The Minister is the Rev. Sandy Fraser. He is married and has three children. Prior to coming to Knightswood St. Margaret's he was minister in the charge of Gartcosh linked with Glenboig Parish Churches, North Lanarkshire.

The Rev. Sandy left school and went to St. Andrews University where he was awarded a Bachelor of Divinity. He then joined the army and served as an officer in the 4th. Royal Tank Regiment, until he decided to come into the Ministry. September 1977 - February 1978 R.M.A. Sandhurst; Commissioned 2nd. Lieutenant 1977; Lieutenant 1978;Captain 1980

During his time in the Army he was stationed in Munster in West Germany. He undertook a tour in Northern Ireland and was posted for 3 months to Canada. He was part of a Minor Military Diplomatic Mission to ex-British Colonies in the Caribbean. On station, in Munster, he assisted the chaplains in taking services when they were away from the base. he also assisted and took part in the Bible Studies for the garrison. he was a member of the Officer's Christian Union.

He came to Knightswood St. Margaret's Parish Church on 18th. August 2009.

Dear Friends

I have just come back from spending the day at the General Assembly. I had the great privilege of escorting Baljaffary Primary School around the Assembly. Baljaffray School were the primary school who won the Stevenson Prize for the best Religious Observance Assembly handed in. It was really great seeing all their excited wee faces in the Assembly.

The Assembly is now finished and there have been some very far reaching and enormous decisions. It was been decided that the number of full-time equivalent ministries would be  1,000 by 2014. This means that in real terms Glasgow Presbytery would lose 28 posts. Now this does not mean that there will be wholesale unions but it does mean that we will need to produce and entirely new plan for the future of Glasgow Presbytery.

One of the great things about the Assembly, for ministers, is that we meet colleagues who we have not seen for some time. I had a coffee Andrew Jolly (He sends his good wishes to all of you) and Alan Webster who came to Glasgow at the same time as I did. We were remarking that when we came to Glasgow there were about 175 Congregations. There are now 141! In 25 years we have lost 1.3 congregations a year.Another decision that was made was that in future Unrestricted tenure should not be regarded as the normal. That means that when a charge falls vacant a very long term look has to be made with the congregation. It may be that in the future congr4egations will have to make more of an effort to say why they should get a minister.

We live in interesting times! The one thing that is agreed is that we have change! Nobody likes change. We all want things to stay as they are. However, this Assembly has grappled with some of the very serious issues that have to be addressed.

During his 1960 presidential campaign, John F. Kennedy often closed his speeches with the story of Colonel Davenport, the Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives.

One day in 1789, the sky of Hartford darkened ominously, and some of the representatives, glancing out the windows, feared the end was at hand. Quelling a clamor for immediate adjournment, Davenport rose and said, "The Day of Judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment. If it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. Therefore, I wish that candles be brought."

Rather than fearing what is to come, we are to be faithful till Christ returns. Instead of fearing the dark, we're to be lights as we watch and wait.

Paul has some very good advice for us he said, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3: 13 – 14

God Bless you all

Sandy Fraser
Minister