The day will begin with the Judicial Commission, this part of the General Assembly is held in private session. With the remaining sessions in public, a number of appointments of Conveners will be noted in the final business of the General Council, with the General Assembly asked to express its thanks to those who have retired this year.
The General Assembly will also receive a report by the Doctrine Committee on same sex couples and the sacraments, having been asked by the General Council to prepare guidelines for Kirk Sessions to address the issue of same-sex couples who may seek communicant membership, or who may request the baptism of a child.
The focus of the report is on the ‘specific theological question of what constitutes a credible profession of faith and how it is to be understood and applied in these particular circumstances’.
While the substantive part of the debate took part on Wendesday, an amendment to the resolution to recieve the report will take place this morning after the private session.
Discussion will also take place about the running of Special Assemblies. The last Special Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland took place in August 2017, on the theme of ‘Everyday Disciples’. Members of Assembly will be asked to set up a Task Group in early 2021 to prayerfully discern if there is an emerging theme for a residential Special Assembly to be held in 2024.
Social Witness
The Council for Social Witness will be the final Council to present a report to this year’s gathering of the General Assembly. The Council seeks to deliver an effective Social Witness service on behalf of the Church and to the wider community in partnership with appropriate organisations. As such, its remit is far reaching across a wide section of society.
With an operational budget of £10 million, the Council provides a range of services for older people and people with physical and learning disabilities, through supported, sheltered and residential accommodation. Including Residential Care, Nursing Care, Day Care, Respite Care, Supported Housing across 11 locations for over 300 people.
To do this, the Church employs over 400 staff and utilises the valuable support of 200 volunteers. It also provides supported accommodation at three Belfast locations for ex-offenders and those recovering from substance misuse.
An important aspect of the Council’s work over the past year has been the development and implementation of the new Adult Safeguarding Policy, Guidelines and Pocket Guide, which implements major changes within the Access (NI) and Garda Vetting processes. A resolution before General Assembly will ask it to ‘encourage congregations to use the resources and avail of appropriate training’ related to the new Adult Safeguarding Policy.
The General Assembly will also be asked to recognise the under provision of support services for those with a Learning Disability in the post-19 age group, encouraging the Council as it explores this matter and, if appropriate, engage with the Department of Health in collaboration with the Council for Public Affairs.
The Council reports on the opening of its newest residential care home, Trinity House in Garvagh, which saw the relocation of residents from Ard Cluan House in Londonderry and York House in Portrush following celebrations to mark the work and witness of both and acknowledge ‘the dedicated work of staff, the help of support groups, the co-operation of relatives and the understanding of residents’. The new home was officially opened in December 2017 by Dr. Noble McNeely.
The final decision before the Assembly will be to agree to meet in Assembly Buildings, Belfast, on Monday 3rd June 2019 for next year’s General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, which will begin with the installation of the Church’s 180th Moderator of the General Assembly.
Details of each day’s business of the 2018 General Assembly can be found at www.presbyterianirland.org/GA18. Resolutions and reports before the General Assembly can be found in the 2018 Blue Book here. Additional reports and resolutions can be found in the Supplementary Reports here.
Most of the public sessions will be streamed live via this website. All public session proceedings can also be followed via live Twitter feed @pciassembly using the hashtag #PCIGA18.