Revealed on 16 Could 2025
7 minutes learn
Though ministry has been a continuing theme in Rev Doug McRoberts’ life, it has not been the one one.
His Christian ministry has advanced alongside a profession as a broadcaster with the BBC and later as a communications specialist on the highest degree of the UK and worldwide nuclear business, earlier than he returned to parish ministry and all of the threads of his previous expertise got here collectively on the island of Malta because it confronted an unprecedented refugee disaster.
Talking as a part of our common Speaking Ministry collection, Mr McRoberts remembers his religion rising at Scripture Union and Bible camps as an adolescent in Glasgow.
A chat by the Missionary Aviation Fellowship in his fifth 12 months specific grabbed his consideration given the mix of his rising Christian religion and fervour for aviation – he would later go on to put in writing a e-book about 602 (Metropolis of Glasgow) Squadron, the RAF’s most profitable Spitfire squadron.
“The thought of one way or the other serving Christ and flying appeared actually good to me,” he admitted.
Two years into his Glasgow College diploma, he switched to finding out Divinity with an intention of turning into a Church of Scotland minister, whereas on the similar time pursuing all his different pursuits: sport – notably hockey – electronics, which led him into scholar broadcasting, and music.
That led to the formation of Christian rock band White Mild, alongside his youthful brother Dave and two buddies, David Murdoch and Alex Smith.
The band loved success even past Christian music circles, turning into runner up in a nationwide competitors run by music paper Melody Maker and filling out Aberdeen Music Corridor on a memorable weekend once they outsold the next night time’s act, laborious rock legends Deep Purple.
In 1974 White Mild recorded an album, Parable, which went on to have an sudden revival some a long time later after being listed as one of many world’s rarest information, prompting its re-release on a Spanish report label.
“The rationale for the report within the first place was to get the Phrase of God on the market and, in 2016, the phrase was on the market once more,” Mr McRoberts noticed.
A 12 months after the discharge of Parable, he was ordained as an assistant Minister of Phrase and Sacrament in East Kilbride and can have a good time the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination at Crown Church in Inverness, the place he and his spouse Lesley now reside, subsequent month.
The nuclear choice
Nevertheless, after a spell as a parish minister in Kirkcaldy, he determined to place a number of the abilities he had discovered in scholar broadcasting to make use of by becoming a member of the BBC as a content material producer.
“In 1978 the BBC was increasing in Scotland, I noticed a chance they usually took me,” he mentioned.
This introduced him to Inverness for the primary time the place he labored on BBC Radio Highland’s morning and lunchtime programmes, whereas Sundays would nonetheless discover him preaching in church buildings within the Inverness space and so far as Dornoch Cathedral, with the teachings of his “day job” feeding into his Christian ministry.
Mr McRoberts defined: “As an expert broadcaster, I learnt from senior editors about the right way to form phrases and use communications alternatives. If that did not inform my ministry, then I used to be lacking out someplace.”
From the BBC he moved to the Atomic Power Authority (AEA) as media officer on the nuclear energy station at Dounreay in Caithness, the place he additionally continued to evangelise.
That led to his being requested to use, efficiently, to change into the chief press officer with AEA resulting in a transfer to Oxfordshire the place he was shortly approached by the Methodist Church and invited to affix their preaching circuit.
“I used to be preaching nearly each Sunday whereas additionally working because the UK AEA’s chief press officer in London,” he mentioned.
That relationship continued after he moved to Gloucester to change into the media relations supervisor of a brand new firm, Nuclear Electrical, earlier than his return to Scotland as the primary PR director of British Power PLC and a return to Church of Scotland ministry.
“Within the communications sector, I used to be now a recognised worldwide operator and I grew to become the one non-French chairman of NUCNET, which is a global non-profit information organisation for the nuclear business. And but, at weekends, I used to be nonetheless exercising a Scottish preaching ministry within the Presbytery of Dunfermline,” he mentioned.
The strongest sense of name
With no additional development potential within the nuclear sector and the couple’s three youngsters grown, he returned to full-time ministry in Keith earlier than his consideration was drawn by an advert for a brand new minster at St Andrew’s Church in Malta.
