Opening with a service of worship on the Wednesday evening, which will be attended by civic guests, including the Lord Lieutenant for Belfast and the city’s Lord Mayor, other guests and members of the public, it will also see the formal election and installation of Rev Dr Sam Mawhinney as PCI’s new Moderator. The minister of Adelaide Road Presbyterian Church in Dublin will be the 178th person to hold the office and the first from a congregation in the Republic of Ireland to become PCI’s senior office bearer and principle public representative since the year 2000.
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With men and women coming together from the all-Ireland denomination’s 500-plus congregations for the Church’s principal decision-making and governing body, the Clerk of the General Assembly, Rev Trevor Gribben, said that there were a number of significant areas of business that would be before members. From the theological to the political, areas of ministry to the missional, he expects it to be a busy time.
“For any organisation the annual meeting is an important moment in its calendar. For Irish Presbyterians it is part of the rhythm of church life and this year we gather on the longest day of the year, which may also be one of the hottest. It is essentially the Church coming together in General Assembly, meeting, as we have done since 1840, for fellowship, to worship, to pray and to wait on God, taking the decisions that we need to take, many of which will affect the life and ministry of our denomination for years to come,” Mr Gribben said.
“Next week there are more reports coming before members than there have been for a quite a number of years and some are not only highly significant in their content, they are longer than usual. Each member receives a copy of the ‘Blue Book’ containing the reports and resolutions, and at 416 pages it is 140 pages longer than last year’s, and one of the largest in recent memory. So it will be a busy and important few days.
“The reason for this is partially due to the unforeseen consequences that Covid brought us, but more so the Church needing to take a couple of years to work through some big issues, which involved internal discussion and consultation. Last year the reports of these Task Groups where interim, this year we need to make final decisions,” Mr Gribben explained.
Decision and Dissent
One ongoing piece of work by the Decision and Dissent Task Group began in 2018 and during that time has brought a number of reports and recommendations on how the Church takes its decisions. The outworking of its conclusions has changed when the General Assembly meets, the way business is conducted, and the introduction of discussion ‘Green Papers’ and other initiatives. Its final report will look at dissent and what it means, particularly for the Church’s ordained leadership – its ministers and elders.
“It has been a major piece of work and the Task Group’s final report deals with the circumstances and parameters of how far ministers and elders can go if they disagree with the things that the General Assembly has decided, something that many organisations have to grapple with. The report makes clear that the primary place for debate and discernment takes place in the various courts of the church, Kirk Sessions, Presbyteries and the General Assembly itself. It also affirms the need to enable and encourage biblically and theologically informed discussion. This does not, however, preclude discussion and debate elsewhere, as the report explains,” he said.
Connected to the work of this Task Group is a report of the Doctrine Committee that is coming before the General Assembly. “The Committee was asked in 2021 to draw up a new, updated and contemporary ‘Brief Statement Concerning Faith and Order’. We haven’t done this as a Church since the 1970s, I think. As the report states, it is hoped that it ‘may play an important educational role in the life of the denomination by serving as a framing document for the understanding of PCI’s existing subordinate standards’ and indeed the convictions that we hold concerning our reformed faith as Irish Presbyterians,” Mr Gribben explained.
Revisiting the pandemic and PCI’s response
As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and new ways that were found to ‘do church’ the Doctrine Committee will also bring a report to the General Assembly to enable it to come to a ‘final and settled mind’ on virtual communion. Having looked at the pandemic from a church governance perspective last year, members will have a further opportunity next week to consider another aspect of the pandemic in relation to the denomination. This report reviews PCI’s response to it theologically, morally and spiritually.”
Mr Gribben continued, “This is a significant piece of work that has sought to capture PCI’s story of the Covid Pandemic, where, like most of society, no aspect of the work and witness of the Church was left untouched. During the course of its work, which has taken two years to complete, the Task Group identified key areas of learning which have led to a number of recommendations for the Church to consider for the future.”
While the Pandemic Response Task Group looked back in time, the Council for Mission in Ireland (CMI) is looking very much to the future and will bring to the Assembly a report that affirms the importance of church planting throughout Ireland. It will also seek approval for recommendations contained in PCI’s new Church Planting Strategy.
Mission and ministry
“While we live in an increasingly pluralist world, there is still a pressing need to tell people about our Lord Jesus Christ and the salvation that He alone offers. It is what the Church is here for. We are greatly encouraged by the growth we are seeing in a number of parts of the Republic of Ireland and in recent years have planted new churches in Maynooth, Donabate and Balbriggan, which is ongoing. We also have church plants in a number of places in Belfast. This strategy is welcome, as is CMI’s proposal for ‘Mission Pioneers’ and the development of a ‘Church Planters Network’. The Assembly will also hear of further missional proposals for an initiative in Ireland’s south east, ” Mr Gribben said.
The Clerk of the General Assembly also said that one of the most significant and strategic pieces of work in Kingdom terms that is coming to this year’s General Assembly, also looks to the future. Intrinsically connected to mission across Ireland, the issues it seeks to address are so important it has been designated as PCI’s first ‘Green Paper’ for ongoing discussion at this stage - the Report of the Reconfiguration of Ministry Task Group.
