Tuesday also marked the first time that the Church’s ministers and elders from its 500-plus congregations across Ireland had the opportunity to meet in the evening, giving those who found it difficult to attend during the day the opportunity of attending later in the day.
Opening at 10.30am, business concluded at 8.30pm with members of Assembly receiving reports on a number of in-house matters from the amalgamations of some congregations, the prolonged disability scheme and the United Appeal for Mission, to name a few.
In presenting the Report of the Trustees in the afternoon, Wilfred Orr told the General Assembly, that is was “not the most exciting report to bring to the Assembly! I suppose if it were extremely exciting that would indicate extraordinary good news, or more likely extraordinary bad news. In fact, despite all of the political and economic alarms, which have posed a threat to the market place, our report indicates a basic stability - for which we are grateful.”
The General Assembly also discussed a number of pressing issues that affected society and political life, including assisted suicide / euthanasia, the Eighth Amendment Referendum, education and political stagnation in Northern Ireland. In total 38 resolutions were discussed and voted on.
Thoughtful, sensitive and gracious debate
The Very Rev. Dr. Roy Patton, convener of the General Assembly Business Committee highlighted some elements of the Order of Business, adding, “The General Assembly, however, is more than simply a business meeting. Through the alternative presentations we hope that Assembly members will be engaged, inspired and enabled to more fully participate in the work of the Assembly.”
He also spoke about the conduct of debate saying, “There are people outside this building who are listening, what we say is heard and spread through social media. Perhaps sometimes it will be misheard, or misunderstood, but sometimes not. In seeking to be faithful there may well be things to be said that others will not like. But let’s be thoughtful in what we say, sensitive in speech, gracious in our communication, commending Christ and His Good News at all times. Let the quality and standard of our discourse and conversations be an example and encouragement to others.”
Reception of delegates
In a longstanding tradition, the Moderator received delegates from both local and overseas denominations. The Moderators of the Church of Scotland and the Presbyterian Church of Wales addressed the General Assembly, as did the President of the Irish Council of Churches.
In her address the Scottish Moderator, Rt. Rev. Susan Brown, opened by saying, “Peace be with you!” It was the theme of this year’s General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, “and it is the greeting I want to bring to this Assembly from ours,” Dr. Brown said.
“May that peace be with you – as together our voices unite with yours to sing the praises of the God we all worship, in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, who is the Lord and Saviour of us all - and enlivened by the life-giving and invigorating freshness of his own Holy Spirit.
“May that peace be with you, as you work your way through all the business before you and as you seek guidance on the will of God for this branch of the body of Christ at this time and in this place – to God’s eternal glory…May peace be with you as you catch the vision Christ has for you – and as you find yourselves walking not only paths that are familiar – but those that as yet, you have not envisaged or imagined…
“What is it that the Lord requires of you? To do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God. Peace be with you as, in Christ’s name, you try to live that call in the decisions of this week - as do we all.”
Many guests travelled thousands of miles to attend, including delegates coming from South Sudan, Malawi, Kenya, India, Zambia, and Pakistan. Rt. Rev. John Gondwe, Moderator of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian, (CCAP) Synod of Livingstonia, spoke on behalf of his overseas colleagues.
Addressing the Moderator directly, the Rev. John Gondwe said “I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you on your election as Moderator... My prayer for you is for God’s guidance and spiritual blessings in all your undertakings. May the good Lord give you wisdom that will help you to lead this church without deviating from the Scriptures, to faithfully preach the gospel and bear witness to the living Christ without compromising the faith.
“In the same vein I would like to challenge us all here as part of the family of the global church, we have different spiritual challenges faced in different contexts and different forms. Whatever the case, I wish to encourage you to stand firm in faith as it was during the early Church where many suffered martyrdom for the sake of the gospel that we are enjoying today…”
Speaking of how the Church is growing in Africa, he also acknowledged his “sincere and heartfelt thanks to PCI” for all the work it is doing and how it is contributing in many areas in CCAP, including leadership development through scholarships for ordained ministers and lay leaders, supporting the health sector in areas of HIV/AIDS and also early childhood development.
“This is being done both by sending qualified and competent personnel and through the provision of designated grants. This is very much appreciated and as we sit with you in fellowship this week we want to listen and learn and mutually encourage one another,” he said.