“I found it had a really worldwide congregation and was the one joint Church of Scotland and Methodist cost with ministers from every denomination taking it in flip to guide the congregation,” he mentioned.
“What was I? A Church of Scotland minister who had labored in Methodist circuits in England and understood that system totally. All these threads from my life as much as that time – working in worldwide communications, preaching each Sunday, searching for to show folks my understanding of God’s phrase – began to attract collectively.
“This was the strongest sense of name I had ever had. The easiest way I can specific it isn’t a lot that I felt that I wanted to use for this, however that I wanted to supply myself for it.”
Mr McRoberts was quickly to attract on all his previous abilities and expertise because of the unrest throughout North Africa and the Center East following “the Arab Spring” of 2011. Libya, Malta’s close to neighbour to the south, was among the many worst affected international locations, descending right into a full-scale civil conflict. Consequently, boatloads of refugees, not solely from Libya, however from international locations for sub-Saharan Africa to Pakistan, quickly started arriving on the Mediterranean island.
“We discovered ourselves concerned in a lot of alternative ways. We had a prayer ministry at a tented metropolis in a former RAF air base. Circumstances had been completely horrendous– think about the worst after which double it – however we had been there each week, exercising ministry and making an attempt our greatest to assist folks.
“I am getting caught in the midst of this as a minister, however I am additionally a communications skilled – the fitting man in the fitting place on the proper time to inform this story to the world.
“I used to be in a position to put out prayer letters and tales all over the world due to contacts from my earlier profession. One of many first outcomes was an nameless donor within the Netherlands despatched 10,000 Euros and due to him, each refugee in Malta had a quilt that winter.”
He and Lesley just lately returned to Malta and located the church, which he had been instructed was within the technique of winding down, was nonetheless vibrant and buzzing with exercise.
“That is God at work and it was such a privilege to be there at the moment and have the ability to assist this all come collectively,” he mentioned.
A coronary heart for mission
Mr McRoberts was additionally ready to attract on a few of his previous expertise when he grew to become a part of the transition workforce bringing collectively 100 congregations within the Highlands and Hebrides within the new presbytery of Clèir Eilean Ì, which covers 40 per cent of Scotland’s landmass.
Mr McRoberts, who’s now the primary Moderator of Clèir Eilean Ì, mentioned: “Various that adopted from my expertise elsewhere, not least seeing how the Methodists function.
“They’ve been coping with a number of the identical issues we’ve for a very long time. They’ve by no means had sufficient ministers, in order that they have at all times relied on lay readers and have seen the knowledge of getting an expert useful resource accessible to assist folks domestically. That’s primarily what the brand new presbyteries are doing all through Scotland.
“There was a number of trauma in attending to the place we at the moment are, however Clèir Eilean Ì is a part of the decision of that, not a part of the issue. Wherever I’m going, I meet folks with a coronary heart for mission and a willingness to do issues in a brand new approach and I discover that very encouraging.”
Learn extra on our Speaking Ministry Web page.
Revealed on 16 Could 2025
7 minutes learn
Though ministry has been a continuing theme in Rev Doug McRoberts’ life, it has not been the one one.
His Christian ministry has advanced alongside a profession as a broadcaster with the BBC and later as a communications specialist on the highest degree of the UK and worldwide nuclear business, earlier than he returned to parish ministry and all of the threads of his previous expertise got here collectively on the island of Malta because it confronted an unprecedented refugee disaster.
Talking as a part of our common Speaking Ministry collection, Mr McRoberts remembers his religion rising at Scripture Union and Bible camps as an adolescent in Glasgow.
A chat by the Missionary Aviation Fellowship in his fifth 12 months specific grabbed his consideration given the mix of his rising Christian religion and fervour for aviation – he would later go on to put in writing a e-book about 602 (Metropolis of Glasgow) Squadron, the RAF’s most profitable Spitfire squadron.
“The thought of one way or the other serving Christ and flying appeared actually good to me,” he admitted.
