History of CTC

Cameron Toll Chaplaincy – the beginnings!

The Cameron Toll Shopping Centre 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) and South East Edinburgh Churches Acting Together (SEECAT) researched  retail chaplaincies elsewhere, then negotiated with the management of the Centre and through them the Tenants’ Association, who agreed to go ahead. The chaplains' posts are voluntary, with out-of-pocket expenses being refunded.  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. They, and subsequent chaplains, have provided a visible Christian presence in Cameron Toll.

In 2014 NCT and SEECAT, agreed that responsibility for  recruitment, training and mentoring the chaplains should  be transferred to Workplace Chaplaincy Scotland (WPCS).  The Steering Group continue remains   closely  involved with  the chaplains'  work at Cameron  Toll,  and reports regularly to NCT and SEECAT, which  supports their work  financially and with prayer.