“For good reason, it is the longest report in the Blue Book. As it states, the Task Group’s remit was to examine ‘key principles and practicalities that will underpin a radical reconfiguration of ministry in the light of changing demographics and ministry and missional opportunities.’ This is a new and potentially transformative piece of work and is really about how we use what the Lord has entrusted to us and to do His work as effectively as we can.” Mr Gribben explained.
“It’s a Green Paper, our very first, because this is the start of an important process which could ultimately see the most radical reconfiguration in ministry in living memory. The Report is to get the Church thinking, talking, listening and praying about mission and ministry. It is a comprehensive and strategic report that gives a lot of background, information, options, and some thoughts on the way forward. The consultation with presbyteries begins in the autumn, with another report and recommendations coming to next year’s General Assembly,” he said.
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Ordained as a minister in 1988, before becoming Deputy Clerk and then Clerk, Trevor Gribben spent 18 years in parish ministry. During that time, like many ministers, he said that he had “several young people, with an intellectual disability who clearly loved Jesus, but weren’t able to grasp the questions and vows that would have admitted them into full membership of the Church, even though they were every bit a member of the congregation as anyone else.”
Membership and People with Intellectual Disabilities
“Next week the Membership and People with Intellectual Disabilities Task Group, will bring a number of recommendations to the General Assembly around the acceptance of young people and adults with an intellectual disability into church membership. It is a good report drawn up by a great task group, several of its members are parents of children and young people with an intellectual disability. Along with the theological considerations, the report also details a number of personal stories, which, as it says, ‘…capture the combination of family pain and gospel challenge before the Church.’”
Throughout the three days of debate and discussion the work of PCI’s Councils and Commissions containing upwards of 80 separate reports of their task groups, panels and committees will be before members. Other business includes three Memorials from two of PCI’s 19 regional presbyteries. All presbyteries have contributed to the consultation on the republishing of ‘The Code’, which is the Constitution of the Church. While it is updated each year following each General Assembly, a comprehensive review leading to republishing, was last undertaken in 1980 and has been a huge project. It comes before the Assembly on Friday afternoon.
From time to time, the General Assembly is asked to make senior appointments. This year it will be asked to appoint Rev Professor Michael McClenahan, the current Vice Principal of PCI’s Union Theological College and Professor of Systematic Theology, as the College’s new principal. The Assembly will also be asked to accept 10 people as students for the ordained ministry, over twice as many as were received last year.
The Council for Public Affairs will ask the General Assembly to ‘commend the ongoing dedication and commitment’ of those who serve on school boards as governors in Northern Ireland and the equivalent bodies in the Republic of Ireland, asking members to prayerfully consider serving on them. At the same time it recognises the vital work carried out by Special Schools across the island and encourages congregations ‘…to make real and meaningful links with such schools in their areas.’ The Council also calls on Northern Ireland’s ‘governing authorities…to prioritise the most vulnerable in society in their budgetary decisions in the midst of the cost of living crisis.’
It will also bring forward resolutions on Northern Ireland’s current political situation and the Secretary of State’s Relationship and Sexuality Education legislation. The Council will also ask the Assembly to express concern at the proposals contained in the Irish Government’s ‘Safe Access Zones’ Bill which, it says, ‘…may create a precedent for the curtailing of free speech and the limitation of the expression of faith in public.’
Listening to the Global Church
As in previous years, the 2023 General Assembly will have what has become one of the highlights of the annual meeting, the informal presentation ‘Listening to the Global Church’. Organised by PCI’s Council for Global Mission, it will involve some of the overseas guests who will be attending the General Assembly. This year – the eighth since the presentations began - the theme is taken from Romans 12:12 “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer…” and is called ‘Joyful…patient…faithful’. It will take place on Friday afternoon.
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“While the business before the General Assembly is central to what it does, it is actually the coming together of brothers and sisters in Christ from across this island and further afield that is equally important. As is the time that we will take communion together as part of our worship. Everyone who loves the Lord Jesus is welcome at the Assembly Communion Service on Friday morning, and at our other times of worship. The Thursday Evening Celebration is always a popular part of the Assembly. This year our speaker is Rev Jonty Rhodes from Leeds,” Mr Gribben said.
The Clerk concluded by saying, “General Assemblies are busy times, but this year we have a very packed agenda. I am looking forward to hearing what God has laid on Dr Mawhinney’s heart for the year ahead as our new Moderator. He will preach on the Opening Night having become our ‘primus inter paras’ our first among equals that evening. I also look forward to hearing from our outgoing Moderator, Rt Rev Dr John Kirkpatrick, on the somewhat unique year that he has had, at the start of what will be an important time of decision making, and a time of fellowship, as the Church waits upon the Lord.”
Photos: (1) Rev Trevor Gribben, Clerk of the General Assembly and General Secretary of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (2) The Blue Book, which contains the reports and resolution before members. At 400+ pages is one of the largest in recent memory (3) the Opening Night of the 2022 General Assembly (3) the 2019 Assembly (5) Karen Jardine, PCI's Public Affairs Officer during the Pandemic Response debate last year and (6) Rev Dr Sam Mawhinney of Adelaide Road Presbyterian Church, who will become PCI's new Moderator for 2023/2024.
The General Assembly will open on Wednesday, 21 June at 7pm. It will be livestreamed on here on this website. All public sessions will be livestreamed until the Assembly’s close on Saturday, 24 June. You will find the business before the Assembly here and the Reports that will be discussed here. You can follow proceedings live via Twitter @pciassembly using the hashtag #PCIGA23.