The Monday Interview: Dr Alison Elliot: Moderation in All Things
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Summary
For a pioneer, Dr Alison Elliot has a surprisingly bemused air. As the first female Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, she carries the pent-up expectations of generations of women. Things came to a head a year ago when 140 lady stalwarts of the church, who had hitherto confined themselves to the odd grumble and a bit of militant flower arranging, signed a letter to The Scotsman denouncing the Kirk for its sexism. Now, 450 years after John Knox sounded a warning blast, his monstrous regiment has finally got its colonel-in-chief.
Anybody expecting her to rally the troops will be disappointed, however. Far from leading a revolution within the Kirk, Dr Elliot gives the impression that she has stumbled by accident into a relay race and been left holding the baton. "I'm fascinated by what is going on, but I don't identify myself with it," she says. "It's as if I'm looking at it from the outside. It's a very strange feeling. It's very difficult to imagine it is me that it is happening to."See the full content of this document
Extract
The Monday Interview: Dr Alison Elliot: Moderation in All Things
Sitting in a depressingly bare room in the Church of Scotland's George Street offices - which with their strange tiling make you feel as if you are entering an old-fashioned municipal swimming pool rather than the powerhouse of the national church - the first impression of her is one of softness.
The secretaries and receptionists are all clipped brusqueness and chilly disapproval - I am inadvertently late - but Dr Elliot is tranquility itself. Her grey hair is cut in a short, feathery crop, she is dressed in an inform...See the full content of this document
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