Rural ministry has been the best move for Glasgow-raised Alex

He may have been a city boy, but it is in rural ministry that Rev Alex Currie has found his niche.

Recently retired as minister of St Ninian's Priory, Glasserton & Isle of Whithorn, Mr Currie has been very happy in his 35 years as minister there and he and his wife Kirsty have chosen to remain in the area rather than return to his home city of Glasgow.

Speaking as part of the Church of Scotland's regular Talking Ministry feature, the self-described advocate for rural ministry said: "We have been very happy here and I would love to see someone else have the same happiness."

Mr Currie, who fell in love with rural ministry during his student placement at Durness in Sutherland, originally thought he would be called to the north of Scotland, but instead he went to the opposite end of the Scottish mainland.

Working in a rural parish requires an adjustment to a different pace of life, one largely dictated by the rhythms of the agricultural year, but one that brings its own rewards especially if, like Mr Currie, you are first and foremost "a people person".

It also helps if you can demonstrate your faith in a practical way, he believes.

One way of doing that for Rutherglen-raised Mr Currie was combining his ministerial duties as a retained firefighter.

"I enjoyed that," he said.

"I think folk saw that you were playing your part in the life of the community: sleeves rolled up and I'll show you my works and hopefully you will listen to my words."

Coping with tragedy

However, rural ministry does come with its own challenges and Mr Currie has helped support his community through the devastation of the 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak and the impact of one of the worst fishing disasters in recent Scottish history when the Solway Harvester sank off the Isle of Man with the loss of all seven crew, three of them teenagers, from a community of just 2,000.

Mr Currie found himself not only supporting the families, but becoming their spokesman as the disaster brought international media attention to the parish.

"I have a cutting which says that the minister in Whithorn never slept for 48 hours and that's true," he said.

"I sat with the skipper's partner until I knew that we'd lost him then I went around the other families.

"I then had to prepare for the service on Sunday, knowing the whole community would be there.

"It was a strange time, it was a privilege, it was a great burden and even talking about it 25 years on, I get quite emotional.

"But I had a wedding three years ago for the daughter of the boy who had gone on board to make up the crew, so it has come all the way round."

Read the full interview on our Talking Ministry page.