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.”
