A NEW minister at Prestongrange Parish Church is to be inducted tomorrow evening (Thursday).

The Rev Eckhardt Bosch, 37, originally from Cape Town in South Africa, moved to Scotland in 2020.

He left his role as assistant minister at St Paul’s Parish Church, Forth, South Lanarkshire, to take up the Church of Scotland position in Prestonpans.

Mr Bosch told the Courier that he hoped to be at Prestongrange “long term”.

On September 29, the members of Prestongrange Church voted in favour of selecting him as their new minister and he accepted the call.

He said: “The most important thing in the next six months for me is getting to know the parish and the community. I am going to be myself and take it from there; I think one has to be contextual to get the sense of what type of people live in Prestonpans.

“I have made the mistake of forcing my agenda on people but that does not work in Scotland; you really need to respect the people you are around, and I think sincerity and being open and honest will help me and the church in the long term.

“People do smell if you are fake; so don’t be fake, be truthful as much as you can, so at the moment I am going to remain calm and then bring energy and take it from there.”

Asked how he hoped to fill the pews at Prestongrange, he demonstrated that honesty.

“I actually do not know; I do not know,” was his response.

“Scotland is a very secular place for many reasons, so I do not know.

“But getting to know the kirk and churchgoers in Prestonpans, along with being sincere and representing the uniqueness of the Church of Scotland, is very important to me.”

Mr Bosch has already moved to Prestonpans along with his family: wife Rozelle, 35, who is expecting a child in January, and their two-year-old daughter Lorelei.

The family are looking forward to spending Christmas in their new community.

“I think the Christmas hymns are my favourite,” he added.

“For me, a hymn is all about the tune and joy that it creates, and you can really see that when they are sung. Afrikaans is my first language, with English being my second, and I think the tunes and music from those languages sound exactly the same, so it is easy for me to sing it in English because I know the tune.

“As a child, I was brought up with this beautiful music and lights, and I get that same experience here in Scotland with my second language.”

Mr Bosch succeeds the Rev Kenneth Donald, who retired in October last year. The Rev Robin Hill has served as interim moderator.

READ MORE: Retiring minister’s ‘tremendous service’ praised

The induction will be held at the church at 7pm, where the Rev Bosch will be officially welcomed to the church community.

A church spokesperson said: “It’s a great opportunity to come together, celebrate, and show our support. The church will be full so make sure to be there by 6.30pm!”