East Lothian Courier | News | Loved the job and stayed for thirty years…

Tuesday, 6th January, 2009

Published: Thursday, 17th April, 2008 08:15

Loved the job and stayed for thirty years…

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THIRTY years ago, the newly ordained Rev Laurence Twaddle arrived at Belhaven Parish Church to take up the job of minister.

For Glasgow-born Laurence it was his first taste of rural life.

But he quickly adapted and became a central figure in the local community – and three decades down the line he can’t imagine being anywhere else!

Next Sunday his congregation at the joint charge of Belhaven and Spott will be marking his milestone in the ministry with a bound album of 30 of his best sermons – one for every year of his tenure.

The collection, entitled ‘Still preaching, after all these years’ is a nod to the minister’s penchant for Paul Simon’s celebrated album ‘Still crazy, after all these years’.

Three hundred hard-back copies have been printed for the congregation.

And Mr Twaddle will be presented with a commemorative copy by Professor Bill Shaw, a Professor of Theology at New College, Edinburgh, who knew him as a student.

A special lunch will be served in the church hall at 1pm followed by a book signing.

Father-of-three, Mr Twaddle, 57, first graced the pulpit at the linked churches on April 27, 1978 after studying modern history and moral philosophy at St Andrews University, followed by a divinity postgraduate at Edinburgh University.

Said Mr Twaddle, married to Alison, general secretary of the Church of Scotland Guild:“ I did not know much about living in the country and it took some getting use to.

“But it has been an enormous privilege for me to share some of the really important things in hundreds of families’ lives.”

Barbara Richerby, session clerk at Belhaven for the last six years and a parishioner for two decades said that Mr Twaddle had made “a tremendous” impact in the area and was “well loved”.

“His influence has spread wider than just the church – throughout the whole town.

“He’s not just in the pulpit on a Sunday it’s his whole life and we could not be more complimentary about him,” she added.

Copies of the book ‘Still preaching, after all these years’ can be bought for £10 by contacting Grahame Jackson on gjack38@yahoo.co.uk

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