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One of the Church of Scotland's most distinguished preachers and
scholars has died a month short of his 90th birthday.
Glasgow Herald - 1st September 2001
The Rev Andrew Douglas was minister of Cadzow Parish Church, Hamilton,
Lanarkshire, for 26 years until his retiral in 1978. in 1982 he gave the
Chalmers lectures to the Scottish universities. He was also a notable
Burnsian, as befitted a native of Auchinleck, Ayrshire.
He was educated at Paisley Grammar School and Glasgow University. After
graduating in arts and divinity he was ordained in 1937 as an assistant
minister in St Michael's, Dumfries. His first charge was St Cuthbert's,
Maryhill, Glasgow, before induction to Duns, Berwickshire, in 1941.
Wartime service included spells as unofficial chaplain to Maryhill ARP
and chaplain to the Church of Scotland Mission at Scapa Flow naval base.
In 1952 he went to Cadzow, where his reputation as a preacher,
administrator, writer, and scholar was established. During his 26 years
there he combined the duties of a large parish with service on
Lanarkshire education committee, having previously served on
Berwickshire education committee. He was chair for four years. His close
interest in education led to membership of three provincial committees
for teacher training, the board of governors of Hamilton College of
Education, and finally to a role as convener of the General Assembly
Committee on Education. He also served as Moderator of Hamilton
Presbytery.
He was asked to give the prestigious Chalmers lectures to the Scottish
divinity universities in 1982. These were published as The Church and
School in Scotland in 1985.
He was an advocate of integrated schools and a major contributor to
ending sectarian strife between Protestants and Roman Catholics in
Scotland, but he was against confrontational methods to achieve that
objective.
As he noted in his lectures: ''Every attempt by the Kirk to urge the
implementation of a policy of integration is unlikely to achieve any
good. A non-Catholic might find it wiser to be constantly engaged in the
endeavour to learn from those with whom he disagrees. A battle on the
education front will not end divisiveness; it will aggravate it.''
Mr Douglas's writing extended to the secular sphere. For some 30 years
he was editorial leader writer and columnist (writing under his middle
name McNeil) with the Hamilton Advertiser, Lanarkshire's largest weekly
newspaper.
His formidable intellect, grounded in Latin and Greek scholarship,
combined the Hebrew-Greek virtues of faith and reason so that deep
spirituality blended with objectivity. To these qualities was added a
dry but engaging humour which made him much in demand as an after-dinner
speaker. In later life he acquired a reputation as a Burnsian and
proposed the Immortal Memory at Scotland's leading Burns clubs.
While not a ''clubbable'' man, he reluctantly joined Hamilton Rotary
Club, where he entertained fellow members with the same wit and wisdom
he daily regaled professional cronies at morning coffee in a Hamilton
tearoom.
He was also a natural sportsman. He represented Scottish schools at
football, and was a keen cricket and rugby enthusiast. He was also a
low-handicap golfer, playing off three as a member of Hamilton Golf
Club. His car boot always contained his Bible, clerical gown, and a set
of golf clubs.
Mr Douglas was twice married and is survived by his son John and three
grandchildren.
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