On Wednesday night, the 29th of August, we were delighted to induct Thomas Davis as our new Assistant Minister and also welcome Una, Tom, John and Annie into the St Columba’s family. As well as joining our Senior Minister, Derek, and our Ministry Apprentice, Calum, Thomas will also be lecturing at Edinburgh Theological Seminary.
To get to know Thomas a bit better, we’ve asked him a few questions:
Tell us a bit about yourself and your family?
I am 35 and married to Una and we have 3 children; Tom (12), John (10) and Annie (7). I was born in Aberdeen but I moved to Lewis as a baby so I always think of myself as coming from Lewis. I grew up in Stornoway and then moved to Back (a village about 8 miles north of Stornoway) in my late teens. When Una and I got married we settled in Back, which is where Una grew up. After I left school I studied for a degree with the Open University and worked part time as a postman. Then I did an engineering apprenticeship with Gordon Diesel Services, which is an engineering firm in Stornoway owned and run by Una's father, and I worked there as an engineer for 8 years.
Did you have experience of church growing up?
Both my parents are Christians so I grew up going to church. We went to the Scottish Episcopal Church, so although I am now a Free Church Minister, I didn't grow up attending the Free Church. My parents were a wonderful influence growing up, and I am very thankful to God for the upbringing I had.
When did you feel called to ministry work? Was it something you ever thought you would do?
I became a Christian when I was about 14 (although like many people my conversion wasn't sudden, it was very gradual). I think I first began to think about preaching when I was in my late teens, but it took me a long, long time to feel sure of a call to pastoral ministry. After Una and I got married, I thought about it more and I began to do some lay preaching, but while I felt very drawn to pastoral ministry, I really struggled to feel sure that it was right to take that step. This went on for a long time (about 8 years) until eventually I reached the point where I felt that it was something we had to do, even though I felt I wasn't really up to the job. And it was amazing how once we took the step and applied for the ministry, so many things fell into place that helped us to see that it was what God wanted. So it was a very slow process, but looking back I am very thankful for that. My time working as an engineer was a fantastic experience, and it taught me many things that I would never have learned had I not had that time. So I suppose, in some ways, ministry was something I thought a lot about doing before it actually happened. But one thing I NEVER expected to be doing was lecturing! When I applied for the ministry, never for a moment did I think that 7 years later I would be serving at St Columba’'s and as a part time lecturer at ETS. But it is amazing how God works things together, and I am so thankful for all the ways in which he has helped us.
What excites you about working at St Columba's?
We’re really excited to be here at St Columba's. It is amazing to see a community of believers coming together in the very centre of Edinburgh to worship together each week, and we are really privileged to be part of that. We’re also very excited about the work of Generation (Generation is the name for the mission work of the Free Church of Scotland), and it is great to help St Columba's be part of that mission work.
I am also very passionate about the whole denomination working together as much possible to support and encourage each other, so I really hope that by being here in St Columba’s we can be of help, not just to the congregation here, but to the whole church across Scotland. I am also very excited to help with training, both at St Columba’s and at ETS. It is brilliant to see people with a desire to be trained in order to serve the Lord and if I can help these people in any way then I would be very thankful.
What do you expect will be different about ministry in an urban setting?
I think one of the biggest differences is that a congregation like St Columba's experiences many more changes each year as people come to the city and then move on. In a rural setting, this is much less common. In an urban setting, people are also more scattered during the week, so in a way that can make Sundays even more important as they give people a chance to be together, which they may not have during the week. It is also much more difficult for a church to be noticed in an urban setting, so that means that we have to work all the harder for the church to have contact with the people around us, although at the same time, there are cultural hurdles about going to church in rural setting that may not be so much of an issue in the city.
But having said all that, I am actually more struck by the similarities between urban and rural settings rather than the differences. Wherever we are, people are people, and they have the same needs, hopes, fears and struggles. So whether its Carloway or St Columba's, people's needs are the same, and the church's priorities of worship, discipleship and mission need to be exactly the same too.
Do you have a favourite hymn/paslm?
I think my favourite hymn is 'I heard the voice of Jesus say'. It is a brilliant description of how Jesus calls weak and needy people to himself. I also love it because it is a Free Church Hymn! It was written by Horatius Bonar, one of the ministers of the Free Church in its earliest days in the mid 1800s.
I think my favourite psalm is Psalm 32, and I really like the way it has been set out in Sing Psalms. It is a brilliant description of how blessed we are to know the forgiveness that Jesus gives us.
Do you have a favourite Bible passage?
That's a hard question! I think at the moment I would say Romans chapter 8 - it is an incredible chapter full of all the amazing blessings that are ours though our union with Christ. But to be honest, it’s impossible to choose a favourite passage because the whole Bible is just amazing. No matter how much we study it we never stop discovering more of the wonder of who God is and of how much he has done for us.