Presbyterian Herald March 2025

MARCH 2025

No church

is an island

CAN RECONFIGURATION WORK? The story in Islandmagee

THE HOPE AND THE HORROR Moderator’s trip to Poland

WHAT’S SHOPPING GOT TO DO WITH CHURCH? Consumerism and faith

The Truth Recovery Independent Panel, appointed by the Executive Office, is carrying out an independent investigation into Mother and Baby Institutions, Magdalene Laundries and Workhouses in Northern Ireland from 1922 - 1995, and their related pathways and practices, including the adoption and care systems.

The Independent Panel is particularly keen to understand more about Hopedene Hostel, Thorndale House, Malone Place and Kennedy House.

If you would like to share your experience, please get in touch by Thursday 1st May 2025.

We wish to to hear from:

Contact us:

Any person who has been directly impacted Relatives of those directly impacted Any person who has worked or volunteered in, or lived in close proximity to one of these institutions

Phone us on: 028 9052 0263 Email us at: testimony@independentpanel.org.uk Write to us at: Truth Recovery Independent Panel, 4th Floor, Equality House 7 - 9 Shaftesbury Square, Belfast, BT2 7DB

CONTENTS | MARCH 2025

FEATURES 12 Presbyterians asked to help with investigation The Truth Recovery Independent Panel

14 Connecting with families on the fringe Sloan Street at Family Festival

16 The hope and the horror Moderator’s trip to Poland

18 Can reconfiguration work?

The story in Islandmagee

20 Present where God has placed us to be his witnesses The importance of place

32 What’s shopping got to do with church?

Connecting with families on the fringe p14

Consumerism and faith

36 Chaplaincy is a vital mission strategy Meeting people where they are

38 Unlocking God’s Word for every heart The work of Wycliffe Bible Translators

REGULARS

4 5 6 8 9 13 23 31 35 40 42 47

Can reconfiguration work? p18

Letters Culture Watch News In this month My story Life lessons Mission Connect Norman Hamilton Tommy Bruce Reviews Life in PCI Ruth Sanderson

What’s shopping got to do with church? p32

CONTRIBUTORS Rev Norman Harrison is Presbyterian chaplain at the Royal Group of Hospitals, Belfast and lead chaplain with the Northern Trust.

Deborah Sloan is a member of Bloomfield Presbyterian Church. She is married to Russell and has four daughters. Having left a career in academia, she is now a freelance writer.

Ricky Ferguson is Ireland Team Leader for Wycliffe Bible Translators. He also serves as an elder at Ballyhenry Presbyterian Church.

Mark Smith is PCI’s press and media officer. Married to Debbie, they have one teenage daughter and worship at Bloomfield Presbyterian.

Cover photo: Jamie Trimble March 2025 No. 866 £2.20/€2.60 Published by: The Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Assembly Buildings, Belfast BT1 6DW. T: +44 (0)28 9032 2284 E: herald@presbyterianireland.org W: www.presbyterianireland.org

Editor: Sarah Harding

The views expressed in the features, news reports, letters and book reviews of this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor. Editorial comment and signed Subscriptions and Advertising: articles do not necessarily contain the official views of the Church, which can only be laid down only by the General Assembly. Acceptance of advertisements Edward Connolly; Hazel Gilliland does not imply endorsement of the goods or services. Advertising will not be Design and Layout: included if the product or service is deemed to be in conflict with the Church’s Edward Connolly official views, or if it is inappropriate for a church magazine. It is not Herald policy Printing: to include any editorial content along with adverts. The editor reserves the right W & G Baird Ltd to decline any advertisement or letter without assigning any reason. Letters may be edited for publication. No correspondence can be entered into regarding nonpublication of advertisements or letters.

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The Presbyterian Church in Ireland is a registered charity in Northern Ireland (NIC104483); registered charity in Republic of Ireland (20015695).

Herald March 2025

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EDITORIAL

LETTERS Reconfiguration of ministry

Beyond ourselves

When Storm Éowyn ripped through Ireland earlier this year, it left mass destruction in its wake with tens of thousands of people left without power. The storm perhaps brought a renewed appreciation for the electricity and heat that we take for granted, but it also served as a stark reminder of our complete reliance on it.

We are all products of the society we live in and it’s not always easy to recognise those things about the way we live that aren’t good. This month Deborah Sloan highlights our tendency for overconsumption – how we are manipulated into buying things we don’t need and how accepting of this we are. In many ways, our overconsumption comes down to simple greed. Luke 12:15 says: “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

Greed makes us focus on ourselves, which is the opposite of what Jesus has called us to do.

Current culture encourages an individualistic focus on self, a tide that is hard to swim against. In his article on PCI’s ‘Present’ initiative, David Thompson says: “We spend so much of our time in cyberspace, perhaps it has become a real challenge to notice the physical surroundings we inhabit.” He encourages us as individuals and churches to be present to God where we are placed, looking up and looking out to those around us.

Meeting people where they are is essentially what chaplaincy work is. Hospital chaplain Norman Harrison, reports on this important work, saying: “…what is mission if it is not going to where people are?” He testifies to the many opportunities to share God’s Word with a society desperately in need of him.

While knowledge and understanding of the gospel appears to be diminishing in Irish society, people here are fortunate to be able to read God’s Word in their own language. Ricky Ferguson from Wycliffe Bible Translators explains how this is not the case in many countries around the world and how the work of Wycliffe is helping to change that. He says: “Unlocking of the truth of the Bible, so that every heart can understand it, is a sacred mission…”

The Bible is one of many things we take for granted in this country. How precious it is, along with all of God’s good gifts to us, and what a challenge to truly appreciate it, sharing it and all God has given us with those around us.

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Herald March 2025

Dear Editor I greatly appreciated Jeremy Eves’ thoughtful and constructive letter in the most recent issue of the Herald. His desire to see ministry revitalised is one I wholeheartedly share. The challenges outlined in the Reconfiguration report are real and it is right that our Church is engaging honestly and seriously with them.

However, I would like to offer a different perspective on some of the implications of his argument.

Jeremy rightly highlights the importance of ministers enabling and equipping others for service. Every believer is called to serve Christ and his church.

However, there is a risk of misunderstanding the distinctive role of ordained ministry.

The Reformed understanding of the Christian faith, to which we are joyfully committed, has always held that, whilst all Christians are called to witness, preaching of the Word and the administration of the sacraments are entrusted to those set apart by ordination. Christ gives pastors and teachers to his church for its building up (Ephesians 4:11–14) and Scripture affirms the weighty calling of those entrusted with this ministry.

As our denomination undertakes reconfiguration, we must ensure that structural changes do not inadvertently redefine ministry itself. Ministers are not simply facilitators of congregational participation, but shepherds, teachers and ambassadors of Christ, called to proclaim the Word, administer the sacraments and provide spiritual

oversight. If we lose sight of this, we risk diluting ordained ministry in ways that could have long-term consequences.

We must engage thoughtfully with reconfiguration, ensuring that any changes strengthen, rather than weaken, our understanding of ordained ministry. My hope is that, as this conversation develops, we will reaffirm the distinct and vital role of those called

by God to ministry of Word and sacrament.

Rev Craig Lynn Minister, First Newtownards Presbyterian Church

Temperance Dear Editor People, in general, are living longer in Ireland. A major reason for this has been the decline in the consumption of tobacco. Sadly, in 2019, there were 1,543 deaths due to alcohol.

Tobacco advertising is banned while we are surrounded by adverts for alcohol. It would appear that alcohol consumption by church members is becoming increasingly acceptable, with problem drinking affecting all ages.

Thankfully, there are organisations throughout Ireland advocating total abstinence. Some of them are supported by the Irish Temperance League (info@ irishtemperanceleague.com).

The ITL recognises alcohol as one among many dangerous drugs and opposes the use of them all. If you are aware of any Christian organisation involved in this work, please encourage contact with the ITL, as it may be eligible for a grant.

Rev Jack Lamb Belfast

Kevin Hargaden reflects on what’s been in the news recently….

T

he new government in Dublin has reasons to be hopeful. Bucking the trend across the continent, the electorate has returned the incumbent party; they have a massive budget surplus, and important metrics around sectors like education and health continue to improve. But they also face a series of obvious challenges, including the impact of US President Donald Trump’s threatened tariff regime, the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis, and the accelerating consequences of climate breakdown.

In the last government, Ireland made more progress on environmental issues than had ever been achieved before.

Public transport usage – in cities and in rural areas – has increased dramatically, numerous new national parks have been established, the groundwork has been laid for a revolutionary shift to wind power generated at sea, and most importantly, carbon emissions began to fall even as the economy surged, seeing a 6.8% reduction in the last published figures.

But a large amount of those successes can be attributed to the presence of the Green Party as a minority partner in the coalition. As is customary in Irish politics, the smallest party in the government served as the ‘mudflap’ and suffered in the election. The Green Party was reduced to just one TD. Their outgoing leader, Eamon Ryan, is clear that they “regret nothing”. After the election he explained, “We had political capital four years ago and we spent it on delivering real climate action that has improved people’s lives.”

In the absence of an avowedly environmentalist voice in the government, the concern is that much of those gains will be reversed. Already there are signs that this might be the case. During the negotiations for the new government, Fianna Fáil admitted they would roll back the commitment to spend twice as much on active and public transport as they spend on roads.

That position might have made sense in the past. Ireland had an infamously poor road network. Major routes ran through towns, clogging up the places people lived and hampering the economy. But the progress over the last decades is obvious for anyone who drives on Irish roads. The big infrastructure gap that is now evident between Ireland and European neighbours is the paucity of rail networks. Dublin remains the only western European capital city that does not have a train service to its airport. Galway, a city that is ideally laid out for a tram system, relies

on a fragile bus network that is hampered by traffic congestion. Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Kilkenny, and Sligo are all arranged to assume private motor transport as the default.

The two dominant parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, were returned to power in part because they were trusted to continue the wise stewardship of the Republic’s economy.

If this government lasts its term, they will be in power as the nation marks the 20th anniversary of the catastrophic collapse of the Celtic Tiger boom. Granting that there are many critiques – especially theological – that should be levied on the present system, the transformation of that shattered economy into a world leading engine of growth, is a remarkable achievement. The cost of housing and the cost of transport both represent fundamental challenges to that model. Multinational corporations have lobbied the government in recent years on both these issues. Finding a way to maintain progress on these issues when their government relies on the support of independent TDs who do not consider it a priority will be a real challenge.

And that is where Christians in Ireland could play an important part in public discourse. Even if we didn’t face the consequences of climate breakdown and the biodiversity decline, Christians are a people called to love God’s creation.

The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it (Psalm 24).

Although often a needlessly contentious topic, Christians can practise a kind of local creation care which goes beyond the ideological battles and the culture war discourses.

There are few things more politically significant for Christians to do than to live into the call to discipleship we have received. By resisting the patterns of greed and overconsumption that our society presents as normal, by refusing to see their neighbour with whom they disagree as an enemy, by considering the birds and the lillies in the field, Christian communities would unintentionally end up serving a peaceable ecology. The new government might have many fine policies. But there is little that can make more of a difference to a town than a faithful church.

Kevin Hargaden is an elder in Lucan Presbyterian Church. He is a theologian whose work focuses on Christian ethics.

His most recent book is called The Parish as Oasis.

Herald March 2025

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NEWS | IN THE ROUND PCI’s Clerk to be next Moderator The next Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland will be Rev Trevor Gribben, PCI’s Clerk of the General Assembly and its General Secretary.

Mr Gribben received the most votes from the Church’s 19 regional presbyteries when they met at the beginning of February to choose the next Moderator. Known as the Moderator-Designate, he will be formally elected and installed as Moderator by the General Assembly, when it meets in Belfast this June.

The Tandragee-born 63-year-old will be the seventh Clerk to serve the Church in its highest office, the last being Dr Sam Hutchinson who was elected in 1997.

He said, “Having served as an ordained minister within PCI for the last 37 or so years, it really is a great honour, and a very humbling experience, to be nominated as Moderator-Designate.”

Mr Gribben continued, “As I look forward to the year ahead, it is with a strange mixture of emotions, including both a degree of both nervousness and excitement in almost equal measure. Nervousness, because it will be something new, which will involve setting aside much of what I currently do, yet exciting, because of the new opportunities for service and ministry that will open up.”

He is particularly looking forward to getting out more, to see the Church and its work for the Lord on the ground.

“In my current role, I’m aware of many of the new and exciting things that are happening, especially our church plants, and I want to see some of those first-hand. I also want to bring something of the hope and encouragement that is in the gospel to those who are perhaps discouraged and even struggling,” he said.

Mr Gribben received 16 votes (Armagh, Ballymena, North Belfast, East Belfast, Carrickfergus, Coleraine and Limavady, Derry and Donegal, Down, Dromore, Dublin and Munster, Iveagh, Monaghan, Newry, Omagh, Route, and Tyrone).

This year’s other nominee was Rev Richard Kerr, minister of Templepatrick Presbyterian Church, who received three votes (Ards, South Belfast and Templepatrick).

Holocaust Memorial Day PCI Moderator, Dr Richard Murray, attended the Northern Ireland ceremony to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, which took place in Belfast City Hall.

The event not only marked the 80 years since the liberation of AuschwitzBirkenau, but the 30th anniversary of the genocide in Bosnia.

The Moderator, who recently visited Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest of the Nazi death camps, said, “We must…continue to tell of the Holocaust’s horrors to each new generation. We also need to lament what happened and mourn that it has already happened again, admittedly on a smaller scale, in Bosnia, Rwanda, Cambodia, and Darfur, and in many other places since – and resolve to search our own hearts for anything ugly that treats people as less than a person made in the image of God.” The Holocaust ©IWM BU 4006

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Herald March 2025

Graves in Srebrenica ©Julian Buijzen

A day of prayer for the Middle East South Kirk Presbyterian Church on Great Victoria Street, Belfast is the venue for ‘A Day of Prayer: Praying with Christians in the Middle East’ on Friday 3 April.

In 2024, the General Assembly received a report exploring ways in which PCI might “better understand, learn from and relate to churches in the Middle East”.

One of the most central recommendations was that, at an appropriate time, the Church should be called to a Day of Prayer. It seems to the Council for Global Mission that this is such a time.

In doing so, Presbyterians are fulfilling a responsibility to those churches and people in the Middle East with whom we have an ongoing relationship.

Friends in the area are being invited to send short videos of what they are praying for and would like us to pray with them.

The day will not simply reflect on the plight of Christians and others caught up in violence – there will also be an opportunity to receive encouragement from the resilience of believers in many difficult situations and to marvel at the work God is doing.

There are a number of ways to get involved: • Come for quiet reflection in the church, which will be open from 10am. There will be led prayer at 10am, 1pm and 4pm.

• Join at 7pm for a time of reflective worship and refreshment.

• Use some of the video and prayer resources which will subsequently be available on the PCI website for use by individuals and congregations.

IN THE ROUND | NEWS

Derryvolgie celebrates anniversary

IN BRIEF Calling all knitters

It has been 30 years since Derryvolgie Hall opened its doors to students and young adults living in Belfast.

With many lives impacted through this community, celebration events are planned to thank God for his blessings and faithfulness over the past 30 years.

On Friday 14 March, a thanksgiving service is being held in Assembly Buildings. Open to all, the service will have input from past chaplains and residents.

A gala dinner is planned for Crowne Plaza at Shaws Bridge, Belfast on Friday 9 May. This is a ticketed event for any past residents or staff members, and their partners. There will be a three-course meal and entertainment to celebrate and reflect on the past 30 years. Tickets can be purchased from the Derryvolgie office or at the thanksgiving service.

For further information, get in touch with the Derryvolgie office via office@pciqub.org or phoning +44 (0)28 9066 9090.

The Moderator with James Girvan, Northern Ireland Ambulance Service area manager (North Division), and Rosie Byrne, NIAS director of operations.

Historical Society The next meeting of the Presbyterian Historical Society takes place at Carryduff Presbyterian Church on Thursday 20 March.

Proceedings begin with the annual general meeting at 7pm, followed by a talk by Avril Heenan on the ‘History of the ordination of women to eldership and ministry’ at 8pm.

Moderator on presbytery tour PCI Moderator, Dr Richard Murray, praised the ‘blue light services’ during his five-day tour of Ballymena Presbytery.

Dr Murray met with senior leaders of the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and received a briefing from the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Mid and East Antrim District. He heard of the pressures they face, and praised both services’ commitment to the local community.

Speaking after his meeting with Sergeant Jock McToal, of the Neighbourhood Policing Team, Dr Murray said, “The desire to make a difference to the lives of those living in the district was clearly evident. The challenges that the local community and individuals face from drugs, domestic violence, especially against women and girls, can’t be understated.”

The presbytery tour also included visits to schools, a farmers’ mart, churches and Dr Murray preaching at a gospel rally.

The Big Knit in aid of Age NI is back, with knitters encouraged to grab their needles and crochet hooks to knit little hats for the tops of Innocent smoothie bottles.

Every hat raises 30p to help Age NI provide vital information, support and friendship to older people.

For more information and sample knitting patterns, visit www.ageni.org/bigknit, and email bigknit@ageni.org to let the charity know you are knitting.

Persecution in Iran

PCI Moderator with Robert Taggart (paramedic station officer, North Division, Whiteabbey) and Paul Kennedy (paramedic station officer, North Division, Ballymena).

Rev Philip McCullough (moderator of Ballymena Presbytery), Sergeant Jock McToal, the Moderator and Rev Joseph Andrews (Ballymena Presbytery clerk).

Christians in Iran were sentenced to a combined total of 250 years in prison in 2024, a sixfold increase on the year before, a joint report reveals.

The report, released in collaboration with Article 18, Open Doors, CSW and Middle East Concern, is titled ‘The Tip of the Iceberg’, to draw attention to how many more cases go unreported.

This was illustrated in 2024, the report notes, with the leaking of over three million case files of the Tehran judiciary between 2008 and 2023, including those of over 300 Christians. Detailed analysis of the files show: Christians are vilified as members of a ‘sect’ and a security threat; the promotion of Christianity is criminalised; the Bible is treated as contraband and evidence of a crime; and charges are brought against Christians for ordinary activities and religious practices.