Two years into his Glasgow College diploma, he switched to finding out Divinity with an intention of turning into a Church of Scotland minister, whereas on the similar time pursuing all his different pursuits: sport – notably hockey – electronics, which led him into scholar broadcasting, and music.
That led to the formation of Christian rock band White Mild, alongside his youthful brother Dave and two buddies, David Murdoch and Alex Smith.
The band loved success even past Christian music circles, turning into runner up in a nationwide competitors run by music paper Melody Maker and filling out Aberdeen Music Corridor on a memorable weekend once they outsold the next night time’s act, laborious rock legends Deep Purple.
In 1974 White Mild recorded an album, Parable, which went on to have an sudden revival some a long time later after being listed as one of many world’s rarest information, prompting its re-release on a Spanish report label.
“The rationale for the report within the first place was to get the Phrase of God on the market and, in 2016, the phrase was on the market once more,” Mr McRoberts noticed.
A 12 months after the discharge of Parable, he was ordained as an assistant Minister of Phrase and Sacrament in East Kilbride and can have a good time the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination at Crown Church in Inverness, the place he and his spouse Lesley now reside, subsequent month.
The nuclear choice
Nevertheless, after a spell as a parish minister in Kirkcaldy, he determined to place a number of the abilities he had discovered in scholar broadcasting to make use of by becoming a member of the BBC as a content material producer.
“In 1978 the BBC was increasing in Scotland, I noticed a chance they usually took me,” he mentioned.
This introduced him to Inverness for the primary time the place he labored on BBC Radio Highland’s morning and lunchtime programmes, whereas Sundays would nonetheless discover him preaching in church buildings within the Inverness space and so far as Dornoch Cathedral, with the teachings of his “day job” feeding into his Christian ministry.
Mr McRoberts defined: “As an expert broadcaster, I learnt from senior editors about the right way to form phrases and use communications alternatives. If that did not inform my ministry, then I used to be lacking out someplace.”
From the BBC he moved to the Atomic Power Authority (AEA) as media officer on the nuclear energy station at Dounreay in Caithness, the place he additionally continued to evangelise.
That led to his being requested to use, efficiently, to change into the chief press officer with AEA resulting in a transfer to Oxfordshire the place he was shortly approached by the Methodist Church and invited to affix their preaching circuit.
“I used to be preaching nearly each Sunday whereas additionally working because the UK AEA’s chief press officer in London,” he mentioned.
That relationship continued after he moved to Gloucester to change into the media relations supervisor of a brand new firm, Nuclear Electrical, earlier than his return to Scotland as the primary PR director of British Power PLC and a return to Church of Scotland ministry.
“Within the communications sector, I used to be now a recognised worldwide operator and I grew to become the one non-French chairman of NUCNET, which is a global non-profit information organisation for the nuclear business. And but, at weekends, I used to be nonetheless exercising a Scottish preaching ministry within the Presbytery of Dunfermline,” he mentioned.
The strongest sense of name
With no additional development potential within the nuclear sector and the couple’s three youngsters grown, he returned to full-time ministry in Keith earlier than his consideration was drawn by an advert for a brand new minster at St Andrew’s Church in Malta.
“I found it had a really worldwide congregation and was the one joint Church of Scotland and Methodist cost with ministers from every denomination taking it in flip to guide the congregation,” he mentioned.
“What was I? A Church of Scotland minister who had labored in Methodist circuits in England and understood that system totally. All these threads from my life as much as that time – working in worldwide communications, preaching each Sunday, searching for to show folks my understanding of God’s phrase – began to attract collectively.
“This was the strongest sense of name I had ever had. The easiest way I can specific it isn’t a lot that I felt that I wanted to use for this, however that I wanted to supply myself for it.”
Mr McRoberts was quickly to attract on all his previous abilities and expertise because of the unrest throughout North Africa and the Center East following “the Arab Spring” of 2011. Libya, Malta’s close to neighbour to the south, was among the many worst affected international locations, descending right into a full-scale civil conflict. Consequently, boatloads of refugees, not solely from Libya, however from international locations for sub-Saharan Africa to Pakistan, quickly started arriving on the Mediterranean island.
