March 2026: Rev Karlien Becker

My ministry: Rev Karlien Becker, Minister of Word and Sacrament, North Carrick Parish Church

Originally from South Africa, Rev Karlien Becker began her ministry in Scotland after 13 years with the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa. The daughter of a minister, she is not the only family member to follow her father Jan into the church. Her brother Jan junior is also a minister with the Dutch Reformed Church.

Ordained as minister to the newly unified parish of North Carrick last September, she and her engineer husband Hendrik (Hennie) live in the parish manse with a beautiful view of the Ayrshire hills.

What is your faith background?

I was very fortunate to grow up in a Christian household. My father was a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church and went into missionary work for many years before deciding to go back into church ministry. Church was always part of our upbringing. I remember when I was very young seeing my father get ready for church and wanting my "la-la book". That's what I called a hymn book because I knew I was going to sing.

At school I went on outreach trips to Mozambique and to youth camps and was part of the church music team. I wanted to go into ministry because I loved working with the children and I loved working with the minister, but I never thought I could be a minister myself. The Dutch Reformed Church only decided to accept women as ministers in 1990, so I never saw women in ministry, except once in secondary school.

Instead, I decided to study occupational therapy in Stellenbosch because I wanted to help people and this seemed the best option outside ministry.

I saw more women ministers there and started to think more about ministry and I called my dad and told him I wanted to study theology. He told me that it was going to be hard, but suggested I talk to other ministers and a theologian before I decided and after I did, he accepted it.

I went on the four-year degree course and that led to a student exchange trip to Sweden. This was my first trip out of Africa, and it actually shocked me. South Africa is a very Christian country and seeing so many people who don't go to church or don't believe was an eye-opener. I did question a

lot of things after that trip, but then I realised that believing in Jesus is my whole identity. He carries me through my every day.

I completed my masters degree in divinity then my probation year and was accepted as a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church.

My first congregation was in a farming community called Melmoth in KwaZulu-Natal, serving the Afrikaans community, but sometimes I did services in English and even some for a Zulu congregation with the help of a translator.

Then I got a call to Cape Town and a completely different congregation. We had 500 people in front of us every Sunday and four ministers, so I learned to work in a team.

That's where I met my husband Hennie, and we moved to Nuwerus in the Western Cape. Part of the parish was about 120 km (75 miles) away from where I lived so I had to drive a 4x4 on dirt roads to get there. It was totally different from city life in Cape Town – a farming community going through a drought where people don't have money to come to church, so you must go to them. But I did enjoy it.

What prompted you to move to Scotland?

When I went to Nuwerus, a lot of my friends had already gone to Scotland and I asked Hennie how he would feel about doing that, so it was in my mind, and it didn't go away. Especially having gone to Sweden and growing up in a missionary home, I always had this feeling that a minister is not just called to be a light in their country, but to be a light in the world. I realised that there were large parts of the world where people were not going to church any more and there was a need.

We came to Scotland in May 2024 and I had such an amazing supervisor in Rev Jim Stewart of Letham St Mark's Church in Perth who really looked after us and told me to get to know Scotland. We did a lot of travelling and just fell in love with Scotland. Everyone asks: ‘What about the weather?' Well, I love the green and you don't get that without the rain, so the weather isn't a problem for us.

After 12 months, I was able to apply for a charge. I applied all over Scotland, but from the beginning, I felt called to Maybole and Kirkoswald and Crosshill, which is now North Carrick Parish Church. I am a countryside girl. it's near the beach and it's just beautiful so it just felt right. The congregation has been so accommodating and friendly and glad to have a minister because they had to wait for the union to happen to get one. It's just perfect for us.

How have you been spending your first six months in ministry in Scotland?

I have three buildings to look after, but I do have help from an Ordained Local Minister (OLM), four worship leaders and three retired ministers in our area who are able to support me.

I have been building relationships. I have gone to the ecumenical prayer meeting, visited the schools and seen all the head teachers. These things take time, but I try to focus on that. We have a community hub with a café, and I have an office there and get to meet lots of people from the wider community, not just church people. We have a community lunch in Crosshill and we have started one in Kirkoswald and we have a youth hub where I can get to know the children and they can get to

know me, and every second week I lead a service in a local care home. We have a prayer meeting because you can't do anything without prayer, so I am trying to establish a prayer culture and invite people to write down prayers.

I have also been able to do some things with the local Catholic and Episcopalian churches.

The main thing is getting to know each other. The union had only been going for a year before I arrived, so it was all quite new.

It is different here. People don't talk about their religion or Christianity as much as they do in South Africa. Religion is more personal here and you have two or three generations who aren't connected to church. That is why I feel called and that is why I am here.

What have been your highlights so far?

Scottish people are so friendly, and I know they must adapt to me too because my accent is different, but I think it going well, though I don't think my husband will ever wear a kilt – I have already tried that!

What I love about my ministry is that I can journey with people and support them in their most difficult times: when people are sick or in hospital, when someone dies, supporting family who lost a loved one, visiting people that are housebound and giving spiritual guidance and serving in the community.

But I also share in times of joy. In the last six months I have christened two babies in our congregation, and we also had a special Christmas Carol Service.

What keeps you motivated when things are challenging?

There have been difficult times. You miss your family, but that is part of the decision we make, and we are very privileged with the ways we have now of keeping in touch. I speak to my parents every week, so I feel very connected.

The Church of Scotland also really helps overseas ministers adapt. My supervisor, Jim, is like a brother or a father, but he is really a friend so I can call him any time.

I have a contemplative spirituality so I know I have to make time for silence and for solitude, I take all my holidays, and I try to take at least one day a week off because I can't look after others if I don't look after myself.

I am going to a retreat on Iona at the end of April because I need to look after myself not just physically, but spiritually and spend time with God.

We have home visits to elderly people who are homebound, we have funerals, we have services, we preach every Sunday, so you are really busy and you need to make some time for yourself.

What would you say to someone contemplating ministry or a fellow South African ministry thinking about a move to Scotland?

If you are thinking about a calling, you need to pray about it, but you also need to talk to Christian friends who you trust, who will walk with you and tell you if you are on the right road or not, that's what I did with my dad. Find out more and learn what type of ministries there are.

And take a leap, trust God. It isn't always easy and you have to make sacrifices along the way, but if you believe you are called, it makes it easier to make those sacrifices.

And for people coming from South Africa or elsewhere, when I was thinking of moving here, I contacted a few ministers who were already in Scotland to learn from them. What were their experiences? Would they do it again? What were the differences between South Africa and Scotland?

I have friends from South Africa who are ministers in Scotland and we try to see each other once a month because we have different experiences and we come from a different background and we can get to speak Afrikaans to each other. One minister has been here 16 years and another nine years and I can ask them how you do things at kirk session and they can give me advice. I am grateful for the support of that community.

I think a lot of people will wonder why I left South Africa because the country does have a lot of challenges like poverty and crime and you can do wonderful work there.

Sometimes, I do wonder myself why Scotland and not there, but I feel called to be here at this time and stage.

More information

If you would like to consider how God might be calling you to serve at this time, you may want to discuss further with your minister or be in touch with your Presbytery to explore local opportunities.

If you are interested in exploring a call to the recognised ministries of the Church, you can find more information on our vocations page and can contact ministry@churchofscotland.org.uk for a Discernment Conversation with one of the Recruitment Team.