James Gunn Matheson (1 March 1912 – 28 October 2007) was a Scottish minister. He served as

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the ministers and elders of the Church of Scotland, minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week i ...

in 1975. He did much to bridge differences between religions and was a strong friend of Archbishop Thomas Winning.

Life

He was born 1 March 1912 in

Caithness Caithness ( gd, Gallaibh ; sco, Caitnes; non, Katanes) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded by ...

the son of Rev Matheson, a Free Church of Scotland minister. He was educated

Inverness Royal Academy Inverness Royal Academy is a comprehensive secondary school in the city of Inverness in the Highland area of Scotland. A former grammar school with a history dating back to the 13th century, the Academy became a comprehensive in the mid-1970 ...

. He studied arts and divinity at the University of Edinburgh. He was ordained around 1934 and his first charge was Olrig in Caithness. In the Second World War he served as an Army Chaplain in North Africa. He was captured by the Germans at the

Battle of Tobruk Battle of Tobruk may refer to: * Battle of Tobruk (1911), an engagement in December 1911 during the Italo-Turkish War * Battle of Tobruk (1941), the capture of Tobruk by the Allies in January 1941 * Siege of Tobruk, by the Axis from April to Novemb ...

in 1942. He was held as a

prisoner-of-war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

in Italy for the remainder of the war. During this time he learned Italian and acted as a liaison officer with the Italian authorities. On release he rejoined the ministry and served at St Columba's Church in

Blackhall, Edinburgh Blackhall is a suburb in the north west of the Scottish capital city Edinburgh. It is a mainly residential area with amenities including a library and a small number of shops. Geography Most of the housing in the neighbourhood was construc ...

from 1946. In 1951 he travelled to the other side of the world as minister of

Knox Church, Dunedin Knox Church is a notable building in Dunedin, New Zealand. It houses the city's second Presbyterian congregation and is the city's largest church (in terms of building size, rather than congregation size) of any denomination. Situated close to th ...

in New Zealand. In 1961 he returned to Scotland to take on a senior administrative role at the Church of Scotland Offices on George Street in Edinburgh. During this period he was an elder in Mayfield Church in southern Edinburgh. In 1973 he returned to ministry going north to the remote town of

Portree Portree (; gd, Port Rìgh, ) is the largest town on, and capital of, the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Murray, W.H. (1966) ''The Hebrides''. London. Heinemann. Pages 154-155. It is the location for the only secondary school o ...

on Skye. This post necessitated him learning

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

. The University of Edinburgh awarded him an honorary doctorate (DD) in 1975. He succeeded Very Rev David Steel as Moderator in 1975 and in turn was succeeded by Very Rev

Thomas F. Torrance Thomas Forsyth Torrance (30 August 1913 – 2 December 2007), commonly referred to as T. F. Torrance, was a Scottish Protestant theologian and minister. Torrance served for 27 years as professor of Christian dogmatics at New College ...

in 1976. He died at his home in

Totaig Totaig (from Old Norse ''Topt-vík'') is a small crofting settlement on the west coast of Loch Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye. The village of Dunvegan Dunvegan ( gd, Dùn Bheagain) is a village on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It is famous for ...

on the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...

on 28 October 2007 aged 95.

Family

In 1937 he married Janet Clarkson and together they had two daughters and three sons.

Publications

*''Do You Believe This?'' *''Saints and Sinners''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matheson, James Gunn 1912 births 2007 deaths People from Caithness 20th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Alumni of the University of Edinburgh