer support to the congregation, especially at times of illness.
Mr Turner has a long connection with the Highlands, with his last full-time charge at Kirkhill and Kiltarlity.
Since his official retirement in 2008 he has stepped in frequently as a locum minister at vacant churches.
A native of Partick in Glasgow and a church member from early days, Mr Turner was a latecomer to the ministry, having for many years worked for a number of carpet manufacturers in his native city.
During a long spell of illness in hospital, friends suggested that he ought to think about entry to the ministry, but he was at first reluctant to consider it, as he did not at that time have the necessary educational qualifications for university.
However, when made redundant, and again pressed to think about becoming a minister, in 1987 he enrolled at Glasgow’s Langside College of Further Education for a year, to obtain the necessary Highers for entry to Glasgow University.
There he studied for a further three years to qualify for his licentiate in theology.
His first charge was Hamilton South, from 1994 to 2002, when he was called to Kirkhill and Kiltarlity.
Since then he has acted as interim moderator and locum for a spell at Dores and Boleskine, followed by 20 months in similar capacities at Auldearn and Nairn St Ninian’s.
Welcoming Mr Turner to the moderator’s office, his predecessor, retired minister the Rev Alastair Younger said: “You have served the church well, and you’ve retired, but let me tell you that you are now no longer retired.”
Mr Turner said: “I’m well aware of that.”
He and his wife Margaret, a native of Kirkintilloch, have two surviving daughters – Jacqueline in Glasgow and Tracey in East Kilbride.
Their youngest daughter Kirsteen died tragically in America in 2001.