Herald March 2025

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IN THIS MONTH...

March 1997

Dipping into the archives to take a look back at what was making Presbyterian headlines and news in history.

Behind closed doors

Domestic violence is often hidden – because of a variety of pressures – but is increasingly being recognised in its prevalence. It is any kind of behaviour which one person, usually but not always male, uses to control another through fear, or intimidation. This includes physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse.

In 1991/92 there were 10 homicides which were the result of domestic violence, 28,000 domestic disputes which were recorded by the RUC, and 2,500 Personal Protection Orders were granted to women. In 1994 the domestic violence and sexual assault unit at the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin received 5,000 calls.

It is incredibly difficult for a woman to accept that her chosen partner is not the man she thought he was, that on occasions his behaviour is abusive and disruptive, resulting in fear, anxiety and depression for the woman. The behaviour can be emotionally damaging to the children. Children whose mothers are battered are more than twice as likely to be abused too. They can learn that violence is a way of coping with problems. Domestic violence accounts for 25% of all violent crimes which are reported and only 2% of domestic incidents are reported…

What can we as a church community do about the problem?

1. Recognise its seriousness. Listen to what people may tell you. A few words may be indicative of a big problem.

2. Face the fact that the problem of domestic violence exists in one form or another in every parish in the country.

3. Reach out to those who are the victims of abuse…This may involve listening and then passing on information about sources of help.

4. Recognise that abusers may need specialised help to break out of the cycle of abuse…

Just 18 months after opening the Derryvolgie Halls of Residence at Queen’s University, Belfast, the Moderator recently opened a 30-bed, £500,000 extension to the facility, increasing the accommodation by 50% and taking Presbyterian spending on the Queen’s campus in the last two years to a total of £2.5m. The Moderator is photographed with (left to right) Rev Maynard Cathcart (convener, Board of Social Witness), Pamela Lockie and Rev Steve Stockman (dean of residence).

Also from March ’97 8

Herald March 2025

Beatle Paul McCartney is knighted

The English Patient wins nine Academy Awards

Unbelief in Luther’s land

The reunification of Germany in 1990 has caused a net decline in German religious attitudes, with atheists and agnostics now outnumbering believers for the first time, according to a survey for the Der Spiegel weekly magazine.

The survey found that half of the citizens in Germany’s western Lande (regions) claim to be religious, compared to only one in five in former East Germany, producing a nationwide average below 50%...

Clerk voted ModeratorDesignate

The next Moderator of the Presbyterian Church could be described as the Belfast equivalent of a London cockney, having spent most of his life within earshot of the bells of Church House.

Rev Samuel Hutchinson, the Church’s General Secretary and Clerk of the General Assembly, was nominated by eight of the 21 presbyteries…and will succeed Dr Allen on the opening night of the General Assembly on 2 June 1997…

Spice Girls top UK charts with Who Do You Think You Are

MY STORY...

Joy Jamieson tells of her work with The Leprosy Mission.

Varied but rewarding work

I

’ve worked with The Leprosy Mission for more than It was a totally different world. Poverty was never far away 25 years, starting in 1997 as the former director Colin – we take so much for granted here. The need is stark as you Ferguson’s PA, when the office was based in Ulsterville see people on the streets, and evidence of the earthquake’s Avenue, Belfast. The Mission relocated to Lisburn in 2006. destruction years ago is still around, even though so much Following Colin’s retirement in 2014, Joanne Briggs was rebuilding has happened. Despite all of this, the Nepalese appointed director and I served alongside her as the office and are such lovely hospitable people and I felt very welcome finance manager for 10 years. wherever I went.

My work is varied but rewarding. I’m often behind the Having been part of The Leprosy Mission for 27 years, desk in the background supporting the director and board some stories of the lives of people affected by leprosy have of trustees with governance oversight, dealing with routine really stuck with me. One such story is that of Januka, a young financial and office tasks, alongside liaising with supporters. woman we featured in a campaign video in the early 2000s.

We are a small team here, but it’s powerful what God can do She was only a teenager when diagnosed with leprosy. Once when you place your life and work into her family discovered it was leprosy, they his hands. I have witnessed many answers …it’s powerful what God rejected her. She had nowhere to go. Only to prayers over the years.

Anandaban Mission Hospital, the main can do when you place As a staff team, we pray every morning leprosy referral hospital in Nepal, would for our colleagues and the work they do in your life and work into take her in. The Leprosy Mission Nepal helping those affected by leprosy and its do an incredible work and for me to see it his hands. consequences. So many Leprosy Mission first-hand was really humbling. supporters do likewise. Over the years I have witnessed them Januka was able to be treated and cured for leprosy, but the faithfully giving and praying for those who are on the other deep damage of stigma and rejection takes longer. Staff at the side of the world. Giving often sacrificially to help someone hospital were so good to her, helping Januka with support they will never meet face to face to the glory of God. to set up a small beauty business in Kathmandu, all in the Being office based, I am not required to visit overseas name of Jesus. Januka is now married with a family, and her projects and meet those affected by leprosy face to face. business is going well. It was a joy to meet her in person.

I never thought I would get the opportunity to visit our I had followed her journey over the years from a teenager hospitals and projects and see this wonderful work first-hand. with little hope to a woman now enjoying a normal life of So when Joanne mentioned the possibility happiness. The transformational love of of a trip to Nepal in The Leprosy Mission’s God knows no boundaries.

Editor’s note: 150th year, I was absolutely delighted. It was We support a lot of people within Africa Joy’s trip to Nepal was in such a shock to be travelling on an adventure and Asia affected by leprosy. It is really March 2024 but six months rewarding to be a very tiny link in the chain like this later in life. The furthest I’d ever been after this Anandaban before was on holiday to Turkey. So, it was a of love that reaches out by finding and Hospital was devastated big challenge to be facing 15 hours on flights. helping those affected by leprosy. by landslides. The team It’s been said you’re never too old, and here To find out more about the life-changing has done remarkable work I was getting my travel vaccines and packing work of The Leprosy Mission, go to to restore services as well my bags. The preparation is a bit of blur now, www.tlm-ni.org or call the office on +44 as they can, but the repair but back in the middle of last March I found (0)28 9262 9500. and rebuilding work is myself in Kathmandu, Nepal, for 10 days.

Joy Jamieson is a lifelong Presbyterian. For significant. This is another Everything in Nepal was so different. The most of her life she was a member of Dundrod of the many difficulties noise, the air pollution, traffic everywhere, Presbyterian. Following a move to Lisburn, she tooting of horns, potholes, dodging motorbikes, that face those affected now worships in Sloan Street Presbyterian. by leprosy. Please pray for crazy wiring and cables hanging everywhere. the whole team in Nepal and particularly, Shovakhar Kandel, TLM country leader, Herald March 2025 for wisdom as they respond to this great need.

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Events Mission in Ireland evenings

PW annual conference

This month, presbyteries across the denomination will host Mission in Ireland Evenings.

With ‘New Things’ as the theme, the evenings aim to highlight what God is doing throughout Ireland today.

Confirmed dates are: East Belfast Presbytery, Sunday 2 March, 7pm, St Andrew’s Iveagh Presbytery, Sunday 2 March, 7pm, Ballydown Tyrone Presbytery, Sunday 2 March, 6.30pm, First Cookstown Omagh Presbytery, Sunday 9 March, time TBC, Ballygawley Ballymena Presbytery, Wednesday 12 March, 8pm, Ballyloughan Down Presbytery, Sunday 16 March, 7pm, Downpatrick Presbyterian Templepatrick Presbytery, Sunday 16 March, 7pm, Muckamore Route Presbytery, Sunday 16 March, 6.30pm, Trinity, Ballymoney Armagh Presbytery, Wednesday 19 March, 8pm, Richhill Ards Presbytery, Sunday 23 March, 7pm, Millisle and Ballycopeland Carrickfergus Presbytery, Sunday 30 March, 6.30pm, Craigyhill Monaghan Presbytery, Sunday 30 March, 7.30pm, Smithborough Dromore Presbytery, Sunday 30 March, 6.30pm, Maze Derry and Donegal Presbytery, Sunday 18 May, location TBC.

Siân Wyn Rees, head of the Bible Society in Wales, is guest speaker at this year’s PW annual conference.

The event takes place at Assembly Buildings, Belfast on Saturday 10 May, with a morning session between 10.30am and 12.15pm, and an afternoon celebration from 2pm until 3.45pm.

Praise will be led by Emma Smith, Erin McBride and band.

The event is free and is an opportunity for women from PCI congregations across Ireland to come together to worship and celebrate all that God is doing in their lives and through his church.

There is no need to register for the annual conference.

Siân Wyn Rees ©www.biblesociety.org.uk

Getting Alongside families and children

Youth event to explore identity

An evening to explore ways your congregation could find fresh opportunities to get alongside today’s children, young people and families is being held in Whitehouse Presbyterian Church on Thursday 22 May, from 7.45pm to 9.15pm.

‘Alongside’ is being offered in partnership between the Presbyterian Children’s Society and PCI’s Council for Congregational Life and Witness. Those attending will hear about opportunities to work alongside a variety of ministries to help you make a difference in your community.

The Presbyterian Children’s Society will also share possibilities for grant-funding congregational-based projects centered around children and young people.

To book your place, scan the QR code or visit bit.ly/alongside2025

Conference for emerging leaders ‘Emerge’, an event for leaders aged 21–30, returns in June, this time as an-all day conference.

Lowe Memorial, Belfast will host this year’s event on Saturday 14 June, and it will run from 10am to 7pm.

Filled with practical teaching, interactive workshops, real-life leadership stories, and space to connect with other emerging leaders from across PCI, Emerge 2025 is all about encouraging, equipping, and empowering emerging leaders to grow and lead well where God has placed them.

Booking is now open, with an early-bird rate of £17.50 available on all bookings until 20 April. Scan the QR code to book or visit bit.ly/emerge_2025

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Herald March 2025

Speaker Mark Hawthorne will help young people, aged 11–16, consider ‘Who am I? – Living in our true identity’ at an ‘Explore’ event later this month.

Taking place at New Row Presbyterian Church on Sunday 23 March, Explore will feature workshops, food and worship. Scan the QR code for further information or visit bit.ly/explorenewrow2025

Events

DIARY DATES

Welcoming the stranger

March

Across this island it is clear that communities are increasingly multi-cultural as people seek to make Ireland their home, having travelled here for all sorts of reasons.

The world truly is on our doorstep and many congregations in PCI are responding in creative and meaningful ways to welcome newcomers. ‘Welcoming the Stranger’ offers the opportunity to come together with others with a particular interest in this work, to outline the importance of it from the Bible, share practice and stories from a variety of contexts across PCI, and participate in a discussion around what might be helpful principles and practices for congregations seeking to be welcoming.

Welcoming the Stranger is on Saturday 5 April, from 10am to 2pm, in Donegal Presbyterian Church.

The cost is €6 per person (including lunch) and to book, scan the QR code or visit bit.ly/welcomestranger2025

Mission in Ireland Evenings

See list of dates and venues on page 10

Family festival Bookings are now being taken for this year’s Family Festival.

Taking place on Saturday 17 May at Spruce Meadows in Lisburn, the event is an opportunity to invite families with a connection to your church for a fun-filled afternoon of activities.

See pages 14–15 for an article on how Family Festival has helped Sloan Street Presbyterian in Lisburn build relationships.

News Blaze prayer calendar This month, the ‘Blaze the Bee’ prayer calendar will focus on Brazil.

The Blaze calendar aims to encourage children and families to pray for global mission, with a particular focus this year on countries where PCI has friends or partners.

Travel grant deadline approaches Time to apply for the Overseas Mission Travel Grant is running out, with a 31 March deadline for 2025 applications.

The grant aims to help young Presbyterians, aged between 18 and 25, finance their travel overseas for short-term service, so that they might learn from, and contribute to, the life of the wider church. It is open to both individuals and teams.

Funding is made available from the Concorde Fund. To find out more and to apply, scan the QR code or visit bit.ly/overseastravelgrant

Hashtags and Hormones Wellington Presbyterian – Tuesday 4

Kids’ Big Day Out

Bangor West – Saturday 8

Derryvolgie thanksgiving service Assembly Buildings, Belfast – Friday 14

Explore

New Row Presbyterian – Sunday 23

April Discipleship Today Forum for young adults Fisherwick Presbyterian – Tuesday 1

Discipleship Today Forum (PCI children, youth and family workers) Assembly Buildings, Belfast – Thursday 3

Welcoming the Stranger Donegal Presbyterian – Saturday 5

May Derryvolgie gala dinner

Crowne Plaza, Belfast – Friday 9

PW annual conference

Assembly Buildings, Belfast – Saturday 10

Stay connected

Family Festival

One of the best ways to keep up to date with the latest news from the Church is through Equip.

This monthly resource contains the latest news on PCI events and resources.

Scan the QR code to sign up.

Mission in Ireland Evenings

Spruce Meadows, Lisburn – Saturday 17

Derry and Donegal Presbytery – Sunday 18

Carol singing at Willow Brook Members of Macosquin Presbyterian Church joined some tenants and staff of Willow Brook (PCI’s supported living facility in Coleraine, County Londonderry) during the recent festive season to sing carols together.

Alongside

Whitehouse Presbyterian – Thursday 22

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Presbyterians asked to help with investigation In line with other main denominations, PCI has been asked to highlight the work of the Northern Ireland Executive’s Truth Recovery Independent Panel by publishing the following article in our denominational magazine.

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he Truth Recovery Independent Panel, appointed by the Executive Office, is carrying out an independent investigation into mother and baby institutions, Magdalene Laundries and workhouses and their pathways and practices, including the adoption and care systems, as well as private nursing homes and the cross-border movement of children. The Panel’s report and findings will help inform the future statutory public inquiry.

experiences. While society has changed, for many, the stigma and shame is something that has stayed with them and we appreciate how difficult it is to engage with a testimony gathering process. We can assure you that we have an experienced testimony team, and excellent support is available at all stages. You can choose where you wish to give testimony – this can be at your home, at our offices in Belfast or any location where you feel comfortable. If you prefer, you can provide your testimony online or in written form. The process is confidential, and your privacy and consent are central to everything we do.

The Independent Panel is particularly keen to understand Testimony is vital to the process of understanding what more about Hopedene Hostel, Thorndale House, it was like for those who passed through institutions, and Malone Place and Kennedy House. the impact on lives since. Lived experiences hold the key to what really happened. We also face challenges with archival The Panel would like to hear from: records which are incomplete and in the case of some • Anyone who spent time in any of these institutions or private nursing homes (where some unmarried women who has been directly impacted by were sent to give birth), do not exist at them (such as children, now adult Lived experiences hold all. We rely on testimonies to help us adoptees, whose mothers were in understand how institutions operated the key to what really these institutions). and to enable us to build as complete • Anyone who worked or and wide ranging a picture as possible. happened. volunteered in the institutions, for If you would like to give testimony or if example, social workers or medical professionals who you are unsure if your experience or knowledge is useful to might have had any involvement with women and girls the Panel, please contact the Testimony Team by Thursday in the institutions.

1 May 2025. We know some people may feel their • Ministers who may have advised church members experience isn’t important or relevant but please contact about the institutions or had knowledge of how they the team as all experiences, no matter how small, will help. operated.

• Anyone who lived in close proximity to the institutions The Testimony Team can be contacted at: and can share any information, knowledge or memories about their practices.

Tel: 028 9052 0263 We understand that each person’s experience is different and are keen to gather as many accounts as possible.

There is a perception that institutions for mothers and babies were primarily run by the Catholic Church, but in Northern Ireland more Protestant than Catholic women and girls spent time in these institutions. There were also more Protestant or non-denominational institutions operating and it is therefore crucial that the Independent Panel gathers testimony from people who have experience and knowledge about these institutions.

We know that many people impacted by the institutions may never have spoken about their 12

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Email: testimony@independentpanel.org.uk Or by writing to: Truth Recovery Independent Panel 4th Floor Equality House 7–9 Shaftesbury Square BT2 7DB

Further information about the work of the Truth Recovery Independent Panel, and a full list of the institutions we are investigating, can be found at: www.independentpanel.truthrecoveryni.co.uk

PERSONAL VIEW

Life lessons Rev Sashko Nezamutdinov

Pastor of Christ the Saviour, one of four congregations in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Poland.

Recent studies on religious weekly attendance in Europe and USA show that Poland has the highest percentage of its population attending, at 44%. However, being a Christian in modern Poland presents a unique paradox: while the country appears outwardly religious, as this statistic indicates, it is experiencing unprecedented social and spiritual upheaval that challenges believers in profound ways. As someone who has been involved in church-planting here for almost 15 years, I have observed how these dynamics create complex challenges for the Christian community.

The most pressing challenge is the growing polarisation within Polish society, particularly regarding faith and values. We are witnessing what many consider the most anti-Catholic period in Polish history, with young people increasingly rejecting traditional religious influence. This rejection often manifests in unexpected ways – for instance, during the recent abortion law protests, many evangelical Christians surprisingly aligned with pro-abortion demonstrators, revealing a concerning lack of biblical teaching in some Protestant churches.

former Soviet states, overlooking Poland. As a result, many Polish Protestant churches remained small and isolated, leading to a sense of insignificance among local believers.

The challenge of maintaining biblical truth while engaging with an increasingly secular society requires great wisdom.

Even basic Christian practices like baptism have become contentious among nominal Catholics, with young parents increasingly refusing this sacrament to allow their children to ‘choose their own beliefs’ later in life. This represents a fundamental misunderstanding of Christian faith and community, yet addressing it requires careful pastoral attention.

Despite the challenges the Protestant churches face in Poland, there are signs of hope. The Polish government continues to support traditional family values through practical policies such as generous maternity leave and financial support for families.

Additionally, the Ukrainian crisis has led to a growing interest in gospel work in Poland, with many Western Christian organisations finally recognising the country’s strategic position in modern Europe.

