IAN WATSON: NOT THE AVERAGE CEO
By J. Brock (FINN)
When Christ Church Cathedral gets a new vicar early next year, Ian Watson won’t be choosing him. Neither will the Christ Church Cathedral Council. The Archbishop of Canterbury won’t be choosing him or, HM the Queen, for that matter. One thing that Rev. Canon Ian Watson is adamant about is that as far as finding a new chaplain for the Falkland Islands, there is a need to be led by the Holy Spirit of God. And, it is He, who will influence the choice of the best man (or woman) as Priest in Charge of Christ Church Cathedral. The Falklands post is one of the ten or so that have become vacant with the Intercontinental Church Society this year, so all involved in these choices must have a keen sense of the Spirit’s leading.
Literally going to the ends of the earth, Rev. Canon Watson wanted to see for himself where the Next Priest in Charge of Christ Church Cathedral would work and live. He wasn’t disappointed. During his visit, he was able to experience Camp and chat with a variety of people there and in Stanley. Like his predecessor, Don Irvine, who visited the Islands approximately 12 years ago, Canon Watson found the place remarkably beautiful and the welcome, warm.
On Sunday, September 29th, a lunch was given in the Parish Hall so that the congregation of Christ Church Cathedral could meet Rev. Canon Watson. At the lunch, Rev. Alistair McHaffie presented a book about the Royal Marine’s participation in the Falklands War to Canon Watson. Upon his return to the UK, Rev. Canon Watson will interview candidates for the post on October 10th.
"The person chosen for the job must fit in well with the people here in the Falklands and continue the work that has started," said Rev. Canon Watson. It is also important for him that the churches in a given place work together and getting that to happen isn’t easy but must be a talent of the new Priest in Charge, as it is with Rev. Alistair McHaffie.
"Jesus tells us to go to the ends of the earth and preach the gospel," said Canon Watson, " ICS is doing that." It’s called Church planting and with the right vicar, surely Christ Church Cathedral will continue to grow.
To appoint the right person does not come easily and it takes insight to enable God, and not politics, to do the choosing. Canon Watson is up to the task. He was in the Royal Marines from 1969 to 1979 and left as a commissioned officer. He attended Oxford’s Wycliffe Hall, Oxford and was ordained in 1981. His first parish was in Portsmouth, followed by Redditch, Woodley, Amsterdam in Holland and then as CEO at the Intercontinental Church Society.
