W. Martin Fair (born 1964) is a minister of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

and was Moderator of its General Assembly from May 2020– May 2021. He has also served as the minister at St Andrews Parish Church in

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen. The ...

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since 1992.

Early life and education

Fair grew up in Thornliebank on the southside of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland. Dr Fair was brought up in Spiersbridge Church, now called Thornliebank Parish Church, and his wife Elaine, a primary school teacher by profession, was his childhood sweetheart. They were married on 4 July 1987. The couple grew up on the same street and attended the same school.

Ordained ministry

He has served as the Minister of

St Andrew's Parish Church, Arbroath St Andrew's Parish Church is a congregation of the Church of Scotland located in Arbroath, Angus, Scotland. The church building was constructed in the late 1880s. In 2007 the church underwent extensive refurbishment, funded by donations from th ...

for the whole of his ministry, since being ordained in 1992. He has served on the Mission & Discipleship Council of the denomination, becoming a vice-convener in time, chairing the Church Without Walls committee. On 21 October 2019, it was announced that he had been nominated as the next

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 ...

. He was elected to the position by a Commission of Assembly and installed on 16 May 2020. Uniquely, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Dr Fair was installed as Moderator in a special ceremony attended by a handful of people but live-streamed to the Kirk. Dr Fair moderated an online Assembly held in October 2020 in place of the usual Assembly which would have been held in May 2020. He will be succeeded as Moderator by

Jim Wallace, Baron Wallace of Tankerness James Robert Wallace, Baron Wallace of Tankerness, (born 25 August 1954) is a Scottish politician serving as a Liberal Democrat life peer in the British House of Lords since 2007 and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland ...

in May 2021.

Personal life

He was born in

in 1964. He is married to Elaine; they have three sons: Callum, 23, Andrew, 20 and Fraser, 18 (ages as of October 2019). In the autumn of 2017 he fell awkwardly and was left without the use of his left arm.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fair, Martin 20th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland Living people Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland 1964 births 21st-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland

Early life and education

Ordained ministry

Personal life

See also

References