Church Leadership Changed in Paisley

The geography of Paisley Stake (diocese or presbytery) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is from Pollok in the south side of Glasgow to Stranraer in the south west of the country.  The Church has had a presence in Scotland since the organising of its first Branch in Paisley in 1840 and there are eight congregations of the Church within Paisley Stake.  

At a Stake (area) conference of the Church held in Paisley on 25 October, the leadership of the Stake was reorganised and an honourable release extended to the leaders who had served so well and faithfully for 9 years.  An assignment was made by the Church’s highest governing body to Elder Timothy Dyches and Elder Clifford Herbertson to travel to Paisley and extend both the release and call of the new leadership.

Called to serve as the President of Paisley Stake is Andrew Paul Dewey (43).  A sign language interpreter by profession with his own interpreting business, President Dewey lives in Ayr with his wife Debbie and family. Called to serve as his counsellors are Andrew Keir (54), a resident of Neilston who is a social worker by profession, and Douglas A. Yates (69) who works in the public sector as a non-executive director and resides in Barrhead.  As is the way in the Church, all these men were sustained in conference by a show of hands by the almost 500 members who were in attendance.

The out-going stake president, Douglas A. Yates Jnr, a businessman from Irvine, and his counsellors Larry D. Hale, a businessman from Lochwinnoch and Brian E. McKechnie, an educator from Glasgow were also thanked by conference for their dedicated and unselfish service.  

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has no paid ministry and all those who serve in the Church do so as a result of a 'call' being extended to them from an ecclesiastical leader. There are about 5,000 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Paisley Stake, one of 5 Stakes in Scotland.