Oil and Gas Chaplain Gordon Craig to step down after 11 years of service

Reverend of the Oil and Gas Chaplaincy, Gordon Craig, has announced that he is retiring with his replacement set to take over in October.

Following more than 11 years of service, reverend Gordon Craig has decided to retire with energy sector leaders saying he made an “enduring impact on the industry” during his tenure.

Mr Craig carried out his duties both on and offshore throughout his time in the role and provided full-time pastoral advice and support to people working in the industry.

Reverend Michael Mair will be taking over from the outgoing chaplain on 16 October, he has previously served as a parish minister to St. David’s Broomhouse Church in Edinburgh.

In a conversation with Energy Voice, Mr Craig said: “It’s time to hang up my boots.”

He spoke to us from the departure stand at Aberdeen’s heliport as he was set to make a three-day trip to the Nelson platform.

© Supplied by UK Oil and Gas Chapl

The outgoing chaplain said that he wants to spend his retirement with his family, namely his grandchildren.

He said: “I’ve been thinking about it for a while, basically, it’s to spend more time with my family. I’m now 64 and I’ve just had two new grandchildren, ones on the way.

“I’m conscious of the fact that while I’m up in Aberdeen, they’re down in Lincolnshire. I’m not getting much time with them and I thought, it’s time to go when I can still have enough fitness to throw them up in the air without injuring my back.”

Playing with his grandchildren will not be the only thing that will keep the man who dedicated 35 years of his life to the church, Mr Craig also looks to travel and return to some hobbies he’s not had time for in recent years.

Mr Craig continued: “I like getting out on my bicycle and doing a lot of cycling, hasn’t happened so I want to get back into that.

“I want to get back into music, and I enjoy photography. All of these kinds of things are in the background and hopefully, I’ll start picking these things up again.”

The chaplain also said: “Like everyone else, I think there are lots of places in the world I’d like to try and see, so I’ll do a bit of travelling as well.”

He hopes that, maybe, his passion for cycling, photography and music might intersect with his travels as well.

‘Stack and stacks’ of memories

With more than a decade spent working alongside the energy sector, Mr Craig said he has “stack and stacks” of memories to share about his experiences.

The reverend shared the story of his first North Sea trip: “My first trip out, I’ll never forget that, the first trip offshore was quite amazing in all sorts of ways.”

He was sent to the Beatrice platform, “let’s put it this way, it wasn’t one of the newest platforms out there” Mr Craig said.

“I’d gone out following an incident in which two RAF tornados had collided more or less overhead the instillation and they’d asked me to go see the crew”

The chaplain added: “I remember getting off the chopper and a chap saying to me ‘Welcome Padre’ and that’s interesting it’s a military term.

“It turns out a lot of the guys on that platform at that time are ex-RAF Lossiemouth, and some of them knew the crews involved. I’d served in Lossiemouth so it was almost like ‘I’m home again’, it’s like I was just swapping one uniform for a set of PPE and cracking on.”

Piper Alpha 25th anniversary

As the oil and gas reverend, Mr Craig held the Piper Alpha and 2009 Super Puma crash memorial services and the annual service of remembrance.

Within a year of taking up the post as the oil and gas industry’s chaplain, Mr Craig carried out the service for the 25th anniversary of the Piper Alpha explosion that claimed 167 lives on 6 July 1988.

He shared: “The gardens were rededicated because they’d been replanted down in Hazelhead, when I arrived in post plans had already started for that because it was a big big event.

“That was something special, there was a lot of interest from all over the world, and the industry had made a big thing of it. I’m delighted to say, I even managed to get a flypast by an RAF Sea King from Two Squadron.

“What was delightful about that was they managed to find one of the winchmen who had gone down to Piper and he’d retired but they managed to get him on that aircraft.”

© DCT Media

During his time at the chaplaincy, Mr Craig dealt with the COVID pandemic that stopped in-person services, however, he adapted by carrying them out virtually.

Dr Alix Thom, chair of the UK Oil and Gas Chaplaincy and workforce engagement and skills manager at Offshore Energies UK said: “Our outgoing chaplain, Reverend Gordon Craig, has made an enduring impact on the industry and the Trustees are confident Reverend Mair will build on his legacy.”

‘It’s time to walk away’

While Gordon Craig is leaving his post at the Oil and Gas Chaplaincy, Lynne de Boer will continue her work as chaplaincy administrator.

Having been a prominent figure within the oil and gas community, having made appearances at various industry event, the chaplain was asked if he would be stepping away entirely from the offshore community.

He answered: “I think it’s time to walk away. It wouldn’t be fair to my successor, Michael, there’s a kind of an unwritten rule in clergy circles that once you go you go.

“You don’t take a step on the path for your successor and I think that that be the wrong thing to do.”

Taking over on 16 October will be Reverend Michael Mair who has previously served as a parish minister to St. David’s Broomhouse Church in Edinburgh.

Mr Mair is a reservist chaplain to the British Army and is currently attached to the 32 Signal Regiment. He has also held chaplaincy posts at Napier University and the Royal Blind School.

Mr Mair has said, ahead of him assuming the role of Oil and Gas chaplain: “My door will always be open.”

As a minister for the Church of Scotland, the incoming chaplain holds national roles in the Kirk as the convener of the Assembly Business Committee.

On his new role, Mr Mair said: “I am excited to be taking up this new appointment. The industry is facing challenges on several fronts, and I am looking forward to standing with and beside people as we think about the future.

“The Chaplain is there for everyone who works in the industry – for those of all faiths and none – and it will be my privilege to join this community to mark the highs and lows of life.

“I look forward to meeting those who work in the industry, whether offshore or onshore.”

‘I’ve come to respect them immensely’

Wrapping up his conversation with Energy Voice, Reverend Gordon Craig left a message to the offshore workforce that he has been interacting with for over a decade:

The chaplain said: “I’ve come to respect them immensely. People do such hard work out there. Their attitude to just getting things fixed, their attitude to safety, and I just want to wish them all the very best in the years to come because they’re going to be challenging years, as the energy transitions through.

“I’ll give everyone my best wishes as they take part in the industry through to meet the energy needs of the country in the future.”