Presbyterian Herald Spring 2021

SPRING 2021

YOU CAN SAVE A LIFE

before A little Zimbabwean girl called Mercy, hungry and malnourished, was suffering badly from pellagra, which leads to death

after Mercy, after two months of ePap porridge, which is full of protein, vitamins and minerals

Just £4.50 (€5) will provide enough ePap to nourish a child for a month

After years of drought and food shortages, children in Zimbabwe are suffering severe malnutrition and the diseases that go with it. Their hungry mothers cannot produce milk. Children are stunted, even dying. Some rain has fallen at last but, until crops are harvested, the hunger gets still worse.

Giving even a small amount regularly each month will ensure that hungry Christian children have the nutrition they need for survival, growth and health no matter what droughts or food crises may come.

Office 113, Russell Business Centre, 40-42 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 6AA Email: ireland@barnabasfund.org

Donate online at: www.barnabasfund.org/herald2 call: 02891 455246 and quote PHM 03/21 Barnabas Fund is a company registered in England Number 04029536.

Registered Charity Number 1092935

A gift in your Will could not only help your loved ones but can leave a legacy of hope for generations to come.

We’ve been helping local people for almost 75 years, and with your help we can continue to be there for people who need us now, as well as those who will need us in the future.

In Northern Ireland four in ten adult deaths are Please visit nichs.org.uk/giftsinwills for further caused by chest, heart and stroke illnesses. We’re working hard to change this by funding life-changing information on leaving a gift in your Will to NICHS or call us on 028 9032 0184. research and caring for those who are affected by devastating health conditions every day.

Preventing, Supporting, Caring and Rebuilding across Northern Ireland.

Registered with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland NIC 103593

Your legacy of hope and care - a gift in your Will.

A dam full of water gives Florence hope as the climate crisis rages on.

Christian Aid Week is nearly here.

Be part of this life-changing week and stand with people like Florence.

With every gift, every prayer, every action, we stop this climate crisis.

Download your worship resources at caweek.ie Christian Aid Week 10-16 May 2021 Christian Aid is a key member of ACT Alliance. NI Charity no. NIC101631 Company no. NI059154 and ROI Charity no. 20014162 Company no. 426928. The Christian Aid name and logo are trademarks of Christian Aid.

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CONTENTS | SPRING 2021 FEATURES

9

Tribute

Very Rev Dr David McGaughey

12 From seamen to skateboarders Urban ministry at Sinclair Seamen’s

16 Easter hope

An Easter reflection from the Moderator

18 A time to learn

David Cupples looks back at the pandemic, one year on

20 Chaplaincy amidst Covid

The work of healthcare chaplains during the pandemic

22 What can we learn from the Washington riots?

The Christian response to public debate

24 The man who invented Northern Ireland

History of the centenary through the eyes of a Presbyterian

26 What in the world is going on?

From seamen to skateboarders p12

Global issues that our news is ignoring

38 How others see us

A personal reflection on integrating into Ireland

40 Being socially responsible A need to focus on social media discipleship

42 Expectant hope

A Presbyterian Women project in Nepal

44 Thriving online

Developing resilience in children online

46 An accidental publication

Ministers write a devotional book in lockdown

48 Unmasking compassion

Easter hope p16

CONTRIBUTORS

The work of the Presbyterian Children’s Society

50 A College in transition

Changes at Union Theological College

REGULARS

5 6 10 15 29 37 52 56 59

What can we learn from the Washington riots? p22

Letters News My story Life lessons Mission Connect As I see it Reviews Andrew Conway Betsy Cameron

Bill Parker is minister of Sinclair Seamen’s. He is married to Esther and they have four children, Louise, Rachel Abigail and William, a daughter-in-law, Ruth, and a grandson, Josiah.

Dr Deborah Webster founded Thrive Academy after completing her PhD on the relationship between social media and adolescent wellbeing. She lives in Craigavon with her husband and two children.

Renée Finnegan is a PCI accredited preacher and a member of Sloan Street.

She is married to Tom and their children are Trinity and Levi.

David Cupples is minister of Enniskillen Presbyterian Church. He is married to Rosie and is father to Ellen and Peter.

Cover illustration by Stephanie Jemphrey Spring 2021 No. 832 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 Subscriptions and Advertising: Elaine Huddleston; Lisa Skinner; Suzanne Hamilton Design and Layout: Edward Connolly Printing: W & G Baird Ltd

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 articles do not necessarily contain the official views of the Church, which can be laid down only by the General Assembly. Acceptance of advertisements does not imply endorsement of the goods or services. The Editor reserves the right to decline any advertisement or letter without assigning any reason. Letters may be edited for publication. No correspondence can be entered into regarding non-publication 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 Spring 2021

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EDITORIAL

LETTERS Xxxxxx xxx xxxx xxx

Teachable

I once heard a pastor say that when asked by a group of girls what was the most important characteristic they should look for in a husband, he responded, “He should be teachable.”

This is a good piece of advice for anyone contemplating marriage. A teachable person will be humble enough to listen to their partner and try to understand their point of view. It is also a good thing for any Christian to strive for – being open to what God might be saying to them – through his Word, through prayer and even through other people.

It seems a significant milestone that we are now a year into the disruption that the coronavirus has inflicted on our lives. Rev David Cupples looks back at the year that’s been and likens our natural seasons with the seasons of Covid.

Reflecting on Ecclesiastes, he acknowledges that whilst “it isn’t possible to understand the pattern and purpose of everything” we should be seeking God’s wisdom at this time; being prepared to humble ourselves and listen to what he is saying.

We seem to be living in a time when people feel justified and entitled to express their opinions, regardless of how unhelpful or divisive they may be. Nowhere is this more prevalent than on social media. Rev Steve Stockman suggests that we should focus on our social media discipleship, always striving to have our online interactions peppered with grace and love. He says, “God’s Word made flesh in Twitter’s 280 characters should shine with a humble posture.”

For all its benefits, social media unfortunately perpetuates a polarisation of views. Its algorithms are purposely

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Herald Spring 2021

Dear Editor I represent a research project that exami

programmed to identify which content the user enjoys in order to keep feeding them with anything similar, regardless of whether it is true or not. Therefore, as people of faith, we need to engage thoughtfully with all aspects of public discourse. Looking specifically at lessons to be learned from the recent Washington riots, Dr Norman Hamilton encourages us to formulate our views with a biblical backdrop. He affirms the importance of this, saying, “Public debate is not entertainment… it massively impacts how we think and behave.”

In coming to our own conclusions about matters, we do need to be respectful of the opinions of others. Someone once told me that he is aware that any debate or discussion he is involved in, he always comes to it from a privileged position – because he is male, he is white, he is Western and he is middle class. If we can successfully put ourselves in other people’s shoes by listening to their stories, we will surely become more teachable.

In this issue, Renée Finnegan bravely shares her experiences of integrating into life in Ireland. As a South African, of Indian origin, she has struggled when people have treated her differently to others. It is disheartening to hear that even in the church we can fail to be welcoming and open. Renée reminds us though, that we are all susceptible to stereotyping others for many reasons, not just their race, and this surely must grieve our Father in heaven. She says, “Our challenge is to recognise the commonality we share in Christ by sacrificing what’s comfortable… realigning our vision to Christ’s…”

This Easter, as we remember the greatest sacrifice – made for us – our Moderator reminds us of the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. It has been a difficult and tumultuous year enduring Covid, but we can cling to this hope. Dr Bruce also highlights the significance of how we respond. “Christians must get busy with making our world a better place now.”

The world is watching, maybe especially during these uncertain days, so we need to be the salt and light we are called to be. This is summed up perfectly by Dr Bill Parker, who, in this edition, shares the challenges of ministering in an urban landscape. He and his congregation have reached out to young people who use the skate park near the church. Although this appeared a daunting task in an alien environment, Dr Parker wisely says, “There is a language that everyone understands… the language of love, spoken in kind words and deeds.”

Letters to the Editor Write to: Presbyterian Herald, Assembly Buildings, Belfast, BT1 6DW Email: herald@presbyterianireland.org

Encouraged by radio Dear Editor I would like to commend to your readers a radio programme that has been helpful to me in recent times. I have found great encouragement, comfort, fellowship and strength in listening to the daily service on Radio 4 (www.bbc.co.uk/ programmes/b006wzfs). It can be heard in different ways, though to me the best option has been on DAB, using a side channel on Radio 4, specifically set up for that service alone.

I look forward day by day to that side channel springing into life. Those regular 14 minutes are like an oasis to me. They have proved to be very therapeutic for me – and I would love others to enjoy that therapy.

Rev Ken Doherty PCI hospital chaplain

Tribute Dear Editor Christian Aid Ireland has been giving thanks for the life of one of our founders, George McCullagh of Cabinteely, County Dublin who died in February, aged 84.

George was born into a Presbyterian family and brought up on a small farm near Ballybay, County Monaghan. In 1960, he was among a number of young men from Ireland to attend

Please note: Letters are limited to 300 words and may be edited for clarity and length. They will only be published in the Herald if the author’s name and address have been supplied to the Editor. On request these will be withheld from print. Anonymous letters will not be considered for publication. The views expressed in the letters are not necessarily those of the Editor or PCI.

the World Council of Churches’ Youth Assembly in Lausanne, Switzerland where they heard first-hand accounts of the reality of extreme poverty overseas.

George and the other volunteers were so motivated by this experience that on their return, they travelled the length and breadth of Ireland showing 16mm films of Christian Aid’s work to churches and community groups. They persuaded congregations to fundraise by holding soup lunches, church collections and an annual sponsored walk in the Phoenix Park. They formed the ‘Dublin Christian Aid Committee’ which later became Christian Aid Ireland.

Speaking in 2015, George recalled his joy at recruiting his first ‘committed giver’ – a widow from Dublin who promised to give £5 a month.

George said that she sent a £5 postal order every month for the rest of her life.

It is because of the energy, vision and compassion of George McCullagh and the other founders that Christian Aid Ireland has been able to bring emergency relief to people whose lives have been devastated by conflict and disaster, and hope to those living in extreme poverty.

We offer our deepest sympathy to George’s wife Edie, his children Ken, Bruce and Joy and especially to his youngest son, our colleague Mervyn who is a senior leader at Christian Aid in London. The apple never falls far from the tree.

Rosamond Bennett Chief executive, Christian Aid Ireland

Topical Tweets @tidesdaily It might feel like a season of hibernation, but as we remain connected to the vine we will receive all that we need to flourish and thrive in the new season that will follow. #tidesdaily @rickhillni It’s difficult to teach a generation of young men to respect women in a culture where pornography is celebrated and even promoted. Toxic behaviour is formed in private before it surfaces in public. Sexual violence is too easily accessed on screen. The roots go deep. @jimdiffin Will be praying for @PCIModerator as he undertakes a second term as Moderator in a really strange season for all of us. On a lighter note, I feel we’re missing a trick if we don’t start referring to this as the “Brucie Bonus”! @PeteGreig Churches which flourish on the other side of this pandemic will not necessarily be the ones that created the best content during the crisis, but rather those that engendered a sense of belonging throughout the isolation of this season. @christian_aid Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of #SarahEverard. We stand with all women and girls across the world who face the terror of harassment and violence, even when their story goes unheard. We work and pray each day for a world where every woman is safe. @TearfundNI The UK government is cutting its aid to Yemen by more than half – a decision the UN is calling a ‘death sentence’. This is disastrous news for people who have already faced unimaginable suffering. Please join us in urgent prayer for the people of Yemen. @peterlynas No COVID related deaths in NI today. Under 5% of hospital beds are now occupied by #covid patients. Great news all round.

Herald Spring 2021

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NEWS | IN THE ROUND Moderator nominated to serve a second term For the first time since 1894, the Church has announced that its current Moderator, Dr David Bruce, will be nominated to serve for a second term of office.

Rev Trevor Gribben, Clerk of the General Assembly and General Secretary, explained that following normal practice, towards the end of 2020, PCI’s presbyteries forwarded to him the names of ministers who they would like to see considered as the denomination’s next Moderator. He then wrote individually to each minister to see if they would be willing to permit their name go forward to the next stage – the selection of the Moderator-Designate, voted separately by presbyteries across Ireland in February.

“When I heard back from each colleague, only one minister, David Bruce, our current Moderator, consented to his name going before presbyteries for consideration, which by convention should have taken place on the first Tuesday in February,” Mr Gribben said.

“Taking an overview of the current situation, with our presbyteries not being able to meet physically, due to current restrictions in both jurisdictions, and the fact that only one name was under consideration, the General Council’s Standing Committee, acting with delegated authority, unanimously agreed that Dr Bruce’s name be forwarded to the General Assembly for appointment as Moderator for the 2021–2022 church year.”

Speaking about the decision, Dr Bruce said, “I am of course, deeply honoured to be asked by our Church to be its next Moderator. To be considered for a second time is also truly humbling. When I was first nominated a year ago, no one could have possibly anticipated the challenges that we would face the following month, let alone a year on. The whole of our society – indeed the entire world – has had to face a pandemic which has devastated economies, destabilised governments and led to the deaths of millions of people. Perhaps the world will never know the full cost of the spread of Covid-19 and its variants.

“In addition, and in Ireland, north and south, 2020 began and ended with Brexit, the complex implications of which are being played out before us right now. The Church currently finds itself unable to meet face to face for worship, and with its normal programme of activities heavily curtailed. Ministers, pastors and priests of all traditions are reinventing their patterns of life, while doing their utmost to act in support of families, many of which are in crisis. These are difficult days for us all.”

Dr Bruce continued, “But in the midst of this, there is hope – just as the dawn comes after a dark night, and spring arrives after a long winter, for the Christian, resurrection bursts upon us after the devastation of the crucifixion. As Moderator, I will aim to bring a message of hope in the coming year, with the prayer that when the restrictions begin to lift and the amazing vaccines, which have been offered to us all, begin to have their effect, we will emerge again, ready to serve and love and worship as God’s people. This is not a time for grand promises and detailed plans. This is a time for careful reflection and faithful trust that God will see us through. There is hope.”

The Moderator concluded by saying, “My wife Zoe and I hope that, regulations permitting, we may be able to travel across Ireland to visit and encourage congregations, and presbyteries during the year. We pray for our overseas partners in some of the poorest regions of the world, and hope that we might be able to offer encouragement to them by standing with them in solidarity as they seek to bear witness to Christ in face of unimaginable challenges. In short, we hope to serve the Church in this year, and by doing so, to honour Christ who has loved us and called us.”

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Herald Spring 2021

New Bible resource Bible Society NI has launched a new resource called ‘52’ in order to inspire generations within the church to engage more meaningfully with the Bible.

Designed to take readers on a journey of discovery through the Bible, 52 explores 28 Old Testament and 24 New Testament passages and applies them to everyday lives.

Each month’s guide comes with the weekly passage and a timeline of where it fits into the Bible’s big story, as well as study questions, activities, prayers, journal pages and lots more.

The resource is currently being released monthly and is available free of charge from Bible Society NI’s website: https://biblesocietyni.co.uk/2020/12/14/52-bible-resource/ The charity is also hosting a Zoom meeting on Wednesday 28 April at 11am. This will be an opportunity to hear and share stories from lockdown, and to pray for Bible ministry across Northern Ireland. For more information and to register, visit @biblesocietyni on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter or visit www.biblesocietyni.co.uk

Remembering the Holocaust On 27 January each year, the anniversary of the liberation of concentration and death camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945, is commemorated as International Holocaust Memorial Day. Speaking on the 76th anniversary of the liberation, PCI Moderator Dr David Bruce said it is “crucially important that we pause for these moments and reflect, not only upon what happened, but the circumstances that led to such outrageous acts of inhumanity.

“In normal times, on the closest Sunday to the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, I would have represented our Church at Ireland’s annual event at the Mansion House in Dublin, to remember and commemorate the six million Jewish men, women and children, and the millions of other victims of the Holocaust, murdered by the Nazi regime and their collaborators across Europe. This year it was a privilege to watch the special livestream from a hall, filled symbolically, with empty chairs,” Dr Bruce said.

“It is so important that we continue to mark and remember this horrific disgrace in human history so that each succeeding generation re-learns the lessons and remains determined not to repeat these horrors. We must be ready to call out loud and courageously, often not an easy thing to do, when the smallest seeds of evil are sown,” he added.

Myanmar: Church leaders write to Foreign Secretary Following the recent military coup in Myanmar, PCI Moderator Dr David Bruce has joined with his Scottish counterpart in urging the UK government to “do all that it can to ensure the restoration of democracy which fully respects the November election”.

Dr Bruce made the call with the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, Dr W. Martin Fair, in a joint letter to the Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab MP. Both Churches have worked closely with the Presbyterian Church of Myanmar (PCM) for many years.

In their letter, the two Church leaders said, “Our shock at the news of the military coup on 1 February was all the sharper because of our concern for our friends in PCM and the implications of the takeover by General Min Aung Hlaing.

“Myanmar suffered 49 years of brutal military rule that ended as recently as 2011. In the past decade people have enjoyed increasing freedoms, some political progress and increased, if imperfect, economic growth. The fate of the Rohingya people shows that not all in Myanmar are treated equally.

“We fully endorse a statement released by the Presbyterian Church in Myanmar in condemning oppression and calling for the release from house arrest of the State Counsellor, [Aung San Suu Kyi] President [Win Myint] and other elected leaders without exception.”

IN THE ROUND | NEWS Call to stop flawed dying bill In its response to Oireachtas Committee on Justice’s consultation on the Dying with Dignity Bill 2020, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland has said that it would “leave vulnerable members of our society open to abuse, duress or the weight of a perceived expectation that they will relieve others of the burden of caring for them…” TDs were also warned that it was “poorly drafted” and contained “no robust or sufficient safeguards”. In short, PCI’s submission stated that the Bill should not proceed.

Highlighting the key points raised by the PCI panel that advises the Church on social, political and economic matters in the State, former Moderator Dr Trevor Morrow said, “This Bill, which is poorly drafted and deeply flawed, raises serious and fundamental questions about the value that is placed on human life in Ireland, something that we firmly believe to be a gift from God. “Our experience as pastors is that the components that contribute to a peaceful and dignified death are social, emotional, financial and spiritual. By focusing so restrictedly on the physical aspects of dying, this legislation fails to take account of these factors which can help to mitigate, or exacerbate, human suffering and distress.”

Dr Morrow continued, “It is notable that the Irish Association for Palliative Care has recommended that there should be no change in the law in order to legalise euthanasia. We believe that, rather than passing this Bill, TDs would be better focusing their time and energy on improving the care needs of those approaching the end of their lives in a consistent manner, providing support to help them live as well as possible in the time that they have left to them.”

Book launched Former PCI Moderator Dr Ian McNie has written an evangelistic booklet called Road to Freedom.

Available from Faith Mission Bookshops, the booklet emphasises the importance of becoming a child of God, and how our relationship with God can be real and personal.

IN BRIEF Christian helpline

Photo by Kuzzat Altay on Unsplash

Faith leaders condemn potential Uyghur genocide More than 50 Irish faith leaders, including Rev Alan McQuade (minister of First Monaghan and Smithborough Presbyterian churches), have signed a statement condemning the persecution of the Uyghurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang, China.

The statement comes after British lawyers found that there was a ‘very credible case’ that the Chinese government was committing genocide against the Uyghurs.

It says, “At least one million Uyghur and other Muslims in China are incarcerated in prison camps facing starvation, torture, murder, sexual violence, slave labour and forced organ extraction. Outside the camps, basic religious freedom is denied… Research reveals a campaign of forced sterilisation and birth prevention targeting at least 80% of Uyghur women of childbearing age in the four Uyghur-populated prefectures – an action which, according to the 1948 Genocide Convention, could elevate this to the level of genocide.

“As faith leaders we are neither activists nor policymakers. But we have a duty to call our communities to their responsibilities to look after their fellow human beings and act when they are in danger…

We urge people of faith and conscience everywhere to join us: in prayer, solidarity and action to end these mass atrocities. We make a simple call for justice, to investigate these crimes, hold those responsible to account and establish a path.”

Public Affairs news Through the Council for Public Affairs, PCI has continued to seek to have its voice heard in the public square on a range of issues.

With colleagues from the Transferor Representatives’ Council, a presentation was made in November 2020 to the Expert Panel on Educational Underachievement. This was an opportunity to highlight positive contributions that churches are making to local schools in terms of pastoral support and initiatives like homework clubs.

In January 2021, a small group

led by former Moderator Dr Trevor Morrow, and with input from medical and legal professionals, made a submission to the Oireachtas Committee on Justice as it considered the Dying with Dignity Bill. The Republic of Ireland Panel also contributed to the Future of Media Commission on public broadcasting.

In February, the Human Dignity Panel, convened by Rev John Mullan, made a response to a consultation on a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland. The response cautioned against the creation of lengthy lists of rights that create

competition between individuals and groups, and ignore the role of relationships in cultivating a flourishing society.

Also in February, Lindsay Conway (Secretary to the Council for Social Witness) and Karen Jardine (Public Affairs Officer) gave evidence to the NI Assembly Committee for Communities as part of its consideration of new licensing legislation. This included an opportunity to highlight the work of Carlisle House, whilst seeking protections for workers impacted by later opening hours and the relaxation of restrictions over Easter.

The National Christian Helpline has launched a new resource aimed at helping to tackle isolation after receiving funding from the UK government’s coronavirus emergency fund.

‘Call and Care’ aims to encourage churches, organisations and community groups to reach out and support people in their communities by equipping and training local volunteers to make contact by telephone.

It is hoped the launch of Call and Care will go some way to resourcing churches to reach those people and connect more with those feeling isolated. As part of the project, churches and community groups will be offered free video training to help prepare the call-makers for their role.

For information, to view the free videos and to sign-up please go to www.callandcare.org.uk

Poll shows improvement in church image A new poll has found that the perception of the church amongst non-Christians is improving.

The survey commissioned in partnership by YourNeighbour and international Christian children’s charity World Vision, found that those who do not identify as Christian were more likely, since the Covid pandemic, to agree with the statement that the UK church is making a positive difference in the world – 25% today compared with 19% three years ago. More than one in three (36%) of the total UK population agree that Christian churches are making a positive difference in the world.

Herald Spring 2021

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NEWS | IN THE ROUND CF fundraising appeal Due to Covid-19, Cystic Fibrosis Ireland cannot proceed with its 65 Roses Day collections on Friday 9 April. Members of the public are instead being encouraged to support people with cystic fibrosis (CF) on 65 Roses Day by donating online at 65RosesDay.ie or taking part in a 65 Roses Challenge.

There are approximately 1,400 people living with CF in Ireland – the highest incidence of CF in the world per head of population. 65 Roses Day gets its name from the way children often first say the words ‘cystic fibrosis’, and monies raised go to support a range of services.

Dublin GAA star Bernard Brogan and TV host Muireann O’Connell officially launched the fundraising appeal in Dublin recently. Full details are available at http://65RosesDay.ie

Sharing hope this Easter For Easter 2021, Moderator Dr David Bruce has recorded an online service available to all via the PCI website.

Along with the service, other material has been produced that focuses on the Church’s theme, ‘Hope at Easter’. These include blogs, the Tides devotional, a podcast and a special Let’s Pray, encouraging focused prayer across the denomination over the Easter weekend. A special recording of a new hymn, written by PCI’s Public Affair’s Officer Karen Jardine, with Jonathan Rea, has been made, featuring contributions from members of PCI from home and abroad. The service, short film and other available material can be found at www.presbyterianireland. org/hopeateaster

Choose a caring career Through its Council for Social Witness, PCI provides a wide variety of care services across NI and ROI. The work includes caring for older people; those with a physical or mental disability; ex-offenders; and people with addiction.