“We discovered ourselves concerned in a lot of alternative ways. We had a prayer ministry at a tented metropolis in a former RAF air base. Circumstances had been completely horrendous– think about the worst after which double it – however we had been there each week, exercising ministry and making an attempt our greatest to assist folks.
“I am getting caught in the midst of this as a minister, however I am additionally a communications skilled – the fitting man in the fitting place on the proper time to inform this story to the world.
“I used to be in a position to put out prayer letters and tales all over the world due to contacts from my earlier profession. One of many first outcomes was an nameless donor within the Netherlands despatched 10,000 Euros and due to him, each refugee in Malta had a quilt that winter.”
He and Lesley just lately returned to Malta and located the church, which he had been instructed was within the technique of winding down, was nonetheless vibrant and buzzing with exercise.
“That is God at work and it was such a privilege to be there at the moment and have the ability to assist this all come collectively,” he mentioned.
A coronary heart for mission
Mr McRoberts was additionally ready to attract on a few of his previous expertise when he grew to become a part of the transition workforce bringing collectively 100 congregations within the Highlands and Hebrides within the new presbytery of Clèir Eilean Ì, which covers 40 per cent of Scotland’s landmass.
Mr McRoberts, who’s now the primary Moderator of Clèir Eilean Ì, mentioned: “Various that adopted from my expertise elsewhere, not least seeing how the Methodists function.
“They’ve been coping with a number of the identical issues we’ve for a very long time. They’ve by no means had sufficient ministers, in order that they have at all times relied on lay readers and have seen the knowledge of getting an expert useful resource accessible to assist folks domestically. That’s primarily what the brand new presbyteries are doing all through Scotland.
“There was a number of trauma in attending to the place we at the moment are, however Clèir Eilean Ì is a part of the decision of that, not a part of the issue. Wherever I’m going, I meet folks with a coronary heart for mission and a willingness to do issues in a brand new approach and I discover that very encouraging.”
Learn extra on our Speaking Ministry Web page.
Revealed on 16 Could 2025
7 minutes learn
Though ministry has been a continuing theme in Rev Doug McRoberts’ life, it has not been the one one.
His Christian ministry has advanced alongside a profession as a broadcaster with the BBC and later as a communications specialist on the highest degree of the UK and worldwide nuclear business, earlier than he returned to parish ministry and all of the threads of his previous expertise got here collectively on the island of Malta because it confronted an unprecedented refugee disaster.
Talking as a part of our common Speaking Ministry collection, Mr McRoberts remembers his religion rising at Scripture Union and Bible camps as an adolescent in Glasgow.
A chat by the Missionary Aviation Fellowship in his fifth 12 months specific grabbed his consideration given the mix of his rising Christian religion and fervour for aviation – he would later go on to put in writing a e-book about 602 (Metropolis of Glasgow) Squadron, the RAF’s most profitable Spitfire squadron.
“The thought of one way or the other serving Christ and flying appeared actually good to me,” he admitted.
Two years into his Glasgow College diploma, he switched to finding out Divinity with an intention of turning into a Church of Scotland minister, whereas on the similar time pursuing all his different pursuits: sport – notably hockey – electronics, which led him into scholar broadcasting, and music.
That led to the formation of Christian rock band White Mild, alongside his youthful brother Dave and two buddies, David Murdoch and Alex Smith.
The band loved success even past Christian music circles, turning into runner up in a nationwide competitors run by music paper Melody Maker and filling out Aberdeen Music Corridor on a memorable weekend once they outsold the next night time’s act, laborious rock legends Deep Purple.
In 1974 White Mild recorded an album, Parable, which went on to have an sudden revival some a long time later after being listed as one of many world’s rarest information, prompting its re-release on a Spanish report label.
“The rationale for the report within the first place was to get the Phrase of God on the market and, in 2016, the phrase was on the market once more,” Mr McRoberts noticed.
A 12 months after the discharge of Parable, he was ordained as an assistant Minister of Phrase and Sacrament in East Kilbride and can have a good time the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination at Crown Church in Inverness, the place he and his spouse Lesley now reside, subsequent month.
