PCI General Assembly

Meet the Moderator

Rev Dr Donald Patton Incoming Moderator
of the Presbyterian Church In Ireland

Rev. Dr. Donald Patton (57) has been minister of Old Church Randalstown for the last 6 years. He describes himself as "a warm evangelical teacher and pastor intent on reaching out with the Gospel to the wider community on issues that are relevant to them."

His congregation of 420 families is a "traditional Presbyterian congregation but one which is open to change in the conduct of worship and fellowship and which is keen to involve itself in the whole life of the Randalstown community."

"Randalstown is a growing town and while it still has strong rural connections there is a increasing business and professional sector with many people commuting to Belfast," adds Dr. Patton. "It works well as a community and through my ministry and that of the congregation we want to play our part and be involved as much as possible with those who live and work around us."

Born in Warrenpoint on 30th May 1950, William Donald Patton spent his early years in Londonderry before his father's work took the family to Portadown. A member of Armagh Road Presbyterian Church he attended Portadown College and later graduated from Queen's University Belfast with a BSSc in 1971 and BD in 1974. In 1993 he was awarded a PhD, also from Queen's.

After ordination as assistant in Trinity Bangor in 1975 he became minister of First Dromore in 1977 and after six years was called to Greystone Road, Antrim. In 1988 he became minister of Lowe Memorial Presbyterian Church in Finaghy before moving to OC Randalstown in 2002.

Dr. Patton is a keen historian and was convenor of the Presbyterian Historical Society from 1990 until 1996. He has written a short history of First Dromore Presbyterian Church and edited a number of other books on church history.

He is married to Florence and has two sons, two daughters and a grandson.

Dr. Patton will take up office as Moderator in succession to Dr. John Finlay at the opening session of the 2008 General Assembly on Monday, 2nd June.

Making a Difference

"I'm just a very normal ordinary kind of bloke behind the collar." That's how incoming Presbyterian Moderator Dr. Donald Patton likes to describe himself. And he's not wrong.

There are no airs or graces about the minister of the Old Church Randalstown and when you chat with him you very quickly realise he's interested in you and listening and responding to what you have to say.

"I enjoy simple things, I enjoy family life, gardening, friendships, people," he adds. "I just get on with life."

But don't let the soft accent and the easy words fool you into thinking that Donald Patton is just an observer and not a player. He's passionate about his faith and about bringing people to faith, helping them to live their lives with a heart for Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

Warm-hearted Evangelical

Like any Presbyterian minister he describes himself as an evangelical but "not a frowning evangelical ready to disapprove, ready to jump on any little mistake that people make, because I make plenty of them. I think very often, especially in the preaching of an evangelical gospel, it's cold, it's hard.

"However, I see Christ in his treating of the woman at the well clearly saying that her lifestyle isn't right but at the same time showing a warm heart which quickly developed into a relationship that she could respond to. Very often people can't hear the evangelical gospel because of how it is spoken. It can be very negative whereas evangelical to me is a term that means full of the big heart of Christ, full of the compassion of Christ but also with the clarity of the lifestyle that he teaches."

Dr. Patton's personal philosophy about ministry carries through into how he wants to see Presbyterian congregations practice their ministry; welcoming people, accepting them as they are and including them within the life of the church both practically and by their attitude to them.

"Reaching out to people is the most important thing that the church should be doing - that's what Jesus did. I think too often we are standoffish and that we are not terribly good in welcoming and including people, though we are getting better.

Outward Looking

"The Church is on its way out," continues Dr. Patton with a grin as he quotes Malcolm Muggeridge's famous comment as worshipers left a Sunday service. Quickly qualifying the quote he continues "Out into the community rather than down and out! We need to help people to see that this is really what the Church should be doing, to be outward looking instead of inward looking, not only looking out their windows but getting outside the doors."

But as Dr. Patton recognises, talking is one thing and action, particularly in the wider church can be a bit more difficult.

"The structure of the Presbyterian Church mitigates against this to some extent. In a number of places we are reaching out to unchurched folk. It has required changes in congregations, not so far-reaching as to upset the existing members, but sufficient to make outsiders feel at ease. However I think there is another whole constituency out there that, in order to reach, we would have to be too radical for an existing congregation to cope with. So therefore a completely new ministry would be required, geared to different groupings of people who are presently way beyond the Church.

"I agree with the Board of Mission in Ireland that we need to start some new centres which are not institutionalised, maybe drawing some committed folk from a few congregations who can focus on a new channel of outreach without having an existing congregation to worry about. I think we need to release resources to do some of that experimentally in different parts of Ireland."

Salt and Light

Dr. Patton would like to see more people follow the examples of others in getting involved in existing community groups "getting to know folk, getting them to know us and in that way establishing a Christian presence. It could be by direct church action or something that church members do themselves by becoming involved in their community as salt and light."

For now "the ordinary bloke" has disappeared and a leader has emerged with clearly thought out ideas on how to achieve what churches talk a lot about but most never put it into practice.

"We need to create a whole series of stepping stones into the heart of the church. The early stepping stones would be something like parenting evenings or social outings where people in the church can invite others to go ten pin bowling, kart racing or to a picnic somewhere. People gradually get to know each other and then hopefully begin to ask "what is all this Christianity about?" They get to know Christians as people, ordinary human people like themselves that have to get up in the middle of the night to feed the baby, have their financial worries and all the rest, just like anyone else."

Honesty

But for Donald Patton this process of friendship evangelism must be marked with honesty so that when people hopefully want to become more closely involved with the church through membership and personal commitment there are no surprises over issues like cohabitation, marriage or baptism.

"I start out with a humane approach. These are people, the same as I am who have feelings and aspirations the same as I have. I will sit down with them and explain the vows, what a profession of faith in Christ means and what they are taking on. I see it as my responsibility to explain all that and their responsibility, with integrity, to take those vows.

"I have found people accept this because I'm honest with them and I expect them to be honest with me and honest with God and the congregation. There are times when it hasn't worked and people drop away but I believe the spirit of Jesus is the spirit of generosity.

"You have to be honest and you have to be careful with your language in explaining the Christian point of view, that it is not in any way condemnatory but that there is compassion and love. People need to be aware of the issues rather than you drawing them in almost deceitfully."

Non-Controversial

As the conversation moves on to what could be "controversial" issues Donald Patton reverts to "ordinary bloke" mode reflecting the views of many Presbyterians up and down the country. Women ministers are ordained the same as he is. While he wouldn't take part in a Mass, worship with Roman Catholics in his role as a hospital chaplain or in civic society is a matter of course.

But how can this "ordinary bloke" live up to his theme for the year of making a difference. His honesty requires him to say that he can't, but "by encouraging the Church to be outward looking, encouraging individual congregations to be practical in getting beyond the walls of their church and through encouraging men and women in their ministry, the Gospel of Christ can make the difference."

An ordinary bloke, yes, but with an extraordinary resource.