Just as the Assembly in Canada is wrapping up we shift our sights eastward again to Belfast and the 2014 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. The Assembly convenes at 7:00 PM local time today, 2 June, and runs through Thursday 5 June.  Some items to help you follow along. The Assembly will be live streamed with the viewer on the main Assembly Page. (Update: My browser is having problems with the embedded viewer and I am watching straight through You Tube.) The theme for the Assembly is “A People of Service and Outreach” and among other places, it will be highlighted in the worship on Wednesday evening. The business of the Assembly can be found on the Reports page. The polity documents include the main document, The Code, as well as the helpful A Guide to Assembly Procedure. The News page will carry official press releases and news items including the pre-Assembly press release which contains a rundown of the major moments at the Assembly this year.

There are plenty of social media contact points for the Assembly, beginning with the official Twitter account @PCIAssembly which in the past has provided a very helpful and comprehensive news feed on the actions of the Assembly. The outgoing Moderator, Rev. Dr. Rob Craig, has been tweeting at @PCIModerator. We will see if the new Moderator, the Rev. Dr. Michael Barry, assumes the account. (And look for Mr. Craig on his personal account @RobCraig54) The official hashtag for the Assembly is #pciga14 but the church has been promoting the hashtag #lifeinpci for dialogue and sharing about the life and work of the church.

Others to watch for interesting and useful updates include Alan in Belfast (@alaninbelfast), William Crawley (@williamcrawley) of the BBC Northern Ireland and I will add Rebecca McConnell (@PurpleRainPR). If you want an account with a little more, shall I say, bight, you can find some humor, satire and parody mixed with a bit of serious commentary at Presbyterian Ireland (@pres_church). UPDATE: Missed the announcement of the end of this account – see their announcement or Alan in Belfast for more.

Finally, I want to highlight PCI SPUD (@pcispud), the Youth Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. In addition to their report to the Assembly, they will have a SPUD Space in the Assembly building where they will be hosing their Fringe Event. In addition to being a conversation space, it will include events on Wednesday and Thursday and prayer space and prayer boards. I will be watching their Facebook page for updates and to see how this new initiative develops.

So our prayers are with the Assembly this week and Moderator Barry. Best wishes in your discussions and discernment.