Angie Mutch, who is currently in her third year of training to become a deacon at the Church of Scotland, has been recognised as one of the Women of the Year 2024.
Women of the Year is a non-profit organisation created by Tony Lothian in the 1950s. Each year, it holds a celebratory lunch where 450 women from all over the world are recognised for their achievements and contributions to society. While the charity awards special honours to a select few among the 450 attendees, — this year Yulia Navalnaya, Dame Tracey Emin DBE RA, and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse OBE have been awarded the top honours — its ethos holds that each guest at the annual lunch is celebrated as a “Woman of the Year.” And on October 7, at the Royal Lancaster London, Angie was among those honoured.
A native of Mastrick, Aberdeen, Angie graduated from Northfield Academy and continued her studies for a degree in Nursing. She worked as a nurse and served as a medic in the Army, later earning a Post-Grad degree in Applied Social Studies. Her professional career was diverse: she was a youth worker, a social worker, served with the local council and was part of a Scottish Government drugs task force. But it was for her volunteering that Angie was honoured as a Woman of the Year 2024.
Angie began volunteering at 18 — next year will mark 40 years of her dedication. Her volunteer work has taken her around the globe, from leading medical training in earthquake-stricken Armenia to supporting East Berliners after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
However, her most treasured memories are from the 1980s, when she worked with the Haemophiliac Society, specifically children infected with HIV/AIDS through a pharmaceutical product (Factor 8 and Factor 9) — a tragedy now known as the Contaminated Blood Scandal.
During a time marked by stigma, fear, and widespread misunderstanding of HIV/AIDS, Angie recalls offering a compassionate hug to a woman who felt isolated and rejected by those around her. For the woman, that hug — given without hesitation — became one of her last memories before she passed away a month later. Reflecting on this moment, Angie said that it was “a privilege to be her friend.”
In another memory from her years of volunteering, Angie remembered finding a six-year-old boy collapsed on the bathroom floor. He was rushed to the hospital, but he died the next day. As she consoled his grieving family, Angie shared how the boy had recently been happily playing outside, making a bow and arrows. His family, unable to reveal his illness due to the intense stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS, bore their grief in silence.
Angie was stunned when at the Women of the Year 2024 Lunch, nearly 40 years after her volunteer work began, Her Royal Highness Princess Zama-Zulu Shange of South Africa approached her quietly to present a private and heartfelt gift: a piece of jewellery crafted especially for Angie.
The Princess wore the piece on her journey to London, then removed it and placed it on Ms Mutch’s hand. Angie was told that in South Africa, this gift and gesture is regarded as equivalent to an OBE in the UK. Given South Africa’s profound struggles with HIV, the gesture held deep personal significance for both women.
One of the Five Marks of Mission of the Church of Scotland is “to respond to human need by loving service”. Angie Mutch is exemplary in her commitment to this Mark of Mission. She is currently doing a placement at Devana Parish Church with Rev Peter Johnston and Rev David Stewart as part of her training for the Diaconate.
Deacons are ordained to a life-long office and offer a pastoral ministry of word and service. They work on the margins of the Church and society and find it natural to be bridge builders, meeting people where they are and developing new forms of ministry and worship.
It is thanks to Rev Ian Aitken — the minister at Angie’s home church, Stockethill Church of Scotland, — that Angie is in training to become a deacon. Mr Aitken has been a constant source of support for Angie and her family. Angie became part of the church in the early 2000s and, with Mr Aitken’s encouragement, got involved with pastoral work, especially amongst older people. This led to her being appointed a parish nurse: Angie worked with elderly members of congregation with dementia and their families.
Angie is a single parent and lives in Stonehaven. Angie remains an active volunteer with Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership. In 2023, she won an “Inspiring Volunteer” award at Inspiring Aberdeenshire 2023.
Reflecting on the lunch, Angie said she felt "privileged" to receive an award from Her Royal Highness Princess Zama-Zulu Shange.
"As I looked around the room at all these incredible women, including the top award winner, Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of the late Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, who was poisoned and then killed in a Russian prison, I was struck by an immense feeling of imposter syndrome," she explained.
"I wondered what on earth I was doing there.
"When I voiced this to my table host, herself a retired Army Colonel, she said to me that I had just as much of the right to be there as everyone else, as I had undertaken work just as important, in other ways.
"As I mingled and spoke with other award winners, I was struck more than anything by the fact that, although these women had done amazing things, they displayed such humility, underplaying their achievements."
Angie said Jesus showed people that the greatest way to deal with recognition is humbleness, an example shown by the late Mother Teresa.
She added that she would encourage everyone to thank God for all that they achieve.
Angie said: "Remember, putting the kettle on, and listening to a friend in need, is just as much a ministry and sharing of love than those we would typically heap praise on.
"We may not be Jesus but through the deeds we quietly do, we demonstrate to others the love of God.
"Now I think that deserves an award."
