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James Leslie Weatherhead CBE (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 for 1993–1994.

Background and career

James Leslie Weatherhead was born in Dundee 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, 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 in 1991 and was appointed a CBE in the 1997 New Year Honours 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 DD. He died on 20 May 2017.

See also

• List of moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland

References

1. Grave of Rev James Weatherhead, Western Cemetery, Dundee
2. Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, Volume XI (page 297), T&T Clark Ltd, Edinburgh, 2000, ISBN 0-567-08750-6
3. "Ministers unite against Moderator". The Herald Scotland. 6 January 1994. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
4. "No. 22949". The Edinburgh Gazette. 19 April 1991. p. 1023.
5. "Fitting tribute to Kirk service Former Moderator worked for church in Europe". The Herald Scotland. 30 December 1996. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
6. "Opening Ceremony 2017". The Church of Scotland. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
7. "Obituary: The Very Rev Dr James Weatherhead". The Church of Scotland. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.

External links

• Letter by Dr Weatherhead to the Kirriemuir Herald, 11 June 2008
• The Independent - the meaning of Christmas

• 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
• 20th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers
• Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
• Clergy from Dundee