The month of January was a particularly busy one for me, as evidenced by the fact that I only posted eight times. But having just finished up one service to the church (which is now available on-line) and having been part of a wonderful family celebration this past weekend, I now hope to return to blogging in earnest.
And none too soon since tomorrow, the first Tuesday in February, is one of my favorite of Presbyterian events – the selection of the Moderator Designate for the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.
In fine Presbyterian, “lets come together and discern this as the body of Christ” fashion, all the presbyteries meet on the same evening and each discusses who should be the next Moderator of the General Assembly. Each votes and sends their result into the Clerk of Assembly. For the last couple of years there has been a predetermined list to vote on, but I actually liked it better in the past when there was no slate and each presbytery proposed names that night and voted their choice from that local slate.
From the PCI press release this year’s nominees are:
Rev Norman Hamilton(Ballysillan)
Rev Derek McKelvey (Fisherwick)
Rev Norman McAuley (Greenwell Street,Newtownards)
Rev Roy Mackay (Second Comber)
Rev Ivan Patterson(Newcastle)
Rev Ruth Patterson (Restoration Ministries)
The press release also contains brief biographies of each nominee. Revs. Hamilton, McKelvey, and Ruth Patterson have been nominees before. And for the record, if Ms. Patterson were elected she would be not only the first woman ordained as clergy in the PCI but the first female moderator of the PCI as well.
If you are looking for a “favourite” to watch the Belfast Telegraph handicaps the nominees:
Informed church sources in Belfast believe that Ms Patterson would not be the bookies’ favourite.
The front-runners are the Reverend Norman Hamilton (64), minister of Ballysillan in north Belfast; and the Reverend Derek McKelvey (65), of the fashionable Fisherwick Church in south Belfast.
Insiders, however, have tipped the Reverend Norman McAuley (34), of Newtownards, to emerge as the winner.
[As an editorial comment, the Belfast Telegraph lists his age as 34 but the PCI press release lists the date of birth as 1956 so he would be 54, not 34. I guess we will get a chance to check that if he is indeed elected.]
The Belfast Telegraph has a second article about the election which does a really great job of explaining the nature and role of the Moderator of the General Assembly as well as discussing the possible politics or the body’s sense of balance behind the voting. And over at Will and Testament William Crawley also does the “what if” and decides this one is too close to call and may go to a run-off in March.
Stay tuned and we will find out the discernment of the church at about this time tomorrow.