New Elder and Deacons

As a church committed to growth and church planting, we see many changes both in the congregation and leadership. This Sunday, 13th December, we look forward to welcoming three new Deacons and a new Elder to our leadership team. 

Many of you already know them, but for those of you who may not, here’s a short introduction to Craig, our new Elder; and our three new Deacons, Philip, Neil and Andy.

Craig Nicolson
Craig grew up in the north of Scotland and has been part of St Columba’s since moving to Edinburgh. He is married to Jenny and has two children. Craig has been involved in different areas of service at St Cs including youth ministry, the Bethany Care Van and has led the team supporting the Bethany Care Shelter. He has served on the Deacons’ Court since 2011. Jenny is involved in the Women’s Pastoral Team.  Craig and family are part of the core team currently working towards planting a church in West Lothian. 

Philip Brown
Philip started worshipping at St Columba's in 2011 after being a member of Musselburgh Baptist Church for a number of years. He is a member of the Inverleith City Group and has been Clerk to the Deacons' Court for the last two years. He plays the piano at the monthly service at Old Farm Court, as well as occasionally in church on a Sunday. Philip has an undergraduate degree in Actuarial Maths and Statistics from Heriot-Watt University, where he still plays the viola in the University orchestra, and a postgraduate degree in Social Research from the University of Edinburgh. He has worked for the City of Edinburgh Council for 17 years and is an analyst supporting the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership.

Neil Macrae
Neil is married to Ruth and they have two daughters, Sophie and Rosa. Neil was born and brought up in Edinburgh. He has fond memories of attending St Columba’s as a child. Neil moved to Buccleuch Free Church with his family in his early teens and became a Christian a few years later after attending a church football camp. He went on to serve as a Deacon in Buccleuch prior to rejoining St Columba’s in 2014. Neil and Ruth are an active part of the Corstorphine City Group. Neil also helps lead the youth ministry and assists with the Worship and Welcoming Teams.

Andy Johnston   Andy grew up in Northern Ireland and became a Christian shortly after he turned 18. He moved to Scotland to attend university in St Andrews, where he met Sophie and was a member of the Free Church there. In Sept 2013, the opportunity to teach in the Central Belt arose and Andy moved to Edinburgh and began attending St Columba’s. Since then, Andy has been involved in serving in the youth ministries at both Kids’ Church and Identity level; co-ordinating the Money Count rota; working with the AV Team; participating in (and occasionally leading) City Group and, most recently, assisting with the Mens’ Bible Studies over Zoom. He married Sophie in 2015 and in February 2020 they were blessed with the birth of Sarah. Whilst Covid-19 has had many horrible aspects, Andy feels hugely blessed by the amount of time he was able to spend with Sarah and Sophie during lockdown and how they were able to grow as a family. Andy is looking forward to seeing the plans God has for him and his family unfold over the upcoming years and to (re)introducing a much bigger Sarah to the Church family.

You can watch the ordination this Sunday, 13th December at 11am on our live stream stcsfc.org/livestream