Senior says Scotland experience allowed him to ‘lean into my call’

“The dynamic was wonderful,” says Erskine senior Gabriel Collier, describing what it was like to be the only student on the 2024 Northern Highlands Tour this summer, billed as “A Scottish Excursion with the Adamsons” and hosted by Erskine president Dr. Steve Adamson and Mrs. Von Adamson.

Gabriel, a double major in English and Bible whose hometown is Holly Hill, South Carolina, considers Erskine a family, and believes “no matter how young or old or what career path people choose, we have Erskine in common.”

“I flew over with Dr. and Mrs. Adamson and [Vice President for Operations and Strategic Planning] Bobby and Paula Clarke a few days before the official tour began,” he says.

He did some sightseeing with the group, investigated his own Scottish heritage, and even bought a kilt.

His visit to Scotland was an educational experience for Gabriel. “Scotland has a unique and interesting history, and learning about the various Viking and Pictish influences on Scotland was amazing,” he says.

He was also excited to learn about the history of the Christian faith in Scotland. “I saw very early Christian stone crosses,” he says, adding, “This type of thing really makes me nerd out.”

Gabriel’s surname is English, but on both sides of his family he is descended from the Martins, a Scottish family which is “a subset of Clan Cameron,” he explains. Some friends of the Adamsons took him to Fort William, where the family originated.

The tour group spent time in Dornoch and traveled around the highlands. After they left, Gabriel served as a supply preacher for Tain and Fearn Free Church of Scotland, which is housed in two different towns but functions as one congregation.

“When I agreed to go on the tour, Dr. A reached out to the pastors of the church, and they agreed to let me come and assist in services for the summer as the head minister was to go on sabbatical around the time I began to serve,” he says.

Erskine’s president, who received his Ph.D. from the University of Aberdeen, worked as a supply pastor for a few Free Church congregations, including the one Gabriel served, while studying in Scotland.

Gabriel preached at one Sunday morning service and three Sunday evening services and led two Wednesday prayer meetings.

In the morning service, he preached on Joshua 24, urging the congregation to look to God and to be bold in their faith “as they take a stand for truth,” he recalls.

“At the Sunday evening services, I preached a sermon series on the book of Philemon and discussed how we sinners are like the slave Onesimus but are set free from our chains by Christ.”

Just as the Scotland journey was not Gabriel’s first trip abroad—he went to Lithuania with the Choraleers in April—his supply work in Scotland was not his first experience as a lay preacher. The faith tradition in which he grew up stressed the value of lay preaching and he has been preaching since he was sixteen years old.

As he considers seriously a call to the ministry, Gabriel believes such service is what he must do “in response to God’s love for me.”

During his time with Tain and Fearn Free Church of Scotland, “listening to the responses of the pastors and the congregation allowed me to further lean into my call and to receive it as something from God,” he says.

Gabriel cites the worship he experienced in Scotland as an “amazing aspect” of the trip.

“It was beautiful to hear the Word of God returned to His ears as praise” in a congregation which sings psalms a cappella. “I loved seeing the diversity within Christ’s Church, for even though we worship differently, we worship the same God,” he says.

As a consequence of his summer adventure, Gabriel has developed affection for all things Scottish. He insists he loves the food—“Whatever people say, haggis and black pudding taste wonderful!” And of course, he bought a kilt, “which is really cool,” contends that he “saw Nessie at Loch Ness,” and is proud to say, “I got to pet a highland cow!”

Thinking back on his time in Scotland, “The best part of the trip was the people,” Gabriel says. “The people of Scotland are so warm and welcoming, and I have been unofficially adopted into many Scottish families. I truly miss my friends and family I made in Scotland.”

Gabriel Collier, a member of Choraleers and Chamber Singers, serves as president of Omicron Delta Kappa and Theta Alpha Kappa; is a member of Alpha Chi and Sigma Tau Delta; is Student Ministries Chair on the Service and Leadership Team (SALT); is a member of the Euphemian Literary Society; works in the Write Here Center and serves as a Supplemental Instruction (SI) leader; is captain of the Quiz Bowl Team; plays in the Fleet Fellowship Praise Band; and is an Erskine Envoy.