As the Church continues to provide excellence in care for residents and service users, they also strive to create a caring and supportive working environment for staff. There is often a range of job roles available at either a full-time or part-time basis.

Depending on the role, previous experience is not always required, as full training will be provided.

Opportunities on offer can include: care assistant, senior care assistant, domestic assistant, laundry assistant, deputy home manager, home manager, nurse, support worker, substance misuse practitioner and social worker.

If you’d like to find out more about joining the PCI family or the roles currently available contact the Personnel Department.

Call: +44 (0)28 9041 7239 Email: personnel@presbyterianireland.org Visit: www.presbyterianireland.org/jobs

Mother and baby homes report PCI Moderator Dr David Bruce said the publication of a Northern Ireland Department of Healthcommissioned report into mother and baby homes sheds much-needed light on a dark era in history.

“The times and circumstances covered by the report make for deeply uncomfortable reading. The terrible cost to every mother and child who suffered in such institutions is upsetting for all of us in society.

“Those children who survived, who have now been given opportunity to share their stories, along with their mothers who they may never have known, are an ongoing and courageous witness to an era in which the state, society and the churches failed to show compassion to some of the most vulnerable in their care.

The report sheds much-needed light on a dark era in Northern Ireland’s history and speaks more of the inhumanity shown to mothers and their babies and their wider families at that time, than the Christian care and compassion they deserved. In any forthcoming inquiry, or process, we will certainly cooperate as far as we are able…”

Dr Bruce concluded by saying, “With regards to our own history, we will need to reflect on the findings of this report, and our own association with, for example, what became the Edgar Home in Belfast, which closed some 93 years ago.

“We deeply regret and unreservedly apologise for the damaging effects of institutional care, in which the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, or its members played a part. We pray that those who still live with the memories of those days will know and experience the peace of God which may only be found in Christ’s love.”

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Herald Spring 2021

PCI support for abortion amendment bill The Presbyterian Church in Ireland has given its support to a private member’s bill in the Northern Ireland Assembly, which seeks to remove the diagnosis of non-fatal disability as a sole ground for accessing abortion.

PCI Moderator Dr David Bruce said MLA Paul Givan’s Severe Fetal Impairment Abortion (Amendment) Bill in the Assembly attempts to protect children in the womb after 12 weeks who develop conditions like club foot and cleft palate, as well as Down’s syndrome.

“We vigorously opposed the imposition of abortion legislation

by Westminster on Northern Ireland, as we believed at the time, as we continue to maintain today, that it would create the most extreme and most liberal abortion regime anywhere in these islands, which it has done,” Dr Bruce said.

“There are many aspects of the current legislation we find morally wrong and unjustifiable and we welcome Mr Givan’s Bill, as it seeks to provide protection for children where there is a diagnosis of nonfatal disability before birth…”

Dr Bruce concluded by saying, “I hope our elected representatives will give due consideration to this Bill. At the same time, I also hope and pray that they will see the need to provide excellent perinatal care in every part of Northern Ireland for every woman facing a pregnancy crisis. Practical, emotional and spiritual support for women and their families is absolutely essential if we are truly committed as a society to life, wellbeing and human dignity.”

OBITUARY

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ormer Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Dr David McGaughey, who died recently, has been described as a ‘mighty preacher of the gospel’ who lived a life of unselfish service to his God, his family and his friends.

The comments were made by the minister of Tullyallen, where Dr McGaughey attended since his retirement. Speaking at the former Moderator’s service of thanksgiving, Rev Nigel Reid said, “I have no doubt that Dr McGaughey has left a powerful and humbling legacy.”

Born in Armagh in 1938, Dr McGaughey attended The Mall Presbyterian Church with his family, and accepted Christ as his personal Saviour at the age of 10, following the death of his sister Nelly.

Dr McGaughey’s early education was at the Armstrong Primary School and at Royal School Armagh. He felt led to Sandhurst Military Academy to become an officer in the army, but the Lord had other plans. Through the advice of his minister, Dr McGaughey prayerfully sought the Lord’s will for his life in the ordained ministry of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.

“On route to ministry, Dr McGaughey responded to his country’s call in a time of great need, enlisting in the Ulster Special Constabulary. Through a neardeath experience, the Lord confirmed his call to Dr McGaughey to become a student for the ordained ministry of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. Dr McGaughey went to Magee College in Londonderry,” explained Mr Reid.

During his studies, Dr McGaughey met his wife Anne. They were married

Tribute to Very Rev Dr David McGaughey in Rasharkin Presbyterian Church in August 1965. “I can tell you that a marriage that lasted more than 50 years has been an amazing example to us all,” said Mr Reid. The couple had four children – Lynn, David, Hilary and Jane.

Dr McGaughey served as assistant in Railway Street in Lisburn before becoming minister to the congregations of Castledawson and Curran in 1968.

He was a man of God – he never got into this pulpit unprepared – he examined the Scriptures and he examined his life.

“Dr and Mrs McGaughey were very happy in Castledawson and Curran.

And testimony of their hard work is still in evidence there today through the formation of the Girls’ Brigade and Boys’ Brigade and youth fellowship,” added the Tullyallen and Mountnorris minister.

In 1973, Dr McGaughey moved to Mourne Presbyterian in Kilkeel, being installed on 6 September. He served there as minister until his retirement in 2003, and it is apt that this was the church chosen for his service of thanksgiving.

Speaking at the service, current Mourne minister, Rev William Bingham, and one-time assistant to the former Moderator, said, “Dr McGaughey wasn’t made in Mourne but by God’s grace he has contributed immensely in making Mourne the church and community that it is today.”

During his 30 years at Mourne, Dr McGaughey oversaw the expansion of

the congregation’s missionary vision by establishing a partnership at Livingstonia, Malawi, and the renovation of the church property to include a new youth centre.

“Dr McGaughey was a shepherd who sincerely and genuinely cared for his people. I know of no other minister in the General Assembly who cared for his flock more…and Mourne isn’t a congregation of a few hundred, rather a few thousand.”

Mr Bingham also said: “When Dr McGaughey ascended the steps of this pulpit there was what I could only describe as a ‘holy hush’ descended on the congregation.”

He added that there was no divergence between what he preached and how he lived his life. “He was a man of God – he never got into this pulpit unprepared – he examined the Scriptures and he examined his life.”

As well as ministering to the Mourne congregation for over 30 years, Dr McGaughey served the wider Church and was elected as Moderator in 1994.

Commenting on Dr McGaughey’s death, the current Moderator, Dr David Bruce said, “His giftedness as a pastor and preacher were widely known and respected across the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and far beyond.

“I wish to convey the sympathy of the General Assembly to his widow, Anne, and their children Lynn, David, Hilary, and Jane, and to the wider family circle.

David’s colleagues, including the former Moderators of the General Assembly, join me in offering their condolences and the assurance of our prayers.”

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MY STORY

Ministering

to the unknown The Herald hears the stories of three ministers, who have been installed in their new congregations during the pandemic.

Rev Alan Johnston Killinchy Presbyterian Church I was installed in Killinchy last March, just as lockdown was taking hold of our lives for the first time. I’d left First Holywood, where I had been associate minister; I had recorded their first online service to an empty church. I had to say my goodbyes online and no one got to say their goodbyes to me. It was horrible to leave in that way; I almost felt like I was sneaking away.

In Killinchy, at a time when we were all being encouraged to take our outdoor exercise once a day, we were walking in a loop around the roads of the manse.

I became aware that in doing so I was walking past the houses of members of the church. I got a list of members who were within walking distance, rang ahead to tell them that I would be walking past their home and if they happened to be about, we could have a socially distanced chat outside. After I had covered all those

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within walking distance, I got on my bike and started cycling further and met more folk. I covered over 100 houses during those early days of lockdown. It gave me a chance to see a lot of people who are older and more vulnerable.

In a way I still feel like I have a twotier congregation – those I have been able to meet and those I haven’t. We’ve also had new people joining us during the last year, which is quite amazing; they have engaged with worship online and that led them to the church when we were permitted to worship again.

Providing pastoral care has been difficult – you don’t hear as much about people’s needs. We’ve also had our fair share of funerals and you end up doing an awful lot of pastoral care on the phone.

Every week I make 10–12 phone calls to our shut-ins, people I would ideally be calling in with.

Over the last year I was very thankful for a traditional Tuesday morning prayer meeting online and a Wednesday evening prayer group – both were great and well attended and numbers were much higher than in usual times. That was a real encouragement on many levels. As we think of moving out of lockdown I wonder if there is still value in keeping some of our prayer meetings online.

There’s something special about being in

Nothing comes close to human interaction…

the same room and praying together, but at times when people might be deterred from joining because of circumstances, it would be great to be able to join in prayer from your home and still feel part of it.

At this stage I am feeling tired; the thought of starting things up again is slightly overwhelming. I’ve been going as hard as I can and I want to make sure we get the pacing of it right. It will be good to come back together again in church, but we should also exercise wisdom as we do so.

Rev Michael Currie First Cookstown Presbyterian Church Sunday 15 March 2020 was our last day in Churchtown, where we said our final goodbyes to everyone. As we prepared to begin the next chapter in First Cookstown, little did we know what lay ahead, where three lockdowns and a year later it feels as if we are still waiting to get properly started.

We may not be able to find a specific

chapter on ‘How to do church’ or ‘How to minister to people during a Covid-19 pandemic’ in the Bible, yet we know enough about God and his character to understand that although we might experience change all around us, Malachi 3:6 states: “I the Lord do not change.”

He remains faithful to all his good promises, and even in these difficult times he is weaving his providence through all things.

The first challenge was to facilitate worship, which meant getting online for that first Sunday. This presented its own struggles, but we have been so thankful for the technology available to us – that has been such a blessing over these past few months. A few technical glitches aside, Zoom continues to be one of the main ways that we are able to meet together during the week, and although it doesn’t work for everyone, it has been invaluable in keeping part of the weekly church programme functioning. The prayer cells and Bible study groups which meet online have afforded the opportunity to get to know the folks there. Youth fellowship has a really faithful group who attend and we have had a few new members, as well as students over on the mainland being able to join in.

Nothing comes close to human interaction, and although it has been good to speak to folks on the end of a telephone, the reality is that this doesn’t put a face to their name; home visits are where you really get a chance to know people and something of their life story. In some ways it feels as if things are being done at arms-length. It has been and remains important to maintain a positive attitude of asking what can be done that is going to help people, rather than focus on what we cannot do at this time. When we were able to open the doors of the church and hold services, albeit very different from what we were accustomed to, this allowed us to begin to get to know those attending.

Everyone in First Cookstown has been very patient, understanding and encouraging. There has been much that

I still feel like I have a two-tier congregation – those I have been able to meet and those I haven’t. we have been either unable to do, or had an unnecessary risk attached to it, yet there remains enthusiasm and optimism about what we hope to do in the future.

So we patiently look forward with the assurance of Psalm 27:13–14: “I am still confident of this; I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

Richard Tregaskis Ramelton and Kilmacrennan Presbyterian churches Up until November I was blessed to be serving as assistant minister in Greenwell Street in Newtownards. On

the 26 November I was ordained and installed as the minister of Ramelton and Kilmacrennan churches in Donegal, in a service held in Cumber church, near Dungiven, in Northern Ireland due to church services in the Republic being closed down at the time.

My wife Julie and I made the decision that we would keep our three girls (Beth 16, Sarah 14 and Kate 12) in school in Bangor until the end of this academic year to allow continuity for them and to let Beth complete her GCSEs. This means us spending most of the week apart as a family until Julie and the girls move up in the summer. Thankfully the

restrictions do not prevent me from travelling back and forth from Bangor at the weekend.

It was a blessing for me that churches in the Republic were allowed to meet in December, before having to close again.

It was an opportunity for me, and for us as a family, to meet people (albeit socially distanced with masks) and to begin to get to know them a little. We have been extremely warmly welcomed by both congregations, in fact we have been humbled by the generosity and kindness shown towards us.

With churches closed again, ministry has largely become the production of online worship services, conducting pastoral ministry over the phone and holding meetings by Zoom. My approach has been to try, at least, to start to get to know people across the age ranges. In any new ministry it takes time to get to know people and to adapt preaching so that it is relevant and accessible to those in your congregations. The reality for me, and for others beginning new ministries in this time, is that this will take longer than normal. Pastoral care is difficult over the phone. My approach is simply to see how people are coping in these current times, to find out a bit about them and their families and to seek to listen to them. One difficulty for me, once we are able to meet and visit again, will be putting names to faces!

The midweek Zoom prayer meeting has been a real blessing, and along with Session and committee meetings, Zoom has provided a good opportunity to get to know some of the core members of both churches. I am aware that the culture in Donegal is very different to Bangor, so there is a learning curve here for me and for our family, which again will take longer than it might have. But we walk in faith trusting in the Lord’s plan and purposes, knowing that in his time we will be able to meet together for worship and visit pastorally again. We very much value prayer for us as a family, that each of us will settle in every way, in a very different context and amidst very different times.

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CONGREGATIONAL STORY

From seamen to skateboarders

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Herald Spring 2021 Photography by Jamie Trimble

Bill Parker, minister of Sinclair Seamen’s in Belfast, shares his experience of urban ministry, in particular reaching out to local skateboarders.

T

he young folk at the lower end of the urban sports park were on scooters – hopping, doing fakies, manuals and tailwhips.

Those at the far end on skateboards were executing drop-ins, kick turns, tic-tacs, ollies, broadsides. I felt nervous, even a bit foolish. Would they laugh? Or ignore me? All I knew was that I had a burden for them and a belief that the Lord had given it. I took a deep breath, walked in and introduced myself as the minister of the church on the corner, just across the way. That was in September 2017. At least once each week I’m still getting alongside the young folk who use Bridges Urban Sports Park, underneath the M3 flyover, a stone’s throw from Sinclair Seamen’s Presbyterian Church.

Now, some of the teenagers, when asked about me, say, “Bill? He’s one of us!” I’m chuffed, and thankful to God, at how they have accepted me and for how ministry among them has developed.

What’s your big question?

I got to know the regulars over the next months. They taught me their finger-slap-fist-pump greeting. One said, “You’ve got cool hair,” but before I could bask in the compliment he added, “My granda’s got hair like you!” In those early days, opportunities sometimes naturally arose to speak about the Lord Jesus Christ. I took them. But I began to wonder, and pray about, how to take this ministry to the next stage.

I suggested to Sinclair’s kirk session that, on one Sunday afternoon each month, we could invite anyone using the skate park to come over to the church halls for free food and to sit and chat.

The Session agreed, the congregation got behind us, and we had our first event in December 2017. It was a wet day, but five young people turned up. Over the next few months numbers grew. On one occasion over 30 called in. But again, I began to wonder how this developing ministry could be taken to the next level.

I had mentioned to the young people a few times that I was interested in

finding out more about their concerns, questions, hopes and fears because we as a church wanted to help them. So, one Sunday I said that next time I would give each of them a piece of paper headed ‘What’s your big question?’ and they could ask anything (a bit of a risk!). The next month they posted their questions in a box. What is your favourite Bible book? Why so many genders? What is heaven like? Why are we forced into the education system with no choice?

Will I ever get a job? What is God like? How do you play Fortnite? Each month after that I answered one or two questions from a biblical perspective.

Trust developed and the young folk became more open in their conversations with me and other team members. By January 2020 we had shown some clips from ‘Soul’ by Christianity Explored Ministries. A number agreed to do the

…there is a language that everyone understands whether in an urban, suburban or rural setting – the language of love, spoken in kind words and deeds. course. It was all set up… then Covid-19 intruded and lockdown followed.

I keep as much contact as possible in these days of pandemic restrictions.

Before the third lockdown, I sat for two hours one Saturday with a group of nine teenagers I’d just met. They drove

conversation about music, world religions, Netflix, drugs, alcohol, Jesus Christ, evolution, science, street preachers in Belfast, sin, and God. I responded. They seemed surprised that a Christian pastor could engage with them.

One thing emerging from many conversations is a sense of hopelessness, a feeling that after the age of 30 there is nothing worth living for. I want them to know that in Jesus they can have life and have it to the full. Sinclair’s, as a fellowship, grew out of mission work among sailors in the mid-19th century – men ostracised by many. Some might think similarly about the urban sports park users, but at Sinclair’s we want to go back to our roots of reaching out. I have invited many young people to our services. Some have promised to come when restrictions ease and some have looked at our YouTube services.

Rick Parfitt, Charlie Landsborough, James May, or Billy Connolly?

In 2018 I was going door-to-door, not far from Sinclair’s, on a scorching Saturday afternoon. I heard that a homework club had folded and nothing had replaced it.

A householder, sitting at his front door, looked at me and shouted, “Hey, do you know who you look like?” “Who?” I replied, knowing it would be one of the usual: Rick Parfitt, Charlie Landsborough, James May, or Billy Connolly. He said, “Billy Connolly”, then announced this to his neighbours, also sitting outside.

There followed a pleasant and encouraging conversation with this Herald Spring 2021

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One thing emerging from many conversations is a sense of hopelessness…

I want them to know that in Jesus they can have life and have it to the full.

down-to-earth man and his wife, which provided very helpful pointers on approaching other households to enquire how the church up the road could help the children. Out of this came an annual holiday Bible club and a weekly good news club. We thank God that children and parents heard the gospel through these means. I have had the privilege of being invited into some homes to chat with parents or grandparents to pray.

But again, Covid-19 intervened. We have kept in contact with these families and in December 2020 delivered a Christmas gift pack to them. Their deep appreciation of this small act of love was evident.

Sinclair’s has also established contact with some Ulster University Belfast students, and hosted a Christian Union games night. We are ideally situated for a significant ministry to students which we trust will develop in the future.

Are you BLSSing people?

Urban ministry presents significant challenges and certainly needs bespoke strategies. We need to understand the culture of those we want to become disciples of Jesus. We need frames of reference and points of contact.

However, there is a language that everyone understands whether in an

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urban, suburban or rural setting – the language of love, spoken in kind words and deeds. We can do that by engaging in what should be the backbone ministry of every congregation – Befriend people, Love them, Serve them, and Share the gospel with them. BL[E]SS people! For me that has meant spending time with users of the sports park; getting to know them and their sports; visiting them in hospital after surgery as a result of injury; encouraging them to keep going when school assignments pile up; watching them compete at the annual Bridges

Jam event; providing bottles of water on a warm day; occasionally dropping off a box of sweets; helping find a tooth knocked out by a face-plant on concrete; being a listening ear for parents waiting for their children; counselling a young man who got his girlfriend pregnant and didn’t know what to do; and always being prepared to share the gospel.

Around 80 young folk from the skate park, and over 30 (children and parents) connected with our good news club are prayed for daily by name. We pray that, when the Holy Spirit moves, we at Sinclair’s will be ready to provide spiritual counsel.

Regeneration In the early 1970s, the heart of Sinclair’s parish was demolished to build the overpasses. Now, with City Quays projects ongoing and vast numbers of workers on our doorstep; with private apartment projects, social housing plans, and increasing student presence, the area is experiencing significant regeneration.

God willing, as he moves, and as we are instruments in the Redeemer’s hands, spiritual regeneration on a large scale will also visit us. God speed the day!

Rev Dr Bill Parker is minister of Sinclair Seamen’s Presbyterian Church

PERSONAL VIEW

Life lessons Moore Casement Director of Cornhill, Belfast

I grew up near Ballymena, but went to university in England, where I remained for several years, working as a solicitor, before coming back to Belfast to train at Union Theological College. After serving as assistant in Hamilton Road in Bangor and at Knock, I became the minister of Second Saintfield, before leaving to start the Cornhill training course in Belfast. I am married to Diane and we have two sons at university and a daughter in her last year at school.

Cornhill largely came into being because some people, who had seen the benefits of it in London, thought it would be good to start a similar course in Belfast. I think the primary benefit of the course is that it gives people confidence in handling God’s Word for themselves and in then teaching it to others. It seems to manage to stretch those who have had third level education, while at the same time being accessible to those who haven’t. Over the years we have attracted men and women spanning the age spectrum from 18 to over 60, from a wide range of backgrounds, who have gone on to serve God in a variety of different contexts. The fact that people come from many denominational backgrounds (including a good number of Presbyterians!) adds another dimension to the course and it has been wonderful to see the way friendships have been formed and maintained among people, whose paths might not otherwise have ever crossed.

The vision is for Cornhill to be what God wants it to be. Over the past 12 years we have not grown exponentially, nor have we shrunk, and so we look to God to continue to bring people to us, for whom the course is the right fit. I would love to see more churches appreciate the benefit of Cornhill as a training ground for people in all sorts of ministry roles, and for more churches to actively fund and support members with Bible-teaching gifts, to take advantage of Cornhill. Although we have had a few people from the Republic of Ireland over the years, it would be great to see the reach of Cornhill extend in a more meaningful way throughout Ireland.

Growing up in a Christian home, which also happened to be in a manse, was a huge privilege. Seeing selfless, servanthearted Christian service, demonstrated by my parents in different ways has, I hope, helped me to understand what truly matters in this life and the values they passed on to me are what I long to pass on to my children.

I feel I am too young to be a grumpy old man, but sometimes my reactions tell me otherwise. Sometimes I perhaps do not get angry enough about some of the injustices in our world, because I don’t necessarily experience them first-hand. It does, however, exasperate me that we increasingly seem to be living in a world, which is all about the image we portray and where everything is reduced to soundbites. There is so much evidence around us, in so many ways, as to how the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers and how the devil continues to take in so many people with his lies.

One of my current favourite praise songs is: Yet Not I, But Through Christ In Me, because it is such a wonderful reminder that we do nothing to earn our salvation, that we do not run the Christian race in our own strength and we achieve nothing by our own efforts, but simply by the power of Christ in us.

It is frustrating that today’s society appears to be becoming more and more hardened to the gospel. Even in the midst of the current pandemic I have been struck by how rarely anyone in the media has mentioned God. Even though we have been shown time and again that we are not in ultimate control, we are being urged to believe that somehow we are.

I think we are sometimes guilty of settling for a very halfhearted engagement with God, either in private devotion or in public worship. In a desire not to be legalists we are in danger of casting off the disciplines of grace and in so doing, we have a less solid footing in a culture, which has broken loose from any Christian foundation it may once have had.

I need to keep reminding myself that it is remarkable that the church exists at all. It is the evidence of the power of the Spirit of God at work in the world today. In an age of individualism, I love it when I see in the church a genuine concern for others, and a readiness to bear with one another’s burdens. I also love the fact that it is a worldwide church and that it is possible to find an instant connection with people from different cultures and countries, because of who we are in Christ.

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Moderator, Dr David Bruce, offers a hope-filled Easter reflection.

I

would like to tell you part of the story of my father’s family. It’s a familiar Ulster Presbyterian tale, which begins in the townland of Mullaghboy, outside Bellaghy. The small farm of 18 acres had been home to the Bruce family for as long as records can show. James Bruce was born and grew up there, and farmed the land as a tenant. His son William continued the family tradition, taking over the small-holding in the 1870s.

William took advantage of the Land Acts of the 1880s to buy out his tenancy, and the farm prospered under his ownership as the land was improved.

They had three children. One son left Ireland in 1904 to start a new life in America. Their daughter, Minnie, got married and moved away. So it was

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Howard, my grandfather, who inherited the farm.

In those years he would read in the newspaper of the sinking of the Titanic, the devastation of the ‘war to end all wars’, the Easter Rising in 1916 and the partition of Ireland in 1921, followed by a brutal civil conflict. These were turbulent times to marry and start a family, but Howard and my grandmother Isobel were determined people, who had learned

The Christian way is a journey of hope no matter how gloomy, bruised and unpromising the past may have been.

how to adapt in a crisis.

For them, there was always hope that the future would be brighter. Come what may, they would find a way forward, no matter how deep the problems they faced.

