A FORMER primary school teacher has swapped classrooms for cassocks to become the Church of Scotland's newest parish minister in Clacks.

Rev Dawn Laing was one of two former teachers to make a move, alongside Rev Carl Irvine.

Miss Laing was ordained and inducted into Alloa Ludgate Church in Clackmannanshire at the end of last month and Mr Irvine, an ordained local minister since 2017, recently moved to his new role at St Andrew's Parish Church in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire.

Miss Laing, who has moved to Alloa from Kennoway, Fife, is looking forward to settling into the Wee County.

She said: "I'm looking forward to bringing people to worship in different ways.

"It is important as each person learns in a different way.

"I'm excited to learn about people's journey of faith.

"Everyone has something special to offer – god calls us in different ways and values us each for who we are."

A keen singer in the Dunfermline Choral Union, Miss Laing says that although she had never been to Alloa, her new church's profile "jumped out" at her.

Over the course of a rewarding career, which included a year on a Fulbright Teacher Exchange to Connecticut in the USA, Miss Laing was also an elder in the church for 20 years with roles as the worship coordinator and with the Girls' Brigade.

After her ordination and induction on January 30, Miss Laing added: "I had said that I wouldn't leave Buckhaven unless god had something really big to make me change the job I was doing.

"I'm delighted that the congregation at Alloa Ludgate chose me. It's such a privilege and I'm looking forward to seeing how god rolls out his plan.

"Everyone has been so warm and welcoming."