Within Polish Protestantism, many The most difficult aspect of being converts join Protestant churches not a Christian in Poland today is not out of theological conviction but as just adapting to these changes, but Sashko and Ania Nezamutdinov. Photograph by Iain Irwin a reaction against Catholicism. This maintaining faithful witness while (www.iainirwin.com). anti-Catholic sentiment sometimes doing so. We must learn to engage with leads believers to oppose even biblically an increasingly secular society without aligned positions simply because they are associated with compromising our beliefs, showing Christ’s love while the Catholic Church – as seen in the abortion debate, where standing firm in truth. As one Polish saying goes, “There traditionally united Catholic–Protestant positions on the is no bad thing that wouldn’t work for good.” God in his sanctity of life are now fracturing. sovereignty reminds us that he alone holds everything under control.

The structural challenges facing Protestant churches also significantly impact Christian life in Poland. Most The future of Christianity in Poland may look different Protestant ministers must maintain secular full-time jobs from its past, but perhaps that is exactly what is needed for a while pastoring their congregations, making ministry seem renewed and more authentic expression of faith in our time. like a ‘hobby done in spare moments’. This situation stems The challenge is to navigate these changes while remaining partly from historical neglect – when communism collapsed, true to biblical principles and engaging meaningfully with a Western missionary efforts focused on Ukraine and other rapidly changing society.

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CONGREGATIONAL STORY

Connecting with families on the fringe Sarah Harding chats to Paul McCarroll about Sloan Street Presbyterian’s experience of last year’s Family Festival.

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amily Festival is a PCI event designed to help congregations reach out to families on the fringes of church life – for example, those who may be loosely connected through church-run organisations. Last year it took place in May at Spruce Meadows, Lisburn and is set to be repeated there again this May. Those participating can expect a fun-filled day of activities for the whole family, including bouncy castles, tractor rides, craft, games and refreshment trucks.

Paul McCarroll, an elder from Sloan Street Presbyterian Church, explains why last year’s Family Festival was such a helpful event for his congregation to take part in.

“It’s difficult to try and find some way that you can connect with those families on the periphery. Family Festival gave us a stepping stone into that in many ways.”

Pre-Covid, the congregation had both a GB and BB company, but coming

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out of the pandemic it struggled to reestablish either of these, largely because of a lack of volunteer leaders. Paul was BB captain of Sloan Street, but also in his day job, he is CEO of Boys’ Brigade Belfast Battalion, so coming to the realisation that re-establishing a company might not be possible, was a blow for him.

“It broke my heart. I have been in BB myself since I was five and had been captain for 28 years, so to have that pulled away was tough.”

However, Paul says that the need for the congregation to step back and look at its ministry provision for kids was a really important one.

It’s difficult to try and find some way that you can connect with those families on the periphery.

“Sometimes it is good to take stock and to look at doing things in a different way. It’s looking at what is needed and what can be realistically provided. We knew what was needed – something to bring the kids together – but realised GB and BB weren’t providing that in our context as they once were because of the difficulties recruiting volunteers.”

The solution was to pool the leaders they did have and develop a new kids’ club, that essentially did many of the same things that BB and GB did – Bible stories, craft, games and activities – but in a way that was less formal and combined boys and girls together.

The new kids’ club meets on Tuesday evenings from September through to May and has 24 children on its books, with around 20 turning up on a regular basis.

Paul says: “We found that we were connecting with families that had no other connections to church. Members were inviting neighbours and kids were

We hope to get to know these families more…with the ultimate aim of integrating them into the life of the church…

inviting their friends from school. Our minister suggested Family Festival might be a good way to bring those families together at the end of the year.”

Paul says that the relaxed atmosphere at the event provided a comfortable setting for him and other leaders to chat with the parents they knew. They were also able to connect with mums and dads they hadn’t met before.

“Parents will drop kids at the door and then they’re away again until they come back and collect them, so it’s sometimes hard just to get alongside them and speak to them properly. And often it’s just the mum or dad you will see, but in many cases, both parents came along to the event.”

The congregation has tried Messy Church and special services at Easter and Christmas to connect with families, but the bonus with Family Festival was that there was no burden of organising it – leaders were able to simply turn up and focus on building relationships. Paul also says many of the families appreciated the time to spend with each other, as well as with others.

“We found that particularly for single parents, it was helpful, as many would not normally get the opportunity to do something like that with their children.

With 200 people there altogether, there was a really good buzz about the place – it was also good to connect with people from other churches and speak to folks who are working away in different contexts.”

Paul believes Family Festival was a key reason they continued with the club in September.

“All our families came back with very high feedback. It really worked for us – everyone really appreciated the effort that was made to make it a success. From this feedback, it encouraged us to then carry on another year of kids’ club because of that.”

Paul recognises that it takes time to build relationships with those on the fringes and with Family Festival proving to be such a helpful tool with that, the congregation is planning to go again this year.

He says, “We hope to get

to know these families more and more and encourage them to come to other church events, with the ultimate aim of integrating them into the life of the church as regular worshippers.”

Family

Festival 2025

The PCI Family Festival is an occasion for families to come to together for a fun outdoor event.

Many congregations have a connection with families who love their children being part of activities like toddler groups, uniformed organisations and kids’ clubs, but aren’t involved in the rest of the life of the church. The PCI Family Festival can help you to take the next step in building relationships with those families by providing an opportunity to invite families of all shapes and sizes, with children aged 0–11, to enjoy a fun afternoon of outdoor activities, crafts and games.

It will take place on Saturday 17 May at Spruce Meadows in Lisburn, between 2pm and 5pm. Come along and enjoy crafts, fairground games, bouncy castles, an icecream van and coffee cart, barrel rides and more.

The cost is £7.50 for adult/child (under 2s free).

Scan the QR code for more information or visit bit.ly/ familyfestival_2025 Herald March 2025

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Main gate at Auschwitz (credit Dr Richard Murray)

The hope & the horror PCI’s press officer Mark Smith reports on the Moderator’s recent trip to Poland.

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he Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Dr Richard Murray, recently visited Christ the Saviour, a small Presbyterian congregation in Kraków, and one of only four churches that make up the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Poland (EPCP).

With the oldest of PCI’s congregations dating back to 1613, Dr Murray’s visit to Christ the Saviour in Kraków was an opportunity to offer encouragement and support of the largest Presbyterian denomination in Ireland, to the fledgling EPCP, whose ‘oldest’ congregation is a little more than nine years old.

“My primary focus was to build and deepen our relationship with the EPCP, which is very much a new partnership. It was also about encouraging mutual support and learning from one another – a time of fellowship and an opportunity to see and to hear first-hand the vision

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and the hope that this new Reformed Church has, especially to help people come to know the Lord Jesus personally,” Dr Murray said.

His visit to Poland is thought to have been the first by a PCI Presbyterian Moderator and it was certainly the first time that a Moderator had preached in a EPCP congregation.

Christ the Saviour’s lead pastor, the Ukrainian born minister, Rev Sashko Nezamutdinov, spoke at June’s General Assembly in Belfast. A number of PCI congregations have supported the EPCP over the years, and in 2015 Mr Nezamutdinov spent a three-month internship in Richhill Presbyterian in County Armagh.

Dr Murray said, “It is always good

It was also about encouraging mutual support and learning from one another.

to experience different places, and I have travelled in Austria and Germany, but had never ventured into Eastern Europe. While an ancient city with a large medieval square and cathedral, Kraków had a ‘Soviet-era’ feel to it in parts, with large concrete official looking buildings, and old-fashioned trams – mixed with modern commuter trains – which we got on and off.

“I’d been looking forward to my visit, as I had met Sashko in June and was encouraged by his vision for Christ the Saviour and the Church in Poland.

This was clearly stated on the liturgy for the Sunday service that I preached at. It said that they ‘…desire[d] to be a vibrant Protestant church in Kraków that will serve Jesus Christ, each other, and the people of the city. We endeavour to be a church that fits the culture of Kraków today, a church that reaches out to both the local Poles and people from all backgrounds…’

“It went on to say that it was also a ‘congregation that is biblical, [and]

culturally relevant’, which devotionals and other Christian was very apparent. It was a literature by some well-known strategic decision because in a authors, such as Jonathan country that is overwhelmingly Edwards, R.C. Sproul and Tim culturally Catholic – and a city Keller. I was actually surprised where Pope John Paul II was that this niche market, wasn’t archbishop for 14 years – it so niche after all, but an would be a big leap for many to important one that feeds a come from a Catholic church genuine spiritual hunger,” Dr to a Presbyterian one.”

Murray said.

Dr Murray continued, “With “As we seek to plant new that in mind, to try and bridge churches and worshipping that cultural gap, the church communities here at home, we has Communion every Sunday. should pray for our brothers The elements are familiar to and sisters in the EPCP, those who once worshipped who are not only planting Rev Sashko Nezamutdinov, PCI Moderator Dr Richard Murray and Council for Global in a Catholic setting, as they congregations, but building a Mission Secretary Rev Uel Marrs at Christ the Saviour comprise a wafer and alcoholic/ new denomination in Poland,” alcohol-free wine. It was a the Moderator added. learned of its ministry with Ukrainian liturgical service, with a full liturgy On his last day in the country, refugees since the start of the war. that included prayers, readings and along with one of EPCP’s student “I also heard about the Church’s responses, so it would have a familiar ministers, Dr Murray left Kraków and fast-growing publishing ministry. feel to it, but all in a Reformed travelled west for an hour, or so, to a Translated by professional translators, theological context.” since 2017 over 70 Christian texts have place that has become synonymous Dr Murray preached on Ephesians with mankind’s inhumanity to man – been translated into Polish, printed 2, ‘Christ our peace’ to the young Auschwitz. and sold online. These include Bibles, congregation of around 40 people, “As we were guided around and was robed for the service, having Auschwitz, and the massive adjacent borrowed a traditional woollen ‘Geneva …they don’t have camp at Birkenau, the next four hours gown’ from Mr Nezamutdinov. anything that resembles were harrowing and unforgettable. The The other three EPCP congregations gas chambers we stood in, the electric a traditional church are in Warsaw, where there are two, fences, rows of barracks, the crematoria, with another in Gdansk in the north and the gallows that we saw, all building, instead they of the country. With six student instruments of systematic murder and meet in shops and rent ministers in training and, as of yet, no unspeakable evil. You just come away congregations for them, the Moderator other vacant buildings. stunned and numb.” said that this was surely a Dr Murray continued, “My mark of their passion for the visit to Poland really was a visit gospel and their intent to build of contrasts – of hope on the Christ’s kingdom, and a new one hand, and of horror on the denomination. other. The sheer contrast of “At the same time, they don’t having gone from spending an have anything that resembles uplifting few days hearing about a traditional church building, and encouraging what is being instead they meet in shops and done in Kraków, to visiting a rent other vacant buildings. I place of such utter darkness, was preached in a former café that so stark.

Sunday on the outskirts of the “While we must never forget city,” Dr Murray said. what happened at Auschwitz, During his visit, the we need to give thanks and pray Moderator also met Christ for those planting churches and Books from the Polish Christian publishing ministry the Saviour’s kirk session, and working in Christ’s name.”

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Can reconfiguration work?

David Allen looks at the practicalities of reconfiguration and highlights Islandmagee as somewhere it has already worked well.

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verything looks good on paper – can’t that often be the case?

It seems like a good plan at the time, but it doesn’t work out in practice. So, all the effort, plans and hopes turn out to be in vain, with nothing to show for it on the ground.

You could be forgiven for wondering if that’s how it’s going to be with reconfiguration of ministry in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. Is it going to be the proverbial damp squib?

Are we going to talk a lot about it, spend a lot of time on it, but end up frustrated with the whole thing, and no further on as far as the kingdom of God is concerned?

It would be a tragedy if that was the case, not simply because it would be annoying for us, but more importantly, because of the missed opportunities for the Lord’s work.

In order to answer the question ‘can it work?’, it seems fair to look at where it has worked and is working, where change has taken place, and where the Lord is blessing, in ministry and mission.

One place that comes to mind in this is Islandmagee.

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For 148 years, Presbyterianism in Islandmagee meant two congregations – First and Second. There has been a Presbyterian witness there since the 1600s, and then, in 1785, Second Islandmagee was founded, as a seceder congregation. From then, until 2023, both congregations existed alongside each other.

They weren’t very far apart, weren’t very different, weren’t made up of people who didn’t know each other, but there were two of them, with two meeting houses, manses and ministers.

Now it’s just Islandmagee Presbyterian Church – one congregation and one minister – because two years ago, after a long and prayerful process, the two congregations merged into one.

This merger, like all others, involved some loss. Members of both

Those two phrases – ‘better together’ and ‘together we can do more’ – stuck in my head…

congregations lost the identity of belonging to either First or Second.

They lost a bit of their heritage and a bit of their independence. These are undeniable and unavoidable in a merger.

However, the elders and people of both congregations believed that by merging, they would gain more than they lost and, above all, the kingdom of God would gain more. They were right.

In coming together, they gained: • added fellowship with their brothers and sisters in their neighbouring congregation; • a greater ability to engage in ministry, with more leaders and more people in fellowship groups; • a greater appreciation that ‘church’ wasn’t so much about them, but about God, less about self and more about service and sacrifice; • a shared responsibility and purpose for mission and evangelism in the area; and • more resources to do mission and ministry.

Before the merger, the Linkage Commission met with the

…both congregations believed that by merging, they would gain more than they lost…

congregations, to hear what they thought. Both meetings were remarkable. Lots of people spoke, but no one spoke against the merger, all spoke in favour.

Three things stood out: • That this was happening from the ground up – it wasn’t being imposed from above, by presbytery or the Linkage Commission.

• That people were convinced that they would be better together.

• That people were convinced that together they could do more.

Those two phrases – ‘better together’ and ‘together we can do more’ – stuck in my head as I witnessed those meetings.

Everyone there was willing to face the loss that a merger would bring, because they were committed to the cause of Christ. They were certain that in all of the aspects of ministry and mission, they would be better together, and together they could do more for Christ.

They believed that the Lord had led them to this point, and he would go with them as they entered ministry and

mission in a very different way, with one congregation rather than two. They weren’t being pushed towards this by the Church, but led to it by the Lord.

As we set out on a denominationwide reconfiguration of ministry, many of us may feel that, regardless of what is said, it will be all about closing churches, and that will only bring loss – loss of our buildings, our identity, our independence.

In response, it has to be said that reconfiguration is not all about closing churches. A number of churches may close, or be linked with others, because we have more buildings than we need and we can no longer justify keeping them all. Where that happens, things will be lost, as they were in Islandmagee. But the flip side of that is that we always gain more than we lose – again, like Islandmagee.

But it’s not just the experience of Islandmagee that assures us of this, it’s the words of the Lord Jesus Christ.

He says to us that in order to save our lives, we have to lose them for his sake; in order to follow him, we must deny ourselves and take up our cross. To do

anything else, even if we gain the whole world as a result, will be to forfeit our soul (Matthew 16:24–26).

It has to be this way, for not only did Jesus say these things, he also lived them – giving more for us than we can ever give for him; dying a truly Godforsaken death in our place; taking up his cross, enduring its curse and shame.

Can reconfiguration work?

Maybe a better question is: can the Lord Jesus build his Church on the island of Ireland today?

The answer to that is a resounding ‘yes’!

What an encouragement for us. The challenge is to heed his words and follow his example: loving him who first loved us; giving ourselves to him; dying onto self for him; taking up our cross for him. And doing these, not only in our individual lives, but in the life of our denomination, praying that, in his mercy, he would be pleased to use us to build his Church and bring glory to himself.

Dr David Allen is PCI’s Deputy Clerk of Assembly.

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Present where God

has placed us to be his witnesses David Thompson ponders whether we have lost the importance of our sense of place in how we bear witness to the gospel as congregations and followers of Jesus.

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…it may be that we have lost something of the importance of the local witness of our congregation.

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wonder how often we are struck by a sense of place these days.

We spend so much of our time in cyberspace, perhaps it has become a real challenge to notice the physical surroundings we inhabit. Too often, it doesn’t seem to matter where we are so long as we can click to connect online. The almost universal wearing of headphones as we commute, run or walk means it is very easy to disconnect from everyday sights and sounds around us and become unaware of others as we retreat into our own little disembodied world.

The ease with which we can travel, change job or uproot from the place we once considered home make ours an increasingly rootless generation.

Does any of this matter? Is it simply the outworking of technological advancement, being part of an eversmaller world and having so many choices?

as to what is happening and what isn’t. Who is around? Who isn’t? As we become more attuned, we notice deeper things like where people gather around here, or what symbols suggest what makes this community tick. All of that contributes to our sense of place in these surroundings. Do we belong here or not? What would it take for us to belong? How do others experience my presence among them? Am I a stranger, acquaintance, friend? Am I acting as guest or host, or neither, in this relationship?

In these ways we can move towards being fully present where we find our feet planted.

Sometimes that presence comes with a sense of discomfort. We sense ourselves out of place. We don’t feel like we really belong here. At other times, we can feel very much at home.

This is our kind of place among our kind of people. There is synergy here.

Present where God has placed us to be his witnesses

A place in the neighbourhood: Recovering the witness of the local church

One aspect of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland’s ‘Present’ initiative is a call to recover a sense of our place in his world. More particularly, it is an invitation to explore the particular possibilities of where God has placed us as congregations and individuals to bear witness to him.

To do that requires a number of very intentional actions on our part. We need to learn to pay attention to our surroundings. What sort of place is this? What strikes us about it? From there, we can grow in our alertness

In recent years, it may be that we have lost something of the importance of the local witness of our congregation.

This can happen for a number of reasons.

Perhaps an increasing number of our members who used to live in the area round about the church building no longer do so. We have become a drive-in congregation, increasingly disconnected from those who now live in the neighbourhood.

Maybe our community has radically

changed in make up or complexion.

That has left us scratching our heads as we find our well-worn ways of connecting in the past no longer seem to work the way they used to do.

Possibly we find ourselves in a centreless suburbia in which there are no local places for the community to gather. In fact, most people seem happy enough to come home from work, park the car in the driveway and retreat into the sanctuary of their living room for the rest of their waking hours.

Could it be that we have bought into some well-meaning Christian jargon of recent years which has convinced us that we only gather for worship in our buildings and then scatter to a thousand different everyday frontlines for the only witness that really matters?

This imbalanced view can contribute to the loss of any sense of priority or possibility of the potential of the witness of our church in its immediate locality.