This would lead them to sell the farm, start a small business and push their two young sons, one of whom was my father, to make the most of their opportunities – first in Castledawson, later in Portrush, and finally in Belfast. They had their own challenges to face, living and working through the Great Depression and the Second World War, but they were driven by hope, not crushed by despair.

The Christian faith offers us a profoundly optimistic view of life. The Good Friday cross may seem to be the ultimate moment of defeat as Jesus, our teacher and friend, was executed. But

Easter Sunday – resurrection morning – bursts upon us to say ‘No’ to despair and ‘Yes’ to hope. The New Testament explains the gospel in multiple ways to reinforce this. It is a journey from darkness to light. Our feet are lifted out of the ‘glar’ of a muddy field, and placed solidly on the rock. A seed is sown and dies in the ground, but then produces fruit a hundred-fold. Death is exchanged for life. The Christian way is a journey of hope no matter how gloomy, bruised and unpromising the past may have been.

It is in this basic God-centred positivity about the future, that the Christian church has found itself in the deepest conflict with its recent critics. With the essential optimism of the Christian way, there is a necessary and realistic pessimism about the human story into which God speaks in the person of Jesus.

All is not well with us – so we need a redeemer. This does not sit well with a world which increasingly says of the individual, “There is nothing the matter with you. You are neither broken, nor in need of fixing. You are fine as you are.” If we accept this view, our understanding of ourselves may well sound like this: “I am the person I am. Any deficiencies or flaws in my character are the result of outside forces beyond my control – I am not to blame for them.” When asked how they might deal with these issues, they may say, “I will find strength from within.

I will develop my own inner resources of mindfulness, resilience and positive thinking”. Such a pathway of selfimprovement for many people is their only source of hope.

But the Christian gospel says the opposite. The New Testament teaches that we have a problem within ourselves. We are broken and sinful. This is the universal human story because we have made the fatal choice to put ourselves before God. We are responsible for this, and we are to blame for it. Furthermore, the solution to this cannot come from within us but only from outside of us, as God lovingly addresses our wrongdoing by sending his Son to die in our place. It is his Good Friday sacrifice for our sin that is the entire source of our hope. Admitting our need, sinfulness and brokenness opens the door to hope – but it will

… as an expression of their profound hope of heaven, Christians must get busy with making our world a better place now. be a bitter pill for most in our deeply self-satisfied culture to swallow.

Some might ask if it is sensible to speak of Christian hope in an era of pandemic disease, perpetual famine, systemic injustice and persistent conflict. Should we not rather concentrate on solving these problems, rather than dwelling on a future which is as yet, undetermined?

In this, as with so much else in the Christian life lived in a broken world, we need to strike an important balance.

On the one hand, our hope is in Christ and will have its fullest expression when we are in heaven with him. Paul considers that “our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). On the other hand, this ultimate ending of our story needs to shape the journey we take to reach it. Paul points out that our lived experience today is of a world which “groans” (Romans 8:22), and this trauma is rather like the pains of childbirth. The suffering of the moment gives way to the deep joy of a new life which arrives among us. His vision is that “in hope… the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). This liberation

from “bondage and decay” must have a local day-to-day expression as well as an ultimate fulfilment in heaven. So, as an expression of their profound hope of heaven, Christians must get busy with making our world a better place now.

I have been so encouraged to read about and hear of many out-workings of this during my time in office. I think of a young woman who has deep-seated mental health issues, and who struggles as a single mother to feed and clothe her child, while managing the normal pressures of life. She is not yet a person of faith, but has come into contact with one of our projects. They have given her hope – not only in the form of some affordable equipment and clothing for her child, but in providing a caring and confidential place for her to meet. She is being nourished there. The volunteer leaders in that project are praying for her. I am constantly impressed by the commitment to care, especially for people whom society might devalue.

In Aaron House in Belfast, Lawnfield in Newcastle and Willowbrook in Coleraine, PCI is able to provide hope for families who have learned that caring for people with long-term disabilities is not something they need to manage alone. This is fabulous kingdom work.

Yes, creation groans, and we, in these and a thousand other ways, provide a balm for the pain.

This is not to be self-congratulatory.

I am uneasy about our blind-spots, concerned that our testimony is sometimes deficient and sensitive to criticism when we get things wrong.

In response to this, we pray, we go back to Scripture, we examine ourselves and our motives, and we press on out of a desire to serve well and with wisdom. Jesus held together this balance of loving us without reserve, while not leaving us where we are. Redemption, which lies at the heart of the Easter story shows a path of life that is hope-filled for the future, and realistic about the present.

God has made a way for us, and calls us to follow his lead.

Hope at Easter Howard and Isobel Bruce

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A time to learn

One year on from the start of the pandemic in Ireland, David Cupples reflects back over the seasons of Covid-19.

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“A

ll things are yours.”

So writes Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:21.

“Whether…the world or life or death or the present or the future – all are yours.” ‘All things’ means the past year of Covid-19 is ours. What on earth might that mean? How might knowing God make the strange experience of the last year mine, personally and spiritually, in the sense Paul means?

First it means receiving everything as a gift from God. Ultimately everything that comes to us comes from his Fatherly hand. Since God is for us, all is given for our good.

How then should we work with God’s gracious purpose? “Nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the Word of God and prayer” (1 Timothy 4:4).

It is both universally human and specifically godly to try to make sense of our experience. Here is a personal, prayerful attempt to sanctify, with the Word of God and prayer, this last year; to discern how we might have met God in its bizarre mix of the pleasant and painful, the liberating and the limiting, the worrying and the wonderful, the sadly missed routines and the surprising new opportunities.

The secular, atheistic mindset sees all experience as nothing but one huge formless mishmash of sensations on which we impose our ‘social constructs’ or individual meaning; it also wants to iron out all differences and distinctions since the world has no objective order.

The biblical worldview, in contrast, sees life within a divine order, a framework; and one hallmark of this is a recognition of distinctions, differences and opposites.

The creation story is about God creating distinctions within a unified order.

One of these distinctions is the seasons of the year. My journey with the Lord through the pandemic has paralleled these seasons. In Ecclesiastes 3 the writer reflects on how there is a “season for every activity under heaven.” I don’t think he is being prescriptive – saying there is a right time to do these things, but rather descriptive – these are the diverse experiences of life through which God brings us in this world. Ecclesiastes says it isn’t possible to understand the pattern and purpose of everything that happens.

That is still true and it’s a realistic place to start. The soul finding rest in God alone gives up the vain struggle to understand everything that happens. We are content to look for light, to live wisely and well. I have, however, sensed four seasons on the journey.

Spring is the season of new life and renewal of the earth. The first lockdown last spring had that element of novelty.

All church meetings stopped, but wow – new skills learned through running services and meetings online. Evenings in with my wife. New efforts to keep church connected through phone calls, newsy magazines, social media. The sudden shock of church stopping created a fresh awareness of just what we were doing and why. I felt new life and also a sense of hope and anticipation. There were the worries – concern for the sick, for the NHS staff, for jobs and businesses – but we thought it would soon be over. It was the Ecclesiastes “time to plant and a time to uproot.” A time to learn.

Ecclesiastes says it isn’t possible to understand the pattern and purpose of everything that happens.

Along came summer and life slowed down even further. There were holidays, but much shorter ones. A time to rest – an integral element in God’s creation order. This element of unburdening continued apace as the entire population took clutter to the dump or the charity shop, painted the fence and generally put external affairs in order. God gave us slower times – a chance to let him, “Take from our souls the strain and stress/ And let our ordered lives confess/ The beauty of Thy peace.” One of the great tests of our soul is what we are drawn to when external demands and pressures are stripped away. In this gift of leisurely time, have you been drawn to God’s Word and prayer as a delight? In fulfilling our calling to enjoy God forever, was Covid-19 summer a God-given opportunity to enter a season of leisurely enjoyment of God, his rest, his gifts?

Our church services started in September and like many we thought

we were on the road to normality. But autumn quickly became a season of hope deferred. The leaves fell from the trees. Disappointment set in, and as the nights grew dark, a weariness with the new routine. We became ‘Zoomed-out’.

The normal relationships we longed for were now being pushed further back out of our reach. Ready to start a new year’s activities we were all revved up but with nowhere to go. Frustration. Autumn was the time when the questions really did emerge – what is God doing here?

Words like disappointment, weariness, anxiety about church life or about people’s personal circumstances, about the economic welfare of society, began to kick in. In addition to rising numbers of Covid deaths, we heard of the hidden toll on mental health and domestic relationships.

For many, autumn became the Covid-19 season of anxiety; a call to “cast all your cares upon him for he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). A time of pressing on in the path of duty while coping with disappointment. Autumn of course is the time of harvest, and there was also an aspect of fruitfulness – hearing stories of God at work reaching people who would never dream of entering a church building. Correspondence with a few online listeners. Perhaps seeing the fruit of our reading and praying in our own lives, and of deeper heart conversations with loved ones.

Which leads to winter. With the announcement of the second lockdown in December, the natural hopes for the new year died. Winter descended. For me, winter has become the season of waiting in faith and hope. In John 5:17 Jesus says: “My Father is always at work and I too am working.” Are some aspects of church life dying never to rise again? God is still at work. Does that longed-for day when we can hug each other, shake hands, squeeze into the pews and sing our hearts out seem a long way off? God is ceaselessly at work while we wait. As people grieve, politicians decide, teachers and pupils struggle to cope, health workers become increasingly exhausted, people worry about their jobs, God’s mercies rise with the sun and are new every morning. Just today I got an email from a lady far away who stumbled upon our online services and in her words has been “captivated by the Word”. God at work in the winter.

I have tried to redeem the time. Some days have felt productive and others less-disciplined and aimless. But I have met God in these seasons of learning, of resting and enjoyment, of working steadily when hopes have risen and faded, of trusting him now as we wait for this season to pass.

One secular writer said if he believed in God, he would see this like one of plagues of Egypt, sent to remind us who is boss and that we are not in control.

How true that we are not in control. How wonderful that God is fully in control.

We can no more build the church, sort out the world, nor perfect our own lives now than we could in normal times. Is the deep paradox possible that God is taking us away from a normality that was actually spiritually abnormal in its hyperactivity and self-confidence, leading us through these strange times

Is the deep paradox possible that God is taking us away from a normality that was actually spiritually abnormal in its hyperactivity and selfconfidence…? to a proper ‘normal’ of real faith in him; trusting him to do what only he can do?

Does he want post-Covid normality to be an Ecclesiastes 3 season of “a time to tear down and a time to build…a time to keep and a time to throw away”? There is time, a gift from God. There are seasons, the shape and structure of life’s journey.

There is a purpose being worked out by our God with whom a thousand years is but a day and who sees the end from the beginning.

“Lead us Heavenly Father lead us O’er the world’s tempestuous sea Guard us, guide us, keep us, feed us For we have no help but Thee Yet possessing every blessing If our God our Father be.”

Rev David Cupples is minister of Enniskillen Presbyterian Church.

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Chaplaincy

amidst Covid Suzanne Hamilton looks at how the work of hospital chaplains has changed during the pandemic.

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ver the past year the healthcare system across Ireland, both north and south, has been under immense pressure due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Quite rightly, there has been much media and political focus on the immense pressures endured by doctors and nurses, but perhaps less has been said about others in the healthcare system who have steadfastly carried out their duties in these unprecedented times – the porters, care assistants, kitchen staff and hospital chaplains.

Presbyterian chaplains serve in hospital settings throughout Ireland, from County Londonderry’s Altnagelvin Hospital in the north to Cork University Hospital in the south. All have seen their ministry change as the world adapts to the challenges of Covid-19.

“Don and doff ” is how Rev Ken Doherty describes his new routine at Belfast’s Mater Hospital. Pre-Covid, chaplains were only armed with Bibles as they made their visiting rounds. Now

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it is a case of putting on a whole range of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as aprons, gloves, hairnets, face coverings and visors. “These days it’s don and doff all the PPE stuff… All of that takes time. Each visit takes longer as in most cases we have to change between visits,” he says.

Rev Mark Proctor, a part-time chaplain in Tallaght Hospital, agrees, saying that previously PPE would only be required for certain patients, but has become increasingly necessary due to Covid. “It’s kind of weird, it’s business as normal but with extra precautions in place.”

A year down the line, Mr Proctor says he has settled into the new routine.

“I think in the beginning it was more unsettling because we didn’t know what the dangers were… in one place there

Some are quite terrified…not for themselves, it’s for their families.

were very little precautions, but in the next ward they were wearing space suits – it was inconsistent. Definitely things have settled down and we know what we’re meant to do and what to wear. It’s just being careful.”

Donning PPE isn’t the only new routine the chaplains have had to adjust to. Visiting is also different due to restrictions introduced. “Previously I was just visiting anybody, at any time in any ward, day or night. Now it’s very much targeted visitation,” explains Mr Doherty.

Visits from family members have also been scaled back, which means that interactions with the chaplains have an added importance. “Visits are very much appreciated, now even more so,” he says.

Ironically, while each visit takes longer due to the new precautions, the time spent with each patient is shorter. During these calls, Mr Doherty explains that many patients need reassurance. “Some are quite terrified…not for themselves, it’s for their families. Yesterday I called in with one man and his big concern was his wife and his family. He was recovering from Covid.”

Worryingly, Mr Doherty has found the numbers on his visiting lists have dropped, and he suspects it is because patients are not being asking what faith group they belong to on admittance.

Stating that “numbers have dived dramatically over the past year,” he is appealing for ministers to let chaplains know if one of their congregation is admitted to hospital.

In the Republic, visiting for families stopped in March 2020 apart from a few occasions such as end of life or children in hospital. This means that those patients who are expected to get better will have no visitors during their stay.

Many keep in contact through video chat, but for older people who David Cupples can’t work technology, having the chaplain call is important. “They don’t want to let you go,” says Mr Proctor.

At the start of the pandemic, there were attempts to introduce virtual chaplaincy, explains Mr Proctor, adding, “It never really took off. It’s not the same as having somebody with you.”

He adds, “It’s good to be here to be able to minister to patients, to talk with them and pray with them, and read Scripture. We can’t carry anything onto the wards so it’s all in the memory bank...

It’s amazing how appropriate the words of the Aaronic blessing are to share with someone who is struggling.

“I’ve met patients and simple words of Scripture have had them in floods of tears, as these are God’s words to them in their struggles.”

He says, particularly for those with an existing faith, it is a comfort to know God is with them, and adds, “For those patients who have a relationship with God, there are more meaningful opportunities for ministry.”

Like the incidence of Covid-19, the picture across Ireland is not the same.

While some chaplains have been on the frontline throughout, others have found regulations have greatly restricted their

Ministry is taking place for the actual NHS staff.

and says, “Ministry is taking place for the actual NHS staff.”

This ministry is particularly important considering the pressure staff in all roles work. This is the case for Rev David are facing. Mr Doherty says it has been Cupples who is chaplain in South West traumatic for them, but they’re doing Acute Hospital in Enniskillen. their duty as best they can. “I’m blown “Regulations are changing all the time. away by the care and consideration of just There were periods where I could have everybody really, whether doctors, nurses, gone into certain wards and not others. porters, cleaners… they all look after each I could have gone in some cases in full other.”

PPE or sometimes that wasn’t required.

Mr Proctor says he’s always been in Even at the moment, the situation is contact with staff, and is sure this will that if someone is very seriously ill and I continue after Covid. “Different staff need the opportunity to chat about their experience and their own fears.

I’m there for staff and the patients,” he says.

Like the health staff Mark Proctor Ken Doherty they serve phone the ward, I might get a different with, chaplains are putting themselves in response from different wards,” he danger. Mr Doherty caught the virus at explains. the beginning of the pandemic and was Fortunately, he can still access patient out of action for a month. Some of Mr lists so he can let local ministers know if Proctor’s chaplaincy team colleagues also one of their congregation is in hospital, contracted Covid, but all have recovered but he says, “It’s frustrating for other and are back to work. Both play down the ministers too. Some think because I’m a risks, with Mr Proctor pointing to forces hospital chaplain I can get in and visit on chaplains who are on the frontline with their behalf, but that’s not really the case.” their regiments, and Mr Doherty saying, Mr Cupples has used technology to “We just do our duty.” minister to the ill, with Rev Robert Bell, nurses bringing mobile convener of PCI’s phones to their bedside.

Healthcare, Prisons He says this isn’t ideal and Forces Chaplaincy though. “In hospital, Committee, recognises especially with the very the important and elderly people, I have to difficult work carried out speak up. I might normally by the chaplains. He has want to sit very close to spoken to many on the them or I might want to phone and says they are hold their hand. All sorts doing a wonderful job of things are not possible… trying to compensate for It’s like Zoom meetings – Robert Bell congregational ministers it’s great to have them, but who can’t see their members. they’re very much second best.”

“I really do stand back in admiration Of course, chaplains do not just for the work that they have been doing,” minister to the ill, but also to the staff. he says.

Mr Cupples is thankful that he had the opportunity to lead prayers at a day of Suzanne Hamilton is an administrative thanks held for hospital workers last June, officer for the Herald.

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What can we learn from

the Washington riots?

Norman Hamilton reflects on scenes in the American capital at the start of the year, and highlights the importance of how Christians behave in matters of public debate.

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lmost everyone on this side of the Atlantic was horrified at the riot in January in Washington, and the associated rhetoric in the months after the election took place for President of the United States.

Many of us who are committed Christians were even more horrified at the placards and banners at that riot which linked the names of Jesus and God himself with the need to keep President Trump in power, and to deny Joe Biden his rightful place as the 46th president.

During 2020 I read many articles from Christian leaders in the United States praising Donald Trump, and throwing their weight behind his campaign to be reelected, and indeed continuing to support him after the election was decided. But not all did, and some elected Christian leaders have been paying a very high price for the stance they have taken.

One of them is Congressman Adam Kinzinger from Illinois who was one of the few Republicans who voted for the second impeachment of President Trump.

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Christianity Today reported on his stance in these words: “The backlash was swift, coming from Kinzinger’s district in northern Illinois, where a majority of Republicans disagreed, and from his fellow believers, with many white evangelicals continuing to support Trump even as his false claims encouraged rioters at the Capitol.

“Franklin Graham condemned Kinzinger and the other Republicans who voted for impeachment for turning their back on the president despite the good he had done on issues like abortion, foreign affairs, and religious freedom.

‘It makes you wonder what the 30 pieces of silver were that Speaker Pelosi promised for this betrayal,’ the evangelist remarked.”

Jesus never associated himself directly or indirectly with armed rebellion…

Two days after Mr Kinzinger called for removing Mr Trump from office following the January riot at the Capitol, 11 members of his family sent him a handwritten two-page letter, saying he was in cahoots with “the devil’s army” for making a public break with the president.

“Oh my, what a disappointment you are to us and to God!” they wrote. “You have embarrassed the Kinzinger family name!”

So much of what has happened has left me as an evangelical believer feeling betrayed, compromised and even shamed by many of these other leaders for several reasons.

Firstly, they reduced the complexities of government to the stance of Donald Trump on a few highly contested issues of social policy – such as abortion and gay rights. I too am very conservative on these issues, but poverty, immigration, racism and healthcare are equally important (never mind other concerns such as defence, food standards, climate change and ‘big tech’). Too few of these leaders seemed to think

that presidential policy on such issues mattered just as much as social policy. It most certainly does if we are to have any hope of living in a more just and peaceful world.

Secondly, character matters in those who are elected. This was often sidelined or excused. Yet while it is clear that God can and does use all sorts of people for his purposes, nonetheless the Bible is explicit that “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.” Indeed.

And rightly so.

On top of these considerations, the riot and the storming of Capitol Hill showed an even deeper malaise. When politics is overlaid or veneered with religious convictions, danger abounds.

Here in Ireland we have seen that all too clearly on all sides in the last 100 years of our history. The 1916 Proclamation of the Easter Rising includes these words: “We place the cause of the Irish Republic under the protection of the Most High God, whose blessing we invoke upon our arms…”

“For God and Ulster” was the motto of the Ulster Volunteer Force, formed at the height of unionist opposition to home rule in 1912–1914.

Armed rebellion linked with calls for the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ to honour such use of force is simply scandalous when seen in the light of Christ’s own teaching and words. Jesus never associated himself directly or indirectly with armed rebellion – even against the foreign forces occupying his land during his lifetime.

His insurrection was to turn the hearts of people to a loving God who was nonetheless sovereign over all the nations.

Christ’s teaching surely calls us to separate faith from any desire for raw political power. Furthermore, Christians must not embrace, even by default, any political ideology which cares little for the common good but plays to the whim of the electorate. Nor must we be captured

Christian people must take seriously the fact that public debate is not entertainment... it massively impacts how we think and behave. by populist politics which despises what others do or regularly demonises them.

As we reflect on the shameful chaos in Washington, there are critically important lessons to be learned right here and right now.

Firstly, churches and Christian people must clearly separate and elevate their faith in Christ from any suspicion that their primary allegiance is to any political party, elected leader or party manifesto.

On this issue, Congressman Kinzinger lamented what he saw as Americans’ disordered priorities – how they’ve allowed allegiances to the country, the economy, the president, or their political identities to distract from their primary identity as citizens of heaven. Here in Ireland, we need to pay equal attention to the dangers of this attractive idolatry, for the first of the Ten Commandments is unambiguous: “You shall have no other gods before me.”

Secondly, when grave wrong is being done or serious injustice perpetuated – whether in politics, society or the church itself – church leaders must clearly step up to the mark and spell out and publicly argue for what is right. To be silent is to acquiesce. Once again, the Bible’s standards are clear in Proverbs 16: “Good leaders abhor wrongdoing of all kinds; sound leadership has a moral foundation.”

Thirdly, as Christian people, we must take individual and personal responsibility to think for ourselves, to think biblically and not be easily manipulated fodder for media spin, social influencers, or any kind of ‘fakery’, however attractive it may be. In particular,

there is the opportunity, the privilege and the responsibility to raise the level of public discussion here in Ireland. Much too often it is polarising, adversarial and demeaning of others. There is a devastating translation in The Message to the opening verse of chapter 18 of the book of Proverbs: “Loners who care only for themselves spit on the common good. Fools care nothing for thoughtful discourse; all they do is run off at the mouth.”

Christian people must take seriously the fact that public debate is not entertainment... it massively impacts how we think and behave. Many journalists work very hard to find and bring out the truth. Those of us in the church of Jesus Christ and in wider society need to have a parallel commitment to what is true – even if at times it is very uncomfortable... after all Jesus himself said, “The truth will set you free”.

Personally speaking, I sense an ever increasing need to take ever greater care of how my views, opinions and practices are shaped in a world where the forces of social pressure, fakery and trickery are ever more plausible and alluring. I sense a need to make sure that my mental and spiritual diet is not a tasty mixture, even by default, of political preferences, acquired prejudices, half truths, advertising, peer pressures, or even traditional Christian thinking. A much healthier diet would be better for me – and for us all – perhaps best summed up by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.” And surely it goes without saying – I need to practise them as well.

Very Rev Dr Norman Hamilton is a former Moderator of PCI. Herald Spring 2021

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The man who invented

Northern Ireland Prof Ian McBride looks at the history of the formation of Northern Ireland through the eyes of ‘An Ulster Presbyterian’.

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any years ago, I discovered a short pamphlet called Ulster on its Own, written in 1912.

Its title page proclaims a revolutionary new idea: ‘A Proposal of Self-Government for the Five Counties around Lough Neagh’. The political background was the impending passage of the Third Home Rule Bill through the House of Commons, which meant that the establishment of a separate Irish parliament in Dublin was now almost certain. But all forms of home rule, the pamphlet insisted, suffered from the same fatal flaw. The mistake was the belief that the island’s inhabitants formed a single homogenous unit: “In reality there is not one, but two Irelands, different ideals, different in outlook, entirely different in ways of life and mind, drifting further and further apart… more opposed to each other in all that makes for nationality than are, for instance, the Austrian and the Hun.” This powerful argument had been heard before. And so too had the solution: what Ireland really needed was two parliaments, one for the dreamy Celts of the South and another for the industrious Protestants of the North.

