Presbyterian Church in Ireland prepares for General Assembly in Belfast

By Billy Kennedy

Published 15th Jun 2024, 00:00 BST

Members of PCI’s principal decision-making body will take decisions affecting church life for in the months and years ahead.

In a significant change this year, PCI’s current moderator, Rev Dr Sam Mawhinney, will conclude his year in office by opening proceedings on Thursday morning, and continue to chair the Assembly until Friday afternoon.

He will then pause business for the installation service of his successor, Rev Dr Richard Murray, of Drumreagh church, Ballymoney. Dr Murray will chair the remaining business until the Assembly's close on Saturday afternoon, when he will lead the communion service.

General Assembly clerk Rev Trevor Gribben, confirms: “Primarily, the General Assembly is a time of worship, Bible study, prayer and waiting on the Lord. A time of coming together, when our ministers and elders, and colleagues from overseas, meet to debate reports and make decisions."

From permission to rename congregations to a final resolution of the church's decision-making and dissent task group, financial matters, and areas of ministry, will come before the Assembly.

Rev Gribben said a new initiative ‘Present’ will be launched at the Assembly. "This stems from an acknowledgement that church life has changed since the covid pandemic and, for many, it has been difficult. Essentially it is an invitation for congregations to look and see what God is already doing and an invitation to engage with Him.

"It is also about how we can be ‘present’ in an ever-changing society to one another, to the community the church serves, and the wider community that we seek to reach out with the gospel.

"Therefore, that is why we are, as Irish Presbyterians, ‘the church reformed, always reforming’ - an idea that dates back to our roots in the Protestant Reformation.”

Rev Gribben added: “This actually acknowledges that the church on earth, which PCI is a part of, is never the finished product, but while we are anchored firmly in the core unchanging doctrines of scripture, we should expect ongoing refinements to how we understand and express our life together and witness to the world.

“Important consultative work has continued in a process over ‘Reconfiguration of Ministry’. This process began in 2021 and the church has looked at key principles and practicalities that will underpin a radical reconfiguration of mission and ministry across the island and will now discuss the next stage of the process.

“Common to all denominations, the Presbyterian church has a reducing number of ministers as more are due to retire than are training at present. We also have fewer contributing families. These factors have impacted congregations across our denomination, so it is important that we ensure that what we are faced with does not happen in an uncontrolled way."

The Assembly will discuss education, thanking those who serve on boards of governors, commending the work of special schools across Ireland and affirming the non-denominational Christian ethos of controlled schools in Northern Ireland.

There will also be an update in PCI’s work in the area of social care, while the General Assembly will also be asked to commend the invaluable work of congregations and faith-based organisations that address the implications of the cost of living crisis.

A major issue discussed will be assisted suicide and euthanasia. The Presbyterian church held a major conference on this issue in 2015 and in 2018, with the General Assembly voting to strongly oppose any legislation which allows assisted suicide or euthanasia.

While much of the focus of the General Assembly is on mission and ministry on this island, the church also has a broader more global outlook and the Assembly will be asked to thank its 21 global mission workers as they "collaborate in mission with PCI’s overseas partners’, serving in nine countries around the world. This year the Assembly will welcome overseas delegates from Nepal, Poland and Malawi. For the first time, a delegation from the Presbyterian church of Guatemala will attend.

A highlight of the general Assembly will be the Thursday evening celebration event, with the speaker this year John Risbridger, chairman of the Evangelical Alliance Council, who will speak on the theme ‘Crossing Boundaries with Christ and for Christ’.