All of this begs the question, would it really matter if our church building wasn’t where it was? Would it make any difference to us if it was further up the road or in the next village? Might we even find that more convenient? Would it make any difference to those who live around our buildings if our church wasn’t there, in that place it has always occupied?

Being part of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland locates our congregation as one of over 500 church communities which are placed where they are by a mix of historical circumstances and kingdom Herald March 2025

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…as those in our circle of influence open up to us…there comes a gradual granting of permission to speak with the accent of God’s love…

intentionality. Whichever it may be, we quite literally are where we are by God’s plan.

The forthcoming denomination-wide reconfiguration of ministry process will ask difficult questions about how many church buildings we have and where we will and won’t have them in the future.

Perhaps congregational parish reach will need to be much wider, but that possibility has been made practical by our ability to travel further and more quickly by car and public transport than our ancestors ever dreamed conceivable. None of that, though, will negate the fact that we will still need congregations deeply embedded in place.

A place in our network: Recognising the power of relationship in witness As much as place is a physical reality, it also expresses itself relationally in the networks of people with whom we rub shoulders. Again, we need to stop and take stock of the significance of that if it is not to pass us by.

Think of all the people with whom we regularly rub shoulders with in an ordinary week – where we live, work, study, socialise, or see on our commute.

Each little conversation and interaction develops the soft tissue of relationship in which we give more of ourselves away to others and they offer more of themselves to us. They learn more about us, we learn more about them and relationship deepens.

In that exchange, there ought to be an element of who we are as followers 22

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of Jesus becoming more apparent to others. It should show itself in our actions and reactions, in what we say and what we don’t, in the values and virtues that Christ by his Spirit is honing in our lives. Similarly, as those in our circle of influence open up to us about their lives, there comes a gradual granting of permission to speak with the accent of God’s love, grace, wisdom, peace, truth and hope. It’s like a sharing of life, opens up a sharing of faith, or perhaps the sharing of an invitation to come to worship or something else that is happening in our church.

All of that rests on our intentional awareness of the place we inhabit by God’s appointment in the network of people he brings in and around our lives. More than that, it flows from a prayerfulness about opportunities to be a witness for him, not just in theory, but in practice.

Time and place The reminder to be present where God has placed us to be his witnesses is a timely call because we often feel our place as Christians in community and society in Ireland is ever decreasing. If it is to open up and open out again, it

will not do so by accident. It will only do so by a mix of persevering prayer and positive presence.

What kind of conversation might your congregation need to have about being present in the neighbourhood in which God has placed it? Often that presence doesn’t have to require doing some big thing. Rather, it will leave its impression by doing the right thing based on a divinely ordered overlap of apparent local needs and available congregational resources.

What kind of conversation might you have with God about the potential of relational networks in which he has placed you to be bearers of witness to him in the lives of others? Often being more present to others by giving them your time, offering a listening ear, showing kindness and offering a gentle invitation to pray has a greater impact than we might ever imagine.

Let’s not miss the moment by making sure we are fully present where God has placed us to be his witnesses.

Rev David Thompson is PCI’s Secretary of the Council for Congregational Life and Witness.

MARCH 2025

Mission Connect

Blessings amidst the challenges

Blessings amidst the challenges Rev Mark Proctor

Mission news from workers around Ireland and the world.

Making a difference Rachel McKevitt Opportunities in student ministry Derek and Jane French A ministry of the teapot Sonya Anderson Sources of encouragement Graham Stockdale

Every aspect of our Church’s mission depends to some extent on United Appeal.

Hundreds of projects and programmes at home and overseas are helping to advance God’s kingdom, showing God’s love in action to hundreds of thousands of people.

Thinking outside the box Edwin and Anne Kibathi

Including March prayer diary

Blessings amidst the challenges

Rev Mark Proctor Naas Presbyterian Church

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ike most congregations, the work and ministry of Naas Sunday mornings, called ‘Simply Christianity’, to which the congregation has its challenges and encouragements, congregation were encouraged to invite others. As I write this, but thankfully more of the latter! It is always a joy to we are only beginning, but please pray that unbelievers will be together each Sunday for worship and especially to see be saved and believers better equipped for their own personal the congregation slowly growing in number, and in our love evangelism. for Jesus too, we trust. We are conscious though, that this Currently, our only regular ministry among teens and young growth is fragile, as too adults is an open-mic music often we must say goodbye event called ‘SoulWorks’, …we are blessed with people attending to those who are moving which happens a few times a away (sometimes to other year. Our home groups (called worship from many different nations… countries).

‘Explore the Bible’) meet We especially feel it when most weeks, either in Naas families with kids leave, or are simply absent, as this impacts or Newbridge. The current series, based on Life with Jesus by the ministry that is possible with children and young people Tim Chester, is going well and proving very beneficial for those in the congregation. Nonetheless, our two Sunday school who attend. We are trusting the Lord that more ministry will teachers do a fabulous job each week. Each Tuesday morning, be possible in Newbridge in the future, and are praying for the for two hours, we have the privilege of teaching Bible lessons additional leadership that this will require. to over 90 children in the local Church of Ireland National Over the last year or so, we have also been encouraged to School, which is a wonderful gospel opportunity. have a partnership with Muckamore Presbyterian Church. Both As with many congregations in the Republic of Ireland, we are congregations are hopeful that this relationship will help to blessed with people attending worship from many different widen our interest in what God is doing on this island through nations, most recently from Brazil, including some who have PCI. become members. Undertaking the membership course Please pray: with these dear folks was so uplifting, despite the occasional language barrier. Unfortunately, there is less interest from • That Naas congregation will increasingly be used by the Lord among the ‘native Irish’, which is definitely an aspect of the as a soul-winning church. congregation’s outreach that we need to work on.

• Ask the Lord to deepen our dependence on him, especially as ‘Christianity Explored’ courses last year in Naas and we pray that he will change lives in our neighbourhood.

Newbridge were quite poorly attended, but still worthwhile, • For the pastoral needs of the congregation, especially for and we hope to run courses in both towns again during those with chronic or life-limiting health conditions.

2025. The year started with a five-week evangelistic series on

Mission Connect | Herald March 2025

Making a difference Rachel McKevitt

Safeguarding volunteer trainer

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am originally from County Monaghan and now love living The role is important, not just for children, but for the in the Midlands with my husband Jason, the dog Ruadh, volunteers and the Church. It is my way of serving God and cat Nollaig and not forgetting my collection of hens. After doing what I can do. I enjoy meeting people and going all, you can take the girl out of the countryside but not the to churches, halls and networking, especially on a bright countryside out of the girl. summer’s evening. It can be As a child, I was brought an excuse to get away and The role is important… It is my way of serving see part of the county. It’s along to Rockcorry Presbyterian Church, where great seeing the room warm God and doing what I can do.

I was greatly influenced by up as people become more many youth leaders and familiar with the topic and Sunday school teachers. After college, I moved to the Midlands comfortable with asking questions that are on their mind. and found my church family in Mullingar Presbyterian Church.

I would recommend the role to anyone thinking about it. You I joined PCI’s Safeguarding training team in 2016. The role will make a real difference, meet new people and enjoy the also aligns to my day job – as a public health nurse previously, experience. There is lots of support in learning the presentation and now as an assistant director of public health nursing – as content, and from other trainers. You then are constantly I have often attended meetings and conferences regarding upskilling your own knowledge, so if you become the one vulnerable children who require protection. I know the person that someone wants to confide in, or you need to guide importance of these children having a safe space or a safe adult a leader to support, you have all the information you require. they can approach, if required, and I love that I can help people develop the skills and knowledge to provide this.

Volunteer trainers for Safeguarding are desperately needed Being a trainer requires a small commitment, as currently for the Republic of Ireland, Co Fermanagh, Co Londonderry, I only deliver one to two training sessions a year. These last Co Tyrone and the north coast area of Co Antrim. about two hours, so it’s maybe six to eight hours in a year.

Anyone interested can contact the PCI Safeguarding Ideally, it’s good to be familiar with the PowerPoint slides Office on +44 (0)28 9041 7230 for more information and an and content, so this takes some preparation when they get informal chat about what is involved. updated. Some training has been delivered online post-Covid, Please pray: however, I much prefer to be in a room face to face with people as the interaction is better.

• For Safeguarding volunteer trainers, that they would As trainers we do have some training or upskilling to keep continue to feel supported in their role. on top of. If we had more trainers in the south, I would hope, • That more volunteer trainers would come forward, especially in the future, this could be held closer to where I live, as there in the areas where they are needed. would be more of us.

Mission Connect | Herald March 2025

Opportunities in student ministry

Aida Banyuls

Students in Bilbao

Derek and Jane French Global mission workers, Spain

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or many years Derek was the Grupos Biblicos Unídos “Since September I have been visiting Bilbao and its students (student ministry) staff worker in northern Spain. to learn more about the cultural context of the city and to get However, Derek’s roles changed to being on the GBU to know the local churches better. I am thankful to God for the executive committee and forming part of the Andamio Kids opportunity to meet several pastors and students willing to publishing team with Jane. They also took on responsibilities mobilise others and I believe that this is a key time in Bilbao, with Bilbao International Church. As a result of these changes, to reactivate the student groups. The public university in the there hasn’t been a GBU staff Basque Country alone has worker in Bilbao and the more than 45,000 students. …there is a generation of university students surrounding area for a long Along with that, there is time. Now, Derek and Jane a generation of university with a burden to connect culture and are thrilled to introduce Aida students with a burden to Banyuls who has recently connect culture and faith on faith on campus. become the new staff worker campus. They desire to be for Bilbao. light in such a hostile place.

Aida shares the following: “I was born in Barcelona and There are also many opportunities that the Lord is showing studied a degree in Primary Education. I love to surround us in Bilbao and other cities in the region so we are excited myself with people to talk to over a coffee and develop trusting and confident that the Lord is already in all these places and is relationships with others. I also really enjoy cycling in nature, leading us every step of the way. watching the sea or witnessing a sunset.

“We pray that the students of the Basque Country will “In 2019 I became a GBU staff worker. I am convinced that continue to form this student community that shares the working full time in student ministry is a privilege because it message of hope to others and shine like stars in their allows me to accompany students in their daily challenges and classrooms and hallways.” discover the many opportunities that they have on campus to share the gospel while working alongside local churches.

“I served as a GBU staff worker for five years in Equatorial Please pray: Guinea, seeking to set up the student work there. During the pandemic I worked in various universities in Madrid until I was • For Aida as she seeks to re-establish the student work in able to return to Equatorial Guinea and finish my work there.

Bilbao.

Currently, I maintain my long-distance relationship with the • For the local churches, that they will be supportive of GBU student movement in Equatorial Guinea, supporting them in and Aida in this ministry. the continuity of the work and here in Spain I continue serving • For the students in the universities in Bilbao, that they will in GBU, working alongside the student groups in three cities: take a stand for Christ on campus.

Valladolid, Salamanca and Bilbao.

Mission Connect | Herald March 2025

Monday ‘Cuppa and Chat’

A ministry of the teapot

Christmas campfire event

Sonya Anderson

Deaconess, Shore Street, Donaghadee

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rowing up, I always remember my mum getting are included. I believe that once someone has washed dishes the kettle on as soon as visitors were through or made tea in the church kitchen, they feel less like a visitor the door. There was no question of whether they and more like part of the family. There is a sense of belonging wanted a cuppa, it was just assumed. Tea was made and the and acceptance when people are invited to serve in these conversation flowed. People spaces. New people are no felt at ease; at home. They felt longer new, they are just like It is an opportunity to serve the stranger, as well the rest of us – one of the welcomed and knew that we were in no rush to get them as serve the one who has filled that same teapot in family. out the door.

Don’t underestimate this As I think about our church, ministry.

It is an opportunity a different era or in a different capacity.

I see that the kettle is often to serve the stranger, as on. Teapots are often filled, well as serve the one who and if there are biscuits in the has filled that same teapot cupboard, they are plated up too. Just like at home, it becomes in a different era or in a different capacity. It is a way to show a place where people are welcomed, at ease, and there is a hospitality and loving care, a chance to build relationships and sense that we are in no rush to get them out the door. create space for sharing life’s joys and sorrows.

I recognise there is a ministry of the teapot and it happens I can’t find a Bible verse to confirm our teapot ministry, but in most of our churches. Beginning on Monday when I know that in Jesus’ ministry, he spent unhurried time with church opens for ‘Cuppa and Chat’ right through to Sunday people, which often involved eating and drinking. So, let’s get when coffee is consumed after the service – this ministry is the kettle on! ongoing. From funeral teas to ‘Church Garden’ spaces, from Christmas outreaches to Easter brunches, there are people serving tea in Old Country Roses china or brown compostable Please pray: cups. Don’t forget those leaders’ meetings, pastoral visitations and groups that meet in houses, men’s and women’s groups, • That our churches would be welcoming spaces where people as well as Bible studies, prayer meetings and our little toddler feel at ease and unhurried. mornings – whatever the occasion, the kettle is always on.

• Bless and thank God for all those who make the tea and The beauty of this ministry is that no major skills are required serve the church family as well as the stranger. to be part of it. If you can boil a kettle and fetch a teabag, you

Mission Connect | Herald March 2025

Stephen Heasley, Alpha volunteer (left) and Jordan Jones, assistant minister

Sources of encouragement Rev Graham Stockdale Chaplain, Maghaberry Prison

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he last six months in Maghaberry has been the most and had made professions of faith, coming along as helpers. spiritually encouraging period that I can remember One individual that we know of committed his life to following during the 12 plus years that I have worked in the prison.

Jesus. Others had their interest in faith developed and one of People coming into the prison to work alongside me has been the signs of that has been many of them attending worship. a major part of that uplift.

This leads me on to share about the prison services and, again, Mentioning this type of encouragement takes me back to the encouragement from those coming in from the outside. summer when chaplaincy welcomed Ashley Parks as a summer Every Sunday I conduct three services. There are six in total, assistant. This is part of a which alternate fortnightly, growing interest from Union with Communion celebrated It has been great to have these two College in the work in prison on any month with a fifth chaplaincy, as ministry Sunday. Each Sunday either spiritual sprinters setting the pace for an student Jordan Jones has Liz, Linzi or David, volunteers old jogger like me! already been coming in one from Maze Presbyterian, day a week for the past two provide music at the main years. It has been great to have these two spiritual sprinters services which makes a huge difference. Occasionally we setting the pace for an old jogger like me! have special joint services when those from the Catholic and Jordan has a specific role in visiting all those who designate combined services come together – the recent carol services as Presbyterian in Davis House (around 60 people). He were great examples of that. Again, it was volunteers from the works hard at regularly keeping in touch and developing outside who were a great encouragement. The Salvation Army relationships, which often leads to spiritual conversations. volunteers, who led the carols at the Tuesday night service Ashley had a more general role, getting involved in various along with the prison choir headed up by Andy, Judith and aspects of chaplaincy work from conducting Bible studies, Jason, and then the folks from Railway Street Presbyterian who following up on prisoner requests, to visiting committals (those led the Wednesday night service, all made and continue to who have come into prison over the previous 24 hours). Both make a great contribution. have also conducted worship services.

Another area where people are a great source of Please pray: encouragement is the ‘Alpha’ course, which ran again this autumn with 14 men attending. This couldn’t happen without • For God’s wisdom around discussions regarding shaping the support of volunteers Anne, Thelma, Kerry, George and Presbyterian prison chaplaincy going forward.

Dixie, who bring hugs, prayers and laughs, as well as great • That God would continue to bless the prison by his grace, things to eat. The prisoners who came along were really creating an interest amongst prisoners in spiritual matters. engaged, with two lads who had attended a previous course

Mission Connect | Herald March 2025

Thinking outside the box

Edwin and Anne Kibathi Global mission workers, England

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n a speech entitled, ‘Christian Theology: Static or Dynamic?’ requires the hand of God to be at work. Like Paul, we try our the late Very Rev Dr John Gatu, a former Moderator of best to apply our understanding of the light of God, which the Presbyterian Church of East Africa, said that Christian is the gospel, to the life of men and women in our day and theology must never simply become Barthian, Calvinist or situation. Like the apostles of the early church, we must and Lutheran. Rather, each should make sure we don’t of us needs to work out get distracted from the Like the apostles of the early church, we must our understanding and main mission of Word and application of the gospel in sacrament. and should make sure we don’t get distracted all the human perplexities in The modern world appears from the main mission of Word and sacrament. to be changing faster than which we find ourselves. We need to interpret and apply at any other time in past the gospel according to every different context. generations. More than ever before, therefore, we need the The Bible records that as the early church grew, it was presence and wisdom of God in each and every hour. He is the confronted with new challenges that the apostles had not only one who can help us to navigate our way through the expected, neither had they experienced, during their time with challenges and at the same time answer the many questions Jesus. So, there was no specific manual to refer to and they had which are thrown at the church as she seeks to remain relevant. to come up with a solution, otherwise the gospel would have lost meaning to the complaining group. One of the challenges that emerged, as recorded in Acts 6, was the complaint by the Please pray: Hellenists who claimed their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. The apostles took a lot of their time • Give thanks for rest, refreshment, reconnecting with family to seek guidance from God and came up with a brilliant idea and friends, and also for journeying mercies as Edwin and of having a team of leaders whom they called deacons. Their Anne took a break in Kenya and Uganda during the month main assignment was to focus on the emerging challenges of February. Remember them at this time as they adjust back while the apostles continued with the core business. into their work in London and around the UK. We can confidently say that during our ministry, largely • Give thanks for the life and witness of the PCEA UK Outreach amongst East Africans, here in the UK, there are times when congregations, especially for the leadership training we meet challenges which demand that we think outside the that took place at the beginning of the year in which box. Ministering to people who have come into a new and representatives of all the congregations participated. unfamiliar environment and are struggling to settle really

Mission Connect | Herald March 2025

MARCH 2025

Please pray... n PRISON CHAPLAIN – Graham Stockdale is prison chaplain in Maghaberry Prison. Pray that God would continue to bless the prison by his grace, creating an interest in spiritual matters amongst prisoners.

n FORCES CHAPLAINCY – For PCI’s forces chaplains as they seek to engage with people of every rank and differing degrees of gospel interest and understanding, particularly in this time of global uncertainty.

n CHURCH PLANTING (BALBRIGGAN) – Give thanks for the recent ordination service for Rev Josh McCance and the marking of five years of church services in Balbriggan.