The Birmingham Liberal MP Joseph Chamberlain had called for an Ulster parliament 25 years earlier, when Gladstone’s first Home Rule Bill had been introduced. More recently the editors of the Spectator and Observer had adopted the same view. But this was the first time that the idea of partition had been seriously floated by an Irishman,

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and it is probably no accident that the anonymous author signed himself ‘An Ulster Presbyterian’.

Was there a distinctively Presbyterian view on the struggle that led to partition?

When asked to imagine their future under a Dublin government, Unionists predicted religious persecution, economic ruin and the spread of disruption and disloyalty throughout the empire – in that order. When the Daily Mail surveyed 305 Ulster Protestant clergymen about the consequences of home rule in 1912, the Presbyterians were more likely than their Episcopalian counterparts to stress the religious factor, and less likely to raise economic fears, but the differences of emphasis were not very significant. The 88-year-old David Mitchel of Warrenpoint, brother of the famous nationalist revolutionary and later defender of American slavery John Mitchel, summed up thus: “Home rule would bring loyalists under the control of the disloyal and rebellious, and certainly lead to the ascendancy of a system always hostile to freedom and toleration.”

Two other features of the Ulster Unionist case particularly resonated with Presbyterians. One concerned the Ne temere decree issued by Pope Pius X in 1908 which regulated ‘mixed’

…this was the first time that the idea of partition had been seriously floated by an Irishman…

marriages. Marriage and education were very sensitive issues for Presbyterians, who nurtured bitter memories of discrimination on both counts by the Church of Ireland. The second was the central proposition of Ulster on its Own – that Belfast might become the “fitting capital” of a free and prosperous new state. Unlike the Church of Ireland, Presbyterianism was overwhelmingly concentrated in the northern counties and partition was consequently less painful. The author calculated that almost 90% of Presbyterians lived within “the five counties”, whereas the corresponding figure for the Church of Ireland was a bare majority of 51%. Part of the attraction of a Belfast parliament was that it would empower the northern Presbyterians, still excluded from political and legal office by the remnants of the “old ascendancy party”.

At the 1912 General Assembly, the Moderator echoed the theory put forward

by Ulster on its Own: “There are two nations in Ireland, differing in race, in religion and in their sense of national and civic responsibilities.” The Witness (the Presbyterian newspaper) took this argument to its logical conclusion: “If Ireland should be separated from Britain, Ulster should be separated from Ireland”.

But there was a flaw in the notion of self-government for ‘the five counties’.

It was the same flaw that Unionists detected in Irish home rule: Ulster was not a homogeneous unit. In the northern province as a whole, Protestants formed about 55% of the inhabitants – hence the

plan to restrict the new Belfast parliament to Antrim, Down, Londonderry, Armagh and Tyrone (the last, despite its ‘slight’ Catholic majority, was included for ‘geographical’ reasons). Even in this semi-province, the author recognised that a third of its 1.2 million inhabitants were Catholic. Like Irish nationalists who campaigned for an all-Ireland government, he dealt with the problem with a bland reassurance that everything would be ok: the new parliament would be elected by large, multiple-member constituencies so that “a coherent minority would run no risk of being underrepresented or oppressed”. Otherwise, the wishes of the Catholic population were simply ignored.

If ‘An Ulster Presbyterian’ was still alive in 1921 he probably witnessed the opening of the Northern Ireland parliament in June. He would have been pleased that the Gamble Library of the

PCI has sought to both reflect on its own story from 100 years ago and contribute to the public discourse.

Union Theological College temporarily served as the House of Commons while Stormont was being built. The central features of his world – the empire, the industrial supremacy of Belfast, the threat of ‘Rome rule’ – have long since vanished. What has endured is the existence of two opposing

communities, “different in ways of life and mind”, their relationship redefined by the Troubles and the peace process. The best way of commemorating the Northern Ireland centenary is surely to find new and better ways for them to live together.

Ian McBride is foster professor of Irish History, Hertford College, University of Oxford.

On These Steps Karen Jardine outlines how PCI will mark the centenary of the partition of Ireland later this year.

It is hard to believe that we are coming towards the end of what was billed as the ‘Decade of Centenaries’. Starting with the events of 1912, we have remembered amongst other events, the Home Rule Bill, the start of World War One, the Easter Rising, Battle of the Somme, and Armistice Day. This year, 2021, marks the centenary of the partition of Ireland and creation of Northern Ireland.

Throughout the last 10 years PCI has sought to both reflect on its own story from 100 years ago and contribute to the public discourse. For example, the ‘Church in the Public Square’ event in 2016 brought together leading academics and commentators to discuss how the Easter Rising and Battle of the Somme came to exert such a central place in how Ireland views its past and present.

Continuing in this vein in 2021, PCI intends to mark the role that Assembly’s College (now Union Theological College) played in hosting the Northern Ireland parliament following its official opening in June 1921 by King George V, and before it moved to its new home on the Stormont Estate.

‘On These Steps’, to take place later this year, seeks to acknowledge the different experiences and perspectives across PCI, both historical and geographical, from the experiences of those living along the border, and from those in Co Cork to those in Co Antrim.

Taking place on the steps of Union Theological College, the event will have four main components. First Ian McBride, foster professor of Irish History at Oxford University, will provide an academic, historical perspective considering the

formation and role of the new Northern Ireland parliament, and its connections with PCI. We will have an opportunity to step back in time with a dramatic reading of the King’s speech from the opening of the new parliament and a specially commissioned musical performance.

The Moderator, Dr David Bruce, will help us to step forward as we think about the changing relationships across these islands – east/west as well as north/south. What does it mean to be a Christian citizen in this context for the next 100 years?

And finally, recognising that the centenaries observed in 1921 have different meaning for different communities, invited political leaders from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will reflect from their own perspectives.

It is our intention that ‘On These Steps’ will be live streamed so as many people as possible can participate, no matter where they are on the island of Ireland, or further afield. Further information will be made available closer to the time. This is just one contribution to the many conversations and events about centenaries that will take place this year. We believe it to be important, building on the ‘Vision for Society’ statement which calls us to live as biblically faithful Christian peacebuilders, developing radically new attitudes and relationships throughout the whole of Ireland, and working together for the common good, where friend and foe can experience healing and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Karen Jardine is PCI’s Public Affairs Officer.

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What in the world is going on?

Pip Florit highlights global issues that haven’t been hitting our headlines recently.

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t has been a rare occurrence in the past year to turn on the news and be met with a headline that has nothing to do with Covid-19. Sometimes it’s a struggle to remember what filled our news before the pandemic. At times, it has felt like other global issues have gone away, but that is far from the case.

While we have been wrestling with huge concerns about health and the economy, many low-income countries have been struggling with the same issues, superimposed on a background of vulnerability caused by poverty, violence, displacement and climate disasters.

Poverty For the past 20 years, the global poverty trend has been heading in the right direction. Each year, fewer and fewer people have been living in extreme poverty, defined as living on less than $1.90 per day. When the United Nations produced the Sustainable Development

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Goals in 2015, goal number one was to “end poverty in all its forms everywhere” by 2030. It was always known to be ambitious and now, Covid-19 has created a setback.

By the end of 2020, there was an annual increase in the number of people living in extreme poverty for the first time since 1998 with around 100 million people being pushed into that group and millions more predicted to join it in 2021.

…there was an annual increase in the number of people living in extreme poverty for the first time since 1998 with around 100 million people being pushed into that group…

Many low-income countries have experienced fewer cases of Covid-19 than European countries. As of the end of January, Malawi had reported around 20,000 cases (0.1% of the population), Myanmar 138,000 (0.26% population) and Zambia 45,000 (0.25% population).

This is compared to 3.65 million cases in the UK (5.5% of the population).

However, the socioeconomic impact has often been devastating.

Nearly 10 million people in the UK have been on the government furlough scheme at some stage since March 2020.

For many businesses and individuals, it has been a lifeline. But what happens when the government enforces a strict lockdown without the capacity to support those for whom that means a loss of income? In countries where informal labour is so prevalent, where working from home isn’t an option and few people have significant savings, the resulting loss of income has been catastrophic for some.

The effects of a loss of income are far-reaching: lack of access to healthcare, fewer children in school, hunger and poor nutrition, homelessness. For our partner churches in Malawi, as individuals have lost their incomes, the churches’ income has also reduced, limiting their capacity for ministry. In the hospitals of CCAP Livingstonia Synod, patients have been unable to pay hospital fees, leaving the patients without adequate healthcare and the hospitals with reduced income, and therefore reduced staff and capacity. Many of our partners rely on overseas funding for their work – this also decreased in 2020 as economies suffered globally.

The global fight against poverty has suffered a setback and there is much to do to get it back on track.

Violence The effect of Covid-19 on violence throughout the world has not been easy to predict or measure.

At the beginning of the crisis, there was much speculation about the effect the virus might have on violent conflict.

Would it cause opposite sides to stop fighting each other and unite to control the virus? Would it hit conflict-ridden countries harder due to their lack of cooperation? More than a year on, it seems that neither of these things has been completely true.

One thing that is clear is that there is a vicious cycle of violence and vulnerability that the pandemic has exacerbated. In areas where war has raged for years, healthcare systems have been weakened, in some cases, severely. In Syria, health centres and hospitals have been destroyed by conflict, leaving many without access to medical care and therefore more vulnerable to the effects of the virus. In places where humanitarian aid organisations had been providing relief including healthcare, Covid travel restrictions have limited

lockdowns and curfews have been imposed. The stress that has come from higher levels of unemployment has increased levels of violence and restrictions have led to women being cut off from support services.

Christian Aid is working with local domestic violence organisations to support these women practically and emotionally.

Displacement

As we entered 2020, there were almost 80 million forcibly displaced people worldwide… their ability to be present where needed.

PCI partner, the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon (NESSL) has recognised this, prioritising the building and maintenance of a healthcare centre in war-torn Aleppo as an important part of its outreach.

The pandemic has also caused the flare-up of local conflicts and riots.

People forced into poverty have reached desperation, leading to violent protests in Kenya, Nigeria, Colombia and many more countries.

PCI’s development partner, Christian Aid, has reported an increase in domestic violence in countries like Kenya, where

As we entered 2020, there were almost 80 million forcibly displaced people worldwide – people who had fled violence, natural disasters and persecution.

2020 was a difficult year for many of them. Those who were escaping fear in hope of a better life have been left in limbo, with travel restrictions and closed borders preventing them from reaching their destinations and being resettled.

Refugee camps have become familiar sights in many countries. Some are well established, with people living there for many years. Others are newer or more temporary, set up in response to immediate needs. It took a long time for the virus to reach the refugee camps, perhaps because movement in and out of them is restricted, but in recent months, there have been several reports of outbreaks in camps around the globe.

Often crowded and lacking resources, these camps are ideal places for a virus to thrive. We’ve all been told the importance of social distancing, of staying two metres apart and avoiding any unnecessary contact with others. In most refugee camps, this simply isn’t an option. In one camp in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, which houses Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, there are more than 25,000 people in 0.39 square kilometres. Up to 10 people live in one room.

Added to this, they often lack simple sanitation items like soap and water, let alone more complex medical supplies. Outbreaks in these places are dangerous and hard to control.

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More than three quarters of refugees worldwide live in low-income countries, where healthcare systems are often weak. PCI partner, NESSL, has been working with refugees in Lebanon and internally displaced people in Syria for many years. In the past two years, Lebanon has experienced financial crisis, political disaster and a worsening number of cases of Covid-19. It is also recovering from the August 2020 explosion in Beirut that caused death, injury and destruction. Despite this, it remains one of the top refugee hosting countries in the world – 20% of the population is made up of refugees.

NESSL is stretched but it continues to respond in the midst of these crises, providing water and hygiene supplies for the internally displaced in Syria and education for the refugee children in Lebanon.

The factors that cause people to flee their countries have not disappeared, so the refugee crisis continues, dealing with the extra challenges that the pandemic brings.

The environment Climate change disproportionately affects the poor. Those living in poverty have fewer options and when hit by an extreme weather event, are more likely to lose their homes, livelihoods and sources of food and clean water.

In the middle of 2020, when much of the world was in some level of lockdown, it seemed that there could be an unforeseen benefit – an improvement in the environment and climate. Factories stopped production, air travel largely ceased, there were fewer car journeys and all of this led to a decrease in carbon emissions and hazardous waste. Cities that normally sat under a cloud of smog reported clearer skies. Water pollution experienced a decrease as fewer factories disposed of their waste.

On the other side, the pandemic has seen an increased reliance on single-use plastics. The damage caused by such materials has been well publicised in recent years and has led to responses from

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Herald Spring 2021

individuals, supermarkets, fast food chains and small businesses. These days, you can buy toothpaste, shampoo, washing powder and razors that contain no plastic and come in plastic-free packaging. You can also get reusable nappies, straws, shopping bags and food wraps that help you reduce waste.

Use of these products had been increasing, but the pandemic reversed that trend. Coffee shops stopped accepting reusable coffee cups in favour of disposables. Disposable face masks and plastic gloves are now a common sight discarded on the streets.

These changes may be necessary to limit the spread of the virus, but in the long run, we need to remember the damage these products can cause. Their production and mismanaged disposal (e.g. incineration or careless dumping) emits harmful gases and some plastics take up to 1000 years to decompose, ending up polluting oceans, beaches and the natural habitats of many animals.

Recent reports suggest that the positive effects on air and water quality will be short-lived when the pandemic is over, but what if they aren’t? What if the pandemic has opened our eyes to see the link between our activity and the global

What if the pandemic has opened our eyes to see the link between our activity and the global environment?

environment, showing us that it is possible to make improvements?

None of us is exempt from looking after creation.

Now may be a good time to consider what part you could play. While the pandemic is still around, could you use a reusable face mask? Could you walk instead of driving?

When it’s over, could you make more use of public transport, take fewer flights? For businesses and organisations – could at least some meetings continue to happen online rather than face-to-face to reduce the impact of travel? Having had our eyes opened, it’s important that we don’t close them again.

In 2020, PCI launched a special Moderator’s Christmas Appeal, highlighting the challenges for some of our partners in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis. The funds raised will support a range of projects from PCI’s development partners, Christian Aid and Tearfund, as well as partner churches in South Sudan, Malawi, Indonesia, Romania, Lebanon, Syria and Nepal.

To all who contributed, a huge thank you. This will help people like Nyra who, trained by Tearfund in South Sudan, raises awareness of Covid prevention measures, protecting people in remote communities.

This is vital for a country like South Sudan, which is already struggling against floods, famine and conflict.

The issues that affect our world, our partners and our global family have not gone away in the past year. For many, they have only increased. In these places, our partners are working to bring hope.

All around the world, we have partners who are working in situations affected by poverty, violence, displacement and climate change. The past year has been difficult for them, but through it, they continue to work, serving the living God, who is in control.

Pip Florit is PCI’s Mission Support Officer for Partnerships.

SPRING 2021

Mission Connect

Prison chaplaincy and new opportunities

God’s surprises Rev Norman McDowell

PCI mission news from around Ireland and the world.

Delivering ‘a message of hope’ Mae Irvine Women’s ministry looks to the future Naomi Leremore Prison chaplaincy and new opportunities Rev Graham Stockdale Derryvolgie life in lockdown Rev Dave Gray

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.

Building bridges Steve and Rosie Kennedy

Including spring prayer diary

God’s surprises Rev Norman McDowell Recently retired forces chaplain

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ay back in the 1980s when Hazel and I were considering what had happened. Within two weeks someone asked could we whether God’s call was pointing us to overseas mission train recruits remotely and the dispersed regiment came back or congregational ministry, we discerned that it wasn’t to life again, as everyone from corporal instructors to platoon the overseas field that God wanted us in (too many creepy commanders (and the padre thrown in with the values and crawlies), but rather the teaching and preaching ministry. But God standards programme), created and delivered online training. It is full of surprises and we was so effective that when found ourselves not where those ‘dispersed’ recruits finally Forces chaplains…are amazingly accepted in a completed their training and we expected, but rather as missionaries to the soldiers of their socially distanced fairly godless community as we are recognised and had the British Army. passing off parade, just about God’s surprises are a good appreciated for our ability to reach into the lives everyone considered that they way of keeping us on our toes were the best recruits we had of our personnel and lead, guide, or direct them to ever trained. and keeping us reliant on him as our driving force in his work.

Summer and autumn saw us a better place in life.

My training had prepared me ramping up to capacity again, for a teaching ministry, but albeit with Covid-19 restrictions that focus on the Sunday sermon quickly morphed into the reality complicating everything. Socially distanced church services in the of chaplaincy, which is about mixing and mingling with people in barracks chapel meant that one single Sunday service became five, their own environment. It’s fair to say that genuinely committed with no mingling over coffee afterwards, but we were still able to believers are few and far between in the army, yet we are privileged reach our spiritually-hungry young people and teach them about to serve their spiritual needs (even though many may struggle to Jesus and point them to salvation. recognise anything spiritual about themselves). Forces chaplains – Then retirement finally caught up with me, six years late as the navy, army or air force – are amazingly accepted in a fairly godless army had kept me longer than any other chaplain. I wonder what community, as we are recognised and appreciated for our ability to God’s next surprise will be? reach into the lives of our personnel and lead, guide, or direct them to a better place in life. And so, I became less the congregational Please pray: minister, and more the missionary.

• Give thanks for Norman’s service over many years as an army Fast forward to March 2020 and the first lockdown when God chaplain. had another surprise, this time for the whole world. I was assigned • Pray for the new recruits as they begin their service in the army. to one of the army training regiments and we were just beginning • Pray too for all who serve in our armed forces, for good health, to build up to maximum capacity after the doldrum years of low safety and protection and that they will know the Lord is with numbers. Then lockdown hit, we sent the recruits home, and them, whatever they face. within 48 hours I wandered around a deserted barracks wondering Mission Connect | Herald Spring 2021

Delivering ‘a message of hope’

Mae Irvine

Home manager, Corkey House residential home

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t is beyond dispute that one of the groups hit hardest by the A nursery in Edinburgh that provides care to keyworkers’ children pandemic is that of older people. Since the outbreak of Covid-19 even sent beautiful pictures that were made by the children. last April, our residents at Corkey House have had to isolate The residents really appreciated this. A few weeks later a large from their friends and families for extended periods of time. The envelope arrived from Australia. When we opened it there was a past 12 months have proven beautiful letter from an activity to be very challenging, as in a care home, Not only has this initiative given residents an coordinator many residents are missing the with postcards and lovely emotional support that their opportunity for social interaction, but it has also messages and pictures from loved ones are able to provide. some of the residents of that It has also become evident that opened up new avenues for global communication home. Our residents were so the residents are missing the moved by this kind gesture, and lifelong friendship daily activities that the staff that they were very eager are responsible for delivering. to respond. They have even We have had to limit the number of religious representatives and begun drafting their own replies and taking photos to attach to visitors to the home too, which has sadly impacted our social their letters. They are hoping to get a few pen pals ‘down under’ programming. from this amazing experience. Not only has this initiative given At Corkey House we understand that older people are especially residents an opportunity for social interaction, but it has also vulnerable to loneliness and social isolation – and that it can have opened up new avenues for global communication and lifelong a serious effect on health if left unaddressed. The pandemic has friendship. prompted us to rethink how we can tackle loneliness and social isolation amongst our residents, so that they can enjoy their time Please pray: spent here, even in times of such uncertainty.

One initiative that we introduced this year was ‘a message of • Pray for our residents and their families – may the Lord comfort them and keep them safe in these hard times. hope’. I asked my friends and family on social media to write and • Pray for God to keep his hand over our staff, in house and the send postcards to the residents from their home country. Whilst it wider team – to give us the strength to face the trials of a new was a small gesture, the resulting deliveries brought a great deal day. of joy and sparked lively conversation among the residents and • Give thanks for the gift of a new day, the love and support of staff. The initiative was a huge success, with postcards arriving our families, friends and professionals within and outside of our from all over the world: Australia, Amsterdam, Canada, America, team.

Tasmania and China. The residents were eager to see where the • Pray for an end to this pandemic, as we look forward to the day postcards had arrived from and were excited to read the stories when we can all be together again safely. and thoughtful messages that were written inside.

Mission Connect | Herald Spring 2021

Women’s ministry looks to the future

Naomi Leremore

PCI global mission worker in Kenya

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inety-nine years ago, a fellowship for girls was formed in Kimani, the Guild director, is leading the national board as they two Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) boarding take time out to look at the health of the organisation today and schools. The aim was to bring the students together for cast a vision for its future ministry. prayers and Bible study and to teach them how to live Christ-like The curriculum team have written two handbooks for use in lives. The fellowship (called training the ‘followers’ wanting Girls’ Guild) was founded on become Guild members.

Through the decades, the association has touched to Romans 12:11–13: “Never Over the next few months, be lacking in zeal, but keep the lives of many in the community, taking care of another curriculum will be your spiritual fervour, serving designed for mentoring girls destitute children and the needy. the Lord. Be joyful in hope, with the same basic aim as patient in affliction, and faithful back in 1922 – bringing girls in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practise together for prayer and Bible study and teaching them to live hospitality.”

Christ-like lives.

In 1943, the fellowship was renamed Women’s Guild as its membership included both women and girls. Through the decades, the association has touched the lives of many in the Please pray: community, taking care of destitute children and the needy. Their • Thank God for Rev Elizabeth Kimani in her role as the director of presence is relied on during church weddings and funerals. The women’s ministry and remember the board as they meet to pray women in blue headscarves have a reputation for being well and plan for the centennial events in 2022. organised and getting things done!

• Ask for God’s blessing on the curriculum team tasked with Fast forward to 2021 and we’re in a village where all the Guild designing the mentoring book for girls. Pray over their first members belong to the same age group. Having grown old meeting which will take place in April and for the preparation together, they can no longer carry the heavy sufurias (giant work needing to be done beforehand. cooking pots) in which food is prepared for church functions. Who • Pray for the Holy Spirit to work within the Guild, encouraging will take their place? members to purposefully mentor younger women and girls as This question needs to be addressed as the organisation part of their ongoing ministry. approaches its centennial celebrations in 2022. Rev Elizabeth Mission Connect | Herald Spring 2021

Prison chaplaincy and new opportunities

Rev Graham Stockdale

Lead chaplain in Maghaberry Prison

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s prison chaplains, our essential remit is to bring spiritual a hostel or a family home, or requesting help from a supporting and pastoral ministry to the prison population, but the charity. virus has impacted heavily on both of these aspects of Now this is not without its tensions. One tension is getting the our work. During the last year, for the most part, we have not balance between the practical and spiritual – sometimes I feel been able to hold services and courses such as Alpha. And unlike there is an imbalance towards the former at the expense of the wider society where the latter, but alongside that there congregation can be reached is a knowledge that this is just I hope that our efforts during this unprecedented for a time, that we will return

by Zoom, Facebook and YouTube, in the prison we period will yield long-term fruit, that prisoners to a more holistic approach. don’t have such resources.

But I hope that our efforts and families will remember how we, in the name during this unprecedented Similarly, our pastoral ministry has suffered as we are not able period will yield long-term of Jesus, were able to help. to visit freely within the prison, fruit, that prisoners and but only to those who have families will remember how recently come in and to the wider population by request only. we, in the name of Jesus, were able to help.

