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New Director
CRAIGHEAD INSTITUTE APPOINTS NEW DIRECTOR
The Craighead Institute [1], known for its programmes to integrate the lives of people with their faith to better both society in general and those living on the margins, has appointed its first paid Director for ten years. He is the Reverend Dr John Carswell, former minister of Cadzow Parish Church of Scotland in Hamilton. He is also an experienced preacher and theologian with a good knowledge of Catholic Social Teaching and the Ignatian tradition and brings great skills in gathering people together for the common good from his time of working for many years as a community-oriented pastor.
John was born in Scotland but at the age of seven weeks emigrated with his parents to Texas and grew up there. He studied for a BSc in Advertising at the University of Texas at Austin and then pursued his vocation to be a Presbyterian minister at the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, graduating with a Master’s degree in Divinity in 1996. He was pastor in churches in La Plata, Missouri and Wichita Falls, Texas and then returned to Scotland to become minister at Cadzow Parish Church of Scotland in 2008. He graduated from the University of Glasgow with a Doctorate in Practical Theology in 2018. He has been married to Lisa for thirty-five years and they have six children and two grandchildren.
Former Director of The Craighead Institute and a Trustee of the Board , Reverend Dr Lisa Curtice, priest in charge of the Scottish Episcopal churches of St Mary’s Bridge of Weir, St Fillan’s Kilmacolm and St Mary’s Port Glasgow (the Heartland Charge), said of the appointment, “I was tutored by John at the Scottish Episcopal Institute where he remains an Associate Tutor and I got to know his skills in discernment and his wish to pursue his interest in grounding discipleship not only in well-informed theology but also in the practice of daily living. He is an ideal fit for Craighead whose programmes follow this same path. The Board and associates look forward forward to working with John for the foreseeable future”.
The Revd Dr Carswell said he had been welcomed warmly by the Board and members and spoke of his plans in the months ahead: “I am delighted to begin as the new Director of the Craighead Institute and I look forward to building on the legacy of the Institute’s creative work in the church and community. Integrating life and faith has long been the focus of my work as a parish minister and it pleases me no end that Providence has begun this new chapter in our lives together. Watch this space for our ongoing ministry!”.
Rev. Dr John Carswell may be contacted by email: craigheadinstitute@gmail.com phone: 07944 325 438.
Dr Duncan MacLaren, the new Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Craighead Institute, may be contacted through dmdonncha085@gmail.com.
1. CRAIGHEAD INSTITUTE is an Ignatian organisation with its roots in the Catholic tradition. From its beginning in 1987, it has worked ecumenically in Scotland and beyond. The aim of the Institute is to work with the ongoing life experience of lay Christians and people of good faith to integrate the experience of their life journey with faith, Ignatian spirituality and the social teaching of the churches. The Institute puts strong emphasis on making a difference not only in the person’s own life but also in church and society. To this end, there is strong emphasis on social justice, and bringing about change in places where the dignity of people is not valued.