Pray for the continued development of this church planting work.

n GLOBAL MISSION WORKERS – Edwin and Anne Kibathi serve as global mission workers in England. Give thanks for the leadership training that took place recently in Luton for those in leadership roles in all Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) UK Outreach congregations and that Edwin and Anne were able to take a period of leave in Kenya and Uganda during late January and February. Please remember them as they return to a busy schedule in the service of the PCEA UK Outreach in east London and beyond.

Josh McCance

n GLOBAL MISSION WORKERS – Derek and Jane French are PCI global mission workers serving in Spain. Pray for Aida Banyuls who has recently become the new staff worker for Grupos Biblios Unídos (GBU) in Bilbao, especially as she seeks to re-establish the student work. Pray also that local churches will be supportive of Aida in this ministry, and that the university students in Bilbao’s universities will take a stand for Christ on campus.

n INTERNATIONAL MEETING POINT – For the Op shop in north Belfast, that it would be a blessing to those in the area. Pray also for Sharon and Henry as they serve in south Belfast and seek to help people find suitable accommodation.

n MISSION PIONEERS – Give thanks for the recent commissioning of two new mission pioneers. Pray for David Gamble as he serves in Rathcoole and Lewis McKelvey in Ballycastle, particularly as they both seek to engage in outreach opportunities in their local communities.

n RURAL CHAPLAIN – Give thanks for the rural chaplaincy team and the relationships they have built with marts and farmers of all backgrounds. Pray that they would be a witness of the hope of Christ through their conversations.

n DEACONESS – Sonya Anderson is deaconess in Shore Street, Donaghadee.

Pray that our churches would be welcoming spaces where people feel at ease and unhurried. Bless and thank God for all those who make the tea and serve the church family as well as the stranger. n RUSSIA – Pray for health and strength for the teaching and administrative staff at St Petersburgh Christian University, and remember the students, some far from home, now fully engaged in a busy term of studies at the university. Pray that they would become increasingly well equipped for a range of ministries throughout the country. n HOME MISSION – That Naas congregation will increasingly be used by the Lord as a soul-winning church; ask the Lord to deepen dependence on him and that he will change lives in the neighbourhood. n STRESS – In the UK alone approximately five million people are stressed. Stress often manifests itself in many ways. Please pray for those suffering from the effects of stress. Pray especially for staff within PCI’s services, often working under pressure. Give thanks for the dedication staff show.

n MYANMAR – As the civil war continues in Myanmar, please pray for those Presbyterian Church of Myanmar (PCM) synods most severely impacted by armed clashes, air strikes, lockdowns and displacement of people. Amongst others, do remember pastors who have not been paid for many months; church members trying to make ends meet despite a failing banking system and sky-rocketing inflation; and children with no school to attend. n UNIVERSITY CHAPLAINCY – For students as they work on assignments and/ or prepare for exams and for our chaplains as they encourage and support them.

Naomi Leremore

n MISSION PIONEERS – Give thanks for those who have applied for this year’s programme, that they would be blessed as they move through the application and training process.

n SPECIAL MINISTRY IN WEST BELFAST – Give thanks for all those who have come into contact with the team in west Belfast so far this year. Pray that new contacts would be made and that there would be a growing interest from those in the area. n INDIA (AL BASHIR) – Give thanks for the faithful endeavour and witness over the past 35 years. Please pray for ongoing initiatives in seven states of Northern India, including development projects in 19 villages that focus on vocational skills for women and teenage boys, primary healthcare for mothers and children, and a literacy programme. n GLOBAL MISSION WORKERS – Volker and Jinhyeog Glissmann serve in Central and Southern Africa as global mission workers. Pray for Volker as he is involved in planning the translation of two biblical literacy courses, ‘Knowing God’ and ‘Knowing Jesus’, into the Chichewa language for use in Malawi, both for grassroots training and in the TEEM ministry in prisons. n MISSION IN IRELAND EVENINGS – For the Mission in Ireland Evenings taking place in March across 14 presbyteries. Pray for the various speakers who will share examples of PCI’s mission across Ireland and that God would use these evenings to encourage all those who attend. n MALAWI – Give thanks for the work of Scripture Union in Malawi for more than 50 years. Pray for Maropafadzo ChirwaChisalipo, the new National Director, as she oversees the ministry that includes school Bible clubs, Bible study groups, camps and the distribution of Bible reading notes and Bibles. n HOSPITAL CHAPLAINS – Give thanks for all our hospital chaplains and the valuable work they do. Pray for Norman Harrison as he works among patients, relatives and staff in Belfast City Hospital and in the Royal Group of Hospitals generally. n GLOBAL MISSION WORKER – Give thanks for Naomi Leremore’s work with the Presbyterian Church of East Africa’s Theological Education

by Extension (TEE) department, recently marking 10 years of prison ministry with a graduation of 50 inmates at King’ong’o Prison. Pray for God’s guiding hand on this particular dimension of TEE work.

www.presbyterianireland.org/prayer

TALKING POINTS

A President with a public faith

Norman Hamilton reflects on the life of Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the USA, who died at the end of last year.

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uring most of January, the American flag was faith in public, and in particular the place of Christian faith flown at half-mast in all the USA’s public (and indeed other faiths) in political life. President Trump buildings, except the day of President Trump’s makes no claims to be an evangelical, but in his inauguration inauguration, in memory of President Jimmy address he said, “I was saved (from the assassin’s bullet) Carter who died on 29 December last, just after his 100th

by God to make America great again.” He has been birthday. given very public support from many church leaders. Rev He was widely known as a publicly committed evangelical Franklin Graham – who is the head of the Billy Graham who served the Lord for much of his very long life.

Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse – prayed at Through him, the term ‘born again Christian’ came into the his inauguration and is on record as saying that the President mainstream of American politics during his campaign in “cannot do his job without God. America will never be great 1976 to become President. When asked afterwards about again if we turn our back on God.” that he said, “I don’t regret that at all. It’s part of my nature; I have found myself really quite challenged on a number of it’s part of my character.” How many of us would be content fronts as I have done my homework for this article. I find the to use those words to describe ourselves Lord challenging me on the language today? I don’t think I have ever heard I use in witnessing to Christ. Jimmy That servant heart them – and I wonder why?

Carter was rejected by the American Carter was born in a socially deprived produced a man of people for a second term as President – area of Georgia during the Great and I find myself challenged by how I prayer and a man of Depression, in an ordinary home which deal with rejection when it comes. Given unusual humility in high Carter’s long ministry with Habitat for had no running water or electricity.

He attended a Southern Baptist Humanity and the Carter Centre after office. church where he was ‘born again’. His he retired, I also find myself challenged evangelistic desire led him on mission trips as a young adult, as to the shape of my own ministry in retirement, though I and in due course to be a clear witness to world leaders. He am certainly not short of opportunities. But am I taking the is on record as urging foreign leaders to “accept Jesus Christ right ones under the guidance of the Holy Spirit? as personal Saviour”, and that included those in communist And in this year of a new American President, I ask countries when he visited them as President. myself again: what does it look like for a country to be great His testimony was unambiguously clear: “I am a peanut again under God? In truth, I find that to be an exceedingly farmer and a Christian. I am a father and I am a Christian. difficult question to answer, for the more secular we become, I am a businessman and a Christian. I am a politician and a the more ‘greatness’ is linked to power and influence.

Christian. The single most important factor in my own life is Yet at a personal level, my big ‘takeaway’ from thinking Jesus Christ.” about Jimmy Carter’s life is the challenge to be up front and When he became President, he described his position not public about my being a follower of Jesus. To become very as ‘first boss’ but as ‘first servant’. And he told another group relaxed about saying: “I don’t regret that at all. It’s part of my that when the 12 disciples argued about who was most nature; it’s part of my character.” important among them, Jesus said to them that whoever wanted to be first must be a servant (Matthew 20:27).

That servant heart produced a man of prayer and a man of unusual humility in high office. In one memorable quote, he said: “Although I cannot claim that my decisions were always the best ones, prayer was a great help to me. At least it removed any possibility of timidity or despair as I faced my daily responsibilities.”

Norman Hamilton Such unambiguous witness and commitment to Christ is now an increasing rarity in political life, public life and even Very Rev Dr Norman Hamilton is a former personal and private life – though thankfully not unknown.

Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in And it also raises the ever-thorny question of the role of Ireland.

Herald March 2025

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What’s shopping

got to do with church?

Deborah Sloan looks at the effects of consumerism on our society and on our faith.

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hat’s that got to do with church?” asked my daughter when I said I was writing an article about shopping for the Presbyterian Herald.

“Everything,” I replied.

Christmas 2024. It seems like a distant memory now. Those electric vans have stopped arriving at my gate and leaving brown packages on a daily basis. The last tub of Celebrations has been finished and recycled. The overflowing wheelie bins have returned

…we’re all being… manipulated into desiring material possessions we believe will make our lives better…

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Herald March 2025

to some degree of normality. My garage has been decluttered of the random bits and pieces for the charity shop. I am enjoying listening to music through my new wireless earbuds. I am no longer frustrated by the old ones which required a recharge after less than 40 minutes. The batteries couldn’t be replaced and so, I had no choice other than throw them away. But where exactly is this magical place called ‘away’? Well, according to the recent Netflix documentary Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy, ‘away’ means I’ve made it someone else’s problem. Away is out of sight and out of mind. As we head towards Easter, and the shops fill up with merchandise I might want to purchase to mark the next significant event in the Christian calendar, I am certainly not thinking about where my festive rubbish has ended up. But perhaps, I should be.

I rarely go on a ‘shopping spree’. I

don’t visit a high street very often. I donate anything unwanted. I have lots of positive feedback on eBay. I separate my cardboard from my potato peelings.

I regularly re-heel my footwear. I could probably choose to feel somewhat good about my habits. But unfortunately, I, like most people, am still living on what is known as the ‘treadmill of consumerism’. In the 21st century where social media fuels a culture of continual comparison, we’re all being encouraged to buy more, manipulated into desiring material possessions we believe will make our lives better. I, like many others, buy far more than I need.

“There’s a science to get you to buy stuff,” explains the Netflix documentary. No one needs a new hoodie or a new T-shirt or a new pair of shoes. Instead, what we need is a compelling reason to buy something and this is usually provided to us via powerful storytelling, celebrity

endorsement or clever advertising.

Once we are ready to buy, we must then be able to acquire it as quickly as possible. “We want to be there when you have your next shoppable moment” is a phrase used by a well-known online retailer who pioneered the concept of one-click buying.

In a world where sales and profit maximisation matter, we are all, it seems, being 100% played. Every trick in the book is being used to persuade us to accumulate more and more stuff.

This includes: Making it too easy for us. Getting into a car, driving to a shop, browsing the shelves, locating an item, and bringing it home is a lot of work. But if all we have to do is click a button and it arrives the next day, of course, we’re going to keep doing this.

Offering us incentives. Free shipping, buy-one-get-one-free, discount codes and ‘you might also like’ are all popular tactics.

Trapping us into replacement cycles. If a business relies on selling smartphones and most consumers already own one, then the continued success of that business depends on those consumers needing to replace their smartphones. This is achieved through what is known as ‘planned obsolescence’. Eventually the battery life of a phone will decline, or it can no longer be supported by the latest software. It will need to be upgraded.

Making it difficult for us to repair broken goods. Some of the most high-profile technology companies deliberately conceal information about how to fix their devices. They also make it virtually impossible to access internal workings through use of tamperproof covers, non-standard screws and unnecessary gluing or soldering.

Capitalising on our insecurities.

Releasing a constant stream of the latest models tempts customers into discarding less up-to-date ones so they aren’t seen as out-of-touch or unfashionable. Terms such as ‘evolving’ or ‘taking it to the next level’ are regularly used to entice users to update to the latest iteration.

Alleviating our fears about the environment. Many companies put a range of symbols on packaging to reassure buyers about recyclability.

…most dangerous of all is how willing we are to allow corporations to absolve us of any guilt about our overconsumption.

But these can often be meaningless.

Despite what the labels say, most of the 12 tonnes of plastic produced every second is not recyclable. It is more likely to be buried or burnt.

Pacifying us via greenwashing.

Businesses can pretend to care about sustainability because it is cheaper than tackling the actual issues.

Greenwashing can be as subtle as using natural environments in adverts, getting children to deliver promotional messages and even extensive use of the colour green.

Reminding us that shopping leads to prosperity. Regularly, in our news bulletins, we will hear that a drop in sales is threatening our economy.

But perhaps most dangerous of all is how willing we are to allow corporations to absolve us of any guilt about our overconsumption. We are reluctant to question what they tell us about their environmental practices because believing them is preferable to confronting our own behaviours. And basically, all these ‘tricks’ are working.

We are shopping until we drop. For example, 100 billion garments are being produced every year to meet the demands of the fast-fashion industry.

There’s a side to all of this which most of us would prefer not to think too much about and that’s what happens to the things we don’t want anymore. When designers and engineers develop a product, how it will be disposed of never enters the conversation. Once companies manufacture a product and pass it to retailers, its lifespan is no longer their responsibility.

“We can’t recycle our way out of all this stuff they want us to buy,” the documentary tells us, and global waste is now increasing at an exponential rate, not only in volume but also in toxicity and persistency. End-of-life items are going deeper down the waste chain to Herald March 2025

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…nothing will really change unless we review our consumerist attitudes and behaviours… whichever region of the world can get rid of them in the most cost-effective way, and that’s usually in ways that just aren’t safe. Weaker economies are exploited into creating illegal waste management systems which would cost much more to implement properly elsewhere. “They’re making someone else pay but they’re not paying with money, they’re paying with their health,” the documentary explains. We see footage of workers in Thailand, wearing minimal protective gear as they smash electronic devices filled with hazardous materials. We see mountains

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of clothes exported to Ghana, dumped at sea and washed up on beaches.

But as my daughter quite rightly asked, what does all this have to do with church? Well, the Bible tells us to: Be good stewards of the earth.

Remember those wireless earbuds.

Well, these along with the 13 million phones thrown away every single day are generating mounds of electronic waste which is ending up in landfill.

Harmful substances leaking out of e-waste are causing soil and water contamination, damaging wildlife and depleting natural resources. In addition, landfill emissions are contributing to climate change and irreversible environmental harm. Consumerism is destroying our planet.

Care for the vulnerable. Those most affected by consumerism are the poorest and weakest in our world. And this isn’t just in faraway places. It can

also be much closer to home. It is often cheaper to dump unsold merchandise rather than redistribute it. “We don’t want to be the brand that homeless people use,” a former sales assistant reveals about one beauty company. She left after being told to squeeze any contents out of tubes before throwing them into on-street bins.

Advocate for justice. Rather than accepting economic and social injustice as a necessary evil to ensure the problem of waste doesn’t sit on our doorstep, we should be standing up against exploitative systems which perpetuate inequality.

Share where real hope can be found.

“Whoever dies with the most stuff doesn’t win,” says one activist. Instead of craving worldly goods, we need to show an alternative way of living, pointing to where true fulfilment can be found in knowing Christ.

Consumerism is a complex moral and ethical challenge which demands urgent action. We can easily make small changes such as hanging on to electronics for longer and fixing them if possible, opting for paper rather than plastic, and saying no to throwaway fashion, single-use water bottles and disposable coffee cups. But taking action beyond this may cause us discomfort. What we should be doing is lobbying corporations around how they plan for the end-of-life of products and campaigning for policies and practices which ensure workers are fairly treated. But how many of us are willing to do this?

In fact, nothing will really change unless we review our consumerist attitudes and behaviours and decide this is no longer how we want to live and it’s not how we want our global brothers and sisters to live either, suffering while we sit back and enjoy our purchases.

One of the first things we could do is make more informed decisions about what we actually need. The documentary concludes with this simple advice: “If you think you need something, put it in your online cart and leave it there for a month. If you still want it after a month, it might actually be something you need.”

REFLECTIONS

Come follow me Tommy Bruce Studies in Mark 1:14–28

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f you were looking for the best candidates to launch any expectations, and simply follow. Yes, there will be times kind of worldwide venture, the shoreline of a mediumwhen friends and family will look with the silent question: sized town would be unlikely to be your starting point. why? There will be moments when conflict will arise, conflict Those who worked on the family-run fishing boats, that doesn’t make sense, conflict that is fuelled by the ruler of working hard to make a living by catching fish for the local this present age, but there will always be companionship, as population, would hardly be considered as the best equipped we walk with the Lord, as we share fellowship with others, personnel to reach a generation with the most important many of whom, the only thing we have in common with, is message of history.

Jesus. In the eternal timeline of the Lord, what else is there?

Yet as Jesus moves through the region of Galilee, it is these When all of the kingdoms, nations and empires of this no-nonsense fishermen that he commissions to be his first world come to end, then those who share in the citizenship disciples. With the simple command: of Christ’s kingdom will remain.

“Come, follow me, and I will make you Will you take up the For me, this is one of the simplest, fishers of men”, these men’s lives and and yet radical commands that the Lord challenge? ...turn away their families are changed forever. calls us to. That call away from where we That sudden encounter with the Lord from your old life, with are now; that call to leave behind what of the universe, sees them leave the safety is familiar and comfortable; that call to all of its priorities and of the family business, the certainty of embrace the new life that Jesus offers. an income, to begin a life that meant expectations, and simply It’s simple, but it’s a command that uncertainty, hostility, and adventure. I demands a radical change in how we wonder what their family thought about follow. think and act. this, or the hired men who had worked To the student who is about to choose alongside them. Were there gasps of shock? Looks that their subjects – ‘come follow me’ rather than choose the suggested – you are crazy? From a human perspective, why career that will provide the most financial security. To the would you leave the safety of a secure career, to engage in a student about to embark on a course – ‘come follow me’ risky venture? where the Lord has called you to be his witness, rather than The encounter with the man who was possessed by an which college or university do you consider most suitable. impure spirit (vv23–26) would hardly have reduced this To the young couple about to set up home – ‘come follow concern. A confrontation with an impure spirit in any me’ rather than choosing which postcode offers the best location was surely shocking, but for the confrontation to educational opportunities. For those considering where they occur in the centre of worship, must have caused frowns. will retire – ‘come follow me’ where the Lord is wanting you What was this new venture that they had been called to? to serve.