However, where areas of ministry have been restricted or I also think that a careful reading of the Scriptures might bring us stopped, other areas have opened up for us and one of those is to a deeper appreciation of the spiritual role of clothing. The one the ministry of clothing. The last words of instruction from Jesus to clear example that has been imprinted on my heart and mind is his disciples before he goes to the cross, recorded by Matthew, is the action of the Father to his returning son who instructs that the that they should feed the hungry, quench the thirsty, befriend the finest robe is brought and placed on his shoulders. stranger, clothe the naked and visit the sick and those imprisoned.

Currently I can’t really fulfil the visiting instruction, but I can focus on the clothing bit. Let me explain this a bit further…

Before the pandemic, when family and friends were coming on Please pray: prison visits, they were able to bring clothing. For most of the last year, visits have only been virtual and so prisoners have not been • Pray for Graham and others involved in reaching out to able to get clothing in. This is an area where chaplains have been prisoners and their families during the pandemic. able to help. It hasn’t been the extreme case of needing to clothe • Pray that the practical assistance given will yield long-term “the naked” because the prison does provide basic clothing, but fruit. we have become a lot more involved in picking up clothing from Mission Connect | Herald Spring 2021

Derryvolgie life in lockdown

Rev Dave Gray

Chaplain, Queen’s University Belfast and Derryvolgie Hall, Belfast

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he chaplaincy team spent the summer preparing protocols and creatively resourced these to shape a practice of being still, and putting the infrastructure in place in order to create listening, and praying with purpose into the life around us. as safe an environment as possible. The upgraded WiIn a more typical year, chaplaincy students are encouraged to Fi anticipated the reliance of all residents on virtual learning. invest in service projects in south Belfast. With homework clubs, Derryvolgie (DV) Hall was given the green light to reopen in July residential homes, and youth gatherings like our international and 70 students took the decision to make DV their home during student meals all closed or prohibited, we as a team had to this academic year. Autumn 2020 began with headlines of student reimagine our practical witness. It has been possible to serve raves and apprehension of international students young people descending through the distribution of The amazing cohort of Derryvolgie students on campus neighbourhoods meals. Harnessing the skills and the risks of outbreak. It of Mulholland’s butchers and has helped create an experience of purposeful was a concerning time for Fisherwick staff to produce community, service, fun and growth, everybody, not least students fresh, individual meals, at key and their families. dates over the year, we set up regardless of the difficulties.

There has been a significant distribution sites and gave out amount of prayer walking the dinners, inviting the ‘guests’ encircling the Hall, and we have experienced a year of God’s to join us on Zoom for a virtual meal together. This was particularly protection, grace and favour despite the challenging restrictions. wonderful at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Every endeavour working with people has had to operate with The joy of community at Derryvolgie has been a great increased creativity and flexibility due to pandemic restrictions; consolation during this pandemic and the friendships and this is the zone that chaplaincy has inhabited over the past year. encouragement of flat ‘bubbles’ has been significant. The team, The amazing cohort of Derryvolgie students has helped create Lynn, Vicky, Danni and Esther, have been amazing, working with an experience of purposeful community, service, fun and growth, resilience, flexibility, and love. regardless of the difficulties.

Please keep praying for this generation of young people.

Our Sunday night connection, ‘Vital’, was relocated to Fisherwick Presbyterian Church. This incredible space made it possible for 60 Please pray: to 100 students to gather safely in their ‘bubbles’, to connect, be • Give thanks for the ways in which students have been able to encouraged and worship quietly behind masks. This has continued continue their studies, worship, fellowship and outreach during online through the chaplaincy Facebook page in semester two. the pandemic.

We have been able to create rhythms and practices of faith that • Give thanks for the team at Derryvolgie and all they have done. are incredibly important for young adults. Lynn Guiney, in her role • Continue to pray for this generation of young people. as assistant chaplain, has initiated weekly days of prayer, 24/7 style, Mission Connect | Herald Spring 2021

Building bridges

Steve and Rosie Kennedy

PCI global mission workers in Romania

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e arrived in Cluj-Napoca (Koloszvár in Hungarian) in Scripture, followed by a reflection and prayer which is being the time between Christmas and New Year along with distributed to around 15 of our group daily throughout the Lent our two children, and are working within the Tóvidéki season.

Church congregation in the city. This fellowship has for some Steve has begun to work with the youth praise band at Tóvidéki time sought to build bridges through providing simultaneous Church, and we hope in the coming weeks to include a number of translation of worship services from Hungarian into both English new younger members. and Romanian, as well as Much of the administration welcoming mission teams required in relocating to “But you will receive power when the from a range of countries. another country is now English language provides a complete, and we are deeply Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be connection point for many thankful to God for how different groups in Cluj, and my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and smooth it has all been – we a ministry began in 2008 have a deep sense of him Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 journeying both before and to reach out across the city through worship services with us, even in the more conducted in English. A mundane matters of residency, revitalisation of this ministry is where we have been invited bank accounts, car insurance, and so on. We feel very settled and to serve, and it is operating under the name of Cluj Christian welcomed in home, school and church.

Fellowship.

One of our primary focuses in these early days of ministry is to With the global pandemic pushing many of us to online and meet far and wide, and make as many connections as possible. video communication, we were able to connect ahead of time In the days of the global pandemic, this is met with inevitable with the new ministry in Cluj in which we will serve in ways that restrictions and difficulties. Yet we are encouraged by the we had not anticipated. The new ministry began its services in connections we have made through church, school and with other November, and continues on the second Sunday of each month, mission agencies, and hope to continue to develop these further. with 25–30 people gathering once a month, and more joining online. As a new community of faith seeking to serve the city Please pray: of Cluj-Napoca, we started by studying together the opening • Pray for opportunities to make connections, particularly with chapters of the book of Acts, where we read of a new community the international community in Cluj. of faith exploring the impact of the gospel on life, worship and • Pray for our family as we continue to settle in and learn both witness in the city of Jerusalem.

Hungarian and Romanian languages.

We have also begun a series of Lent devotions – a verse of Mission Connect | Herald Spring 2021

SPRING 2021

Please pray for... n THE WORLD – Pray for all suffering around the world, either directly or indirectly, from the consequences of Covid-19. Pray that many more people will come to know Jesus Christ and put their hope and trust in him.

n GLOBAL MISSION WORKERS – Remember all global mission workers serving during the pandemic. Pray for their health, protection and adaptation to changing local restrictions.

n FORCES CHAPLAINS – Pray for PCI forces chaplains and members of the forces, especially those who are serving overseas at present. Pray for their health, safety and protection at all times.

n GLOBAL MISSION PARTNERS – Pray for PCI global mission partners around the world as they give leadership and share the gospel throughout the pandemic.

n PCI GLOBAL MISSION – Pray for wisdom and guidance for the Council for Global Mission, its committees, panels and task groups. Pray especially for Rev Uel Marrs (Secretary) and Rev Dr Liz Hughes (convener).

n IRISH MISSION WORKERS – Pray for Irish mission workers: David Boyd (in Dublin), Tom Dowling (in Kilkenny) and Philip Whelton (in Arklow) as they continue to serve, encouraging others to commit their lives to Christ.

n MYANMAR – Pray for Myanmar following the recent military coup. Pray for peace, for a fair and just government for all the people of the country. Pray too for the leaders and members of the Presbyterian Church of Myanmar. n COUNCIL FOR SOCIAL WITNESS – Pray for the work of the Council for Social Witness, as it continues to deliver care to residents and tenants. Pray that face-to-face visits, the holding of hands and those long-awaited hugs will soon take place. n MENTAL HEALTH – Pray for all who are struggling with their mental health at this time and are concerned about what their future may hold. Give them courage to seek help and to share their feelings with family, friends, GP or counsellor. n SOUTH SUDAN – Pray for peace and for all suffering due to violence, flooding, displacement and food insecurity. Pray for the unity of the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan and for its newly elected leadership team. n GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS – Pray for Christian Aid and Tearfund as they seek to tackle poverty around the world in the name of Jesus Christ. n MODERATOR’S APPEAL – Give thanks for all who contributed to the Moderator’s Christmas Appeal which raised support for people in fragile, vulnerable countries suffering due to Covid-19. Pray for the wise distribution of the funds. n REFUGEE CRISES – Pray for all around the world who are refugees or internally displaced. Pray that they will be protected from Covid-19 and receive humanitarian assistance to rebuild their lives, and that they will have hope in Jesus Christ. n LEADERS IN TRAINING – Pray for leaders from partner churches which PCI support while they undertake further study aimed at encouraging their personal development for future ministry and mission within their church and context.

n ABUSE – Pray for all who have experienced abuse, that they may seek the appropriate help to enable them to share and disclose the hurt in their lives – and give thanks for all work in this specialised area – including the PCI Taking Care programme. n CHURCH PLANTING – Pray for church planting initiatives which PCI and global mission workers are involved in, in the UK, Portugal, Spain and Kenya. n PERSECUTED CHURCH – Pray that Christians around the world who face persecution and discrimination will be strengthened in their faith and know that the Lord is with them. n IRELAND – Pray for each other, remembering especially those who are grieving or ill, or those who are struggling with isolation, loneliness or economic hardship. Pray that the Lord will bring comfort, healing and hope to all. n MISSION IN IRELAND – Pray for the ongoing witness of all congregations and individuals in our Church and that through our words and actions, others will see the love of God in Christ and come to know him. n HOME AND URBAN MISSION – Pray for home mission and urban mission congregations. Pray that new forms of sharing the gospel developed under the Covid-19 restrictions can be built upon and used to share God’s love with others in ways that we could not have imagined before the pandemic. n RESIDENTIAL AND NURSING HOMES – Pray for all residents of residential and nursing homes as they adjust to new routines. Pray also for those who now will be able to visit, that they may have patience and understanding of the new regulations. n HEALTHCARE CHAPLAINS – Pray for all healthcare chaplaincy staff. Pray for all those ill in hospital, for full and quick recovery, and that patients who don’t have Covid-19 will be protected from it. Pray too for staff working in very challenging conditions. n DEACONESSES – Pray for deaconesses as they continue to serve, encourage people in their faith and reach out to others with the love of God.

n UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGES CHAPLAINS – Pray for students struggling with isolation, online fatigue and mental health issues, and for chaplains as they seek to support them. n ADDICTION – Pray for all who are living with an addiction, that they may become receptive to advice and help at this difficult time in their lives. Give thanks for all those working in the area of addictions – including those in Carlisle House and Gray’s Court. n COMMUNITY OUTREACH WORKERS – Pray for the 15 community outreach workers as they engage in outreach through different means during restrictions and as they plan for the future. n PRISONS CHAPLAINS – Pray for all involved in PCI’s prison chaplaincy ministry where services and visits have been restricted due to the pandemic. Pray they may be able to resume soon. n INTERNATIONAL MEETING POINT – Pray for the staff and work of the International Meeting Point in Belfast and now also in the Op Shop at Carlisle Circus, seeking to reach out with the good news of salvation to asylum seekers and others from overseas. Give thanks for the foodbank ministry and other support offered during the pandemic. n MISSION IN IRELAND – Pray for wisdom and guidance for the Council for Mission in Ireland, its committees, panels and task groups. Pray especially for Rev Jim Stothers (acting Secretary), Rev Robert Bell (Chaplaincy Secretary) and Rev Dr Frank Sellar (convener). n HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE STAFF – Pray for all staff in health and social care as they pass the first anniversary of the Covid-19 pandemic, that they will have continued health and strength to continue that vital work. Give thanks for the dedication of so many who have placed themselves at risk over the past year.

www.presbyterianireland.org/prayer

AS I SEE IT...

What have we lost?

Jonathan Boyd

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ovid has been humbling. It has exposed how little I the world: and does, by his own presence and Spirit, according know of the future, how little I can control even my to his promise, make them effectual thereunto” (WCF 25.3). In own life, and how lacking in wisdom I am, particularly other words, the church was made to gather and God promises as difficult questions have arisen about suspending that he is present and working powerfully in our gatherings. public worship. In our soundbite culture we might boil this There are some things that only happen when the saints gather down to two choices: ‘love your neighbour by closing churches’ for public worship, such as baptism and the Lord’s Supper. or ‘fear God instead of man by opening churches’. But reality is What a loss they have been! much more complicated.

Jesus himself experienced the truth of what the Confession The sabbath is “a day of sacred assembly” (Leviticus 23:3), teaches. In Luke 2 we get a couple of snapshots of him growing so the 4th commandment is a command to gather for public up, growing in wisdom, growing in favour with God and men, worship. Yet the 6th commandment prohibits murder and Jesus and it happens in formal religious settings – at the temple, says that on the sabbath it is better to save life than to destroy it gathering with family and fellow believers. Even for Jesus this (Luke 6:6–11). was an essential part of his growth and one We are told to love our neighbours Perhaps this season is an of the ways that his Father blessed him.

(Leviticus 19:16), but part of love is It was in the temple that Simeon, worn opportunity…where we out at the end of his life, saw salvation in gathering to worship and encourage and proclaim the gospel (Hebrews 10:19–25). rediscover the Christ, and Anna, a widow of perhaps 60 The 3rd commandment calls us to not years, found reason to be thankful. God dishonour God’s name and we know how importance of gathered keeps his promise and does amazing things important it is to have a good witness to when his people gather for worship. worship… the world. But even Mary didn’t always This is what we have lost. But had understand Jesus when he was wise and we in some way lost this before Covid? obedient in his worship (Luke 2:48–52), so the world being Had we lost our appreciation for what God does in a simple confused doesn’t always mean we’re doing the wrong thing.

Sunday service? Had we lost confidence in the ordinary Whether we open churches or close them, there are issues of means of grace? Perhaps this season is an opportunity for love and obedience. No wonder it is difficult for Christians to reformation in the church, where we rediscover the importance agree! But thinking about whether we should gather has made of gathered worship and return to God with a renewed trust me think about why we gather and what we lose when we don’t. in his promises, receiving afresh his blessing. That blessing Returning to our reformed understanding of church and is intended to overflow to the world, as God promised to worship in the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF), I’ve Abraham (Genesis 12:1–3). In the gathering of God’s people, found it reassuring to read that worship isn’t “tied unto, or the gospel is proclaimed and put on public display to a world made more acceptable by any place in which it is performed, that is deathly afraid, overshadowed by death, and already dead or towards which it is directed: but God is to be worshipped in sin. How dearly they need to see us worshipping – not so everywhere, in spirit and truth; as, in private families daily, that they can see us, but so that they can see Jesus, “…the rising and in secret, each one by himself ” (WCF 21.6) – in other sun which will come to us from heaven to shine on those living words, we can (and should!) worship anywhere, including with in darkness and in the shadow of death” (Luke 1:78–79). May our families at home. But household worship can’t replace many come to see him and experience his grace when we return congregational worship – “public assemblies…are not carelessly to public worship. or wilfully to be neglected, or forsaken.” God can work in any way that he pleases, but it is his pleasure and promise to work Rev Jonathan Boyd is minister of Hyde Park and Lylehill churches. through public worship on a Sunday. So we rejoice that we have a Father who hears our private worship, while we lament the loss of public worship and its blessings.

The Confession says those blessings are great – the church has been given “the ministry, oracles, and ordinances of God for the gathering and perfecting of the saints, in this life, to the end of Herald Spring 2021

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How others see us

With recent events, both globally and locally, creating a heightened awareness of racial prejudice and injustice, Renée Finnegan shares some of her experiences of integrating into life in Ireland.

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ou’re the dad, you’re the sister… and who are you?” These words echoed through the room the four of us occupied when the doctor finally arrived to attend to our toddler’s injury. This experience, in the accident and emergency department, isn’t my first or last in Northern Ireland of being dismissed as the mother of my children, but, to date, is one of my worst. In another context, and with a less pressing priority, I would not have left this blatant neglect of interpersonal skills unchallenged.

With the spotlight on racial inequality being intensified, specifically over the past year, anyone subjected to racial prejudice and discrimination will know the plethora of global stories of injustice encompassing this reality. Against the backdrop of this fallen condition of the world, there is perhaps little of a person’s opinion that has the potential to bring about change. Rather, it’s someone’s story, used by God, that has the power to challenge and influence attitudes with life-changing impact.

My story Each of us has a diverse back story that converges with the stories of others at

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Herald Spring 2021

the crossroads of life. Sharing my ethnic story is complex because it is rooted in the systematically structured political regime of apartheid. This discrimination, which measured a person’s social and economic status on the basis of skin colour, subsequently comprised racially determined policies and practices. This unjust apartheid served as the canvas for my introduction to the world and spanned into my early 20s.

Despite this political ploy of control and coercion, I had the privilege of a fairly sheltered upbringing within an Indian family in South Africa.

Thankfully, for me, it was a rather unscathed experience. My world revolved around a racially frozen landscape within which I simply didn’t know of anything being amiss. This was the benefit of my grandparents’ humbling and proactive protection of their children and future generations. Due to my grandfather’s political involvement, by committing his life to a non-violent struggle for a non-

Engaging with people different to us undoubtedly requires making a concerted effort.

racial democracy with the South African Indian Congress, I was prevented from being directly subjected to any form of personal racial abuse in my homeland.

Mistaken identity Having travelled the world, including living in Israel, it was only when I relocated to the United Kingdom in December 2001 that a very different picture suddenly emerged; I experienced the rawness of racism. Shortly after arriving, I was confronted with preconceived ideas of my dignity and worth, which were based on having me all figured out. I was dismayed to find that my character and background were prejudged by my packaging, with no time and effort made to get to know me.

Making friends Excluding family, everyone starts off as strangers. For someone like me, making friends here is by no means straightforward. It’s fair to say that a history steeped in tribalism poses a formidable hurdle. Therefore, this has been the hardest of my challenges in adapting to life in Northern Ireland and adopting it as my home. Yet unlike most people who come to live here, I have the support network of my family-in-law

which is an invaluable lifeline. Their commitment to being Christ-centred in their inclusion and embrace is humbling.

As well as this, the blessing of good friendships, which took the better part of a decade to form, makes me thankful for my awesome friends. I applaud them for their willingness and openness to welcome me into their worlds.

Attesting to the unconditional acceptance of family and kindness of friends, also requires reflecting on contexts where these qualities have been lacking, including the church.

At the same time, it is fair and right to acknowledge, without listing a multitude of disclaimers, that this does not categorically apply, as there are congregations lovingly reaching out to people from other nations.

Some of my memories are of church services ending and people chatting to my husband – beside me – but not to me, on the assumption that I possess an inadequate command of English. This experience has been replicated in visits to various churches, not least because of my husband’s role within PCI as its training development officer. Then there’s the assumption of me being the plus one at my friends’ weddings – friendships established two decades ago, while attending Belfast Bible College. Or being gracelessly stared at with no awareness of the need for friendliness, when eye contact is inevitably made. Worse still is me initiating contact with someone only to be met with a facial expression and body language that leads to blatantly ignoring me.

These awkward and uncomfortable stories are not exclusive to me.

Immediately I think of an immigrant professional couple who encountered people moving away to another pew as they sat beside them; while at other times, people could be seen clutching their handbags closer when the couple sat behind. In these instances, what becomes of this couple’s desire and hope of being spoken to and received as family in Christ (Matthew 10:40)?

These are merely some of the experiences specific to the church but it is by no means limited to this context. Countless other experiences within society at large encapsulate the challenges endured by people of different race groups.

More friendliness Many aspects of my Indian-ness have shaped the person I am today. Still,

what matters most to me is a valued trait of being friendly to all whom I meet but who do not naturally identify as biological family. That sense of creating a space of acknowledgement and friendliness toward people who are different has always been modelled to me by my culture. Potentially the historical transition as immigrants from India to

Our challenge is to recognise the commonality we share in Christ by sacrificing what’s comfortable… realigning our vision to Christ’s…

South Africa honed this, in particular, their hospitality offered to others – even at the most inconvenient of times.

Admittedly, practical constraints around busier lives may mean we cannot all be friends, but I have no doubt that we can, at the very least, be friendly to all. I say this being acutely aware of many not having the necessary support to ease their transition into an unfamiliar life here. On this note, a useful perspective, of mutual benefit, is to not just see people as being foreign, but to understand that what is familiar to you is in fact foreign to the foreigner. Adjustments to having someone different in one’s midst may prove to be a big sacrifice, however people integrating into a new cultural environment face greater challenges of leaving behind family, friends and familiarities of all kinds.

Where there is a propensity to focus on factors that differentiate and divide us, the obstacles to celebrate our differences will remain insurmountable. Still, there is an alternative – pausing long enough to recalibrate, with the help of the Holy Spirit. To refocus on what we share in common and how alike we are – not

merely from a human perspective – but, more significantly, as we are all made in the image of God. Engaging with people different to us undoubtedly requires making a concerted effort. By being intentional in our actions to overcome our unconscious biases, we can befriend people who seem different to us, bearing in mind that we each have an innate desire to be known and have a sense of belonging. In my experience, the clique mentality, especially within church, is not conducive to any kind of integration among people of different backgrounds – let alone race – because it serves as a barrier to sincere interaction with others.

Looking to identify with our inner circle by our education level, profession, schools our children attend, shared interests and where we’re born, limits our openness and availability to those not like us in these areas. It hinders and harms a sense of genuine belonging for all concerned – including those in our camp.

Mindset of Christ Christ’s story does not depict distrusting and dismissing people – leaving them marginalised. Biblical history demonstrates a redemptive narrative involving a revolutionised way – Jesus reaching out to, inviting and including those starkly in contrast to himself – including Gentiles – like you and me!

Scripture is laden with instructions for us to navigate a course, as followers of Jesus, that is devoid of discrimination and prejudice.

Equally, the mindset of Christ entails having the humility to not only look out for our own interests but for the interest of others (Philippians 2:1–5). Our responsibility is not merely conceding to following Jesus, while we repeatedly exhibit the selfishness of only being absorbed in our lives. We, the church of Christ, are to blaze the trail by emulating his model of love for us; powerfully witnessing his kingdom on earth through a lifestyle of faith in him.

Our challenge is to recognise the commonality we share in Christ by sacrificing what’s comfortable and common to human nature and realigning our vision to Christ’s; of multiculturalism, as found in Colossians 3:1: “Here there is no Gentile or Jew [no racial barrier], circumcised or uncircumcised [no religious barrier], barbarian or Scythian [no national barrier], slave or free [no class barrier], but Christ is all, and is in all.”

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Being socially

responsible

E

Steve Stockman looks at how we should conduct ourselves on social media, aiming to be the faithful disciples Jesus has called us to be.

very day it seems there is another headline about social media abuse. Politicians, sportsmen and women, journalists, pop stars are all open to all kinds of anonymous online attacks and threats.

As well as this, we have been aware for some years of the teenage mental health problems associated with social media.

Cyberbullying and comparing their lives with others have put a stress on teens that former generations didn’t have to face.

It would be easy to just ban social media altogether, but let us take a deep breath. New forms of communication have been shuddering the foundations of societies since the first picture was carved onto the wall of a cave, or a word could be written down, or the printing press was invented, or the radio, the telephone, the television and the world wide web.

At every stage there has been immediate suspicion, a time of coming to terms with and finding social behaviour patterns to deal with it all.

Of course during our coronavirus year we have suddenly realised that social media is not of the devil! Video chat apps, broadcast platforms, video search engines, or plain social media might instead have been a God-given gift. They have been a blessed resource to creatively

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hold congregations together in the absence of gatherings.

As the shuddering of social media impact slows, we need new behavioural patterns honed and modelled and delivered. The church has perhaps been slow to get to grips with this. We could benefit from a focus on the importance of social media discipleship.

In my first week on Facebook in 2006, I remember saying to my wife Janice over tea, “You know there will come a time when we will need a Facebook pastor.” My very first connections had me pastor one friend, share apologetics with another and become involved in some evangelism with someone I didn’t really know at all. I knew then that there was a huge potential in this exciting, if dangerous, new world.

Fifteen years later, when we eventually come out of Covid-19 lockdown, Fitzroy as a congregation is imagining how we can reap the potential of social media.

