The Lord Lyon

Working between worlds

Colour photo of The Lord Lyon holding the New College Coat of Arms with Professor Susan Hardman Moore to his right and Professor Helen Bond to his left. They are all smiling.
The Lord Lyon holding the New College Coat of Arms with (Left) Professor Susan Hardman Moore and (Right) Professor Helen Bond

As part of our 175 celebrations, New College was granted a Coat of Arms – an initiative suggested by our alumnus the Lord Lyon, Dr Joseph Morrow. The Lord Lyon’s own story is an unusual one, combining a high-profile career in law with church work in challenging social settings.

“I grew up in Fife, in an Episcopalian family. There wasn’t a certificate in religious studies at my high school, but through a supportive teacher I was able to do the Cambridge O-level in religious studies. Growing up, I felt ambivalent about ministry. I had impostor syndrome: how could someone from my background be a priest? But I chose to start a degree in theology.

“It wasn’t a popular move with my family, who thought I was cut out for medicine, law, or accountancy. I’m very single-minded, though, and I’m still like that. I have lost none of my enthusiasm!

“Coming to New College was quite an experience. I had worked as a parcel boy in a town in Fife. There was a lot of great thinking on theology and society in Edinburgh. That caught my imagination.

“In the late 1970s, New College was primarily young, male, and focused on vocational training for ministry. I used to arrive in the quad on a motorbike and park behind John Knox.

Colour photo of the New College Coat of Arms tapestry hanging up in the Rainy Hall
Rainy Hall Tapestry (©Andrej Zeman)

“The environment was quite relaxed. Some of my friends from those days have gone on to do remarkable things. After New College, I was ordained in Dundee Cathedral. I spent 9 years in a working class congregation there.

“The church was between two 15 storey tower blocks in a disheartened community. It was a great time. We formed a community centre. I learned to look at theology in a different way, from the experience of people in the community. At the same time, I was studying law part-time.

“I qualified, and ended up working in mental health law, before going to the bar as an advocate. Those steps were all shaped by the rigour of my theological training. J. B. Torrance’s teaching on grace and law was a formative influence on my thinking on mental health law as restorative and therapeutic. Working between the church and the law was exhilarating.

“New College now is a very open place. The staff and students come from all over the world. It’s a diverse and equal place for anyone to come and study.”

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