About Us

Lindsay O’Riordan

Lindsay is the Ascend Senior Administrator in the Training Team.  Her focus is looking after the resources for Ministers, including; Study Leave, Post Graduate Fund, Alexander J MacLeod Gaelic Fund, First Five Years CMD, The ASCEND Website and monthly E-News.

Kay Cathcart

Kay is the People and Training Manager for Faith Nurture, bringing strategic oversight to all education and learning programmes within the church. Kay is passionate about equipping people for the reality of mission, discipleship and ministry on the ground.

Clare Milrine

Clare Milrine is our Project Officer. Clare is Ascend’s efficiency expert and believes her slightly unhealthy obsession with spreadsheets is what makes her a good fit for this role.

Ashley Johnston

Ashley Johnston is our Training Officer, working with ministry candidates for FTWS, Deacons, OLMs and Readers in Training. Ashley is passionate about supporting and guiding those on their training journeys, from offering advice for choosing academic courses, supporting the placement process to being involved in conferences and gatherings and meeting with individuals throughout their training. …

Ally Mooney

Ally is our Support Officer. Trained as a counsellor, Ally has worked with children and adults in a variety of settings since graduating from the University of Edinburgh with a Masters in Interpersonal Dialogue. Before joining the Church of Scotland, Ally was the HR Coordinator for L’Arche Edinburgh, a community-based organisation supporting adults with intellectual …

Allan McCafferty

Allan is our Pastoral Support Operations Manager.

Alison Stewart

Alison Stewart is the Senior Administrator for the Support team. She is the first point of contact if you’re not sure who to talk to about receiving support, or if you have questions about any of the support services mentioned on the Ascend website. This includes Retreat Grants, Pastoral Supervision, Pulpit Supply, Ministers Illness and …