James Leslie Weatherhead (29 March 1931 – 20 May 2017) was a minister of the Church of Scotland and the

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 ...

for 1993–1994.

Background and career

James Leslie Weatherhead was born in

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

on 29 March 1931. He was the grandson of Rev Dr James Weatherhead of St Pauls UF Church in Dundee, and his wife, Margaret McDougall Kilpatrick. His grandfather was Moderator of the General Assembly of the United Free Church of Scotland in 1927. He was a graduate of the University of Edinburgh, where he was President of the Students' Representative Council. He was minister at Trinity Church, Rothesay, Isle of Bute until 1969, when he became minister at the Old Parish Church, Montrose. He demitted his charge in 1985 to become Principal Clerk to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, a post he held until his retirement in 1996. He was succeeded as Principal Clerk by the Reverend Dr Finlay Macdonald. During his Moderatorial year he sparked controversy over a sermon he gave in

St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh St Giles' Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Naomh Giles), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended ...

, where spoke in support of Dr David Jenkins (the former Bishop of Durham) in his interpretation of the account of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. He appointed a

Chaplain to the Queen An Honorary Chaplain to the King (KHC) is a member of the clergy within the United Kingdom who, through long and distinguished service, is appointed to minister to the monarch of the United Kingdom. When the reigning monarch is female, Honorary Ch ...

in 1991 and was appointed a CBE in the

1997 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1997 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...

for ecumenical work and public service. Following the end of his Moderatorial year, his official title was the Very Reverend Dr James Leslie Weatherhead CBE MA

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the China, People's Republic ...

DD. He died on 20 May 2017.

References

External links

Letter by Dr Weatherhead to the ''Kirriemuir Herald'', 11 June 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weatherhead, James 1931 births 2017 deaths People educated at the High School of Dundee Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland People from Dundee

Background and career

See also

References

External links