Presbyterians will meet again tomorrow evening, Tuesday, 2 March, to resolve the tie that resulted from the first round of voting for the next Moderator.
Only the two names of those who tied, Rev Norman Hamilton and Rev Norman McAuley will be put to the presbyteries that meet independently at different locations around Ireland.
Once they have reached a decision, each presbytery, which has a membership composed of all the ministers and a representative elder from every congregation in its area, will communicate their nomination to Church House in Belfast where the result is declared out of a total of 19 votes, one from each presbytery.
Both ministers received five nominations and while it is not guaranteed that a presbytery will vote in the same way it did in February, that leaves 9 presbyteries to decide on who to give their nomination to.
Currently minister of the Ballysillan congregation in North Belfast, Mr Hamilton (63) was ordained in 1983 as assistant minister in Finaghy and installed to Ballysillan in 1988. He is currently a member of the Church and Society Committee.
Mr McAuley (53) is minister of Greenwell Street in Newtownards. He was ordained as assistant in Dundonald in 1984 and in 1987 installed as minister of Union Road, Magherafelt and Lecumpher. Seventeen years later in 2004 he was called to be minister of Greenwell Street. He was Moderator of the Synod of Derry and Omagh in 2004.
With 19 presbyteries and only two names to vote on a tie is unlikely, although some years ago one presbytery was unable to come to a decision and made no nomination. That unlikely occurrence aside, the identity of the successor to present Moderator Dr Stafford Carson who remains in office until June, is expected to be announced by 9.30pm on Tuesday evening, 2 March.
This is the third time in eight years that the election for the Presbyterian Moderator has ended in a tied vote with ties in 2003 and 2004 involving Dr Ken Newell firstly with Dr Ivan McKay and then Dr Harry Uprichard.
Voting in the February election was as follows:
Rev Norman Hamilton (Ballysillan) 5 Votes: North Belfast, Carrickfergus, Coleraine/Limavady, Dromore, Dublin/Munster.
Rev Norman McAuley (Greenwell Street, Newtownards) 5 Votes: Armagh, Ballymena, Newry, Omagh, Tyrone.
Rev Derek McKelvey (Fisherwick) 4 Votes: Ards, East Belfast, South Belfast, Monaghan.
Rev Ivan Patterson (Newcastle) 4 Votes: Derry/Donegal, Iveagh, Route, Templepatrick.
Rev Roy Mackay (Second Comber) 1 Vote: Down.
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The newly elected Moderator will hold a press conference at 10.30am, Wednesday 2 March in the Presbyterian Church Headquarters at Church House, Fisherwick Place, Belfast.
Please note that none of the nominees will be available for interview about the election until after the result is known.
Issued by Stephen Lynas, Presbyterian Information Services. Info@PresbyterianIreland.org
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