How can we reach, engage and disciple a world seeking God? The social media

God’s Word made flesh in Twitter’s 280 characters should shine with a humble posture.

pastor is a whole lot closer to reality and many churches are already doing it.

As someone who spends hours on social media every day I have created my own discipleship pillars. Based on Paul’s letter to the Philippians, I hold to four principles that I try to be consciously aware of as I engage. I have learned a lot about social media engagement over the years just as I hope I have matured in all aspects of my spiritual life.

Insight Paul prays for the Philippians: “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ…”

(Philippians 1:9–11).

Love and knowledge and depth of insight. Trying to line up those three

things is a full house of wisdom. Love first. God’s love. Grace. Then knowledge.

God’s revelation. “Let the word of God dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3:16).

Finally, from the marriage of those two perhaps – insight.

Insight is defined as “the capacity to gain an accurate and deep understanding of someone or something.” The new world of social media should not be rushed into without seeking insight.

How does it work? Where are the strengths? Where are the weaknesses?

How are things perceived in a public forum? When you are talking to someone you know personally, how will others who don’t know the context read your post? How quickly do you respond to confrontational messages, if you do at all?

When should you use the front page of Facebook or Twitter and when should you move to personal message?

Prayerful insight is needed in all these layers of social media communication.

Incarnation Philippians 2:5–11 is a wonderful poetic hymn of incarnation theology. Jesus’ attitude of love, posture of humility and actions as a servant. The incarnation changes the world and the ways to live in it.

Two lessons from incarnation that I apply to social media.

Firstly, that it was “the Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighbourhood” ( John 1:14 MSG). Moved in. When we have the same attitude as Jesus our calling and mission is to be in the middle of the neighbourhood whether that neighbourhood is virtual or real.

There are an estimated 2.7 billion people on Facebook every month.

Oh my. There are tens of thousands specifically searching for Jesus online.

Where should we be? Those of us from a reformed tradition turned our backs on the monastic lives of abstaining from the world, believing that God wants us

The new world of social media should not be rushed into without seeking insight. to set up a kingdom in its midst. The incarnation tells us to be involved.

Secondly, when we get involved, the posture of incarnation is humility. We follow the God of the manger, the donkey and the cross. Humility is a word that isn’t quickly associated with social media.

I think particularly of Twitter. Twitter has a tendency to encourage acerbic arrogant pontification. God’s Word made flesh in Twitter’s 280 characters should shine with a humble posture.

That is not to say our contributions need to be soft. We are in conversations about art and faith and politics and all sorts. Yet, even in the banter about football I try my very best to refrain from barbed attacks. Sometimes our ideas of fun don’t have a Christ-likeness. I strive to be a good loser and humble winner.

If that is how it is with sport, how much more with politics and religion. We need to believe courageously but carry it gently. I attempt to engage on all social media with the spirit of Paul’s words to the Philippians.

Humility also keeps me honest.

Confession is good for the soul and for our lifelong repentance and I am always open to rebuke, reassessing my tone and apologising if something came across wrong.

Integrity Honesty and strong moral principles – integrity is pragmatic, everyday holiness.

Writing to the Philippians, Paul spells it out, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things” (Philippians 4:8). If we bring such things to social media we will again stand out, be a light

in a murky world.

I tend to try and be more positive and hopeful in my posts, sometimes slow to rush up an angry response to something, but always quick to post anything positive going on in our current affairs.

Intention Standing out in a murky world is what it is all about. Jesus called us “the light of the world”. Paul longs for the Philippians to “shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life” (Philippians 2:15–16).

Casual engagement with social media is dangerous. Indeed, Nona Jones writes in her book From Social Media to Social Ministry, “Passive consumption is what adversely affects users… The issue with social media arises when it’s used primarily to share content that people consume and compare their lives with.

The research shows that social media becomes a powerful and positive resource when it’s used to facilitate connections and rebuild community.”

We overwrite casual engagement by having a purpose to our actions. When we fall in with careless mindless living in any area of our lives, we are opening ourselves up to that old phrase the devil finds work for idle hands. Our intentions to be Christ-like in all our engagements, with the aim of being a witness, might save us from the many dangers at play.

All of the above are general principles for any kind of life of discipleship but for me they are particularly pertinent for this new social media world. Social media exposes sins that you can get away with in the real world. Gossip or backbiting have limited consequences around a coffee table, but on social media it exposes the sin. For me, therefore, social media heightens our discipleship. We should remember that like social media, God sees and hears everything!

Rev Steve Stockman is minister of Fitzroy in Belfast.

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Bimala Biswakarma with her husband and baby

Expectant hope

Karen Craig shares her experience of visiting a residential home in Nepal that cares for expectant mothers, a project supported by Presbyterian Women.

“I

t’s a girl!” “It’s a boy!” “It’s twins!” Have any of these exhuberant expressions ever been said to you, or perhaps a sister or a friend? What excitement it holds; the future is no longer the same as before, a miracle has happened as a new life has entered into the family.

For many women the experience of pregnancy and childbirth is straightforward, yet for others it can be filled with worry or concern. At these times many parents appreciate the help and support given to them by family and friends, but especially the medical expertise they receive. Imagine, however, that you live 9,500 feet above sea level, in a small village in the Himalayas. You sense that something is not quite right with your pregnancy; you have a little help, maybe a neighbour or friend, but you know that more support is needed.

This is a picture of what could happen as

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in Nepal almost 50% of births happen at home with minimal or no support.

Travel in the foothills is dictated by the terrain. When you think of making a journey you estimate in terms of time and not distance, as the roads twist and turn, are rough and at times difficult to negotiate.

I travelled some of these roads in November 2019 when I visited Okhaldhunga Community Hospital in Nepal. The hospital is nestled in a valley at 6,500 feet in the foothills of the Himalayas. It is supported by United Mission to Nepal (UMN). Peter Lockwood, one of PCI’s global mission

This is the reason the home exists – to bring hope to these ladies and their families.

workers, has helped with work on the hospital in his role within UMN. The 50-bed hospital has an outpatients department, TB unit, X-ray department, general surgery, paediatrics and maternity wards and it aims to provide these services to the surrounding rural districts.

For many of the women living in these areas it has been a lifeline to them, especially during their pregnancy. The hospital has been offering help and support to the communities around and so they have developed the maternal waiting home. The idea is to encourage women to come to hospital for their antenatal visits; and then, if the staff are concerned for the baby, or if the delivery may pose a problem, it is suggested to the parents they come to the maternal waiting home a week or so before the due date. It means the mother-to-be is onsite and will have all the help and support she needs. Up to a third of the women

who have availed of this service are young under 20s having their first baby.

The home was set up around 15 years ago with a vision of providing good medical care and support, as well as antenatal, family planning and good nutrition classes to the mothers-to-be and fathers. When a woman comes to the home she is expected to pay 7,000 rupees (about £7) for her stay; a family member, preferably the father, is also encouraged to stay. If he is unable to come then her mother or sister may come. The family member helps with the cooking and upkeep of the home, as well as participating in classes to prepare for the impending arrival. For many, the home also provides camaraderie, a sense of family and in turn they learn from and support one another.

The home also takes away the feeling of being alone, especially as the time of delivery draws near. The nursing sister, Nirmala, gives reassurance to these women, as she treats them as her own family. She runs the classes, checks on them twice a day and is around, if possible, at the time of delivery in the main hospital. The work of this home cannot be underestimated – there is no doubt that some of the babies would never survive without this service. As word about the home has spread, more women are now using this facility.

I had the opportunity to hear the story of two of the ladies. The first was a young girl who had been married at 12, had her first child at 14 and, at 20, was expecting her second. Uma Sunuwar lived in a village three hours’ walk away. The baby was in a breech position and she was encouraged to stay until the baby was due within the next week. She was hoping to take home a healthy baby. The one thing that struck me about her was her lovely smile. She was so appreciative of the home and the care and support she had been given. She was looking forward to the birth, knowing she would have all the

expertise she required.

The second lady, Bimala Biswakarma, came from a village close to where I had visited. Her journey to the hospital would have been a difficult one due to the remoteness of the area. In some cases,

…there is no doubt that some of the babies would never survive without this service. expectant mothers may have to travel up to four hours (or in a few cases up to eight hours!) by walking, bus, jeep or motorcycle. Bimala had been for a checkup and it was discovered that one of the twins she was carrying had died, but the hospital staff thought if she was prepared to stay at the home for the next 8–10 weeks they could save the other twin.

This was a lot to ask her to do, but she and her husband decided it was their only option. In January 2020 she gave birth to a healthy baby girl. This is the reason the home exists – to bring hope to these

ladies and their families. The hospital also has a follow-up for the patients when they return home.

The vision of Yubraj Acharya, the hospital director, is to see the hospital extended to 100 beds. The bed occupancy at times can be around 130% – meaning there is always pressure for bed space and on providing adequate staff levels and care for the patients. Part of the plan has been to start a nursing school so that

nurses can be trained at the hospital, giving employment to the local area and hopefully, keeping them in the area after training.

As we are aware in our NHS, there is always pressure for bed space and adequate staffing, and it is no different in Okhaldhunga. In Nepal, Covid-19 has had a major impact on the running of the hospital and its services. Please pray for the work of the hospital in this challenging time: for safety for the staff and patients; for ways in which support can still be given to the expectant mothers; and for the vision to see the hospital expand in the future.

Presbyterian Women (PW) has two projects on which members focus each year, one at home and one overseas.

Through the PW mission fund they financially support the projects and pray for them too. For 2021–2022 the overseas project is the maternal waiting home in Nepal. The home project is Care NI which supports women who have lost a baby through miscarriage, stillbirth or soon after birth.

Your prayers for both the projects would be very much appreciated.

Information can accessed through the Presbyterian Women website (www.presbyterianireland.org/pw) or Facebook page.

Please remember also the work of PCI’s global mission workers in Nepal. For more information, ‘Digital Dispatches’ by Peter and Valerie Lockwood and Peter and Jayne Fleming are available at www.presbyterianireland.org/ digitaldispatches Karen Craig is a retired primary school teacher and was PW president in 2019/2020.

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Thriving

online

Deborah Webster outlines a new project aimed at protecting children in the digital world, helping them to build resilience and thrive online.

D

uring my 10 years as Taking Care trainer and coordinator I was privileged to be an advocate for the protection of children and young people in PCI. Initially the focus of this role was real-world safeguarding in church ministries and organisations. However, over that decade, technology advanced dramatically; smartphones, tablets, and other connected devices, rapidly became everyday items. With this advance came the need for protecting children and young people, not just in the physical world but also in the digital world.

Though much work had been done on internet safety, I became increasingly alarmed about the impact this new connected world was having on the mental health and wellbeing of young people. A fire which was clearly being fuelled by social media.

In 2017 I took a step of faith. I left my role in PCI to become a full-time student at Queen’s University. I had no idea what God had in store for me after this PhD. All I knew was I had three years to study a subject he had given me a passion for: the relationship between social media use and adolescent wellbeing.

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My research was conducted in post primary schools across Northern Ireland.

Through focus groups and interviews with parents, teachers, and pupils, it was clear that social media was impacting the wellbeing of young people in several different ways.

…there is therefore a growing need to enable children and adolescents not just to survive, but to thrive online.

Firstly, despite the often-negative perceptions of adults, social media has clear benefits for the wellbeing of young people because of the connections it provides. This has become prevalent during recent lockdowns where many parents were thankful their teens could remain in communication with their friends. Whilst physically isolated, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat were a welcome replacement for break time, the school bus, the common room and the sports field. They were a much-needed space to hang out, laugh and chat about everything and anything. As social beings created in the image of a relational God, social media plays a part in fulfilling our inherent desires for interaction and communion with others.

Secondly, as Theodore Roosevelt said: “Comparison is the thief of all joy.”

Nowhere is that more prevalent than on social media. Comparison was the theme that came up the most in my research.

Young people constantly compare their own bodies, appearances, clothes, homes and holidays to those of others. Whether peers, social media influencers, celebrities or complete strangers, often these

Five top tips to helping your child thrive online: Talk to your child regularly about what they are doing on their phone. Ask them about the apps they are using; who they are communicating with; what they are enjoying about their phone.

Remind them that if they ever come across anything that they feel uncomfortable with, even if they feel it is their fault, they can talk to you about it.

comparisons lead to envy which in turn lead to low self-esteem. The writer of Proverbs speaks wisdom into this tragedy when he states: “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones” (Proverbs 14:30). As vulnerable humans, we can all be so easily damaged by the negative impact of social media.

From my research it was clear that there is a desperate need to equip young people to become digitally resilient.

Teaching them how to enjoy the good things our connected world offers, while

“Comparison is the thief of all joy.” Nowhere is that more prevalent than on social media. also preparing them to cope with the not so good. Whilst online safety has been well rehearsed, the wider implications of online use have been largely overlooked and there is therefore a growing need to enable children and adolescents not just to survive, but to thrive online.

Whilst writing my thesis, I often reflected on the words of a beautiful, articulate 13-year-old girl I met in one of the school focus groups. She eloquently described how using social media damaged her self-esteem and that the pressure she felt to look good online was unbearable. My heart broke and a desire to make a difference for people like her burned inside me. I couldn’t help but think perhaps God was guiding me to do something about this. Whilst I began my PhD unsure of what he had in store for me after it, perhaps this was where my next chapter lay.

So, with a £500 grant from Queen’s Graduate School, I had a logo designed, a website put together and I launched a social enterprise called Thrive Academy.

The purpose of Thrive Academy is to help young people thrive online by providing bespoke education in digital resilience.

This is done through lessons for young people, training for teachers and youth leaders and workshops for parents.

Completing my studies and setting up my own business was both exciting and terrifying at the same time, especially during a pandemic and with home schooling thrown into the mix!

While not being able to physically go into schools so far this year, I have been able to move Thrive Academy online.

This has allowed me to continue to deliver parent workshops for churches, organisations, and schools via video conferencing. Thankfully these practical, informal, and non-judgemental sessions have been well received, both north and south of the border. Like everyone though, I am looking forward to getting back into schools, churches and organisations to deliver face-to-face training whenever that is allowed.

If you would like to find out more about Thrive Academy or you are interested in the services we provide please get in touch. It would be great to hear from you (deborah@thriveac.org; www.thriveac.org).

Have times and places in the family home that are screen free, such as mealtimes. Make it the norm that there are no phones used at the dinner table, whether that be in the home or when eating out.

Work hard at incorporating nonscreen time activities into family life, such as board game nights, sports, camping trips or other hobbies and interests.

Decide on a place where their phone can charge overnight.

Younger adolescents in particular should not have their phones in their bedrooms at night-time. This can disrupt their sleep, which is critical to their physical and emotional development at this stage in life.

Decide on boundaries or rules and keep to them. Any boundaries set down should be appropriate to the age and stage of your child.

How you parent a 16-year-old is very different to how you parent a 10-year-old. But do remember that your child, whether aged 10 or 16, is still growing, and hasn’t reached adulthood. If your child feels that the boundaries or limits you have put in place are unfair or unreasonable (which they probably will!), remind them that these are temporary and will grow and stretch as they grow older and mature.

Reflect on your own behaviour.

This is perhaps the most challenging part! There is of course a lot of truth in the saying that children copy what they see. Us grown-ups may need to reflect on our own behaviour towards our mobile phone and social media use – I know I certainly do!

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An accidental publication Sarah Harding chats to ministers Sam Finlay and Niall Lockhart about how the first lockdown unexpectedly led to them co-authoring a devotional book.

I

n March 2020, during the first lockdown, ministers Sam Finlay (SF) and Niall Lockhart (NL) began to write daily comments on the book of Psalms to strengthen and encourage members of their congregations in Redrock and Druminnis, and Ballyhenry Presbyterian churches. Initially published separately, on Facebook, Sam and Niall have merged these daily devotionals to provide a pathway through each of the 150 psalms. Volume 1 of Daily Psalms ( January-June) was produced in January 2021, with a second volume ( JulyDecember) due out later this year.

How did writing the book come about?

SF: Good question! First up, we’d both happily confess that Daily Psalms in book form was a somewhat accidental publication. Last spring, the sudden reality of Covid-19 on our doorstep and the potential of many taking ill and even dying caught me like a rabbit in the headlights. In those early weeks flustering over technology I knew I wanted to bring God’s Word into the lives of our Redrock and Druminnis families in a way that was relevant and spiritually encouraging.

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My initial notion was a weekly online post, but after a phone call with Niall (we’ve been friends since studying together at Union College), I was drawn to the idea of beginning a daily journey through the book of Psalms. With so many of our church families using Facebook this was an obvious place to ‘publish’. As time went on we also began to distribute print copies to folks who weren’t online.

Why did you feel drawn to the psalms at this time?

NL: The idea of reading through the psalms on a daily basis is not a new idea.

For many Christians, in many places at many times, this has been part of the daily rhythm of what it means to follow Jesus. The psalms describe a world where

The psalms speak to people about God, but they also teach us a language to speak to God.

you really don’t know what you’re getting from day to day. However, at the same time they speak of a God who is faithful, trustworthy, and who wants to be known, one day at a time.

What reaction has the book received in your congregations?

SF: As pastors, we wrote these devotions for our congregations. When they were first published on social media it was, in part, people’s heartfelt appreciation and engagement with what we were posting that was a massive daily spur on to ‘go again’ with each new day and each fresh psalm. Since ‘publishing’ the daily readings in a dated book format it’s been really encouraging to hear folks share their stories of how reading and praying the psalms is becoming part of their daily Christian walk.

How do you intend people to use this resource and what do you hope they’ll get out of it?

NL: The psalms speak to people about God, but they also teach us a language to speak to God. They draw us into a slowly unfolding relationship with God amidst

the hurts, complexities and hazards of daily life.

Jesus loved the psalms.

Our hope is that Daily Psalms will draw people to him, whether they are new to Bible reading or have been Bible readers for many years.

Did you find that committing to write a Sam Finlay devotional piece every day was personally helpful to you at the time?

SF: The way it worked out, Niall was writing his material a week ahead of me.

Knowing that a friend and colleague was on this journey too was good for both of us. I was getting up increasingly eager to see where the psalms journey would take me and putting my head on the pillow at night thinking of the next morning’s verses. On a personal level, I realised the rhythm of the task had me meditating on God’s Word day and night! As so often is the case, the ‘work’ I was doing for the good of others was as much a challenge and blessing for my good. God is gracious that way.

Can you give us a flavour of your context for ministry and what that’s been like over the past year?

NL: For the last 13 years home for us has been Ballyhenry (just off the Sandyknowes roundabout in Newtownabbey). Sam and his family live in County Armagh. Even though our ministry contexts are in that sense different I think the past year has reminded both of us that the privilege of pastoral ministry is sharing God’s Word with people who you know and who know you, confident that his Word brings life and creates community.

What are some of the issues you are facing as you minister in these days?

SF: On a personal level, drained with constant technology, feeling inadequate and worrying and wondering if we’re connecting with people. As I’ve talked to people, I’ve become increasingly aware of daily struggles with work, home schooling, loneliness and lots of worry about the future. I guess that’s where the psalms land so perfectly again. They speak

Niall Lockhart

into every life experience and time and again God gives us hope in our troubles rather than lifting us out of them. For me, there’s been this constant surprised/ not surprised experience as I’ve found the psalms taking me to Jesus, the great news of grace and the deep assurance of God with us as we navigate real life.

I’ve found the psalms taking me to Jesus, the great news of grace and the deep assurance of God with us as we navigate real life.

Has this lockdown felt different? What is your sense of people’s mood at the moment?

NL: Our daughter, Maggie, is nine years old. Earlier today she said, “I wish coronavirus wasn’t here. I want to go back to school, I want to go back to church, and I want to go and see my cousins and give them a hug.” People are finding this tough and yet I do believe that these are times when God is at work even when we don’t feel that or readily see it.

How have the limitations on meeting together for worship affected individuals and congregations?

SF: That’s been a mixed one. I think many people the first time round embraced the novelty of doing things differently. There were some deeply encouraging moments when a sense of mutual support and encouragement in the body were tangible. On a personal note, I felt it was critical we still saw

ourselves as Christ’s people meeting for worship.

At the same time, we’ve missed each other badly – especially when we were back in the building for a while but not with a full congregation. Those Sundays have been bittersweet. I recorded this morning again – on a Friday for Sunday, in the study. We’re in Hebrews at the moment and the call to fix our eyes on Jesus couldn’t be more timely.

A number of months back a lady facing cancer surgery said to me, “Sam, cancer’s the small c, Christ is the big C.” I’ve treasured her words ever since and we’ve been adapting that faith-filled sentiment to the current Covid times – Christ is still and always will be the ‘big C’ in our lives despite the many challenges.

As my brother-in-law’s congregation in Inverness keep reminding me – whatever we face, life is ‘infinitely fuller’ in Jesus.

Are there positives we can draw from the pandemic or lessons we can learn moving forward?

NL: I answer this cautiously because the past year has been incredibly tough for some people who will be reading this article. However, in so many ways I think life has become very ‘day to day’, with a much greater awareness of the things we do not know. It’s in this ‘not knowing’ that the gospel becomes such good news, as by his Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus comes to meet us afresh each new day.

How can people get the book?

NL: When we look at Daily Psalms Volume 1 (with its 64,000 words, spread over six months of daily readings) I think we both smile. At no point did producing this feel like work. It has felt like something that ‘just happened’ as we tried to do the jobs given to us. A free PDF version (suitable for reading on a phone/tablet) can be accessed via www.ballyhenry.org We are equally happy for any congregation to print/distribute their own copies if that is something that can be useful and encouraging.

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Unmasking

compassion

Jason Nicholson highlights the increased work of the Presbyterian Children’s Society through the pandemic.

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asks are intriguing objects and besides their current widespread use in curtailing the spread of coronavirus, they have been used by many people for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment since antiquity. Furthermore, whilst often used to conceal, perhaps this current global crisis has provided Presbyterians with a fresh and unique opportunity to take their ‘masks’ off and proudly display their instincts for compassion; for helping others in hard times.

The coronavirus crisis is not a crisis

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anyone would have wanted; or indeed one which we might argue we have been adequately prepared for. Nevertheless, through the ongoing work of the Presbyterian Children’s Society, it has presented another opportunity for Presbyterians to demonstrate that although we are a community of God’s people scattered throughout this island, we are united in our resolve to show practical care and compassion towards our children and our young people.

Serving others is central to our faith, and despite all the challenges that we are currently facing, it is vital that we

continue this important work of getting www.presbyterianchildrenssociety.org alongside families in financial need.

Applications to the Society for help have been steadily increasing in recent years and given the potential for lasting damage to our economy, many more Presbyterian families will require our help and support. Last year the Society helped approximately 900 children and 460 families with a regular grant. Demand

for an exceptional grant, in circumstances where families have been experiencing the effects of furlough, or an increase in their expenses as a result of lengthy periods of home schooling, has also been increasing since the autumn.

Compassion for others, and especially for children, is not a new concept for Presbyterians and has been a distinguishing feature of our character as a people for centuries. We do, however, face some challenges.

Social [not relational] distancing Whilst social distancing is necessary; relational distancing is not. The current crisis has provided an opportunity to strengthen relational bridges and deepen community links within our Presbyterian family, despite the real potential of the virus to create a social moat. We may be apart, but we are never alone. Church buildings may currently be closed, but we continue to gather online, whilst remaining deeply connected to each other within our Presbyterian community. Through the work of the Society, Presbyterians across Ireland have illustrated – through their persistent giving to the Society – an overwhelmingly strong instinct for supporting each other (when in crisis) in community.

Where crisis meets community In responding to need within our community, the Society has been providing grants to help Presbyterian children and their families in challenging and difficult times for over 155 years.

