Barlinnie Prison chaplain named as Church of Scotland moderator
Rev Jill Clancy, 56, will succeed Rt Rev Gordon Kennedy in the post.
The chaplain of Scotland’s biggest prison has been named as the next moderator of the Church of Scotland.
Rev Jill Clancy will become the Kirk’s ambassador at home and abroad next May, succeeding current moderator, Rt Rev Gordon Kennedy.
The 56-year-old from North Ayrshire is the first non-military chaplain to be nominated for the role and only the seventh female moderator in the Church’s 466-year history.
She will take up the year-long role after working in Barlinnie Prison in Glasgow for nine years and previously serving as a parish minister in Gourock, Glasgow and Ayrshire.
“I have the same questions now about becoming moderator as I did at the time of my calling to ministry; I’m too young, not intellectual enough, I’ve got a strong Ayrshire accent,” Rev Clancy said.
“I know I will not be to everyone’s taste, but I am who I am, and God has a reason and a purpose for me to be called into this role at this particular juncture in the life of the Church.”
Rev Clancy grew up in Kilwinning, where her dad was a salesman for the gas board and her mum ran her own hair stylist business.
She said she was “lying on a sunbed in Benidorm” when she learned she had been nominated for the role by two different people.
“One was somebody who had been my student, and one was a prison chaplain, and both of them said they wanted to nominate me as moderator,” she said.
“I said ‘that is crazy, absolutely crazy’.”
Prior to her nomination, she said she had never considered becoming moderator.
She was told by a former student that she would be “a breath of fresh air” in the role and the prison chaplain nominated Rev Clancy because they believed she would be able to deal with the transition that the Church is currently going through.
The moderator chairs the General Assembly which involves commissioners – ministers, elders and deacons – examining the work and laws of the Church and making decisions that affect its future.
They also act as the church’s ambassador, representing the church in Scotland and abroad.
Rev Clancy currently lives in Ayrshire with her husband, Frank, who she says is her “rock”, and the couple’s two labradors.
She styled herself as DJ Jolly Jilly and ran the jail’s Barbed Wireless radio station during the first Covid-19 lockdown.
Rev Clancy said the theme of her year as moderator would be love.
Scottish Prison Service chaplaincy adviser Rev Graham Bell said: “We are absolutely delighted to hear of Jill’s nomination. It is a tremendous honour and one that is richly deserved.
“Jill has made an outstanding contribution to prison chaplaincy over many years. Through her ministry, she has provided compassionate support to those in our care and to staff, bringing energy, warmth and dedication to everything she does.”