William Gibson Sloan (4 September 1838 in
Dalry, North Ayrshire
Dalry () is a small town in the Garnock Valley in Ayrshire, Scotland. Drakemyre, North Ayrshire, Drakemyre is a northern suburb.
History
Dalry (from gd, Dail Ruighe, 'the haugh at the slope') is a small settlement on the Rye Burn. Its history ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
– 4 September 1914 in
Tórshavn
Tórshavn (; lit. "Thor's harbour"), usually locally referred to as simply ''Havn'', is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the ...
,
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
) was a
Plymouth Brethren evangelist
Evangelist may refer to:
Religion
* Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels
* Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ
* Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...
to the
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
and
Shetland.
Life
His parents were Nathanael and Elisabeth Sloane (Sloan) who lived in Bridgend, Dalry.
William became a
missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
, sent by the
Tract Society of Scotland, to
Shetland and
Orkney. While in Shetland,
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
-born Sloan came into contact with local
Plymouth Brethren and issues like "believer's baptism" and the "breaking of bread" came up. Sloan converted and became "baptised by immersion into the water" and thence "broke bread" with the local Shetland Baptists, even though he never considered himself being a Baptist. He believed in the ''one Congregation of God''.
It was in this belief that he in 1865 decided to become an evangelist to the
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
, which he had heard of from Shetland fishermen, who earned their living by fishing in the vicinity of the Faroe Islands.
For many years, his work in Faroe had little effect, but eventually a few people started gathering in "Ebenezer Hall" also known as "Sloan's Hall", which was built in Tórshavn in 1879. As the number of congregants was increasing, a new and bigger "Ebenezer" was built in 1905. The congregation eventually grew into the biggest independent congregation in the islands, second only to the established church.
William Sloan died on his 76th birthday, 4 September 1914, in his home in
Tórshavn
Tórshavn (; lit. "Thor's harbour"), usually locally referred to as simply ''Havn'', is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the ...
.
Approximately 12% of the population in the Faroe Islands now belong to the local Brethren congregations
founded by Mr. Sloan or "Old Sloan", as he is referred to in the Faroe Islands.
Family
On 11 October 1881 William Sloan married Elsebeth (Elspa) Isaksen í Geil from Tórshavn, in
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 ...
. William and Elspa Sloan had six children: Poul (born 1882), Elisabeth (Betty) (born 1887), Archibald (born 1890), Cathrine (born 1892), Anna Elisabeth (born 1895) and Andrew (born 1896). Elspa remained a widow until she died on 4 June 1939. The youngest son, Andrew, followed in his father's footsteps and became an evangelist in Faroe.
Literature
* Fred Kelling: ''Fisherman of Faroe – William Gibson Sloan'', Leirkerið Publications, Gøta, Faroe Islands 1993
* Tórður Jóansson: ''Brethren in the Faroes - An Evangelical movement, its remarkable growth and lasting impact in a remote island community'', Tórshavn 2012,
* ''In Faroese:'' Sigurd Berghamar: ''-men Gud gav vøkst – um William Sloan og fyrstu samkomurnar'', Forlagið Afturljóð, Tórshavn 1992
External links
GOD'S INDESCRIBABLE GIFTat www.alfredplacechurch.org.uk
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sloan, William Gibson
1838 births
1914 deaths
Converts to evangelical Christianity from Roman Catholicism
Faroese people of Scottish descent
Scottish Protestant missionaries
Protestant missionaries in the Faroe Islands
Protestant missionaries in Scotland
Scottish Plymouth Brethren
People from Dalry, North Ayrshire
Scottish evangelicals
19th-century Faroese people