Following the reception of delegates the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was celebrated, which was open to members of the public – the first of a number of public acts of worship that will take place throughout the week.
Public Square
A large portion of the afternoon’s discussions focused on issues in the public square. The General Assembly discussed and passed resolutions on the important role that Religious Education plays in the spiritual, moral and intellectual development of children.
Members also noted concern over ‘the low morale and sense of disillusionment amongst governors, principals and teachers’, caused by the financial situation in schools and the uncertainty for the future of education in Northern Ireland. They also called upon ‘politicians to set aside their differences to enable an Executive to be formed, to provide the clarity so urgently needed on an agreed way forward for the education system in the province’.
In a hard-hitting speech, Andrew Brown, convener of the State Education Committee, said that “Education is broke – this is the message we hear from or education authorities. Education is broken – this is the message we hear from our principals. Education professionals are at breaking point – this is the message we are hearing from their professional associations.”
He went on to say that, “morale is at the lowest point that I've seen in my two and half decades involved in the education profession. Those who should be making decisions feel that they can't, whilst those who should be implementing those decisions have neither the resources nor the support to do so…”
He spoke of principals who were facing incredible challenges, such as budget reductions over the next two years of 2%, 18% and 37%. He highlighted the increased challenges faced by children with Special Education Needs and their parents through underfunding, lack of provision and the rationalisation of Special schools.
“Folks - this is people's lives, children's education that is being messed about with. By the time this mess is fixed we will have been lucky if it is only one generation which will have gone through a system of limited resources, over-worked teachers, directionless administrators, bewildered governors and sleep-deprived principals,” he said, calling on Northern Ireland’s politicians “to get back around the table, come up with a blueprint for getting us out of this mess…”
With Northern Ireland still having no functioning executive, the General Assembly expressed its ‘deep concern and frustration about the prolonged absence of an executive, the resulting stagnation in public policy and the effects on the most vulnerable in society’.
Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide
Euthanasia and assisted suicide were also discussed, with a substantial paper brought forward for consideration. Although both are currently illegal in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, a number of high profile ‘right to die’ cases in recent years have reignited debate about end of life issues, including whether doctors should be permitted to assist a patient commit suicide.
Speaking during the debate, Lindsay Conway, Secretary of the Council for Social Witness, which provides a range of services for older people and people with physical and learning disabilities, said that the Assembly needed to be aware of the ‘slippery slope principle’, saying that in The Netherlands mental health issues were now grounds for assisted suicide and euthanasia.
“Church members and service users must have a clear understanding of where the Presbyterian Church stands in this area. In all we do we must reflect the compassion and understanding of Christ…the Christian response must be one of palliative care and more hospice beds,” he said.
The General Assembly agreed to ‘strongly oppose any legislation which allows assisted suicide and/or euthanasia’. Members of Assembly also ‘strongly commend palliative care, calling on the governments in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to ensure the adequate resourcing of both research and delivery in this important area’. You can read about it here.
Referendum on the Eighth Amendment
In a separate resolution, the Assembly expressed its ‘sadness’ at the outcome of the Eighth Amendment Referendum in the Republic of Ireland. It also repeated its call for ‘the best possible life-affirming care and support to be made available to women facing a pregnancy crisis.’
At the same time, in an amendment to the original resolution, the General Assembly commended the services of foster care and adoption among Church members who feel led to such ministry and service.
It also urged “the Government and the Oireachtas to keep to the promises made to the electorate that abortions will be ‘rare’ in Ireland and that unborn children with disabilities will not have their lives terminated.
People Matter to God
The Council for Social Witness presented the first ‘alternative presentation’ to the Assembly entitled ‘People Matter to God’. The first of two such presentations, it was designed to give particular insight into the work of the Church in different areas of its social ministry. You can read about it here.
The day’s business concluded with a Report from the Linkage Commission, which acts on behalf of the General Assembly in allocating ordained ministry and related financial resources to congregations.
The report detailed the congregations, over 40, that were granted Leave to Call a new minister, 3 new linkages between congregations that were agreed, and the terms of the amalgamation of two congregations agreed at last year’s 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.