The Highlands will get two new ministers next month – when a married couple are both ordained on the same day.
Susan Cord and James Bissett said it was “pretty cool” that they will be welcomed into the Presbytery of Ross during a service at Knockbain Church in Munlochy on January 23.
The couple, who are both 40 and met while working at the Scottish Land Register in Edinburgh, said they were thrilled to be embarking on a new adventure together.
Ms Cord will lead the linked charge of Killearnan and Knockbain churches as a minister of word and sacrament, while her husband will become an ordained local minister who will work directly for the presbytery on a part-time, voluntary basis while continuing to study at Highland Theological College in Dingwall.
“It is an exciting and somewhat scary next step on a journey I have been on since I was three years old – the age I told my mum I wanted to go to church,” Ms Cord said.
She explained that her husband of 12 years had supported her throughout her training – a journey that partly inspired him to follow in her footsteps.
“When I first started feeling that I should react to what appeared to be God’s calling, I broke the news to James and his first reaction was ‘that sounds fun’,” she said.
“He came to my vocations conference because I was nervous and has always supported me through the journey.
“He too felt he was being called to ministry but did not want the two of us going through it at the same time.
“But after a few years the calling became stronger for him and I encouraged to him to go through the process.”
The couple will live in the manse attached to Ms Cord’s charge with their two gerbils, Caper and Caillie.
Mr Bissett, who plans to work wherever the Presbytery deems necessary, said it was a “great privilege” to be a Church of Scotland minister.
“I am really looking forward to my new role because I love helping people,” he said.
“This is a great adventure – it is all part of God’s journey and it has been fun so far.”
Mr Bissett, who expects to finish his training in 2019, said he and his wife were a good team and bounced ideas off each other.
“The after dinner conversation can be a bit theological sometimes but we are quite good maintaining a balance and creating space,” he said.