The 2016 General Assembly welcomed and adopted the Vision for Society Statement, which seeks to continue to place peacebuilding firmly at the heart of Christian discipleship and the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.
At the time, the convener of the Council for Church in Society, Very Rev. Dr. Norman Hamilton said, “This is a symbol of our desire that this statement will both be a stimulus for our engagement with wider society, as well as a powerful symbol that this is a calling of the whole Church to a highly important aspect of Christian and biblical witness.”
You can read the text of the Vision for Society Statement here.
Blog posts
A series of five blog posts on the Statement are being written. Each will be a reflection on one of its five paragraphs and are listed below. You will also be able to view them all in the Blog section under the category ‘Vision for Society’.
- We believe... by Rev. Stephen Johnston
- For us there can be no 'them un's' by Very Rev. Dr. Norman Hamilton
- Confession... by Gavin Norris
- In pursuit of peace by Karen Jardine
- Our Congregations: Hubs for Reconciliation by Joe Campbell
In PCI’s 500-plus congregations across Ireland, peacebuilding will look different. Different in Belfast as it will look from peacebuilding in Dublin as it will in Galway, or Cork; but its centrality to Christian discipleship remains the same wherever God has placed us.
To support congregations to prayerfully consider how they can outwork Christ’s call to be peacebuilders in their own communities, the Council for Congregational Life and Witness has produced a number of additional free resources:
“It is my prayer that our Vision for Society Statement and our continued commitment to peacebuilding will bear much fruit.”
Rev. Stephen Johnston, convener, Congregational Life and Witness Good Relations Panel.