In ordinary circumstances where there is bereavement, separation or divorce, sickness, disability or single parenthood, life can be difficult. In these extraordinary times, with the growing potential for huge job losses, and a staggered economic recovery, despite the support from government and others, the work of the Society is proving all the more important as this global crisis continues to demonstrate the fragility of life.

Everyone’s involvement in raising muchneeded funds for the Society to meet the increasing requests for help has never been more crucial.

Perhaps the words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:26 highlight the challenge for us: “ If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it…” The Bible

Last year the Society helped approximately 900 children and 460 families with a regular grant. never expounds what some might argue as the virtues of individualism; but it does espouse community or, as Helen Keller once said, “The welfare of each is bound up in the welfare of all.”

Where giving meets need When members of our Church support the work of the Society, they are showing their open-hearted and biblical concern for the welfare of others and embodying God’s generous and grace-fuelled approach to those in need within our community. We are all in need in different ways and money is only one measure of need. Therefore, giving a donation to the Society for the benefit of others within our Presbyterian community really is important. It represents our personal commitment to each other.

As well as our regular and exceptional grants, we are also about to launch a new scheme to support congregations in their practical ministry to children and young people, in partnership with PCI’s Council for Congregational Life and Witness. This new scheme is targeted at helping support the educational, social, emotional and spiritual development of Presbyterian children and young people who may be struggling as a result of the

…despite all the challenges that we are currently facing, it is vital that we continue this important work of getting alongside families in financial need. pandemic. Specifically, small grants may be provided to congregations to help support digital connectivity, purchasing suitable educational materials (to support home or blended learning) and providing

for appropriate activities to encourage good mental health and wellbeing. This is a new and exciting development for the Society and should complement our existing grant provision. All of the Society’s grants should be viewed as tokens of grace, a recognition of our common humanity and our striving towards the equality of all within the Church. Giving to the Society helps ensure children have a better future, unhindered by financial constraints.

Last year Presbyterians provided donations and subscriptions to the Society of around £342,000. This year, with the lasting impact of the Covid crisis yet to be reckoned, the need for sustaining income to the Society to meet the growing demand, will be even greater.

Providing enough for everyone In his second letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul challenged the church (both then and now) with these words: “Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time, your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, as it is written: ‘The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.’” (2 Corinthians 8:13–15) Paul was never advocating that others’ hardship may be relieved while the Corinthians were hard pressed, but rather that there might be economic fairness among them. This is always the biblical ideal. Furthermore, reflecting on the provision of manna in the wilderness, Paul illustrates that God always provides enough to meet our need. Larger families gathered a lot, but not too much, for nothing was to be left over. Smaller families gathered little, but not too little, for they had no lack.

God’s challenge to us in these difficult days is clear: we should allow our hearts to regulate our hands. Please continue giving to the Society to support Presbyterian families in financial need – together we can give children a better future!

Jason Nicholson is executive secretary of the Presbyterian Children’s Society.

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A College

in transition Gordon Campbell highlights recent and coming changes at Union College.

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n our schools, colleges and universities, the ongoing pandemic has transformed the educational experience for learners and teachers alike – and the same goes for Union College. Yet well before social distancing or lockdown had an impact on our students, Union was already experiencing major change.

In the UK generally, theology has been under pressure for some time, with providers closing and options for study reducing. Union, too, has been shrinking since 2018, as our collaboration with Queen’s University (QUB) winds down.

Yet simultaneously, under the College’s 1881 Royal Charter, Union’s reach has been extending in exciting new ways.

Faculty have been designing, developing and delivering a suite of postgraduate courses, which have been recruiting well; and by next year, Union should also be welcoming new undergraduate students once again.

College life in a pandemic Right now, though, College is a largely empty building with a skeleton staff.

On each floor of the Gibson Chambers

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(our upstairs accommodation), resident students form a bubble; however, in the downstairs student common room, no day students are chilling, chatting or playing pool. Gone is the daily hubbub from the dining room, replaced by a weekly virtual morning coffee and catchup, via MS Teams. Instead of singing, praying or reading Scripture together in the chapel, we have brief online worship.

By March last year, most teaching was already online as theology students experienced the same digital learning and take-home assessments as other QUB students. For a while, ministry students had some in-person classes – for instance, biblical languages best acquired and practised in hands-on, face-toface conditions. However, by January

… postgraduate courses… have already attracted students from all four UK nations as well as Germany, Kenya, Namibia and the USA.

2021, even two-week intensive sessions in Hebrew or Greek involved remote learning, and students were positive about the experience.

While faculty and students alike are used to working from home, there are obvious disadvantages. Nothing beats live in-person interaction between real people in physical classrooms, especially for group work. The high-quality engagement of on-campus tutorials, seminars or one-to-one supervision is hard to match remotely. Most library resources are for exploiting physically, book or journal in hand. Key formative experiences also happen in collective elements of College life or through impromptu chats and banter between classes, in corridors or on the stairs. And the social aspect is irreplaceable.

Online learning Yet for our postgraduate courses, remote learning is the norm, with almost half our current students enrolled on them. Flexibility and adaptability are the big strengths of online courses.

Many students choose part-time study, combining this fruitfully with active

ministry or other work. Through the College’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) they access resources such as eBooks, scans of book excerpts, online journals, audio and especially video materials – by faculty and by other practitioners – and so on. Modules make use of sophisticated adaptive learning technology called Cerego, in which artificial intelligence and machine learning harness insights from neuroscience and cognitive science, helping students up their game and retain their learning for longer.

With quality study materials for these postgraduate courses accessible from anywhere in the world, in the last two years they have already attracted students from all four UK nations as well as Germany, Kenya, Namibia and the USA. Union’s readiness for and commitment to online provision have enriched QUB students’ learning. They also impact on ministerial training. For a ministry student with a family, working online and from home can have its advantages: instead of maybe three hours in the car or public transport, to and from College, there is more study time, some reduction in tiredness or stress and greater flexibility for sharing the burden of childcare or home-learning support.

Ministry pathways and undergraduate degrees The closure to new applicants, in 2018, of the QUB Bachelor of Divinity degree course meant that Union needed to develop new academic awards, most urgently a replacement academic pathway for suitably qualified ministry students. The result, beginning in 2019, was a new part-time Master of Divinity (MDiv) award, with half of our current 22 ministry students studying for it.

Teaching and learning currently takes place online and will resume on-campus as soon as feasible. We hope the MDiv will soon attract non-ministerial and non-PCI students also.

In recent times, ministerial training has also become concentrated around a range of competencies deemed essential for ministry – with some ministry students acquiring and demonstrating these entirely through non-award courses, while those on the MDiv pathway meet the requirements through academically enhanced modules that dovetail with

Soon, the College hopes to work with a new awarding partner: St Mary’s University, Twickenham… them. For all ministry students, the primary goal is readiness to be licensed for ministry rather than achieving an academic award.

For many years, Union was franchised to teach theology for QUB and around 30 students remain to finish their studies.

Despite Union’s long-term experience in teaching undergraduate degrees, our Royal Charter does not permit us to award them. Soon, the College hopes to work with a new awarding partner – St Mary’s University, Twickenham, through its Institute of Theology and Liberal Arts – and, by this spring, to complete all preparatory steps for a new Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Theology. We could then begin engaging with schools to recruit new undergraduate students for BA studies starting in September 2022.

Further online study options In addition to the MDiv, ministry students can enhance their knowledge in other ways, while serving ministers have options for returning to study part-time.

One ministry student is completing a Master of Research (QUB). For those with an undergraduate degree in theology already, the College’s online Master of Theology (MTh) enables students to specialise in Reformed Theology or New Testament, with Old Testament in preparation. Two students and two ministers have so far enrolled. Graduates wishing to branch into theology from another subject area can take the more general Master of Arts (MA) in Theology, focusing on systematic theology, as can Christian leaders seeking further development, or active Christians thinking about ministry. Finally, Union offers a Postgraduate Certificate in Biblical Greek.

Moving forward The focus of Union’s mission is students and we think ours are terrific. Whatever their particular study pathway – ministerial or theological – they deserve the best education that faculty, adjunct

faculty and support staff can provide, working closely with one another and with the students. For our small but committed staff team, overload is an issue and several key personnel changes, including retirements, have added to the challenge of managing and delivering successfully everything I have described.

However, our Church is enthusiastically committed to its College, understanding how Union is navigating major change and needing to make ready for opportunities to consolidate and develop the College’s ministry. Keeping pace will involve recruiting and resourcing additional qualified and talented staff, for both academic and support roles, and already a new head of academic administration and operations manager have joined the team in recent months.

In this time of transition, and amid the current health emergency, we would appreciate the prayers of the wider church for students and staff. Please also spread the word: encourage young people and others to apply for our courses, this year or next. And once in-person activities are restored, why not check out ‘Theology For All’ – short courses whereby Church members can benefit from what the College has to offer.

Prof Gordon Campbell is principal of Union Theological College.

Courses currently offered at Union Online courses MA in Theology MTh in New Testament MTh in Reformed Theology PG Certificate in Biblical Greek Residential courses Master of Divinity PhD Theology (also available remotely) For more information on any of these courses please go to www.union.ac.uk

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REVIEWS

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

Evensong – Hymns and Lullabies at the Close of Day Keith and Kristyn Getty NEW DAY DISTRIBUTORS

£10.99

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This latest album from the Gettys is a departure from songs that can easily be used in congregational singing and rather has a much more meditative tone. A project that initially began as a marker of Kristyn turning 40, this album brings together songs that they have written for, or sung with, their children, as part of family worship, at the end of the day.

There are a number of voices and styles running throughout this album and the various contributors include Grammy award-winning country singer Vince Gill, Bluegrass singer-songwriter Sierra Hull and folk singer-songwriter Sandra McCracken – all bringing their individual styles to the album. Of course, there is still the traditional Irish current weaving through the songs that we have become used to from the Gettys, as well as contributions from their four young daughters.

This is a beautiful, thoughtful album which brings together some wellknown spiritual songs and hymns, such as His Eye is on the Sparrow and Abide with Me, alongside original pieces, familiar Getty songs and some medleys drawing from the world of classical music. At a time when we may be spending a lot of time at home, this album could be a great tool to help us quiet our hearts and spend time in God’s presence alone or with our families.

LI

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Reflections from the Road Jim Rea CEDRIC WILSON PUBLISHING

£12.95

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Some people have the gift of being able to see the hand of God in almost any situation in life. Jim Rea, broadcaster and former president of the Methodist Church, is one of those people. Following the success of his previous book, Stories from the Streets, he has produced a second collection of 67 short stories about people who have crossed his path, mostly during his ministry in Belfast and in rural Ulster.

Some are well known – Gordon Wilson, John Hume, Gay Byrne; others are unknown local folk.

Once when Jim was visiting a parishioner in hospital, the woman in the next bed interrupted and asked if he was the Jim Rea that broadcast on the radio.

Then she said, “Yer great, I never miss ye”.

He felt rather proud of himself, but as he left she said to him, “Ye sound better than you look” – a lesson in humility!

Jim tells the story that on a wet winter evening he came on a man lying on a Belfast street. Blood was gushing from a serious head wound. Stooped beside him was a young woman. She was wearing an elegant evening dress. Jim remarked, “You are getting your dress ruined”. She replied, “It doesn’t matter, I am a nurse at the City Hospital”. Her plans abandoned, all that mattered to her was the welfare of that man.

Many of the stories tell of such quiet compassion. The profits from the book are to support three homeless charities in Ulster and the book can be obtained from booksellers or directly from Jim Rea at wjimrea@gmail.com JC

Down with this Sort of Thing Dr Fraser Hosford PRAXIS PRESS

£8.89 (Amazon)

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This is a very different book. A title quoting Father Ted would not be the norm for a serious treatise on faith in modern Ireland. While just 99 pages long, it is packed full of introspection, theological insights, personal and community challenges, but above all hope and optimism.

The book begins with the parable of the prodigal son and its three main characters provide a mirror to Irish church life. Other parables are discussed, and his extensive research is evident in numerous quotes and references. These thought-provoking insights set a sound scriptural base for the book.

The author talks about the Eighth Amendment Referendum and goes on to place the good news in the various elements of modern Irish culture. He discusses faith, obedience, freedom, and salvation in the context of post-religious, post-authority, liberal, expressive, progressive and sceptical Irish culture.

He concludes by quoting scriptural references to support the view that the good news needs to be made relevant to the particular people, place and time. He suggests that each generation must “listen to its own culture and reflect afresh on the Scriptures for itself”, and asks, “What is the good news for 21st century Ireland?”

While this book is written with the culture of the Republic of Ireland in mind, the principles outlined are universally applicable.

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REVIEWERS

LI – Louise Irwin is part of the worship team at Kirkpatrick Memorial JC – Rev Jim Campbell is minister emeritus of Cooke Centenary

Faith for Exiles David Kinnaman and Mark Matlock BAKER BOOKS

£8.34

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Faith for Exiles unveils major new Barna research that uncovers what’s working in helping emerging adults sustain faith. Through tracking the lives of those who have continued to follow Jesus, this book offers five key practices that contribute towards resilient discipleship.

Barna’s research reveals that the percentage of young adults who drop out of the church in the USA has increased to 64. That’s almost two-thirds of 18–29-yearolds who grew up and were active in the church as a child or teen. While I understand those statistics are for the US, I don’t see much that convinces me we don’t have a similar problem here in Ireland.

But it’s not all bad news in this book, because the authors go on to point to a sub-section of Christians whose faith had not wilted under cultural pressure or been destroyed by trials, but had actually flourished. This group represent 10% of Christians surveyed and are given the term ‘resilient disciples’.

The book then unpacks five key practices that the research has revealed is consistent in all these resilient disciples, including intergenerational relationships and developing cultural discernment.

Much of the book points to “Digital Babylon” as the place that is forming this generation the most, and offers some insightful reflections on how this generation of Christians can navigate the world of new technology and social media. All in all, this was a hugely insightful and challenging read.

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WH – William Hosford is an elder in Regent Street, Newtownards RH – Rick Hill is PCI’s discipleship officer JD – The Very Rev Dr John Dunlop is a former PCI Moderator LR - Liz Reaney is from First Holywood and has nine grandchildren

The Interest: How the British establishment resisted the abolition of slavery Michael Taylor THE BODLEY HEAD

£14.30

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Michael Taylor is an academic who attended Ballymena Academy and has family connections with West Church, Ballymena. This carefully researched book is a timely contribution to our understanding of an uncomfortable part of our history.

The dumping of the statue of the Bristolian slave trader Edward Colston into the harbour from which his slave ships set sail has helped to open up a discussion about Britain’s centuries-long profitable participation in both the slave trade and in slavery itself, as well as its opposition to and subsequent support for emancipation.

The title of the book refers to the West Indian Interest, which resisted emancipation. A coalition of events came together in 1834 to achieve emancipation which included British politics, the slave rebellions in the West Indies, the courageous witness of non-conformist missionaries, and their associates in England, people like Elizabeth Heyrick, Thomas Buxton and William Wilberforce.

Slave/plantation owners and their associates were handsomely compensated by the government in 1834 with an estimated £340bn in today’s money. The government had to borrow the money which was only paid off in 2015. In the final epilogue Taylor raises the ethical question of reparation for places like Jamaica; an issue which might usefully engage the attention of Irish Presbyterians.

JD

Grandparenting with Grace Larry E. McCall NEW GROWTH PRESS

£10.28 (Amazon)

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Have you lived to see your children’s children? If so, then this inspirational little book is worth reading. Larry E. McCall challenges grandparents to reject today’s stereotype of leisured, self-centred retired folk and become intentional in living our Christian faith so that “the next generation should set their hope in God”.

The author reminds us that our grandchildren are made in the image of God but are also sinners who need saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Grandparents play a crucial role supporting and encouraging parents in their responsibilities to teach and train up their children. We must pray for our families, and be part of the answer by giving our time and talents to pass on faith through the opportunities of daily life. McCall also gives advice for more complicated scenarios such as grandparenting at a distance; following divorce, death or estranged relationships; and where parents and/or children are antagonistic to the gospel message.

McCall is an American writer who keeps God’s Word at the heart of his message and this transcends geography and culture. His simple, concise and logical style makes this practical book easily readable and applicable to Irish Presbyterians. Adapt it to suit the setting and dynamic of your family.

Each of us impacts young lives for good or ill and the legacy we leave is so much more than money or possessions. God grant us all grace and power to faithfully run the race and pass the baton firmly to the next generations.

LR

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LIFE IN PCI

Please be aware that some of these photographs may have been taken before the introduction of government restrictions.

An important lesson in Bellaghy Homes across Ireland have been turned into classrooms over the last few months, as pupils have been home schooled due to the ongoing coronovirus pandemic.

Sam Jackson, a P2 pupil at Bellaghy Primary School who belongs to Bellaghy Presbyterian Church along with parents David and Lois Jackson, has been busy with his remote learning, completing activities set by his teacher, Mary-Lou Richmond, a member of Clough Presbyterian.

Mary-Lou explains, “When we are at school, Friday is a great day. After playtime in the morning, we do some practical maths and literacy, then PE. The afternoon brings RE and Golden Time. Our RE lesson is a very special time of the week and the boys and girls in my class love our little routine. After lunch, we all gather on the carpet area, I get our Children’s Storybook Bible from the shelf and we hear a Bible story. We always finish the lesson with prayer.

“So it has continued during lockdown. Our Bible story, albeit online, has continued every Friday afternoon and what a lovely way to finish the week.”

She continues, “I remember the Friday afternoon I received this photograph. I was tired having sat in front of a computer screen all week, I was worried about how my children were getting on with this new way of learning, I was anxious about my elderly parents and then I read Sam’s mum’s message. She said, ‘This picture speaks volumes to me.’ Sam’s mum, who works in the family business Jackson Greens, explained that she too had had a hectic week home schooling her three children as well as dealing with constant business emails. She went on to say that amidst a global pandemic, watching Sam pray with me made her realise what is important.

“The message from Sam’s mum really touched me...It is time to put God first.”

Comber retirement Clerk of session Gary Dalzell makes a presentation to Rev Roy Mackay to mark his retirement after over 25 years of ministry in Second Presbyterian Church, Comber. Also pictured are Hilary Mackay and their daughter Jill.

Ebrington installation Three new elders have been installed by the Presbytery of Derry and Donegal in the congregation of Ebrington. Pictured at the close of the service are, from left to right: Colin Colhoun, Rev Paul Linkens, Frances Anderson and David Baxter.

New elders in Irvinestown and Pettigo Irvinestown Presbyterian hosted the ordination and installation of elders for the Co Fermanagh church and neighbouring Pettigo Presbyterian.

The new elders – Linda Wray, Robbie Pearson, Laurence Smith (Irvinestown), Irene Coulter, Alan Moore, Tom Read and Trevor Noble (Pettigo) – are pictured with minister Rev Gunter Andrich and clerks of session Ken Hunter (Irvinestown) and Noel Baxter (Pettigo). Photograph courtesy of Norman Donnell, Irvinestown.

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

Anaghlone renovations The Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Rev David Bruce, was the special speaker at the reopening of First Anaghlone Presbyterian Church after extensive renovations. He is pictured with Rev Brian Martin (minister of the congregation), Rev Trevor Boyd (moderator of Iveagh Presbytery) and John Logan (Anaghlone clerk of session).

Cladymore presentation Rev Simon Hamilton (right) makes a presentation, on behalf of Cladymore congregation in Co Armagh, to Wallace Porter, to mark 50 years since Mr Porter was ordained.

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ACROSS 1 Hole along the edge of paper (11) 9 A boat blade (3) 10 Limb (3) 11 Jesus said it was hard for one to enter heaven (4, 3) 12 Point of view (7) 13 A bandit (7) 15 Confederate general (3) 16 Opposite of flow (3) 18 Golfer Ernie’s surname (3) 19 South American grassland (6) 21 Happen (5) 22 Oriental food (7) 23 First name of a Rooney (3) 25 Animal den (4) 27 Famous admiral (6) 28 Birthplace of Jesus (6) 29 French for dry (3)

DOWN 1 The Good Samaritan is one (7) 2 North American mountain range (7) 3 A musical note (3) 4 Belfast green area (6, 4) 5 Year of our Lord (4, 6) 6 Famous Harrison Ford role (7, 5) 7 An indigenous inhabitant (6) 8 Gulf state (4) 14 Hesitant (9) 17 A type of food dressing (8) 20 Funny folk (6) 24 One of Britain’s queens (4) 26 One was removed from Adam (3)

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compiled by Harry Douglas

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REFLECTIONS

Cultivating our affections Andrew Conway

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’m sitting down to write on a day that has come to have Today we come to the verb ‘phileo’, which theologian William far more significance for our family than I expected. Today Mounce defines as the common word in classical Greek for our golden retriever, Buddy, celebrates his first birthday. Of showing love or affection. It can be applied to things as well course, dates don’t mean a lot to him, and all he really wants as people, but it is most regularly used regarding relationships. today are the few simple things he wants every day – warmth, In the New Testament it’s used for the relationship between water, exercise, affection and an ample supply of dinner!

Jesus and God the Father, as well as for relationships between For the rest of us (with the possible exception of our mere humans. It’s been carried over into modern-day English somewhat disgruntled cat), Buddy’s birthday is a reason to in a number of ways, such as the word bibliophile (someone celebrate. Over the past year he has brought much happiness who loves books) and even the name of the American city in our home, and needless to say it’s been a year in which such Philadelphia – ‘brotherly love’. positive change has been particularly welcome, given all the This range of uses shows that we ought not to try to be challenges in the world at large. overly specific in defining what phileo It comes as something of a surprise to means. In particular, we should be wary How we choose to deal me that I’m among the ‘us’ who celebrate of trying to draw overly clear differences Buddy’s presence. While my wife has between phileo and agape. While phileo with things and, more always been a dog-lover, I was never might be loosely deemed ‘affection’ and anything better than indifferent to canines, importantly people, agape certainly speaks of sacrifice, there is until recently. Sarah couldn’t wait to get undoubtedly some overlap in meaning. makes a significant a dog of our own; I was quite happy to Why did I decide to write about my postpone it indefinitely. I’m quite surprised contribution to whether growing affection for our dog, and the to discover that now I do love him. It idea of cultivating love, before starting to love grows or not. happened gradually and unexpectedly, but explore what phileo means? We tend to nonetheless definitely. Having started off think of our affections as things which we just trying to play my part in being a responsible dog owner, I’ve have no control over. Such a view of our affections is evident grown to love him. in the culture all around us. But is it really as simple as that?

Growing to love someone or something is maybe not in our Do we not have some measure of influence over our affections? normal mode of thinking, but it does occur regularly. With a Is it not the case that our choices can help strengthen or sport, a hobby or even a job or field of study people sometimes diminish affections? Isn’t it likewise true that we should seek grow to love something; or at least a relatively weak love grows to strengthen some affections and that we should seek to get stronger. Sometimes people who have known each other for a rid of others (such as the phileo love of falsehood, spoken of in long time gradually get closer and closer, whether in a romantic Revelation 22:15)? sense or not.

When the Lord Jesus says, “Whoever loves [phileo, affection] Once you come to see that our love for someone or something their life will lose it” ( John 12:25), doesn’t he call us to submit can grow, it’s a small step to see that we may have a role to play our affections to him? Isn’t a godly cultivating of our affections, in cultivating love. We can’t fabricate it and we ought not to try by the Spirit’s power, a central part of the Christian life? Let’s to, but our choices can facilitate the growth of love (or indeed entrust ourselves to the Lord, and in his grace seek to cultivate its diminishing). How we choose to deal with things and, more our affections according to his Word. importantly people, makes a significant contribution to whether love grows or not.

