Wednesday December 10th 2025
Haddington town house hosted the council meeting
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Marie Sharp
A Baptist minister who has fostered 130 children alongside his wife has been appointed to East Lothian Council’s education and children’s services committee.
Reverend Keith Mills will the one of three religious representatives on the committee and has been at Dunbar Baptist Church for 34 years.
Councillors unanimously voted to approve his appointment to the committee at a full council meeting this week.
They were told Reverend Mills and his wife Mariella, who moved to Scotland from Springfield, Missouri, in 1986, have looked after children and young people as foster parents for 35 years.
The education committee currently has two religious representatives – one from the Church of Scotland and the other from the Roman Catholic Church but a third place has been vacant since 2018 despite several attempts to fill it.
A report to councillors said a recent advertising campaign to fill the role attracted four notes of interest adding: “One of those interested parties subsequently withdrew their note of interest, one did not meet the criteria as set out in the legislation, and one was happy to step aside to allow the remaining candidate’s nomination to proceed.”
The appointment was welcomed by local ward councillor Donna Collins who told the meeting: “Reverend Mills is a good soul and I wish him all the best. I know he is going to do a good job.”
Fiona Dugdale, chairperson of the education and children’s services committee added: “I welcome Reverend Mills to the committee and look forward to our next meeting in March.”
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