As they followed, they witnessed the Word of God ‘Come follow me’ demands that the attitude of following becoming alive, spoken with the authority of the living, our heart’s desire is subject to the Lord’s will. It requires a sovereign God of the universe. But as suddenly as the Word sacrificial attitude when it comes to desires and expectations, comes alive, the conflict follows. “You have no authority it means listening intentionally and being willing to leave here, we know who you are, and what you are doing, and you our ‘fishing boats’ that so often control and hinder, and have no authority here,” spoke the impure spirit. A spirit that instead venturing out with Jesus, depending on him for was at ease in the local morally upright synagogue, where the everything. letter of the law was observed, as long as the Spirit of God was rejected. There were the outward actions of obedience, Rev Tommy Bruce is minister of Trinity, Letterkenny and without the changing of the heart. Our Saviour says, “Come Trenta Presbyterian Churches in Donegal. follow me”.

Will you take up the challenge? ‘Come follow me’, turn away from your old life, with all of its priorities and Herald March 2025

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Chaplaincy is a vital mission strategy Norman Harrison looks at the exciting missional opportunities in the world of chaplaincy.

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s Presbyterians, we are rightly proud of a long and shared history of mission.

As a young Christian in Christ Church, Dundonald, I was blessed to benefit from the ministries of Rev Jim Waring, former missionary in Jamaica, and Rev Robin Quinn, former missionary in Malawi. As assistant minister in Dungannon, I was blessed by the example of Max and Alison Watson, and David and Sandra Rodgers who served in Nepal, as well as Rosemary Clements from Clogherney, in my first charge. My wife Janet and I wondered about mission in a foreign field, and when we went to Kenya to develop a congregational partnership project, we fell in love with the people

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there and the red earth, yet our call did not come. John Finlay, a former elder in my second charge, High Street, Holywood, was an inspiration. His achievements for Interserve in Nepal are the stuff of legend. When I led the Ards Presbytery Kenya team, building churches and schools, there was still no overseas call, yet mission has always been a core goal for me, both in congregational life and in chaplaincy.

I have come to understand that chaplaincy is not just the ‘add-on’ on the side of ministry. Rather, it is, in its own right, a professional mission role.

…chaplaincy is…a professional mission role.

I learned a lot from missionaries abroad: mostly, that the role does not mean repeating the same things ministers do in churches. For some, there is some cross-over, but for most it is healthcare, engineering, skills development, theological education.

Mission takes many forms in various situations.

Traditionally, chaplaincy was associated with the armed services, prisons and with the NHS/HSCNI. Suitably qualified individuals, usually ministers and deaconesses, have taken up such roles. Today it extends into the arenas of sport, the workplace, business, town centres, street outreach, rural community engagement – simply put, chaplaincy is now operating where

people are. And what is mission if it is not going to where people are and offering them spiritual and religious care? Offering them hope and help when they are bereaved, injured and hurting, where relationships are breaking, where the traumatic events of life are wreaking havoc emotionally, physically and spiritually. Where else would Jesus go in our society to bring grace, healing and hope? I have come to the view that chaplaincy is postmodern mission. And where there is mission, there is a calling. The Lord instructs us to: “Go!” When we think of how the Church should be going out into our postmodern world, we have got to think out of the box. How can we reach more broadly into our world using the gifts and skills of our members, at a time of greater limits on our resources? We invest heavily in training – pastors, teachers and outreach workers – and these skills we look for and develop are a valuable commodity, not only to us, but also to many organisations. If we desire a presence in the public square, then perhaps we should partner more with public and other bodies to provide personnel with the skills which will benefit their teams, but also serve our call as a Church.

Chaplaincy is also cross-cultural mission. It used to be that missionaries went to unevangelised fields, but how many of these are now on our doorstep? In healthcare chaplaincy, less than a third of those we see (and our numbers have risen sharply recently) are people who still connect to a local congregation. Like those who serve overseas, or who are sent to other parts of Ireland, chaplains enter a crosscultural world, interacting with those of all faiths and none, yet doing so as

…what is mission if it is not going to where people are? committed Christians with a witness to Christ.

We operate as professionals in our chosen field. These days, you need professional training to qualify for chaplaincy roles and placements, which allow you access to training. Other denominations have understood this and for years have been ahead of the game, often becoming established in jobs and senior roles where they have been able to shape the services they represent.

I would encourage PCI to look at chaplaincy in a new light, and to revise its approach to how this can be a strategic way to engage proactively in public–private partnerships.

Chaplaincy has the potential to become an integral part of the care and wellbeing of staff, whether in local emergency services or larger employers.

Chaplains add value and are value for money to employ. In healthcare, the Lothian report demonstrated clearly how the costs of operating a chaplaincy service were more than covered by the cost savings per client engagement. In short – it’s cheaper to have chaplains than not to have them. We need to promote chaplaincy as a valuable service to organisations willing to partner with us – we supply the trained and experienced personnel, and the organisations get a support service to help care for employees, boost productivity, reduce absence, and encourage retention.

What is most unappreciated about chaplaincy is that our ministry reaches out, not only to the person,

but to the people surrounding them.

The challenge to the Church is to see this mission role in the same light as those who serve in mission overseas. Chaplains operate in a sphere where our belief system may not predominate and it’s also outside the usual boundaries of denomination and congregation. However, we do get to attend to people’s needs and get invited into their personal spaces. We also get to show, by our example, how to provide self-care. From my experience and that of colleagues, the constraint of working in a secular organisation does not dampen the effect of our mission, which has been and continues to be more than fruitful.

As Christian professionals, chaplains contribute positively to the organisations we serve, evidenced clearly during the pandemic. Our innovations enhance services to staff and patients, with website development, helplines, bereavement calls, literature, media work, and support materials produced. As we invest in, and show our worth, we become embedded in new fields of mission where God is clearly at work.

My question to our Church is – just how wide and how far can you see this particular strategy for mission extend?

As I see it, the limit is only in us, not in what God can do and where he can go.

Which situations could he be sending us into?

Rev Norman Harrison is Presbyterian chaplain at the Royal Group of Hospitals, Belfast and lead chaplain with the Northern Trust.

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Unlocking God’s Word

for every heart

Ricky Ferguson explains how Wycliffe Bible Translators’ vision is for a world where everyone can know Jesus through the Bible. He tells the story of Pastor Bagne from Senegal who is one of the many people around the world working to bring that vision to reality.

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ible translation is a foundational part of world mission. The Bible is the primary way that people can know the transforming truth about Jesus. Yet one in five people don’t yet have the Bible in their language. For these people, the message God has communicated through the Bible is locked in a language they can’t understand.

John Wycliffe, who was born over 700 years ago, was the first person to translate the Bible into English.

Now the organisation that is named after him – Wycliffe Bible Translators – works with local translators to unlock the truth of the Bible through translating it into the languages people understand.

One of those translators is Pastor Bagne from Senegal whose journey from being a communist politician to becoming a Bible translator shows the difference the Bible makes.

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A journey through politics While 97% of people in Senegal are Muslim, Bagne Ndione was born into a Christian family in Senegal.

He went to church as a child, but had little understanding of the Bible. His parents were farmers, and he witnessed first-hand the poverty of post-colonial Senegal. This motivated him to seek change through politics, leading him to join the Communist Party in Senegal and later to spend a year studying communism in Moscow.

“I wanted to improve life for my parents and community,” Bagne explains. “I put all my hope in human wisdom. I adopted communist ideology and this led me to deny the existence of God.”

Bible translation is a foundational part of world mission.

However, after he returned from Russia, Bagne’s faith in politics began to waver. He noticed inconsistencies among political leaders, whose actions were often different from what they said. “I saw that human wisdom could be manipulated and was not consistent,” Bagne says. “I couldn’t trust it.”

Discovering unchanging truth It was during this period of disillusionment that Bagne encountered members of Campus Crusade for Christ, who introduced him to the Bible. His education allowed him to read it in French, something many people in Senegal cannot do. “I saw the constancy of biblical truths,” he recalls. “The wisdom of God is superior to that of man.”

Revelation 3:20 particularly resonated with him: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”

Bagne says, “I realised I had closed the door to God. I decided to open my heart and found the solution that lasts – Jesus.” The Bible transformed his worldview and led him to a life of faith.

“So I continued to read the Bible until I said to myself: ‘I no longer need to look anywhere else; everything is here.’ The Bible gave me a new way to see the world. That is what made me decide to follow Jesus. And my whole life was transformed.”

…unlocking of the truth of the Bible, so that every heart can understand it, is a sacred mission…

Answering God’s call

Today, Bagne leads a new translation project for Contemporary Wolof, spoken by over 16 million Senegalese.

“The target is to reach the maximum number of people,” Bagne explains.

“The overwhelming majority of the Senegalese population speak Contemporary Wolof. It is the language of the young, and over 60% of people in Senegal are young.

The translation of the Bible into Contemporary Wolof means that the great majority of people in Senegal will be able to access the Word of God.”

After coming to faith, Bagne prayed for guidance on how to serve his community. The answer came through missionaries who invited him to join a project translating the New Testament into Noon, his first language. Initially hesitant, Bagne eventually embraced the call. “I thought only great people could translate the Bible, but I realised it was God calling me,” he says.

Bagne’s work on the Noon New Testament was completed in 2012, enabling his community to access

PCI supporting Bible translation PCI has been deeply involved in a long-term partnership supporting this vital work in Senegal through three families who are each supported by their respective PCI congregations: David and Janet Wilkinson (Macosquin Presbyterian, Coleraine).

David serves as the director of the work in Senegal and Janet as the finance coordinator.

Clare and Seba Orr Diédhiou (Newtownbreda Presbyterian, Belfast). Clare manages various language programmes, and Seba serves as the office manager.

David and Ruth Lowry (Ballyholme Presbyterian). David leads and is the translation adviser for the Karon translation team and Ruth is responsible for HR. Please join us in praying for these families as they faithfully serve God in Senegal, enabling people to encounter Jesus through the transformative power of the Bible in the language they understand best.

God’s Word. “Lives are transformed,” Bagne says, “through contact with the Word of God.”

Reaching the majority of people in Senegal

Bagne and his team rely on partnerships with believers worldwide to continue their work. “We cannot do this alone,” he says. “Partnership is like a team where everyone plays a role. We thank God for those who pray for us and support us financially.”

The universal right to God’s Word For Bagne, the unlocking of the truth of the Bible, so that every heart can understand it, is a sacred mission.

“Everyone has the right to access the Word of God – literate or illiterate, rich or poor. We are all equal before God,” Bagne says. “Everyone should benefit from the knowledge of God. The translation of the Bible into all the languages of the world must become a reality.”

To find out more about supporting Bible translation, go to: http://wycliffe.org.uk Ricky Ferguson is Team Leader for Ireland for Wycliffe Bible Translators.

PCI Ministers’ Vision Trip Wycliffe is delighted to offer the opportunity to serving PCI ministers to join a vision trip to Senegal in April 2026 (up to 10 days).

PCI’s Council for Global Mission commends this trip to ministers – grants are available from the PCI Ministerial Development Programme.

For more information and to register your interest contact Ricky Ferguson (Ireland Team Leader for Wycliffe) on +44 (0)28 9531 3380 or rferguson@wycliffe.org.uk Approximate cost will be £1,200 (including insurance) and there will be an information morning in late May/early June for interested ministers.

“I can’t recommend the Ministers’ Vision Trip highly enough. The opportunity to see first-hand how Bible translation is done on the ground and how communities, families and individuals have been impacted by having God’s Word in their own language was life and ministrychanging.”

Rev Craig Lynn, First Newtownards Presbyterian, was part of the team to Senegal in 2023

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REVIEWS

Unless otherwise stated all resources are available from your local Faith Mission Bookshop or online www.fmbookshops.com

The Commission Files Podcast

COMMISSION CHRISTIAN RADIO

««««« «««« « Commission is a voluntary Christian charity that operates from its studios in Dundonald.

As well as being Ireland’s only independent producer of Christian radio drama, operating since 1975, Commission has recently been producing podcasts.

Will Leitch and Kerry Greig are the hosts and through their interviews we hear stories of people of faith who are making a real difference in society. Building up the episodes slowly over the past two years, there are now 18 available to enjoy.

The first episode has a very Presbyterian angle, since Will and Kerry talk to Rev David Moore, who is heading up PCI’s ministry project in west Belfast. The interview is a great way to find out more about the exciting work David is involved in as he seeks to build connections and re-establish a Presbyterian witness in this part of Belfast.

There is a wide range of people interviewed and topics covered, including Alan McBride whose wife Sharon was killed by the Shankill Road bombing in 1993; Nicola Mallon, Danielle McIlhinney and Norman Hamilton, who discuss faith and politics; and Ben McMehan and Jill Robinson who, in separate episodes, discuss the horrific reality of people being trafficked in Ireland.

Will and Kerry navigate all these interviews with grace, sensitivity and humour – you will be educated, encouraged and inspired as you listen.

SH

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On the Way to Work Chris Gillies

Discovering Lament David Couchman

BRF

£12.99

SELF PUBLISHED

««««« ««« ««

Written in a modern straightforward style, this book expounds strongly biblical views of work and a Christian’s working life. It contains much that readers coming to this either for the first time or formed by life’s experience would find useful as a guide or helpful review.

An explanation of how the secular– sacred divide arose through Greek culture and how it so easily infects our attitudes and actions in the workplace is stimulating, as are chapters on ‘personal money matters’, ‘am I in the right job?’ and ‘doing the right thing’.

The author draws mainly on his own experience to illustrate the points he makes which adds authenticity, but he had a very successful career in large organisations in financial services. His life clearly had opportunities to make choices, so the basis on which those choices are made becomes relevant.

This book would be a valuable read for students about to enter the world of work, for people entering the professions, on a pathway to, or in, senior management or owning their own business. The chapters dealing with managing people and leadership are excellent. It would provide a useful framework for an appropriate small-group study.

Every book needs a target audience. The trade-off for the author’s life experiences is to narrow the potential readership. For many people, the examples are either irrelevant or off-putting as they show little understanding of the life of those in monotonous jobs struggling to put bread on the table.

JE

£6.99

««««« ««« ««

In recent years, it has been suggested that in focusing too much on themes of victory and overcoming in our churches, we haven’t left room for struggle and lament. This author agrees with that judgment, and has written this book in an effort to equip believers to handle grief well.

Borne out of tragic loss in his own life, it is laid out like a devotional – 31 chapters (a month’s worth), each containing a Bible passage, some thoughts, questions to consider, and a suggested prayer. The book moves from themes around honesty, grief and darkness, towards hope and eternity.

The chapters are short and quite simple in ways, but for a reader who is grieving, this simplicity could be what makes it accessible and impactful. The writer constantly drives the reader back to the Bible and to the God who loves them, while allowing for questions and sadness and confusion.

He says this: “For the follower of Jesus Christ, lament grows out of the tension between what we believe (that God is good) and what we experience in our lives (pain and loss). If we did not experience the loss and pain, we would not need to lament, and if we did not believe that God is good, there would be no point in lamenting.”

The book contains a lot of (often lengthy) quotes from other writers which I sometimes found distracting, but on the whole I think it is a good book to share with a grieving friend, and could be useful to us all in helping us to better understand and leave room for lament, in our own lives, relationships, and churches.

AW

REVIEWERS

SEH – Suzanne Hamilton is an administrative assistant for the Herald RB – Ruth Bromley is PCI’s children’s development officer

Stop the Spiral Jennie Allen FORM

£13.06

««««« ««« ««

People have between 12,000 and 60,000 thoughts a day, 80% of which are negative and 95% are repetitive from the day before. This is clear indication that the spiral into negative and toxic thoughts is real and “stuffed with more thoughts than it seems we can manage”, says Jennie Allen.

In her book, Stop the Spiral Devotional: 100 days of breaking free from negative thoughts, Allen challenges negative thinking, instead reminding readers of God’s sufficiency and grace.

She writes, “The past few years of unrest and uncertainty have definitely revealed hidden anxieties many of us were already feeling…What if I told you that you don’t have to spiral in toxic thoughts anymore?

What if I told you that God has the power not only to save our souls but also change our lives?”

Grouped into sections such as ‘From distraction to stillness’ and ‘From isolation to connection’, the 100 readings each feature a short devotional essay, Bible verses for meditating on, a ‘Rewire the spiral’ devotional and a prayer.

The devotion ‘Made to connect’ encourages readers to fight against isolation and build relationships, saying, “When we are in deep, deep community together, joy and peace mark our lives.”

In ‘Attend to him’, she says our most valuable asset is our attention and adds, “Are you attending to your fear? Or to the God who promises to be with you?”

This book is one to dip in and out of, and will be useful for those struggling with low levels of anxiety as well as those going through a particularly difficult time.

SEH

JE – Jeremy Eves is a member of West Church, Bangor SH – Sarah Harding is editor of the Herald AW – Alison Woodrow is a member of Wellington Presbyterian RD – Ruth Dalzell is coordinator of youth ministry and congregational discipleship in Second Comber

World of Wonder Dreamers

AVAILABLE VIA STREAMING SERVICES

««««« «««« « I have only recently discovered an Australian band called Dreamers, who are based in Futures Church in Adelaide city. Dreamers is the youth movement of the church and it has a vision to see the next generation chase the plan God has for them.

Their newest album World of Wonder

Joshua and the Very Strong City Tim Thornborough THE GOOD BOOK COMPANY

£5.94

«««««

Joshua and the Very Strong City is the 11th book in the ‘Very Best Bible Stories’ series from The Good Book Company. Each book is written in an engaging and imaginative way by Tim Thornborough and beautifully illustrated by Jennifer Davison.

Each of these stories works in a way that includes repetition to help young readers to engage with and remember the Bible stories and this one is no different.

In this particular story, which is aimed

is actually a mix of two EPs – one live and one studio.

The title track World of Wonder is the first song on the album and sets the tone for the rest. These songs should bring you into the presence of God, allowing you to be blown away by what he has done for us but also his love for us. The song Daily Bread talks about letting ‘tomorrow be tomorrow’ and allowing God to take control.

