Cornerstone No. 192, page 16
69: Euphemia Irvine
In this year of 2018 –
and the
centenary of when the vote was granted to the fair ones
– truly, a page has turned, so please come and meet a
person who has verily caused that page to turn. (Don’t
let me forget the centenary of the Royal Air Force – in
which the girls also played an important role.) This GS
biography will not be as long as others in
our list of 68, but will carry more
significance and – I hope – more belief
into why we attend the Kirk on a Sunday
morning. I write ‘a page has turned’
because the Rev. Effie Irvine was, at the
same time, a Minister of our church AND
the first female Minister of Word and
Sacrament. She was born on August 28th,
1924 and made history when she was
ordained to the linked charge of Campsie
Trinity-with-Milton of Campsie on June 1st
1972; but that is all ecclesiastical chat,
let’s look at why this ‘mere woman’
became such an important figure in the
history – perhaps the ‘expansion’ – of the
Scots Kirk. Mrs Irvine grew up in Whiteinch
in Glasgow, where her parents were
members of Jordanvale Parish Church.
She was a housewife for 16 years before
deciding to become a religious studies teacher. However, when she was a year
into her course at Glasgow University, the Church of Scotland made a decision
that was to accelerate Effie’s journey in the Kirk – that to admit women as
ministers. It may be run-of-the-mill today, but in days-long-gone-bye, t’was a
turning point in the direction in which the Scots Kirk was heading.
Following an ‘assistantship’ at Renfield Church, Glasgow, Effie became the first
woman to be called, as is described above, when she was appointed Minister of
the above-mentioned linked parishes (she actually turned down the offer before
accepting the post). Let us quote: “I was a townie and didn’t want to go to the
country!” She stayed on as Minister of Milton of Campsie until her retirement in
1988. (In 1978, six years after Effie’s ordainment, the link between the parishes
of Campsie Trinity and Milton of Campsie was dissolved.) In 2003 she published
her autobiography entitled
. This year we celebrate 50 years
Great Scot!