Netherlorn Church of Scotland, which is linked with Colonay and Oronsay, is getting a new minister after a long wait.
Trudi Newton, born and brought up in Orkney, is taking on the role.
Before beginning her training for ministry, Trudi worked for various churches in Scotland as a children and families worker.
Before that, she spent time in Malawi after completing an MA in Religious Studies at
New College in Edinburgh.
As part of her training, Trudi also completed a Bachelor of Divinity at St Andrews, and had various church and chaplaincy placements, as well as probationary periods in Fife, Geneva and Monifieth.
Trudi said: “Born and brought up in Orkney, my rural heritage has never really left me, and I am looking forward to coming to be minister of Colonsay and Oronsay, linked with Netherlorn Church of Scotland.
“I am looking forward to meeting and getting to know people, and to being part of the various communities within the parishes, as we wonder together on this journey of life, and live out the love of God in our communities in which we live.”
Trudi is a probationary minister and this will be her first charge. A date for her induction and ordination will be announced soon.
Netherlorn’s last minister, the Reverend Dr Kenneth Ross, left his post in 2019 to take up a new role as the Kirk’s new mission partner in Malawi.
Colonsay and Oronsay had also been searching for a minister without success. The two churches united as part of the five-year presbytery mission plan for Argyll, determining how limited resources should be allocated.