Undignified uses the word of David, being undignified in his praise of God – encouraging us to be all in for God and not being ashamed of who we are in Christ.

As this music is from the youth movement of Futures Church, I think it might appeal more to young people. However, there is something for everyone on World of Wonder and would be a great addition to your regular listening. Allow yourself to be reminded of the wonder of God. RD

at 2–4-year-olds, the repetition and interaction allows the children to imagine and re-enact being one of God’s people marching around the walls of Jericho and waiting for them to fall.

Thornborough stays true to the biblical account as he retells this story from Joshua 6, but does it in a simple way for little ears to understand. To be able to do this as well as allowing children to march around with the “Tramp, trampety, tramp, tramp” and the “Stamp, stampety, stamp, stamp” the same as Joshua and the people did is truly engaging.

As always with books from The Good Book Company, they come with some free downloads to help to continue engagement with the story. In this case, there are two colouring sheets available which could be used at home, in a crèche or preschool children’s ministry setting or in your toddler group.

For some books in this series, it is also possible to download the images for free, to use in retelling the story and these may come available for this new book as well.

These are great for group storytelling or even all-age services.

RB

Herald March 2025

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LIFE IN PCI Blue plaque commemorates Vinecash minister Rev William Tennent, a Presbyterian minister whose inspirational work in education in Pennsylvania influenced the creation of Princeton University, has been commemorated with an Ulster History Circle Blue Plaque at the County Armagh church where he worshipped.

PCI Moderator Dr Richard Murray and James Applegate, the United States Consul General to Belfast, recently unveiled the plaque at Vinecash Presbyterian Church, near Portadown.

Speaking at the event, Dr Murray, said, “No one, except God, knows from the outset the path that an individual’s life will take, and so it was for William Tennent. Having left Scotland for Ulster in the 1690s, he worshipped in this place, before emigrating to what was then, the American colonies.

“In Pennsylvania, he became an inspirational preacher and played an important role during the revival known as the Great Awakening of the 1740s. He was a champion of orthodoxy, a fervent evangelist and a respected teacher. At his ‘Log College’, the first theological Presbyterian seminary in North America, which he established, William Tennent raised the next generation of the church, a number of whom went on to found Princeton, one of the great American universities.”

The Moderator concluded by saying, “Much can come from small beginnings, and like many Presbyterians, William played a significant part in the life of pre-revolutionary America and

contributed to the ultimate founding of the United States.”

Mr Tennent worshipped at Vinecash Presbyterian until he emigrated with his family to America, settling in the colony of Pennsylvania in 1718. Some of them were baptised at Vinecash, including his son Gilbert, who went on to become the first Moderator of Synod of New York and Philadelphia in 1758. Another three sons and one grandson were to become ministers.

Top left: Special guests at the plaque unveiling.

Right: The Moderator, Dr Richard Murray, and the US Consul General, James Applegate, unveil the plaque to Rev William Tennent.

Belfast church celebrates 75th anniversary St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Belfast celebrated its 75th anniversary recently.

The church was established through the foresight of church extension, in response to the building of the Cregagh estate after the Second World War. The congregation initially met in a wooden hall (which later was removed to serve another congregation at Garnerville), and were able to build the main hall through the generosity of the trustees of the former York Street congregation, whose church building was destroyed in the Blitz.

The main hall served as the meeting place for worship services, Sunday school, organisations and all other activities from 1952 until 1971, when the worship sanctuary and meeting rooms were then added.

The anniversary was marked with an afternoon tea in the main hall, and it was full of current and former members. There was a pleasant buzz of conversation and laughter as old friends caught up with each other, and browsed photographs on the timeline around the walls which charted the church’s history.

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Top left: The current minister Rev Robin Aicken with Rev Mervyn Burnside (Castlereagh), who was convener of the vacancy prior to calling Mr Aicken.

Top right: Former assistant ministers in St Andrew’s Rev Stephen Johnston (Kilkeel) and Rev Alvin Little (retired) with Linda Little.

Bottom left: Former ministers of St Andrew’s, Rev Alistair Kennedy and Rev David Maxwell, chatting to Rev Stephen Johnston, who was a former assistant minister.

Bottom right: Some of the volunteers taking a break from serving at the afternoon tea: Heather Dickie, Sandra McLearnon, Moyra Hunter, Robert McGarrell and Rev Robin Aicken.

To share good news stories from your congregation please send your photographs and details to heraldeditorial@presbyterianireland.org

Milestone birthday in Trinity, Ahoghill PCI Moderator Dr Richard Murray visited the home of elder emeritus of Trinity Presbyterian Church, Ahoghill, Nathaniel Dickey, to wish him the congratulations of the Presbyterian Church on reaching his 100th birthday. Also included in the photograph is his nephew and clerk of session of the County Antrim church, George Knowles.

Birthday celebration in Moneymore Ruth McAdoo, a member of First Moneymore Presbyterian Church in County Londonderry, celebrated her 100th birthday with a visit from former Presbyterian Moderator Dr Ian McNie.

Charity cash handover in Glascar Special return in Fermanagh Dr John Dixon returned to his home congregation of Ballyhobridge Presbyterian Church, County Fermanagh recently for a special mission service. Pictured are David Jordan (clerk of session), Dr Dixon, Rev John Hanson (minister) and Thomas Crawford (elder).

Glascar Presbyterian Church has handed over £900 to Heart Failure Warriors NI. The County Down church was able to support the local charity by donating £900 from a recent carol service. Pictured in the front row are clerk of session Alan Little, Jennifer Reynolds and Karen Smyth.

Middle row: Sharon Hughes-Magill, Nicole McKelvie and Amanda Herron.

Back row: Lloyd Toal, Mark Elliott, Brian McClelland and Jim Waddell.

Belfast BB raise charity funds The 24th BB company from Bloomfield Presbyterian Church raised £10,775.58 for Tearfund from a bread and cheese lunch.

Lois Bailie, from Tearfund, is pictured receiving the cheque at the Belfast BB’s recent enrolment service.

Herald March 2025

43

LIFE IN PCI

Elders ordained in Claggan Clive Mitchell and Trevor Martin have been ordained and installed by a commission of Tyrone Presbytery as ruling elders of Claggan Presbyterian Church. They are pictured in the front row with Rev James Porter (centre).

Pictured in the back row are members of kirk session: Tom Bell (clerk of session), Stanley Crooks, Eric Davidson and Ivan Brown.

Presentation to retired chaplain Retired chaplain Susan Dawson was presented with a gift and flowers by the moderator of Dublin and Munster Presbytery, Rev Damien Burke, in recognition of over 20 years of service.

Sixtieth anniversary of ordination marked in Newtownards Rev W.M. Gray recently celebrated the 60th anniversary of his ordination and led worship in Greenwell Street Presbyterian Church, Newtownards, where he is a member. Mr Gray was presented with a devotional book on the Psalms and a cake on behalf of the County Down congregation. Pictured are Rev S.W. Orr (vacancy convener), Thomas Moore (assistant minister), Rosemary Spiers (deaconess), Mr Gray and David Francis (clerk of session).

Presentation in Kilkeel Rev Stephen Johnston and his wife Ruth were presented with gifts recently to mark the occasion of 20 years of ministry at Kilkeel Presbyterian Church. Pictured are Catherine Speers (secretary of the County Down church), Mrs Johnston, Mr Johnston and Ossie Wallace (clerk of session).

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Herald March 2025

Retirement at Greystone Road A presentation was made to Lucy Talbot recently to mark her retirement after 27 years of faithful service as catering convener in Greystone Road Presbyterian Church, Antrim. Pictured are Rev Chris Wilson, Mrs Talbot, Cilla Dodd (church secretary) and Sammy Talbot.

Tag good news stories from your congregation on Twitter with #lifeinpci and @pciassembly

Retirement in First Castlederg Following 22 years of faithful service, the clerk of session of First Castlederg Presbyterian Church, James A. Emery (BEM), has retired.

He was presented with a gift by Lavina Nelson (elder) on behalf of the County Tyrone congregation.

Faithful service recognised in Muckamore Lynn Falls has recently retired from her role as pastoral visitor in the County Antrim congregation of Muckamore. The church family acknowledged her six years of diligent service, compassionate approach, and her displays of God’s grace and joy. As a token of their gratitude and well wishes for her retirement, kirk session presented her with a commissioned painting of the church building. She is pictured with Rev Stephen McNie.

Anniversary marked in Antrim High Street, Antrim recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of the congregation’s move from the centre of Antrim to The Steeple. The anniversary was marked by a visit from PCI Moderator Dr Richard Murray, who is pictured cutting a cake bearing the church’s recently adopted mission statement: ‘Sharing God’s Word with God’s world’. Also pictured are Rev Colin McDowell (minister of the County Antrim congregation), Nancy Bonar, Phyllis Sleith, Rev Jim Sleith (minister emeritus of High Street) and Lynn Murray.

Moderator visits Magherally PCI Moderator Dr Richard Murray was welcomed to the Christmas Tree Festival in Magherally Presbyterian Church, Banbridge by the minister of the County Down church, Rev Nigel Kane.

Anniversary service in Monaghan Some of the children and young people named on the cradle roll of First Castleblayney and Frankford, who attended a 30th anniversary service recently.

Herald March 2025

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First Ballyeaston Presbyterian Church is seeking to appoint an enthusiastic

Whitehouse Presbyterian Church is seeking to appoint a

Youth and Children’s Ministry Coordinator

YOUTH WORKER On a part-time basis (20 hours per week) on a 3-year contract

37.5 hours per week (negotiable).

May include evenings and normally weekends.

Fixed initial term of three years.

Salary band scale B1 (£27,736) Working alongside the minister and congregation in helping to develop and implement the evangelistic and ongoing discipleship strategy of teenagers and children within the congregation, towards becoming lifelong followers of Jesus Christ.

For full information pack contact: Rev Stephen Lowry at

Salary: £23,840–£26,451 p.a. pro rata (negotiable depending on experience).

This unique opportunity will attract a dynamic, experienced and spiritually mature person who will help the Kirk Session to implement their ongoing vision and passion for the young people within our congregation.

The nature of this post will require evening and weekend work.

stephen.lowry@whitehousepc.org 07816 325899

Application form can be obtained from: Rev Edwin McDowell Tel: (028) 9332 2578 E-mail: minister@firstballyeaston.org

Closing date for receipt of applications is 14 March 2025

Closing date for applications is Thursday 17 April 2025

CROSSWORD Puzzle no 296 1

solution on page 50

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13 14

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compiled by Harry Douglas

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Herald March 2025

ACROSS 1 Titanic obstacle (7) 4 15-a-side ball game (5) 7 Walked with a stiff leg (6) 9 Greek goddess (6) 11 Definite article (3) 12 Public transport vehicle (3) 13 Zero score (3) 15 Penalty in soccer (4,4) 16 Heavenly being (5) 18 Film star – Gardner (3) 19 All will bend this before the Lord (4) 21 Mix with others (8) 23 Grand Tourer (initials) (2) 24 Welcome (5) 26 School subject (initials) (2) 27 Bostonian murderer (9) 28 Cereal (3)

DOWN 1 Drawings (13) 2 Snake versus humanity – Genesis (6) 3 Fish catcher (3) 4 Fees (5) 5 Flat golfing surface (5) 6 Young horse (8) 8 Model example (8) 10 Block (8) 14 Theatre’s backdrop (7) 15 Spanish golfer (4) 17 Meet together (6) 20 All (5) 22 Eyes wide open in expectation (4) 25 Short sleeved shirt (3)

REFLECTIONS

Shadows

Ruth Sanderson

A

few days ago, I was walking down a sunny, cold and the lighter shadow beside it, two shadows made from street with my two daughters; one skipping one object. beside me, the other stopping to clamber onto a Shadows are always with us in some way, ubiquitous but low wall and jump off again. It was about 4pm warped, unreal yet real, tethered in reality but with no real and the low winter sun had elongated our shadows on the substance of their own. footpath ahead of us – long black shapes tethered to our feet When I studied Art History at university, I was very taken as we click-clacked along. The littlest one began to get a bit with the paintings of the Russian painter Kazimir Malevich. agitated, running back and forth, jumping, turning around, He is best remembered for his painting of a black square, then back again, a deep frown forming. placed in the corner of an exhibition, mimicking the absence “What’s up?” I asked. of light, yet connected to… something?

“Shadow! Shadow!” she seethed.

In his shadow we are safe The most impressive shadows though, I was confused. in my opinion, are the ones you see and comforted... even “Yes, that’s your shadow darling,” I from far away. Have you ever been said. on elevated ground and seen cloud when we are hidden in “Nooooo mummy!” said the elder one, shadows racing across a distant hillside, the dark places, in the in a voice that I can imagine I’ll hear the impermanent clouds being blown often when she hits her teenage years. shadows of life; when it by invisible wind, creating a very real “She doesn’t want her shadow, she can’t shadow which dances across fields, feels like there is no light bowing and bending across hedgerows get away from it.”

Nor could she – whatever way she – there is comfort, if we and rocky outcrops? Those shadows twisted and turned, however fast she become like black animals galloping, tried to run, or sidestep it – she couldn’t live in his shadow, we growing, receding – bending to the escape her shadow. whim of sunshine and clouds. receive rest.

It reminded me of the story of Peter Shadows come up often in the Bible.

Pan, who was so fantastical that his In Chronicles and Psalms, we are told shadow became independent of him, and in an opposite way that our life on earth is like a fleeting shadow, but in other to my little one, he simply couldn’t hold onto it. places, when referring to God’s shadow, it’s described as a The concept of shadows is intrinsically odd. They are there, place of comfort, refuge and safety. but at the same time they aren’t. If you google ‘what is a Isaiah 32:2 says the Lord’s presence is like “the shadow shadow?’ you get this answer: “A dark area formed when an of a great rock in a thirsty land”. What a perfect, visceral object blocks light from passing through it, creating a dark description. shape on the surface behind the object; essentially, it’s the In his shadow we are safe and comforted. Isn’t that such a absence of light caused by an opaque object obstructing a compelling truth? That even when we are hidden in the dark light source.” places, in the shadows of life; when it feels like there is no It’s an absence of light, but moreover shadows mirror the light – there is comfort, if we live in his shadow, we receive object and morph into shapes which sometimes bear no rest. resemblance to the thing that’s creating them.

Yet the most amazing thing is that in the New Testament, Even as I write this, I’m looking at the shadow of a tree on a light dawns, and those in the shadows come out of the my living room wall; the black branches dancing above the darkness and into the grand, open, bright and untethered sofa, twisting and moving as the tree does, elongated as it freedom of Christ. passes over a table and cushions in its way.

My one abiding memory from school Physics was learning what an umbra and penumbra are… the thick black shadow

Herald March 2025

47

CHURCH RECORD VACANT CONGREGATIONS, MODERATORS AND CLERKS OF KIRK SESSIONS (Information supplied by clerks of presbyteries, conveners of Assembly commissions and councils.)

1. LEAVE TO CALL GRANTED

2. LEAVE TO CALL DEFERRED

Application forms are available on request from the Clerk’s Office or may be downloaded from the PCI website.

BALLYRONEY and DRUMLEE: (Reviewable Tenure – 7 years) REV LIAM RUTHERFORD: (Ballyroney) Mr David Peters, 30 Seafin Road, Ballyroney, Banbridge, BT32 5ER. (Drumlee) Mr Graham Truesdale, 128 Lackan Road, Ballyward, Castlewellan, BT31 9RX.

BALLYWILLAN: REV STUART MORROW: Mr Robert Wilson, 13 Millbrook Avenue, Portstewart, BT55 7DZ. BUSHMILLS: (Reviewable Tenure – 5 years) VERY REV DR D.I.J. McNIE: Rev Martin Gracey, 6 Bush Crescent, Bushmills, BT57 8AJ. CASTLEDERG, FIRST and KILLETER: REV R.A. ORR: (First Castlederg) Mr Robert Rutledge, 36 Ednagee Road, Castlederg, BT81 7RD. (Killeter) Mr Robert McKelvey, 17 Carrickadartans Road, Castlederg, BT81 7NQ. DONABATE: ASSOCIATE (Reviewable Tenure – 3 years) REV ANDY CARROLL:

GORTNESSY: REV DR SETH WRIGHT: Mr Ross Hyndman, 32 Temple Road, Strathfoyle, Londonderry, BT47 6UB. HILLTOWN and CLONDUFF: (Reviewable Tenure – 7 years) REV KENNETH NELSON: (Hilltown) Mr John Ervine, 51 Rostrevor Road, Hilltown, Newry, BT34 5TZ. (Clonduff ) Mr Cecil Brown, 39 Bannfield Road, Rathfriland, Newry, BT34 5HG.

DONEGAL TOWN and STRANORLAR: (Reviewable Tenure – 7 years) REV ROBERT ORR: (Donegal Town) Mr Oswald Perry, Drumenagh, Donegal Town, F94 N7P8. (Stranorlar) Mrs Audrey Chambers, Magheracorran, Convoy, Co Donegal.

RICHVIEW: REV N.S. HARRISON: Mr Victor Garland, 25 Abingdon Drive, Belfast, BT12 5PX.

DUNFANAGHY and CARRIGART: (Home Mission) 50% Congregational Ministry, 50% CMI Mission Project REV T.J. BRUCE: (Dunfanaghy) Mr John Sterritt, Moss Road, Cashelshanaghan, Letterkenny, Co Donegal, F92 TV21. (Carrigart) Mrs Joy Buchanan, Figart, Carrigart, Co Donegal, F92 N2WO.

BALLINDERRY: VERY REV DR W.J. HENRY, Minister of Maze.

LISBURN, FIRST: (Reviewable Tenure – 5 years) VERY REV DR D. BRUCE: Miss Margaret Thompson, 2 Springhill Mews, Lisburn, BT28 3QG.

CAHIR: (Home Mission) REV WILLIAM MONTGOMERY, Minister of Fermoy.

LUCAN: REV A. CARROLL: Mr Ian Scott, 22 Willsbrook Avenue, Lucan, Co Dublin, K78 AP57.

