Retain the services of Dr Rev Sandy Rodger - Middle Church Coatbridge.

 

Parishioners at Coatbridge Middle Church were left “horrified” when they heard Reverend Dr Sandy Roger was to be removed next January at the end of five-year review period. They tried to keep him in his post but their pleas fell on deaf ears despite church bosses still having to pay his wages until his retirement. One concerned parishioner, Brian Martin, said: “Pushing such a good man out of a job is totally short-sighted as the Church of Scotland will still have to pay him a stipend for doing nothing. “I’ve been in the church since I was a child but there was disbelief and disgust by the congregation when the decision was announced. “Parishioners are horrified; he is fantastic with the kids and old folk.” The Hamilton Presbytery, which controls Church of Scotland affairs in Lanarkshire, is set to unite Coatbridge Middle Church with Blairhill Dundyvan Church to reduce the number of ministers in the district from seven to five. The union is not meant to take place until there is a vacancy at both churches but this requirement is not cast in stone. A recent case in Hamilton saw a union of two churches take place in almost identical circumstances to the ones faced by the Coatbridge churches. Parishioners at Blairhill Dundyvan are currently without a minister and narrowly voted against Dr Roger taking charge of both churches. The outcome of the vote has strained relations between the two churches and surprised the congregation at Coatbridge Middle Church who believe the most sensible, and Christian, option would be to keep the minister on until his retirement. This would help oversee the union, they argue, and make sure both congregations would not be left without a minister. Dr Roger has told his congregation he would be willing to stay on under those circumstances, while the Coatbridge schools he serves are said to be concerned that they could be left without a minister. Representatives of both churches subsequently met at the Hamilton Presbytery to discuss the situation following the controversial outcome of the vote. But Blairhill Dundyvan’s position was unchanged and now it looks like Dr Roger will leave the parish in January — unless the determined Coatbridge Middle Church congregation can persuade their Blairhill Dundyvan bretheren otherwise. Mr Martin and his fellow parishioners, who have started a petition to keep Dr Roger, say the decision doesn’t make sense. He added: “We will be in a state of limbo and should be focusing on keeping ministers. “Due to the shortage of ministers, any church in vacancy can expect to face a three to five-year vacancy.” No one from the Hamilton Presbytery returned our calls despite repeated requests for a comment. A spokesperson for Blairhill Dundyvan Church said they would make “no comment”.