The Rt Rev Kevin Pearson, Bishop of the United Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway, is pleased to announce the appointment of the Rev David Guest as Rector of All Saints, Bearsden.
His institution will be on Thursday 15 June 2023 at 6pm at All Saints, Bearsden.
David says, “I am excited to be heading to Scotland to join the Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway and the people of All Saints. I am looking forward to working alongside everybody as we together discern God’s will in responding to his calling as pilgrim people together. I am hugely grateful for the warmth of welcome already shown to me and my partner, Stephen, and eagerly anticipate exploring all aspects of the community in Bearsden and playing a full part in the life of the Diocese.”
The Rev David Guest comes to the Diocese from the Canterbury Province in the Church of England, where he has been serving as the Vicar of St Bartholomew’s, Otford in the Diocese of Rochester.
Bishop Kevin says, “We are pleased to welcome David into the diocese and look forward to him becoming the next Rector of Bearsden. David brings with him a wealth of experience from working in the Anglican Church across Great Britain. His skills and expertise in spirituality, communication and creativity will be very much valued in Bearsden. It is a delight also to welcome his partner Stephen and we are sure that they will continue to receive the warmth of welcome, which has been a significant dimension in their calling to come and serve in the Diocese. We look forward to all that David and Stephen will bring to help develop the next chapter of ministry and mission in Bearsden and the Diocese.”
Please pray for David and his partner Stephen as they prepare to move to All Saints, Bearsden during the coming months.
Introduction to the Rev David Guest
Born in Shoreham, West Sussex (on St Andrew’s Day), and brought up next door in Southwick, I trained as a newspaper journalist and worked in Portsmouth, Petersfield, and Chichester, where I was the chief Arts writer and deputy chief reporter. I have been a theatre reviewer in print and now online for over 40 years.
After the call to ordained ministry, I trained at Chichester and was ordained in the Chester diocese in 1992. I served in a parish on the Wirral and then just outside Chester, during which time I also worked on the BBC Radio Merseyside Sunday morning programme as a producer and presenter. I moved to the Isle of Man to become an associate vicar in two churches in Douglas, diocesan communications officer, Head of Religious Broadcasting at Manx Radio, where I also produced and presented a weekly Sunday show, Bishop’s chaplain, and writer/editor on the diocesan newspaper (all of these were supposed to be “half time” jobs!).
In 2000 I moved back to the Chichester diocese to become diocesan communications officer, and also served in parishes in Hove before returning to my “home parish” of Southwick as assistant priest in addition to my communications job. In 2009 I became Vicar of All Saints, Heathfield, with St George’s, Broad Oak, then in 2016 moved to be Team Vicar of Christ Church, East Sheen. In 2020 I moved to the Diocese of Rochester to become Vicar of St Bartholomew’s, Otford.
Among my interests are Celtic spirituality, and I have led a large number of quiet days/retreats in addition to acting as a spiritual director for more than 40 years. I have a passion for the Arts: I’ve reviewed plays, sung, acted and danced my way through a number of amateur productions, and also written a number of plays, including whodunits, pantomimes, and a Passion Play performed in the streets of Chichester. I am a member of Theatre Chaplaincy UK (formerly the Actors’ Church Union) and currently serve as Chaplain to the Garrick Theatre, London. Among mixed interests are crime fiction, cats (I have hosted several Stories of Cats days in Southwark Cathedral alongside the resident feline), genealogy, cult TV (especially Doctor Who – yes, I’ve visited the old police telephone boxes in Glasgow) and Scandinavia.
I met a good many of my friends over dead bodies or while time travelling; I appear as a question in the 1996 version of Trivial Pursuit; I have played Agnetha in an Abba tribute band called Bjorn Yesterday and Benny on Mamma Mia film nights; I have appeared as an extra in the British soap Hollyoaks and the American soap The Bold and the Beautiful; I have sung at the Royal Albert Hall; and I once had an idea for a crime novel stolen by P.D.James!
I am excited to be heading to Scotland to join the diocese and the people of All Saints and look forward to working alongside everybody as we together discern God’s will and respond to his calling as pilgrim people together. I am hugely grateful for the warmth of welcome already shown to me and my partner, Stephen, and eagerly anticipate exploring all aspects of the community in Bearsden and playing a full part in the life of the Diocese.
