Milestone minister’s ‘most fulfilling’ role to date

An Orkney minister is the latest face in a Church of Scotland campaign to promote parish ministry.

Rev David McNeish, a former hospital doctor and political campaigner, described his new role as the “most fulfilling” he has ever had.

Rev McNeish, of the Milestone Church, Dounby, said his first year as a parish minister has been an “adventure” and no single day was the same.

He features in the latest video in the church’s Tomorrow’s Calling campaign to promote parish ministry.

In it, Rev McNeish talks about his work and his parishioners describe the positive impact he has had on the local church.

Mr McNeish, who grew up in Cumbernauld and Milngavie near Glasgow, has been the minister at Milestone Community Church in Dounby, which serves the people of Birsay, Harray and Sandwick, since January 2015.

The 40-year-old said his greatest challenges have been getting used to the remoteness of island life and the weather, which he described as a “cantankerous member of the congregation”.

“It’s a much more dispersed community,” added the married father of three.

“It takes a lot longer to get from house to house. I’ve spent most of my first six months getting lost, and getting to know people by going to the wrong house.”