The nuclear choice
Nevertheless, after a spell as a parish minister in Kirkcaldy, he determined to place a number of the abilities he had discovered in scholar broadcasting to make use of by becoming a member of the BBC as a content material producer.
“In 1978 the BBC was increasing in Scotland, I noticed a chance they usually took me,” he mentioned.
This introduced him to Inverness for the primary time the place he labored on BBC Radio Highland’s morning and lunchtime programmes, whereas Sundays would nonetheless discover him preaching in church buildings within the Inverness space and so far as Dornoch Cathedral, with the teachings of his “day job” feeding into his Christian ministry.
Mr McRoberts defined: “As an expert broadcaster, I learnt from senior editors about the right way to form phrases and use communications alternatives. If that did not inform my ministry, then I used to be lacking out someplace.”
From the BBC he moved to the Atomic Power Authority (AEA) as media officer on the nuclear energy station at Dounreay in Caithness, the place he additionally continued to evangelise.
That led to his being requested to use, efficiently, to change into the chief press officer with AEA resulting in a transfer to Oxfordshire the place he was shortly approached by the Methodist Church and invited to affix their preaching circuit.
“I used to be preaching nearly each Sunday whereas additionally working because the UK AEA’s chief press officer in London,” he mentioned.
That relationship continued after he moved to Gloucester to change into the media relations supervisor of a brand new firm, Nuclear Electrical, earlier than his return to Scotland as the primary PR director of British Power PLC and a return to Church of Scotland ministry.
“Within the communications sector, I used to be now a recognised worldwide operator and I grew to become the one non-French chairman of NUCNET, which is a global non-profit information organisation for the nuclear business. And but, at weekends, I used to be nonetheless exercising a Scottish preaching ministry within the Presbytery of Dunfermline,” he mentioned.
The strongest sense of name
With no additional development potential within the nuclear sector and the couple’s three youngsters grown, he returned to full-time ministry in Keith earlier than his consideration was drawn by an advert for a brand new minster at St Andrew’s Church in Malta.
“I found it had a really worldwide congregation and was the one joint Church of Scotland and Methodist cost with ministers from every denomination taking it in flip to guide the congregation,” he mentioned.
“What was I? A Church of Scotland minister who had labored in Methodist circuits in England and understood that system totally. All these threads from my life as much as that time – working in worldwide communications, preaching each Sunday, searching for to show folks my understanding of God’s phrase – began to attract collectively.
“This was the strongest sense of name I had ever had. The easiest way I can specific it isn’t a lot that I felt that I wanted to use for this, however that I wanted to supply myself for it.”
Mr McRoberts was quickly to attract on all his previous abilities and expertise because of the unrest throughout North Africa and the Center East following “the Arab Spring” of 2011. Libya, Malta’s close to neighbour to the south, was among the many worst affected international locations, descending right into a full-scale civil conflict. Consequently, boatloads of refugees, not solely from Libya, however from international locations for sub-Saharan Africa to Pakistan, quickly started arriving on the Mediterranean island.
“We discovered ourselves concerned in a lot of alternative ways. We had a prayer ministry at a tented metropolis in a former RAF air base. Circumstances had been completely horrendous– think about the worst after which double it – however we had been there each week, exercising ministry and making an attempt our greatest to assist folks.
“I am getting caught in the midst of this as a minister, however I am additionally a communications skilled – the fitting man in the fitting place on the proper time to inform this story to the world.
“I used to be in a position to put out prayer letters and tales all over the world due to contacts from my earlier profession. One of many first outcomes was an nameless donor within the Netherlands despatched 10,000 Euros and due to him, each refugee in Malta had a quilt that winter.”
He and Lesley just lately returned to Malta and located the church, which he had been instructed was within the technique of winding down, was nonetheless vibrant and buzzing with exercise.
“That is God at work and it was such a privilege to be there at the moment and have the ability to assist this all come collectively,” he mentioned.