MOIRA: REV DR M. COWAN: Mr Richard Brown, c/o Moira Presbyterian Church, 14–18 Meeting Street, Moira, BT67 0NR. NEWTOWNARDS, GREENWELL STREET: REV S.W. ORR: Mr David Francis, 29 Beverley Walk, Newtownards, BT23 7UQ. OMAGH, TRINITY and GILLYGOOLEY: (Reviewable Tenure – 7 years) REV JANE NELSON: (Trinity) Mrs Claire McElhinney, 112 Clanabogan Road, Omagh, BT78 1SN. (Gillygooley), Mr Raymond Smyth, 82 Gillygooley Road, Omagh, BT78 5PX. PORTRUSH: REV DR JOHN COULTER: Prof John Gillespie, 12 Randal Park, Portrush, BT56 8JJ. RATHGAR – CHRIST CHURCH: REV LORRAINE KENNEDY-RITCHIE: Mr Paul Fry, 44 Monolea Wood, Firhouse, Dublin 24, D24 A2V3.

RALOO and MAGHERAMORNE: (Reviewable Tenure – 7 years) REV ANDREW WATSON: (Raloo) Mr Geoff McBride, 72 Raloo Road, Larne, BT40 3DU. (Magheramorne) Mr Morris Gardner, 89 Ballypollard Road, Magheramorne, Larne, BT40 3JG. STRABANE and SION MILLS: (Reviewable Tenure – 7 years) REV P.B. HOUSTON: (Strabane) Mr William Watson, 44 Orchard Road, Strabane, BT82 9QS. (Sion Mills) Mr Colin Campbell, 26 Albert Place, Sion Mills, Strabane, BT82 9HN. STRAND: (Reviewable Tenure – 5 years) REV M. BURNSIDE: Mr John Johnston, 7 Helgor Park, Belfast, BT4 2GG. WOODLANDS: REV J. MOXEN: Dr Ian Drysdale, 27 Windslow Heights, Carrickfergus, BT38 9AT.

48

DROMORE and DRUMQUIN: REV E.T. FRAZER: (Dromore) Mr Lynden Keys, 25 New Park Road, Dromore, Omagh, BT78 3JU. (Drumquin) Dr Paul Booth, 54 Bradan Road, Drumquin, Omagh, BT78 4QQ.

Herald March 2025

SETTLED STATED SUPPLY APPOINTED

BOVEEDY: REV DR T.J. McCORMICK, Minister of 1st Kilrea.

KATESBRIDGE: REV N.J. KANE, Minister of Magherally.

TYRONE’S DITCHES: REV J.K.A. McINTYRE, Minister of Bessbrook.

3. DECLARED VACANT ANAGHLONE and GARVAGHY: REV D. CONKEY: (Anaghlone) Mr John Logan, 4 Bluehill Road, Katesbridge, Banbridge, BT32 5LU. (Garvaghy) Mr James Smyth, 35 Tullyglush Road, Banbridge, BT32 3TN. ARMAGH ROAD, PORTADOWN: REV N. McCULLOUGH: Dr David Lowry, 5 Ridgeway Park South, Portadown, BT62 3DG. BALLEE: REV T.P. McCULLOUGH: Mr John Quigley, 81 Queen’s Avenue, Magherafelt, BT45 6DB. BALLINA and KILLALA: (Home Mission) REV D.J. CLARKE: Mr Geoffrey Shannon, Robin Hill, Carraun, Corballa, Ballina, Co Mayo, F26 A070.

BALLYCAIRN: REV MORRIS GAULT: Mrs Lucy Mulholland, 32 Blenheim Park, Carryduff, BT8 8NN. BALLYCASTLE: REV G.W.M. GLASGOW: Pat Shirley, 22 Dunamallaght Rd, Ballycastle, BT54 6PB. BALLYKEEL: REV R.A. MORRISON: Mr T. Simpson, 163 Crebilly Road, Ballymena, BT42 4DP. BALLYNAHATTY, CREEVAN and FINTONA: REV JONATHAN COWAN: (Ballynahatty & Creevan) Mr John Nevin, 116A Clanabogan Road, Omagh, BT78 1SN. (Fintona) Mr Keith Boland, 119 Blackhill Road, Fintona, Omagh, BT78 2LN.

Editor’s Note: Information for this page is supplied by the General Secretary’s Department.

Vacancies for conveners of commissions, councils and committees of the General Assembly are online at www.presbyterianireland.org/convenerships

Clerks of presbytery please note: Only material received by the General Secretary’s Department by noon on the first Friday of the month can be included in the Church Record.

BANAGHER: REV DAVID BROWNLOW: Mr Ivan J. Montgomery, 66 Teenaght Road, Claudy, BT47 4DD.

HELEN’S BAY: REV ANNE TOLLAND: Mrs E.J. Mann, 5 Carolsteen Gardens, Helen’s Bay, BT19 1LH.

BELLAGHY and KNOCKLOUGHRIM: REV J.B. MULLAN: (Bellaghy) Mr Harry Ferson, 12 Railway Terrace, Castledawson, Magherafelt, BT45 8AY. (Knockloughrim) Mr Wilbur Bownes, 10 Meadowell Fold, Westland Gardens, Magherafelt, BT45 5DP.

HYDEPARK and LYLEHILL: REV ALAN MOORE: (Hydepark) Mrs Lynas Alexander, 22 Broadacres, Templepatrick, BT39 0AY.

BELVOIR: REV B.J. WALKER: Mr Brian Dunwoody, 19 Drumart Drive, Belfast, BT8 7ET.

KELLS: (Home Mission) REV ALAN McQUADE: Miss Ruth McCartney, Shancarnan, Moynalty, Kells, Co Meath, A82 PF60.

BLOOMFIELD: REV GRAEME KENNEDY: Mr Andrew Shott, 7 The Walled Garden, Belfast, BT4 2WG.

KELLS & ESKYLANE: REV M.J.R. NEILLY: (Kells) Mr B. Turtle, 6 Appletree Lane, Kellswater, Ballymena, BT42 2LS. (Eskylane) Mr S. McKee, 14 Eskylane Road, Antrim, BT41 2LL.

BOARDMILLS, TRINITY: REV JOHN TORRENS: Mr Adrian Patterson, 41 Cabra Road, Legacurry, BT26 6NB.

KILREA, SECOND: REV KEITH HIBBERT: Mr John McIlrath, 9 Moyagoney Road, Kilrea, BT51 5SX.

CASTLEDERG, SECOND AND URNEY: REV ROBERT McFAUL: (Second Castlederg) Mr Bert Huey, Tossa, 8 Listymore Road, Castlederg, BT81 7JG. (Urney) Mr Norman McMullan, 80 Orchard Road, Strabane, BT82 9QT.

LOUGHBRICKLAND and SCARVA: REV DR MARK GRAY: (Loughbrickland) Mr Fred Cairns, 20 Scarva Street, Loughbrickland, Co Down. (Scarva) Mr Robert Jordan, 3 Station Rd, Scarva, Co Armagh, BT63 6JY.

CAVANALECK & AUGHENTAINE: REV RODNEY BEACOM: (Cavanaleck) Dr Charles McKibbin, 9 Tattenabuddagh Lane, Fivemiletown, BT75 0NW. (Aughentaine) Mr John McCrory, Screeby Road, Fivemiletown, BT75 0TP.

LURGAN, FIRST: REV L.W. WEBSTER: Mr Norman McCleery, 12 McCormack Gardens, Lurgan, BT66 8LE.

CROAGHMORE: REV DAVID IRVINE: Mr Andy McGugan, 158 Whitepark Road, Bushmills, BT57 8SS. CRUMLIN: REV STEPHEN McNIE: Mr James Livingstone, “Edin”, 56 Largy Road, Crumlin, BT29 4RW. CUMBER and UPPER CUMBER: REV J.R. KERNOHAN: (Cumber) Mr Cecil Pollock, 248 Tamnaherin Road, Londonderry, BT47 3LY. (Upper Cumber) Mr Jack McFarland, 12 Cregg Road, Claudy, Londonderry, BT47 4HX.

MONEYDIG: REV R.S. McMULLAN: Mr Steven Torrens, 115a Agivey Road, Kilrea, Coleraine, BT51 5UZ. NEWINGTON: REV DR I.D. NEISH: Mr John Lynass, 8 Bushfoot Park, Portballintrae, BT57 8YX. NEWTOWNARDS, SECOND: REV C.W. JACKSON: Mr Ivan Patterson, 11 Heron Crescent, Newtownards, BT23 8WH. PORTAVOGIE: REV G.J. SIMPSON:

DONEGORE, SECOND: REV E. McDOWELL: Mr Samuel Gawn, 120 Parkgate Road, Kells.

RANDALSTOWN, O.C.: REV CHRIS WILSON: Mr Alun Coulter, 48 Portglenone Road, Randalstown, BT41 3DB.

DROMARA, FIRST: REV M. DAVIDSON: Mr I. McCullagh, 10 Mullaghdrin Road, Dromara, BT25 2AF.

RAPHOE and BALLINDRAIT: REV R. EDGAR: Mrs Sylvia Cole, The Common, Raphoe, Donegal.

DROMARA, SECOND: REV DR A. SLEITH: Mr Herbert Chambers, 29 Stewarts Road, Dromara, BT25 2AN.

RATHCOOLE: REV A. CARSON: Mr Norman Creaney, 7 Coolshannagh Park, Newtownabbey, BT37 9LA.

DRUMGOOLAND and KILKINAMURRY: REV ANDY DOWNEY: (Drumgooland) Dr Alastair Chestnutt, 22 Fruitvalley Road, Ballyward, Castlewellan, Co Down, BT31 9RE. (Kilkinamurry) Mr Mervyn Copes, 43 Carnpark Road, Dromara, Dromore, Co Down, BT25 2HD.

TAUGHMONAGH (Church Extension) REV K.H. VINER:

DUNDROD: REV R.C. KERR: Mr William McClure, 20 Thorndale Road, Dundrod, BT29 4UD. DUNMURRY & KILMAKEE: REV S. STOCKMAN: (Dunmurry) Rev Gilbert Young, 39 Saintfield Road, Lisburn, BT27 5BH. (Kilmakee) Mr Alastair White, 94 Greenburn Way, Lambeg, Lisburn, BT27 4LU. FAUGHANVALE: REV P. LINKENS: Mr Donald Montgomery, 25 Carnmoney Road, Eglinton, BT47 3JJ. GARRYDUFF and DUNLOY: REV C.B. MULVENNY: (Garryduff ) Mr Stanley Lee, 12 Cambourne Park, Ballymoney, BT53 7PG. (Dunloy) Mr Jonathan Gault, c/o 26–28 Church Street, Ballymoney, BT53 6DL. GLASCAR and DONAGHMORE: REV M. McMAW: (Glascar) Mr Alan Little, 38 Loughbrickland Road, Rathfriland, Newry, BT34 5HF. (Donaghmore) Mr David Shilliday, 21 Cargabane Road, Donaghmore, Newry, BT34 1SB.

TOWNHILL: REV J.D. McGAUGHEY: Mr R. Dickey, 23 Grange Cottages, Toomebridge, BT41 3GR. TRINITY, AHOGHILL: REV N.G. MULHOLLAND: Mr G. Knowles, 67 Tuppenny Road, Gracehill, Ballymena, BT42 2NW. TULLYCARNET: REV R.S.J. McILHATTON: VINECASH: REV PRINCIPAL MICHAEL McCLENAHAN: Mr Thomas Graham, 38 Richmount, Portadown, BT62 4JQ. WARRENPOINT and ROSTREVOR: REV J.S. MAGUIRE: (Warrenpoint) Mrs Heather Gray, 25 Donaghaguy Road, Warrenpoint, BT34 3RZ. (Rostrevor) Mrs Doreen Henderson, 14 Greenpark Road, Rostrevor, BT34 3EY. WATERSIDE: REV COLIN JONES: Mr William McIlwaine, 19 Glenaden Hill, Altnagelvin Park, Londonderry, BT47 2LJ.

continued on page 50

Herald March 2025

49

CHURCH RECORD

CLASSIFIEDS

continued from page 49

Please note: Adverts must be received in writing (email or post) by the first of the month preceding publication to guarantee inclusion. Adverts received after that date will be published if space permits. Advertising rates can be found on the website – www.presbyterianireland.org/herald – or telephone the Herald office on +44 (0)28 9032 2284 for more information.

TEMPORARY STATED SUPPLY ARRANGEMENT BELLVILLE: REV D.S. HENRY: Mr Mervyn King, 29 Ardmore Road, Derryadd, Lurgan, BT66 6QP. GRANGE with CRAIGMORE: REV R.S. AGNEW: Mr Jamie Harris, 32 Portglenone Road, Randalstown, BT41 3BE. NEWTOWNSTEWART and GORTIN: REV JONATHAN BOYD: (Newtownstewart) Mr David Dunbar, 32 Main Street, Newtownstewart, BT78 4AA. (Gortin) Mr Adrian Adams, 32 Lisnaharney Road, Lislap, Omagh, BT79 7UE. RASHARKIN: REV R.J. WATT: Mr Samuel Kirkpatrick, 71 Mullan Road, Ballymoney, BT53 7ED. SPA and MAGHERAHAMLET: REV DAVID BINGHAM: (Spa) Mr Stephen McBride, 28 Ballynahinch Road, Castlewellan, BT31 9PA. (Magherahamlet) Mr David Whan, 74 Castlewellan Road, Dromara, BT25 2JN. WHITEHEAD: REV P. BOVILL: Mr Warren Heggan, 44 Middle Road, Islandmagee, Larne, BT40 3SL.

THE MINISTRY Ordained and Installed: Rev Wallace Moore, as Minister of Corboy & Mullingar, on 11 January 2025 Rev Paul Bradley, as Minister of Glastry, on 9 January 2025 Rev Thomas Moore, as Minister of First Armagh & Tassagh, on 31 January 2025 Retired: Rev Colin Megaw, as Minister of Helen’s Bay, on 5 January 2025 Rev Gary Trueman, as Minister of Banbridge Road, Dromore, on 31 January 2025 Died: Rev Trevor Wilson, Minister Emeritus (Released) of Templepatrick, on 3 February 2025

THE ELDERSHIP Ordained and Installed: BRIGH: Alan Elliott, Steven Kee CALEDON: Selina Allen, Willene Hadden, Gillian Sloane DRUMKEEN: Gary McAdoo, Caroline McGuigan GALWAY: Jane Ryan, Johannes Buca Letshwiti, Obey Shanya GREYSTONES: Gwyn Bennett, Katrina Garcia, Hoseok Kang MAGHERA: Jonathan Caskey MOY: Colin Burns, Rhonda Tedford, Ivan Thompson ROCKCORRY: James Jordan, David Mitchell STEWARTSTOWN: Linda Ferguson, John Sinclair

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CROSSWORD Solution to No 296

ACROSS 1 Iceberg 4 Rugby 7 Limped 9 Athena 11 The 12 Bus 13 Nil 15 Spot kick 16 Angel 18 Ava 19 Knee 21 Interact 23 G.T. 24 Greet 26 R.E. 27 Strangler 28 Rye

DOWN 1 Illustrations 2 Enmity 3 Rod 4 Rates 5 Green 6 Yearling 8 Exemplar 10 Obstruct 14 Scenery 15 Seve 17 Gather 20 Every 22 Agog 25 Tee

Retired: ADELAIDE ROAD, DUBLIN: David Boyd DONABATE: David Hamilton HOWTH & MALAHIDE: Lionel McMurtry LUCAN: Ruth Dawson, Alan Medcalf, Carys Morrow, Brian Murtagh, Les Sanderson, Mary Skelly Died: ELMWOOD: Peter McKechnie FIRST LARNE: Derick Jenkins FIRST LISBURN: Perry Reid HILLSBOROUGH: Dorothy Gamble ISLANDMAGEE: Norman Hughes, Hubert Esler MAGHERAGALL: John Adair WHITEHEAD: Helen Graham

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Herald March 2025

Cargycreevy Presbyterian Church Old Ballynahinch Road, Lisburn

invite applications for the position of

ORGANIST/PIANIST For more information please contact Rev Leslie Patterson 195 Old Ballynahinch Road, Lisburn, BT27 6TP Tel: 07977 039769 or Email: revlp@hotmail.co.uk

Ballygowan Presbyterian Church is seeking a

Youth/Family Worker Full-time fixed-term 3-year contract (with possibility of extension)

For more information please contact ncooper@presbyterianireland.org Applications close 5pm on Friday 11 April 2025 www.ballygowanpresbyterian.com

Sam’s Strahulter Slumber is now offering afternoon tea for groups of 20–30 in the farm house, also house tour and River walk (bring wellies) For more information costs and menus contact Kate on 07749 101838 or email: kathleenallisonfhc@gmail.com

An Invitation to

A COMBINED MALE VOICE CHOIR CONCERT in

Fisherwick Presbyterian Church Malone Road, Belfast.

Friday 28th March 2025 at 7.30 pm Doors open at 6.45 pm

Featuring the Choirs

Queen’s Island Victoria Male Choir The Boys’ Brigade Centenary Male Voice Choir Ballymoney & District Male Voice Choir

With Guest Artists

Rev Attie van Wyk - Stirling - Concert Pianist The Bloomin’ Heather Ceilidh Band David Loughridge Senior & Junior - Soloists Shane McFerran - Clarinetist Accompanist - Heather Loughridge George Hewitt - Organist

Beneficiary

The Prostate Cancer

Centre of Excellence Queen’s University Belfast

Suggested Donation £10.00 (per person)

City Missionary Do you have a heart to reach people with the message of the Gospel? Do you have experience in sharing your love for Jesus with others in an urban environment? If so, could God be calling you to work in Belfast?

Belfast City Mission is looking to recruit a full-time Missionary to join our team of missionaries. The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate a track record in evangelism through preaching, teaching and organising outreach programmes.

Contract: Full-time permanent (subject to a satisfactory probation period).

Closing date for applications: Friday, 25 April 2025.

For further information and an application form please contact The Executive Secretary, Belfast City Mission, Assembly Buildings, 2–10 Fisherwick Place, Belfast, BT1 6DW. Tel: (028) 9032 0557 Email: info@belfastcitymission.org.uk There is an occupational requirement that the person appointed is sympathetic to the views of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.