St Margaret's News November 2019 | Page 11

50 Years an Elder “As St Margaret’s came together from different traditions it was necessary in the early years to reflect each of those traditions. So, for example, people who had been Elders in the Presbyterian Church had rights within the combined Congregational-Methodist-Presbyterian congregation which those from the other traditions did not automatically have. Nevertheless, our congregation found a successful way through that and, by the time of church union, was in many respects well ahead of the game.” Brian Rope - Reflecting on 50 Years: 1964-2014. Angus Cameron was one of those Presbyterian church Elders. Recently during a morning service our current Church Council Chairman drew attention to the fact that Angus was celebrating 50 years as an Elder. “I arrived at St Margaret’s that Sunday morning, hoping to just worship and ob- serve, but I hadn’t counted on the greeting and questions of Angus Cameron that were to inform the minister! Every church needs an Angus Cameron; in- deed, if someone like him was at every door at every church on every Sunday, our churches would be full or near full! “ Rev Barbara Allen - Reflecting on 50 Years: 1964-2014. We are so very grateful to Angus for welcoming everyone at the door as they arrived to worship and ensuring that all newcomers and visitors felt most wel- come amongst us. We are glad that he continues to be a faithful and regular worshipper at St Margaret’s, always responding to our question of “How are you” with his “Still here”. May he still be here with us for quite a while yet. We give thanks for all that Angus has done for St Margaret’s over many years, serving on councils and committees. For a lengthy period, he provid- ed a substantial part of the content of St Mar- garet’s News with amazingly detailed accounts of the significant activities of almost every member of the congregation and their offspring. (Image at left is part of a confirmation class with their Elders in 1983, scanned from ‘St Margaret’s The First Twenty Years’. It shows Elder Angus Cameron at left with Rev Paul Cameron, Paul Branson, Rebecca Ston- ham and Barbara Irvine. Photographer not identified.) St Margaret’s News 11 November 2019