A coronary heart for mission
Mr McRoberts was additionally ready to attract on a few of his previous expertise when he grew to become a part of the transition workforce bringing collectively 100 congregations within the Highlands and Hebrides within the new presbytery of Clèir Eilean Ì, which covers 40 per cent of Scotland’s landmass.
Mr McRoberts, who’s now the primary Moderator of Clèir Eilean Ì, mentioned: “Various that adopted from my expertise elsewhere, not least seeing how the Methodists function.
“They’ve been coping with a number of the identical issues we’ve for a very long time. They’ve by no means had sufficient ministers, in order that they have at all times relied on lay readers and have seen the knowledge of getting an expert useful resource accessible to assist folks domestically. That’s primarily what the brand new presbyteries are doing all through Scotland.
“There was a number of trauma in attending to the place we at the moment are, however Clèir Eilean Ì is a part of the decision of that, not a part of the issue. Wherever I’m going, I meet folks with a coronary heart for mission and a willingness to do issues in a brand new approach and I discover that very encouraging.”
Learn extra on our Speaking Ministry Web page.
Revealed on 16 Could 2025
7 minutes learn
Though ministry has been a continuing theme in Rev Doug McRoberts’ life, it has not been the one one.
His Christian ministry has advanced alongside a profession as a broadcaster with the BBC and later as a communications specialist on the highest degree of the UK and worldwide nuclear business, earlier than he returned to parish ministry and all of the threads of his previous expertise got here collectively on the island of Malta because it confronted an unprecedented refugee disaster.
Talking as a part of our common Speaking Ministry collection, Mr McRoberts remembers his religion rising at Scripture Union and Bible camps as an adolescent in Glasgow.
A chat by the Missionary Aviation Fellowship in his fifth 12 months specific grabbed his consideration given the mix of his rising Christian religion and fervour for aviation – he would later go on to put in writing a e-book about 602 (Metropolis of Glasgow) Squadron, the RAF’s most profitable Spitfire squadron.
“The thought of one way or the other serving Christ and flying appeared actually good to me,” he admitted.
Two years into his Glasgow College diploma, he switched to finding out Divinity with an intention of turning into a Church of Scotland minister, whereas on the similar time pursuing all his different pursuits: sport – notably hockey – electronics, which led him into scholar broadcasting, and music.
That led to the formation of Christian rock band White Mild, alongside his youthful brother Dave and two buddies, David Murdoch and Alex Smith.
The band loved success even past Christian music circles, turning into runner up in a nationwide competitors run by music paper Melody Maker and filling out Aberdeen Music Corridor on a memorable weekend once they outsold the next night time’s act, laborious rock legends Deep Purple.
In 1974 White Mild recorded an album, Parable, which went on to have an sudden revival some a long time later after being listed as one of many world’s rarest information, prompting its re-release on a Spanish report label.
“The rationale for the report within the first place was to get the Phrase of God on the market and, in 2016, the phrase was on the market once more,” Mr McRoberts noticed.
A 12 months after the discharge of Parable, he was ordained as an assistant Minister of Phrase and Sacrament in East Kilbride and can have a good time the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination at Crown Church in Inverness, the place he and his spouse Lesley now reside, subsequent month.
The nuclear choice
Nevertheless, after a spell as a parish minister in Kirkcaldy, he determined to place a number of the abilities he had discovered in scholar broadcasting to make use of by becoming a member of the BBC as a content material producer.
“In 1978 the BBC was increasing in Scotland, I noticed a chance they usually took me,” he mentioned.
This introduced him to Inverness for the primary time the place he labored on BBC Radio Highland’s morning and lunchtime programmes, whereas Sundays would nonetheless discover him preaching in church buildings within the Inverness space and so far as Dornoch Cathedral, with the teachings of his “day job” feeding into his Christian ministry.
Mr McRoberts defined: “As an expert broadcaster, I learnt from senior editors about the right way to form phrases and use communications alternatives. If that did not inform my ministry, then I used to be lacking out someplace.”
From the BBC he moved to the Atomic Power Authority (AEA) as media officer on the nuclear energy station at Dounreay in Caithness, the place he additionally continued to evangelise.
