A vicar whose journey to Holderness began on the other side of the world is to be thanked for his ministry this weekend.
A celebration for Rev Alisdair Laird will be held at St Patrick’s Church, Patrington, on Saturday, October 17, as he prepares to retire.
Rev Laird, who was born in New Zealand, came to South Holderness during Covid to lead a group of seven churches and later found himself responsible for 20 village churches across the area.
Before entering full-time ministry, he had a varied working life, including time in a refuge, the Bank of New Zealand and as an IT consultant in merchant banks.
He later travelled to London and, after several jobs including a short spell in Italy, moved to Bristol in 1989, where he was persuaded to join the church full time.
His ministry took him to Middlesbrough as a curate before he moved to Hull, where he was based at St Cuthbert’s for eight years.
He later took charge of six churches north of York as well as a period working at Everthorpe Prison.
Before coming to Holderness, Rev Laird was senior chaplain at Hull University Teaching Hospital, mainly at Castle Hill and Hull Royal Infirmary.
When he arrived in Holderness, Rev Laird said the area reminded him of his home in New Zealand and that he was looking forward to being involved with the community and churches.
Rev Laird and his wife Ann, who works at Castle Hill, have lived at the vicarage in Patrington.
The celebration service starts at 7pm and all are welcome.