Rev Andrew Conway is minister of Clonduff and Hilltown In this column during 2021 we’re exploring the theme of love, Presbyterian churches. taking as our starting point the fact that our English word ‘love’ is used in place of four different Greek words. We started off last time, naturally, with our focus on agape love – the sacrificial love that God has so stunningly demonstrated in sending his Son to seek and to save the lost; and that followers of Jesus are called to live in for God and others.

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t e G pired s n I g n i rn

Mo n o No &Night

y a d e h t t Star ic, prayers,

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Jack is getting ready to hit the road again in 2022!

Appointment of Conveners of the Global Development Committee (under the Council for Global Mission) and the Nominations Committee (under the General Council) Applications are invited for the Convenerships of the Global Development Committee of the Council for Global Mission, and the Nominations Committee of the General Council within the structures of the General Assembly, to take up post immediately following the 2021 General Assembly.

The positions are open to ministers, elders and communicant members of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.

Further information can be obtained from the Deputy Clerk, David Allen, at the email address below or telephone (028) 9041 7204.

24–31 August 2022 The Passion Play and King Ludwig’s Fantasy Castles

Application forms are available on request or may be downloaded from the PCI website at www.presbyterianireland.org/convenerships

16–26 November 2022

Applications, using the pro-forma, should be forwarded no later than 5pm on Friday, 30 April 2021 to: deputyclerk@presbyterianireland.org or by post to The Deputy Clerk, Assembly Buildings, 2-10 Fisherwick Place, Belfast BT1 6DW.

A unique 11-day tour of the Holy Land Details from Rev Jack Lamb, 42 Glebe Manor, Newtownabbey, BT36 6HF T: 07720 293941 E: jacklambAD33@icloud.com Jack is happy to meet individuals and groups concerning these life-changing tours.

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25/04/2019 09:56

REFLECTIONS

Georgia on my mind Betsy Cameron

W

ell, it’s not exactly been an old sweet song that’s rights and participation in the democratic process stems from kept Georgia on my mind lately. Have you seen her upbringing in the faith. From her parents, both Methodist all the headlines? Georgia has stepped front ministers, she learned that the Christian life is a life of service and centre onto the world’s stage these past few to others and that voting is a “sacred right – the fount from months, and for me it’s been personal; Georgia is ‘home’ even which all other rights flow.” though I have been away longer than I was there. Memories Then there’s John Lewis, again a name you may know. A bind me. They float through my head, unbidden, the strangest legendary civil rights activist and long-serving member of things at the strangest times. That beautiful Hoagy Carmichael Congress, John Lewis died last summer after a life-time of song (I know you’re humming it!) waxes lyrical about the work for racial justice. And talk about having the courage of moonlight in the pines and, yes, I have fond memories of the your convictions – from a very young age, Lewis took part in fragrant piney woods, the dogwood tree in delicate blossom in non-violent marches, sit-ins and freedom rides, and was often the spring, the musical noise of night-time beaten mercilessly by armed, angry mobs. insects. Oh, I love that sound! But I also Never giving in to bitterness or hatred, he remember the stench from the paper mill They are my faith heroes, was willing to endure every indignity and when the wind blew the wrong way, the people who followed the prepared to lay down his life, if necessary, blood-thirsty mosquitoes that plagued us, to bring about a society in which the gospel call on their the brutal heat in summer that made our dignity of all was affirmed. For Lewis, this lives a misery. was God’s calling. Two days before his hearts to live lives of Georgia may be home, but it doesn’t death, in his last message for the American love…no matter how mean I love it unreservedly or regard it people, he passed on the torch, “In my life uncritically. There is plenty that bothers I have done all I can to demonstrate that difficult the road… me, especially the long, dark shadow of the way of peace, the way of love and nonracism, which has brutally dominated our violence is the more excellent way. Now it past and continues to blight our present. Georgia has been is your turn to let freedom ring.” responsible for some fairly odious things: the forced removal Finally, in my triumvirate of Georgia giants of the faith: of the Cherokee Nation on the infamous Trail of Tears; the Millard Fuller. His name may be unfamiliar to you but 20th century revival of the Ku Klux Klan by white supremacist you have undoubtedly heard of Habitat for Humanity, the Christians; and now the election of congresswoman Marjorie organisation he founded. A lawyer and entrepreneur, he had Taylor Greene, whose support for lunatic conspiracy theories is become a millionaire by the age of 29 but dissatisfaction with truly inexplicable. Can anything good come out of Georgia? the accumulation of wealth led to a spiritual crisis. He and his Well, yes, as a matter of fact. My heart is bursting to tell you wife gave up their fortune and joined an inter-racial Christian about my favourite Georgians: Stacey Abrams, John Lewis community, Koinonia Farm, in rural southwest Georgia where and Millard Fuller. They are my faith heroes, people who the idea for providing decent, low-cost housing to those in need followed the gospel call on their hearts to live lives of love, to was born. It was a simple, sustainable, dignity-affirming way to serve others, and to seek justice no matter how difficult the meet such a basic human need – a roof over your head. road, no matter how hard the struggle, no matter how high the I’m not a proudly patriotic person. Never have been. But these cost. Stacey, John and Millard. They could nearly be a folk trio, three, with their big hearts, their vibrant faith, their courage, couldn’t they? Ok… maybe not. their determination to create a society in which all can flourish, Stacey Abrams has been a big name in the news. She narrowly in which hope abounds, in which love abides – well, they make lost her race for governor of Georgia in 2018 in a hard-fought me proud. And when I think of the huge impact their lives campaign marred by voter suppression that has been described have had on so many, I am humbled. They have set love in as ‘textbook’. The loss was bitter. But Abrams is made of stern action, reminding me of the proverb Lewis was fond of quoting: stuff and instead of wallowing in self-pity, she rolled up her “When you pray, move your feet”. And they challenge me to sleeves and got to work, founding Fair Fight, a grassroots voter walk with courage and hope and love and do my part to help education and engagement project. Her enthusiasm for voting bring about the Beloved Community.

Herald Spring 2021

59

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

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

ANAHILT AND DRUMLOUGH: REV L.A. PATTERSON: (Anahilt) Mr Laurence Hook, 10 Spirehill Road, Hillsborough, BT26 6LU. (Drumlough) Mr David Gibson, 56 Drumaknockan Road, Hillsborough, BT26 6EU. BALLYKELLY: REV J.L. BLAIR: Mrs Doreen Nicholl, Shackleton Lodge, 8 Dukes Lane, Ballykelly, BT49 9JT. CHURCHTOWN: (Reviewable Tenure – 7 years) REV J.T. BLUE: Mr C. Rowe, 1 Churchfield, Tamlaght O Crilly, Maghera, Co Londonderry, BT46 5XP. CLOGHERNEY and SIXMILECROSS: REV R.G. McELNEA: (Clogherney) Miss Ruth Kerr, 2 Georgian Villas, Omagh, BT79 0AT. (Sixmilecross) Mr Alan Gibson, 1 Dreenan Road, Beragh, Omagh, BT79 0SH. COAGH, BALLYGONEY and SALTERSLAND: REV G.J. JORDAN: (Coagh) Mrs Amy Allingham, 17 Coagh Road, Cookstown, BT80 8RL. (Ballygoney) Rev David Leach (temporary Clerk of Session) 36 Hospital Road, Magherafelt, BT45 5DG. (Saltersland) Andrew Johnston, 25 Mulderg Road, Magherafelt, BT45 6NN. CUNINGHAM MEMORIAL, CULLYBACKEY: REV A.A.P. BAXTER: Mr L. Wiseman, 1 Shellinghill Lane, Cullybackey, BT42 1FX. DRUMACHOSE and DERRAMORE: REV R.J. HYNDMAN: (Drumachose) Mr Sam McGregor, 15 Meadowvale Park, Limavady, BT49 0NU. (Derramore) Mr Sam Kelly, 220 Windyhill Road, Coleraine, BT51 4JL. FISHERWICK: REV D.J. GRAY: Mrs Linda Little, 9 Rosepark South, Belfast, BT5 7RJ. GILFORD and TULLYLISH: (Reviewable Tenure – 7 years) REV T.A. CONWAY: (Gilford) Mr Paul Cochrane, Stramore Road, Gilford, Craigavon.

(Tullylish) Mr John McCullagh, 2 Old Bann Road, Gilford, Craigavon, BT63 6DZ. KILFENNAN: REV GRAEME ORR: Mr Will Doran, 2 Moulton Park, Eglinton, BT47 3XP. KILKENNY: REV S.D. CONKEY: Mr John Ellis, Annamult, Stoneyford, Co Kilkenny.

PORTSTEWART: REV R.J. COLLINS: Mr Peter O’Neill, 3 Henry O’Neill Heights, Portstewart, BT55 7UD.

KILREA, SECOND: REV S.A. MORROW, Minister of Moneydig TYRONE’S DITCHES: REV J.K.A. McINTYRE, Minister of Bessbrook

3. DECLARED VACANT BALLYCROCHAN: REV C.W. MEGAW: Mr Billy Hyndman, 24 Knightsbridge Court, Bangor, BT19 6SD. BALLYSILLAN: REV DR S.E. HUGHES: Mr Gervais Henderson, 94 Tudor Park, Mallusk, Co Antrim, BT36 4WL. BELVOIR: REV B.J. McCROSKERY: Mr Brian Dunwoody, 19 Drumart Drive, Belfast, BT8 7ET. BURT: REV JAMES LAMONT: Mr James Buchanan, Heathfield, Speenoge, Burt, Co Donegal, F93 W3K6.

CARNLOUGH & CUSHENDALL and NEWTOWNCROMMELIN: REV R.J. WATT: (Carnlough & Cushendall) Mr Norman McMullan, 91 Ballymena Road, Carnlough, Ballymena, BT44 0LA. (Newtowncrommelin) Mr James Gillan, 67 Gracefield, Ballymena, BT42 2RP. CARNMONEY: REV P.G. McCREA: Mr Paul Elliott, 52b Connor Road, Parkgate, BT39 OEA. CASTLEBLAYNEY, FIRST, FRANKFORD and CORVALLY REV DR D.G.CLINTON: (Castleblayney,First) Mrs Daphne Holmes-Greer, Tighnabruaich, Killygola, Castleblayney, Co Monaghan. (Frankford) Mr Thomas McBirney, Mulladuff, Newtownhamilton, Newry, BT35 0LG . (Corvally) Mr Fred Eakin, Sreenty, Corduff, Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan.

CLAGGAN & ORRITOR: REV MARK DODDS: (Claggan) Mr Tom Bell, 100 Lough Fea Road, Cookstown, BT80 9SS. (Orritor) Mr Stewart Black, 98 Morgans Hill Road, Cookstown, BT80 8BW. CLOUGH AND SEAFORDE: REV O. PATTERSON: (Clough) Mr William McCall, 29 Main Street, Clough, Downpatrick, BT30 8RA. (Seaforde) Mr David Croskery, 29a Old Park Road, Downpatrick, BT30 8PS.

TOBERMORE & DRAPERSTOWN: (Part-time 50%, Reviewable Tenure – 5 years) REV DR J.A. CURRY: Mr Gordon Dickson Jnr, 7 Strawmore Road, Draperstown, BT45 7JE.

COMBER, SECOND: REV A.T. JOHNSTON: Mr Gary Dalzell, 10 Carnesure Heights, Comber, BT23 5RN.

2. LEAVE TO CALL DEFERRED

CRUMLIN ROAD: VERY REV DR T.N. HAMILTON: Mr James Coleman, 2 Abbeydale Parade, Belfast, BT14 7HJ.

BALLYGOMARTIN: REV I.K. McDONALD: Mr Raymond Cummings, 43A Lyndhurst Gardens, Belfast, BT13 3PH. GORTNESSY: REV A.J.A. ROSBOROUGH: Mr Ross Hyndman, 32 Temple Road, Strathfoyle, Londonderry, BT47 6UB. RICHVIEW: REV N.S. HARRISON: Mr Victor Garland, 25 Abingdon Drive, Belfast, BT12 5PX.

SETTLED STATED SUPPLY APPOINTED BALLINDERRY: RT REV DR W.J. HENRY, Minister of Maze BOVEEDY: REV DR T.J. McCORMICK, Minister of First Kilrea CAHIR: REV WILLIAM MONTGOMERY, Minister of Fermoy

60

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

Herald Spring 2021

COOKE CENTENARY: REV IVAN STEEN: Elaine MacNeill, 55 Kirkliston Park, Belfast, BT5 6ED.

DONAGHADEE, FIRST: VERY REV DR C.J.C. McMULLEN: Mr Sandy Dalzell, 19 Rocklyn Place, Donaghadee, BT21 0FS. DONAGHADEE, SHORE STREET: REV P.C. LYLE: Jim Pollock, 60 Hogstown Road, Donaghadee, BT21 0NH. DONEMANA: VERY REV DR R.L. CRAIG: Mr Derek Gamble, 20 Longlands Road, Donemana, Strabane, BT82 OPQ. DROMORE AND DRUMQUIN: REV E.T. FRAZER: (Dromore) Mr Lynden Keys, 25 New Park Road, Dromore, Co Tyrone, BT78 3JU. (Drumquin) Dr Paul Booth, 231 Tummery Road, Irvinestown, BT78 3UF. DUNBOE, FIRST: REV DR T.P. FLEMING: Mr Peter Kirk, 5 Liffock Court, Castlerock, Coleraine, BT51 4DQ.

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 DUNFANAGHY & CARRIGART REV DR B. BROWN: (Dunfanaghy) Mrs Ethel Montgomery, ‘Millrace’, Marble Hill Road, Dunfanaghy, Co Donegal, F92 N2WO. (Carrigart) Mrs Joy Buchanan, Figart, Carrigart, Co Donegal, F92 N2WO. FAHAN and WATERSIDE: REV G.A. McCRACKEN: (Fahan) Mr James Lamberton, 1 Deanfield, Limavady Road, Londonderry, BT47 6HY. (Waterside) Mr William McIlwaine, 19 Glenaden Hill, Altnagelvin Park, Londonderry, BT47 2LJ. FIRST DERRY (incl. CLAREMONT) and MONREAGH: REV DR T.R. BUICK: (First Derry) Mr Billy Kyle, 74 Dunboyne Park, Eglinton, Londonderry, BT47 3YJ. (Monreagh) Mr John Vance, Cross, Carrigans, Lifford, Co Donegal, F93 PXT0.

GLASTRY and KIRKCUBBIN: REV N.W. McAULEY: (Glastry): Mr Will Taylor, 43 Manse Road, Kircubbin, Newtownards BT22 1DR. (Kirkcubbin) GRANGE with CRAIGMORE: REV B.A. SMYTH: Mr J. Harris, 32 Portglenone Road, Randalstown BT41 3BE. GREYSTONE ROAD, ANTRIM: REV S. SIMPSON: Mr James Warwick, 3 Dunsilly Road, Antrim, BT41 2JH. INCH: REV JAMES LAMONT: Mr James Buchanan, Heathfield, Speenoge, Burt, Co Donegal, F93 W3K6.

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

KILCOOLEY: REV T.J. McCONAGHIE: Mrs Sylvia Ferguson, 4 Dermott Road, Comber, BT23 5LG. KIRKPATRICK MEMORIAL: REV R.J. BEGGS: Mr Gareth Irwin, 37 Clonlee Drive, Belfast, BT4 3DA. KILLYLEAGH: REV A.S. SMYTH: (First Killyleagh) Mr G. Furey, 75 Comber Road, Toye, Killyleagh, BT30 9PA. (Second Killyleagh) Miss Z. McAllister, 11 High Street, Killyleagh, BT30 9QF. LECKPATRICK AND DONAGHEADY: REV S.J. RICHMOND: (Leckpatrick) Mr Sam Clyde, 36 Woodend Road, Strabane, Co Tyrone, BT82 8LF. (Donagheady) Mr Ernie Colhoun, 44 Lowertown Road, Ballymagorry, Co Tyrone, BT82 OLF. LIMERICK, CHRIST CHURCH: REV W.J. HAYES: Mr Brian Park, 19 Aylesbury, Clonmacken, Ennis Road, Limerick.

NEW MOSSLEY: REV DR W.J.M. PARKER: Mr Howard Keery, 16 Earlford Heights, Mossley, Newtownabbey, BT36 5WZ. NEWINGTON: REV DR I.D. NEISH: Mr John Lynass, 8 Bushfoot Park, Portballintrae, BT57 8YX. NEWTOWNARDS, FIRST: REV SAM CASTLES: Mr David Cargo, 7 Ascot Park, Newtownards, BT23 4AZ. NEWTOWNARDS, SECOND: REV DR W.J.P. BAILIE: Mr Ivan Patterson, 11 Heron Crescent, Newtownards, BT23 2WH. NEWTOWNARDS – REGENT STREET: REV P.T. DALZELL: Mr Ian MacDonald, 11 Stanvilla Road, Newtownards, BT23 8HE. NEWTOWNSTEWART and GORTIN: REV R.B. THOMPSON: (Newtownstewart) Mr James Baxter, 22 Strabane Road, Newtownstewart, Omagh, BT78 4BD. (Gortin) Mr Adrian Adams, 32 Lisnaharney Road, Lislap, Omagh, BT79 7UE. PORTAVOGIE: REV G.J. SIMPSON: Mr Trevor Kennedy, 1 Cairndore Road, Newtownards, BT23 8RD. RALOO and MAGHERAMORNE: REV. DR C.A. GRANT: (Raloo) Mr Geoff McBride, 72 Raloo Road, Larne, BT40 3DU. (Magheramorne) Mr Morris Gardner, 89 Ballypollard Road, Magheramorne, Larne, BT40 3JG.

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

TOBERKEIGH: REV JOHN STANBRIDGE: Mr Jim Kane, 67A Ballinlea Road, Ballinlea Upper, Ballycastle, BT54 6NN. VINECASH: REV P.W.A. McCLELLAND: Mr Thomas Graham, 38 Richmount, Portadown, BT62 4JQ.

TEMPORARY STATED SUPPLY ARRANGEMENT ARMOY and RAMOAN: REV NOEL McCLEAN: (Armoy) Mrs Heather Morrison, 82 Carrowreagh Road, Armoy, BT53 8RS. (Ramoan) Mr Robert Getty, 23 Carrowcroey Road, Armoy, Ballymoney, BT53 8UH. BALLYCAIRN: REV WILLIAM HARKNESS: Mr Brian Milligan, 19 Glenariff Drive, Dunmurry, BT17 9AZ. BELLVILLE: REV D.S. HENRY: Mr Mervyn King, 29 Ardmore Road, Derryadd, Lurgan, BT66 6QP. RYANS and BROOKVALE: REV F.J. GIBSON: (Ryans) Miss Nora Hamilton, Rathfriland Manor Nursing Home, Rossconor Terrace, Rathfriland, BT34 5DJ. (Brookvale) Mr Norman McCrum, 49 Ballynamagna Road, Rathfriland, Newry, BT34 5PA. WARRENPOINT and ROSTREVOR: REV S.S. JOHNSTON: (Warrenpoint) Mr Denis Brady, 28 Seaview, Warrenpoint, Newry, BT34 3NJ. (Rostrevor) Mr Terry O’Flynn, 15 Aurora Na Mara, Shore Road, Rostrevor, BT34 3UP.

THE MINISTRY Resigned: Christoph Ebbinghaus as Minister of Kirkpatrick Memorial on 4 January 2021 John Hanson as Minister of Dromore and Drumquin on 5 January 2021 Jonathan Moxen as Minister of Greystone Road, Antrim on 6 January 2021 Mark Russell as Minister of Leckpatrick and Donagheady on 6 January 2021 Colin Anderson as Minister of Castleblayney First, Frankford and Corvally on 11 March 2021 Ordained and Inducted: Stephen Kennedy – appointed as Global Mission Worker on 23 December 2020 Ordained and Inducted: Philip Poots as Minister of Carndonagh, Greenbank, Malin & Moville on 5 January 2021 Ordained and Installed: Campbell Mulvenny as Minister of Dervock on 9 March 2021 Ben Johnston as Minister of Donegore, Second on 9 March 2021 Installed: Christoph Ebbinghaus as Minister of Bangor, Hamilton Road on 5 January 2021 John Hanson as Minister of Clones, Ballyhobridge, Newbliss and Stonebridge on 6 January 2021 Jonathan Moxen as Minister of Ballyclare on 7 January 2021 Mark Russell as Minister of Ballycarry on 7 January 2021 Retired: John Dickinson as Minister of Carnmoney on 31 December 2020 Janice Browne as Minister of Donaghadee, First on 31 January 2021 Morris Gault as Minister of Cooke Centenary on 28 February 2021 Alvin Little as Minister of Shore Street, Donaghadee on 28 February 2021 Died: Rev W.J. Roy Robinson, Minister Emeritus of McQuiston Memorial on 16 December 2020 Rev Adrian Adger, Minister of Clough and Seaforde on 13 January 2021 Rev Thomas Veitch (Tom) Mawhinney, Minister Emeritus of Limavady, Second and Myroe on 17 January 2021 Very Rev Dr David McGaughey, Minister Emeritus of Mourne on 2 February 2021 Rev William Peden, Minister Emeritus of Megain Memorial on 2 February 2021 Rev Wilfred Armstrong, Minister Emeritus of Broughshane, Second on 21 February 2021 continued on page 62

Herald Spring 2021

61

CHURCH RECORD continued from page 61

THE MINISTRY (cont) Loosed: Rev Mark Catney from Newtownards, Second at the conclusion of his tenure, on 7 January 2021

THE ELDERSHIP Died: BALLEE, BALLYMENA: John McWhirter BALLYNURE: James Alexander Park BELMONT: Ned Dyas BUSHMILLS: James McMullan (Emeritus), Robert McIvor CASTLEDERG, SECOND: Andrew Allen (Emeritus), David Charles Vaughan CASTLEREAGH: Harry McDowell CLONTIBRET: David Farlow EBRINGTON: John Tosh (Emeritus) GILFORD: Reginald (Reggie) McElroy GLENHOY: Robert Louis Mulligan HARRYVILLE, BALLYMENA: Stewart Davison, James Anderson KILKINAMURRY: Samuel (Sammy) Porter LARNE, FIRST: Robert Gordon Kerr LOUGHAGHERY: Mr C. Stanfield, Mr O. Greer LOUGHBRICKLAND: James (Jim) Porter LOUGHMORNE: Robert Weatherup MOUNTPOTTINGER: Thomas Jeffrey ORANGEFIELD: Margaret Kloss PORTGLENONE, FIRST: Robert Gordon RAILWAY STREET: Myrtle Henderson SCARVA: Gladys Chambers TANDRAGEE: Kenneth (Kenny) Bicker Ordained and Installed: EBRINGTON: Frances Anderson, Colin Colhoun, David Baxter GLENHOY: James Ferguson, Alan McIlroy IRVINESTOWN: Robert Pearson, Laurence Smith, Linda Wray, Brian Fegan, Adrian Gervais PETTIGO: Irene Coulter, Alan Moore, Trevor Noble, Thomas Read

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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.

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Miscellaneous TERRI JACKSON’S BIBLE BLOG – www.bibletheologyqa.blogspot.co.uk.

Pastor Che Ahn, Harvest Rock Church, Pasadena, California, opens church after successful application to US Supreme Court. Watch his interview by ‘The Epoch Times’. Pastor Ahn originally came from North Korea before settling in the US. Other posts on the virus controversy.

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ACROSS 1 Perforation 9 Oar 10 Arm 11 Rich man 12 Opinion 13 Brigand 15 Lee 16 Ebb 18 Els 19 Pampas 21 Occur 22 Noodles 23 Kai 25 Lair 27 Nelson 28 Stable 29 Sec

DOWN 1 Parable 2 Rockies 3 Fah 4 Ormeau Park 5 Anno Domini 6 Indiana Jones 7 Native 8 Oman 14 Reluctant 17 Balsamic 20 Clowns 24 Anne 26 Rib