That led to his being requested to use, efficiently, to change into the chief press officer with AEA resulting in a transfer to Oxfordshire the place he was shortly approached by the Methodist Church and invited to affix their preaching circuit.
“I used to be preaching nearly each Sunday whereas additionally working because the UK AEA’s chief press officer in London,” he mentioned.
That relationship continued after he moved to Gloucester to change into the media relations supervisor of a brand new firm, Nuclear Electrical, earlier than his return to Scotland as the primary PR director of British Power PLC and a return to Church of Scotland ministry.
“Within the communications sector, I used to be now a recognised worldwide operator and I grew to become the one non-French chairman of NUCNET, which is a global non-profit information organisation for the nuclear business. And but, at weekends, I used to be nonetheless exercising a Scottish preaching ministry within the Presbytery of Dunfermline,” he mentioned.
The strongest sense of name
With no additional development potential within the nuclear sector and the couple’s three youngsters grown, he returned to full-time ministry in Keith earlier than his consideration was drawn by an advert for a brand new minster at St Andrew’s Church in Malta.
“I found it had a really worldwide congregation and was the one joint Church of Scotland and Methodist cost with ministers from every denomination taking it in flip to guide the congregation,” he mentioned.
“What was I? A Church of Scotland minister who had labored in Methodist circuits in England and understood that system totally. All these threads from my life as much as that time – working in worldwide communications, preaching each Sunday, searching for to show folks my understanding of God’s phrase – began to attract collectively.
“This was the strongest sense of name I had ever had. The easiest way I can specific it isn’t a lot that I felt that I wanted to use for this, however that I wanted to supply myself for it.”
Mr McRoberts was quickly to attract on all his previous abilities and expertise because of the unrest throughout North Africa and the Center East following “the Arab Spring” of 2011. Libya, Malta’s close to neighbour to the south, was among the many worst affected international locations, descending right into a full-scale civil conflict. Consequently, boatloads of refugees, not solely from Libya, however from international locations for sub-Saharan Africa to Pakistan, quickly started arriving on the Mediterranean island.
“We discovered ourselves concerned in a lot of alternative ways. We had a prayer ministry at a tented metropolis in a former RAF air base. Circumstances had been completely horrendous– think about the worst after which double it – however we had been there each week, exercising ministry and making an attempt our greatest to assist folks.
“I am getting caught in the midst of this as a minister, however I am additionally a communications skilled – the fitting man in the fitting place on the proper time to inform this story to the world.
“I used to be in a position to put out prayer letters and tales all over the world due to contacts from my earlier profession. One of many first outcomes was an nameless donor within the Netherlands despatched 10,000 Euros and due to him, each refugee in Malta had a quilt that winter.”
He and Lesley just lately returned to Malta and located the church, which he had been instructed was within the technique of winding down, was nonetheless vibrant and buzzing with exercise.
“That is God at work and it was such a privilege to be there at the moment and have the ability to assist this all come collectively,” he mentioned.
A coronary heart for mission
Mr McRoberts was additionally ready to attract on a few of his previous expertise when he grew to become a part of the transition workforce bringing collectively 100 congregations within the Highlands and Hebrides within the new presbytery of Clèir Eilean Ì, which covers 40 per cent of Scotland’s landmass.
Mr McRoberts, who’s now the primary Moderator of Clèir Eilean Ì, mentioned: “Various that adopted from my expertise elsewhere, not least seeing how the Methodists function.
“They’ve been coping with a number of the identical issues we’ve for a very long time. They’ve by no means had sufficient ministers, in order that they have at all times relied on lay readers and have seen the knowledge of getting an expert useful resource accessible to assist folks domestically. That’s primarily what the brand new presbyteries are doing all through Scotland.
“There was a number of trauma in attending to the place we at the moment are, however Clèir Eilean Ì is a part of the decision of that, not a part of the issue. Wherever I’m going, I meet folks with a coronary heart for mission and a willingness to do issues in a brand new approach and I discover that very encouraging.”
Learn extra on our Speaking Ministry Web page.
