IAN Pitt-Watson was the son of the Very Rev Professor James
Pitt-Watson, a Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of
Scotland, Queen's Chaplain, and also professor of practical theology at
Trinity College, Glasgow University.
Ian grew up in his father's manse in Alloa. He was educated at Dollar
Academy and Edinburgh University, where he gained a double first in
philosophy and moral philosophy. Later, at New College, he won a
distinction in systematic theology.
When I was inducted minister of St George's West, Edinburgh, in 1949,
Ian was appointed my first student assistant. From the beginning it was
obvious that he was endowed with exceptional ability. 0Licensed as a
probationer, he was appointed assistant to St Giles'. In 1952 he was
installed as chaplain of Aberdeen University and, in 1958, he was
inducted to the charge of St James, Forfar. He accepted a call to New
Kilpatrick in Bearsden in 1961, where he exercised such a successful
ministry that New Kilpatrick grew to be the largest congregation in
Scotland.
After 12 years there, he returned to Aberdeen as professor of
practical theology. In 1980 he was invited to become professor of
preaching and practical theology in Fuller Seminary, Pasadena,
California, from where he retired recently.
Ian's versatility was truly astonishing. While still an undergraduate,
he took the diploma of the Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music, and
created a choir which developed into the Edinburgh University singers,
who celebrated their 50th anniversary this year.
He was, moreover, a hymn writer, contributing to the third edition of
the Church Hymnary. One of my favourite hymns is written by him --
''Those all before me Lord, those all behind.''
All this is true, but it was as a preacher that Ian made his greatest
impact. His reputation as a preacher was worldwide. Australia invited
him as the Turnbull Trust preacher three times. Speaking as one who was
a Turnbull Trust preacher, Ian is the only one who received a second and
third invitation.
Those of us who were fortunate to be his friends would unhesitatingly
describe him as a lovable person. Along with his formidable intellectual
ability, he was very human. Endowed with a huge sense of humour, and a
highly developed sense of the absurd and the incongruous, he was also a
superb mimic. I know because I was one of his favourite subjects. He
could do me better than I could do myself, with his mastery of
Gaelic-flavoured Hebridean accent.
Ian's death will be mourned by many who knew him and came under his
influence. I am sure I am speaking for them all when I say we extend our
sympathy to his family, Maggie, Rosemary, and David.
The Rev Professor Murdo Ewan Macdonald
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article