Her ordination to the ministry took place on Sunday, October 12, at the English Reformed Church in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
The Church in Geneva has a rich, storied history as the city was a centre for Protestantism.
In the mid-16th century, at the time of the Reformation, John Knox studied with French theologian John Calvin and they both led worship for the English-speaking refugees in Geneva.
Knox returned to Scotland in 1560, taking with him Calvin’s ideas to establish the Kirk.
More than 300 years passed before the Church of Scotland reappeared in Geneva in 1867, linked to tourism sparked by Thomas Cook who led guided tours of Switzerland from London, and Mrs Colliar is the first woman minister to serve the congregation.
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But she will not be the only one for long and is looking forward to working alongside Rev Dr Enikő Ferenczy, who is expected to take up her new post as the full-time spiritual leader of the two congregations in January.
Mrs Colliar, nee Scott, grew up in Larkhall’s Margaret’s Place and attended the town’s Congregational Church.
She began her professional career as a systems programmer at the former Ravenscraig steelworks in Motherwell before going on to work for the World Health Organisation in Geneva and then retraining as a teacher.
Married to Ian with whom she has two adult children, Mrs Colliar has been a member of the Church of Scotland in the Swiss city for 36 years and was called to Readership, one of the Kirk’s ministries, in 2021.
She holds a degree in Theology from the University of Aberdeen, (online study) and credits the analytical skills of programming, together with those required to facilitate learning, as having helped her in her formation towards ministry.
Joy after being ordained as a minister – Rev Christine Colliar is held aloft by supporters(Image: Church of Scotland)
Mrs Colliar, a former Larkhall Academy pupil, says she was naturally drawn to church activities that nurture growing faith and learning in others.
Over the years, she has sung in and directed the choir, taught Sunday school and youth group, led a social group, and led Bible studies and prayer groups.
She has led groups to the Rassemblement du Désert to commemorate the Huguenots hiding there, and taken young people to the Taizé community in France.
Mrs Colliar home-schooled her musician son, Oscar, for six years, then when he left home for university, she felt she needed to address the call to ministry that had always been niggling at her.
On advice from a retired minister, she studied for a master’s degree first, so she could discern what the calling was.
After gaining a master’s in creative writing, she trained as a Reader, with placements in the Scots Kirk Lausanne, and the American Episcopal Church in Geneva.
Mrs Colliar said: “God has been preparing me over many years.
“You just don’t know how different periods of your life are part of God’s plan, until you look back and see it all coming together.”