While acknowledging that there may be a fall away from Church membership over the next few years as the peace dividend offers a sense of feeling good and secure, the new Clerk of the General Assembly is optimistic about the future of the Presbyterian Church if it "focuses on what it really believes and particularly on evangelism."
In his first interview since taking up his appointment three months ago at the beginning of September Dr Donald Watts (55) told the Presbyterian Herald of his concern that the church had become "disengaged" from a vast section of the population. "There are several generations now of people who have had little contact with the church and certainly a very little respect for the church. We have to rebuild our contacts, rebuild our caring, because I think people begin to understand what our church is when we show that we genuinely care and are ready to listen . There is a mission field out there and we'll miss it unless we consider seriously how to connect into it."
Dr Watts believes that part of connecting to an increasingly secular world is to speak clearly about those issues on which there is a strong Christian opinion. However he recognises that effective communication will only take place if the comment is made in an acceptable manner, stating Christian belief and encouraging people to at least think about it.
"The Church can comment on those issues which are gospel issues," he says, "issues to do with our relationships with other people, our attitudes towards others particularly within families, how we treat people, what we see as ethically right and not right. I think there are social issues that we should be commenting on constantly."
Dr Watts clearly sees the difference between a political accommodation and a real peace and thinks the church has yet to fully engage in the task of building a new community and building the peace around us.
"Coming out of the last 30 years there is a job to do building up Presbyterian confidence so that we feel involved in this community, that we feel we have a right to be here, a right to be heard, that we have something important to contribute and that the wider community recognises what it is we stand for and why we are here.
"We have to tell the world that we have a Gospel that changes things and show to the world that change is possible in people's lives and in the life of society when we follow Jesus and allow his spirit to work within us."
Issued by Stephen Lynas, Presbyterian Information Services. Info@PresbyterianIreland.org
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