{"id":3164,"date":"2019-02-06T17:03:47","date_gmt":"2019-02-07T01:03:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.gajunkie.com\/?p=3164"},"modified":"2019-02-07T20:33:12","modified_gmt":"2019-02-08T04:33:12","slug":"election-of-the-moderator-for-the-presbyterian-church-in-ireland-2019-general-assembly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.gajunkie.com\/?p=3164","title":{"rendered":"Election Of The Moderator For The Presbyterian Church In Ireland 2019 General Assembly"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the second Moderator selection of the day yesterday, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.presbyterianireland.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Presbyterian Church in Ireland (opens in a new tab)\">Presbyterian Church in Ireland<\/a> conducted their annual voting process where all of the presbyteries meet on the same night &#8211; the first Tuesday in February &#8211; and vote for their next GA Moderator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This year there were four nominated candidates:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Rev David Bruce is the Presbyterian Church in Ireland\u2019s <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Council for Mission in Ireland Secretary (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.presbyterianireland.org\/Utility\/About-Us\/Councils\/Mission-in-Ireland.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">Council for Mission in Ireland Secretary<\/a>, serving there for the last 12 years (including the predecessor body).<\/li><li>The Rev William Henry is the installed pastor of <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Maze Presbyterian Church (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mazepc.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Maze Presbyterian Church<\/a> since 1997 and since 2001 also with <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Ballinderry Presbyterian (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ballinderrypresbyterian.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Ballinderry Presbyterian<\/a> as Stated Supply <\/li><li>The Rev Albin Rankin is the minister of <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Stormont Presbyterian Church (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stormontchurch.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Stormont Presbyterian Church<\/a> in east Belfast, serving there since 2008.&nbsp; <\/li><li>The Rev Mairis\u00edne Stanfield is the pastor of <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"First Presbyterian Church, Bangor (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/firstbangor.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">First Presbyterian Church, Bangor<\/a> having been installed there in 2013.&nbsp; <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, when the dust settled last night Mr Henry was the overwhelming favourite, being endorsed by 11 of the 19 presbyteries. Mr Bruce was endorsed by four presbyteries, Ms Stanfield by three presbyteries, and Mr Rankin by one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.gajunkie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Rev-William-Henry.jpeg?resize=120%2C169&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3165\" width=\"120\" height=\"169\"\/><figcaption>The Rev William Henry, Moderator-Designate for the PCI 2019 General Assembly. (source: PCI)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mr Henry has been the installed pastor at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mazepc.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Maze Presbyterian Church (opens in a new tab)\">Maze Presbyterian Church<\/a> for almost 22 years, moving there in 1997 after being ordained as an assistant pastor at <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Whiteabbey Presbyterian Church (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.whiteabbey.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Whiteabbey Presbyterian Church<\/a> in 1994. In 2001 he was given the additional responsibility of serving as the Stated Supply minister of near-by <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Ballinderry Presbyterian Church (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ballinderrypresbyterian.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Ballinderry Presbyterian Church<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He was born in Belfast and grew up in Mallusk, County Antrim. He began his higher education at <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Queen\u2019s University (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.qub.ac.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\">Queen\u2019s University<\/a>, earning a BSc in Chemistry. Sensing a call to ministry he prepared at <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Union Theological College (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.union.ac.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\">Union Theological College<\/a> in Belfast. He was licensed to preach at his home congregation, Hyde Park Presbyterian Church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mr Henry has served the wider church as convener of the Home and Irish Mission\/Strategy for the Mission Committee for six years beginning in 2006. He also served as convener of the Union Commission beginning in 2012 and continued when it became the Linkage Commission in 2015. His service there concluded last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the age of 50, he will be the youngest Moderator of the General Assembly in, as the press release puts it, &#8220;living memory.&#8221; (At this morning&#8217;s press conference it was confirmed that the youngest Moderator was Very Rev Dr Gilbert Patton, who was 49 when he began h<g class=\"gr_ gr_50 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del\" id=\"50\" data-gr-id=\"50\">is<\/g> term as Moderator in 1930-31. )<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you are interested in hearing Mr Henry preach, you can find an archive of sermons on the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"church website has recordings of his sermons (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mazepc.org\/sermons\/\" target=\"_blank\">church website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His nomination has received good coverage in the mainstream media including the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"BBC Northern Ireland (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/uk-northern-ireland-47138154\" target=\"_blank\">BBC Northern Ireland<\/a>, the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Belfast News Letter (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newsletter.co.uk\/news\/maze-minister-will-be-youngest-presbyterian-moderator-1-8798800\" target=\"_blank\">Belfast News Letter<\/a>, the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Belfast Telegraph (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk\/news\/northern-ireland\/irelands-next-presbyterian-moderator-youngest-in-living-memory-37786903.html\" target=\"_blank\">Belfast Telegraph<\/a>, and<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" itv (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.itv.com\/news\/utv\/2019-02-06\/presbyterian-church-elects-new-moderator\/\" target=\"_blank\"> <g class=\"gr_ gr_34 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace\" id=\"34\" data-gr-id=\"34\">itv<\/g><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the