Cameron Toll Chaplaincy

Cameron Toll Chaplaincy

Cameron Toll Shopping Centre in the south side of Edinburgh was opened in the 1980s, and sparked the idea in the minds of local church leaders of having a chaplain available for the staff of the Centre and the retail units within it.

Newington Churches Together (NCT) negotiated with the management of the Centre and through them the Tenants’ Association, and they were happy with the idea, and some research into retail chaplaincies elsewhere was undertaken. South East Edinburgh Churches Acting Together (SEECAT) was invited to participate and was glad to do so.

A Steering Group was set up to manage the project with representatives from both groups of churches, and the first Chairman was the local Church of Scotland Minister at Priestfield Church, Rev Tom Johnston. His successor at this time is Rev Canon Fred Tomlinson who is minister of the Capital's St Peter's Episcopal Church.

In March 2002 two part-time lay chaplains took up their posts in Cameron Toll. Clare Roller and Tammy MacNiven were the trailblazers for this new initiative, and were well known in the Centre by the time they relinquished their duties in 2006. Since then Shona Haggie and Nicola Hilmy-Jones have carried on the work, Shona being replaced by Rosemary Davidson in 2009, and Nicola by Colin Campbell in 2010. The posts are voluntary, with out-of-pocket expenses being refunded. Other retail centres in Edinburgh have similar arrangements depending on the local management and the Chaplains meet regularly with the Edinburgh Retail Chaplains and with the Edinburgh Lothian Workplace Chaplains.

NCT and SEECAT, the two groups of churches which represent all Christian denominations within the area, are kept informed about the chaplains’ work, and support them financially and in prayer as they provide a visible Christian presence in the Centre and gradually get to know the staff and develop relationships