A former Lanarkshire beauty therapist who came to faith following a chance conversation with a waitress in Jamaica has been ordained as a Church of Scotland minister.
Rev Kaye Gardiner has been inducted into Kenmure Parish Church in Bishopbriggs in the north of Glasgow and nearby Wallacewell Church.
Kaye grew up on a farm near Lesmahagow and after leaving school worked in hospitality before training as a beauty therapist and barber working at her mum’s salon, Jennifer’s Hair and Beauty, in the village for 20 years.
Although she grew up in the Church of Scotland, Kaye says her journey to faith as an adult only started when she was 31.
“I was on holiday in Jamaica and got talking to a waitress at the resort and she shared her testimony with me,” she said.
“I saw the love of Jesus shine from her eyes as she shared that the most important thing in her life was going to church.
“I knew in that moment that she had what I had been looking for all my life.
“Up until that moment I had tried to fill the hole within me, that only God could fill, with material possessions.
“I was 35 before I finally picked up the courage to walk through the doors of a church and I was shaking like a leaf.”
As part of her training for the ministry, she did placements at Kirkton Church in Carluke, South Lanarkshire under former minister, Rev Iain Cunningham who encouraged her to do a placement with a church in Zambia.
Back in Scotland, Kay did a placement at Viewpark Parish Church in Uddingston and spent her probation at St Rollox Church in Glasgow, which is likely the Church’s most multicultural congregation.
Mother to Jodie, 25, and Ross, 23, Kaye is divorced from their father – a defining moment in her life.
“Divorce is like being ripped in two and after my marriage broke down, God called me six months after I left my old life,” she explained.
“Nothing is wasted and he opened my eyes to let me see the need for prayer for healing in our churches.
“Wounds should never be allowed to fester in the body of Christ.
“I believe that every church across Scotland should have a prayer ministry team and that no service should end without those gathered receiving the opportunity to receive prayer to bring the healing and transformation that God wants to bring.”
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