follow-up coverage on the Wednesday morning press conference, the topics predictably included the church&#8217;s stance on same-sex relationships, Brexit, and the relationship between Union Theological College and Queen&#8217;s University as one of the constitute schools in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.qub.ac.uk\/schools\/InstituteofTheology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Institute of Theology (opens in a new tab)\">Institute of Theology<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Regarding Brexit, he declined to answer the question from<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" the News Letter (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newsletter.co.uk\/news\/new-presbyterian-moderator-speaks-out-on-homophobia-brexit-and-more-1-8800439\" target=\"_blank\"> the News Letter<\/a> reporter about where he stood but included in his remarks  \u201cWe\u2019re an all-Ireland church [with an] all-island perspective. We\u2019d be  wanting to make sure there is something workable on both sides, in both  jurisdictions&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/uk-northern-ireland-47148558\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"BBC coverage (opens in a new tab)\">BBC coverage<\/a> of the press conference was terse and focused almost exclusively on the church&#8217;s stance on same-sex relationships. Their lede is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>The next moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) said he supports the church&#8217;s opposition to gay marriage<g class=\"gr_ gr_8 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Style replaceWithoutSep\" id=\"8\" data-gr-id=\"8\">.<\/g><\/p><p><g class=\"gr_ gr_8 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Style replaceWithoutSep\" id=\"8\" data-gr-id=\"8\">But<\/g>, he added the church &#8220;abhors&#8221; homophobia and is &#8220;open and welcome to anyone&#8221;.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Regarding Queen&#8217;s University suspending enrollment in Union Theological College over concerns of the breadth and diversity of teaching, the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"News Letter (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newsletter.co.uk\/news\/new-presbyterian-moderator-speaks-out-on-homophobia-brexit-and-more-1-8800439\" target=\"_blank\">News Letter<\/a> has this quote from Mr Henry responding to inquiries about that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cI\u2019m certainly disappointed with the <g class=\"gr_ gr_7 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep\" id=\"7\" data-gr-id=\"7\">decision,<\/g> because what that does is it denies some of our young people the choice to follow their <g class=\"gr_ gr_6 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep\" id=\"6\" data-gr-id=\"6\">dream,<\/g> and to study theology at the highest academic level&#8230;<\/p><p>\u201cMy middle daughter had an 18th birthday just recently. Even at a relatively small gathering in our house&#8230; in that one social gathering, there were three 18-year-olds who wanted to apply to study theology at Queen\u2019s this year and that\u2019s been denied.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[UPDATE 7 Feb 2019: Expanded coverage of the press conference <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"appeared today (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk\/life\/features\/reverend-william-henry-we-utterly-reject-homophobia-and-we-dont-want-to-exclude-there-is-a-place-for-everyone-inside-our-church-37790951.html\" target=\"_blank\">appeared today<\/a> in the Belfast Telegraph. And this story made their <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"front page (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BelTel\/status\/1093400161194295296\" target=\"_blank\">front page<\/a>. They also have an editorial titled &#8220;New Moderator William Henry will prove a steady hand.&#8221; The piece begins by listing the issues in the PCI in the last year and then states, &#8220;But if [William Henry] continues in the vein displayed in his first major interview in this newspaper today, he may well be a healing balm in an institution in need of cool heads and strategic thinking.&#8221;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Returning the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"original press release (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.presbyterianireland.org\/News\/2019-News-Archive\/February-2019\/Maze-minister-set-to-be-youngest-Moderator.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">original press release<\/a>, Mr Henry speaks in there about his perspective on the PCI and that it has a specific purpose in 21st century Ireland. He includes this comment<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cOur younger generation, and how they demonstrate their commitment to Jesus, will be key to that future. Having observed plenty of examples in my own congregation of the vital and real faith our young people demonstrate, I will want to highlight many more demonstrations of this throughout our wider church. I pray that God might equip me with the gifting I need to model servant leadership in His Church this year,\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking more broadly, elsewhere in the press release he is quoted as saying:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cFor <g class=\"gr_ gr_20 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep\" id=\"20\" data-gr-id=\"20\">me<\/g> it comes down to this experience of \u2018Enjoying God,\u2019 and perhaps that is what I\u2019d like to develop into a theme for my year in office. When we enjoy God, prayer and worship become real and meaningful because there is a sense that God has come near. That will result in practical service for Jesus.<\/p><p>\u201cEncountering God is always radical and disruptive. However, the Church can become casual and forgetful of the presence of God; and wider society has a tendency to be self-contained or self-reliant &#8211; the effect for both is that they attempt to live without <g class=\"gr_ gr_11 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-del replaceWithoutSep\" id=\"11\" data-gr-id=\"11\">a recognition<\/g> of dependence upon God.<\/p><p>\u201cI would wish to use the year ahead that I have to speak about this message and explore with people what it means to \u2018Enjoy God,\u2019 both to the Church and wider society. I want to bear witness to what I might call the surprising and unsettling presence of God &#8211; the one who offers fullness in Jesus.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We wish the Rev William Henry well on his Moderatorial year of sharing the message of Enjoying God. Our prayers for him as he prepares for, and moderates the GA beginning on 3 June 2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the second Moderator selection of the day yesterday, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland conducted their annual voting process where all of the presbyteries meet on the same night &#8211; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,32,33],"tags":[162,168,169],"class_list":["post-3164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-assembly","category-moderator","category-pc-ireland","tag-general-assembly","tag-moderator","tag-pc-ireland"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Election Of The Moderator For The Presbyterian Church In Ireland 2019 General Assembly - 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