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At a special service this Thursday evening, 12 September at 7.30pm in West Church, Bangor, Lindsay Conway will be commissioned as the Presbyterian Church's Director of Social Service with responsibility for the day to day running of the Presbyterian Board of Social Witness which has an annual budget of £4m and a staff of around 350.
A former director with the Juvenile Justice Board in Northern Ireland Mr Conway, (49), considers it an essential part of a church's mission that it is involved in practical social action.
'It is but right that we as a Church promote the gospel in a practical and Christ like manner. The opportunities for social witness within our congregations and the wider church are endless,' thinks Mr Conway who, in addition to his professional career as a social worker, is presently chairman of the Simon Community in Northern Ireland and the YMCA Parents and Kids Together programme. He is also a past NI and UK chair of the British Association of Social Workers with which he is still involved and was awarded an OBE for his services to Social Work.
The Presbyterian Church's Board of Social Witness runs 9 housing programmes for the elderly throughout Ireland, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility at Carlisle House in Belfast, a supported housing project for people with learning disability and a marriage counseling service. The Board also represents and guides the opinion of the church on social issues and monitors its child protection procedures. Additionally it supervises the Kinghan Church for the Deaf, works with ex offenders and through PCI Enterprises and Dolebusters helps people who are unemployed in Belfast and Dublin.
Presbyterian Moderator, Dr Russell Birney and Social Witness Board convener Rev Roy Vallely will take part in the service in which Mr Conway will be commissioned for his new post by the Presbytery of Ards.
Mr Conway is a resident of Bangor and a member of West Church where he has been an elder since 1979 and for many years was a leader in both the Youth Club and Youth Fellowship.
(l-r) Rt Rev Dr. Russell Birney, Mr Lindsay Conway, OBE, Mrs Norma Conway and Rev Roy Vallely
Issued by Stephen Lynas, Presbyterian Information Services. Info@PresbyterianIreland.org
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