APRIL 2022
Save a life this Easter In a world racked by Covid, natural disasters, violence and hunger the need to sustain our Christian brothers and sisters has never been greater. As we prepare to celebrate the resurrection of Christ, please make an Easter gift to send life-sustaining aid to Christian brothers and sisters around the world who live with poverty and persecution. Literally every penny counts. Office 113, Russell Business Centre, 40-42 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 6AA Email ireland@barnabasfund.org
Donate online at: www.barnabasfund.org/herald4 call: 02891 455246 and quote PHM 04/22 Barnabas Fund is a company registered in England Number 04029536. Registered Charity Number 1092935
CONTENTS | APRIL 2022
FEATURES 12 For such a time as this… God’s people amidst the Ukraine crisis How PCI partners are helping
14 Time to move
Windsor Presbyterian moves on
16 I believe in death
Easter reflection from the Moderator
18 Training in tandem
PCI’s new Apprentice scheme
20 Blazing a mission trail
New mission venture for children
31 A ministry of presence for farmers PCI’s new rural chaplain
34 The pandemic and the persecution of Christians
For such a time as this… God’s people amidst the Ukraine crisis p12
The plight of Christians around the world
36 The heart of communication Rob Parsons’ new book
REGULARS 4 6 8 9 11 22 23 38 40 42 43 45
Letters News In this month My story Life lessons Norman Hamilton Mission Connect Reviews Life in PCI Crossword David Clarke Ruth Sanderson
Time to move p14
A ministry of presence for farmers p31
CONTRIBUTORS Alf McCreary is an award-winning journalist and author, and religion correspondent for the Belfast Telegraph. An elder emeritus of Whitehouse, he was awarded an MBE in 2004.
Rebecca McConnell manages Purple Rain, a public relations company (www.purple-rain.co.uk). She is also a member of First Rathfriland Presbyterian Church.
Rick Hill is PCI’s Discipleship and Leadership Development Officer. He is a member of Carnmoney Presbyterian Church and lives in Doagh with his wife Sarah and sons, Noah and Micah.
Cecil Graham is married to June and an elder in Windsor Presbyterian Church and former clerk of South Belfast Presbytery. He has a long association with the Boys’ Brigade movement.
Cover illustration: Barry Falls April 2022 No. 837 Published by: The Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Assembly Buildings, Belfast BT1 6DW. T: +44 (0)28 9032 2284 E: herald@presbyterianireland.org W: www.presbyterianireland.org
Editor: Sarah Harding
The views expressed in the features, news reports, letters and book reviews of this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor. Editorial comment and signed Subscriptions and Advertising: articles do not necessarily contain the official views of the Church, which can only be laid down only by the General Assembly. Acceptance of advertisements Elaine Huddleston; does not imply endorsement of the goods or services. Advertising will not be Suzanne Hamilton included if the product or service is deemed to be in conflict with the Church’s Design and Layout: official views, or if it is inappropriate for a church magazine. It is not Herald policy Edward Connolly to include any editorial content along with adverts. The editor reserves the right Printing: to decline any advertisement or letter without assigning any reason. Letters may W & G Baird Ltd be edited for publication. No correspondence can be entered into regarding nonpublication of advertisements or letters.
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The Presbyterian Church in Ireland is a Registered Charity in Northern Ireland (NIC104483); Registered Charity in Republic of Ireland (20015695).
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UKRAINE CRISIS
For such a time as this… God’s people amidst the Ukraine crisis Uel Marrs reflects on the war in Ukraine and outlines the support that PCI’s partners are providing on the ground. www.jobbadni.hu/en
I
t is day 18 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine as this article is submitted and the Ukrainian people continue to demonstrate strong and determined resistance. That should not be a surprise, given the history of the country and how much its freedom and independence is cherished after having been fought over and subjugated down through the centuries. During the first three decades of communist rule in the early 20th century, as many as eight million Ukrainians died in food shortages and famines that were largely inflicted upon them. During the Second World War another seven million perished due to the raging conflict between the Soviet and the German armies; no other European country suffered more deeply. Now, in regard to the Russian invasion, many find themselves in very vulnerable positions having remained to put up keen resistance, while others have fled westwards, including over 2.5 million who have sought refuge in neighbouring countries. In response, it has been heartening to see the prompt initiative of many PCI congregations, eager to help in whatever ways they can, not least in giving generously to the Moderator’s Appeal for Ukraine, with an initial amount of £60,000 already sent towards the humanitarian response to refugees in Poland, Moldova and Hungary. This
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is being undertaken through PCI’s relief and development partners, Tearfund and Christian Aid, but let’s focus on one of our Church partners – Hungarian Reformed Church Aid (HRCA), the relief and development wing of the Reformed Church in Hungary, through whom funds are also being channelled.
…many find themselves in very vulnerable positions having remained to put up keen resistance, while others have fled westwards… Hungary shares a 100-mile border with Ukraine, and thousands of refugees from the war have been pouring into the country. HRCA’s 50 staff and nearly 2,000 volunteers, including 12 doctors and 80 interpreters, have laboured faithfully and tirelessly, giving of their time, energy and expertise right from the start of the war. They are providing help regardless of the race, gender, religion or political affiliation of those in need. Nonetheless, HRCA faces a mammoth task of coordinating tons of in-kind donations, along with financial contributions from congregations within Hungary, not to mention donations
from partners around the world. Nonperishable foods are being collected at warehouses in Budapest, Debrecen and Gelénes near the border for the purpose of onward distribution. Additionally, they have set up a reception centre in Záhony, a city on the Ukrainian border, that has become the hub for the intervention, as thousands cross the border every day. Aid comes in the form of food, hygiene kits, warm clothing, accommodation, transportation, spiritual support and even toys for the children. One of the biggest shortages is accommodation and a countrywide database of shelter being offered by congregations and church institutions has been created. Humanitarian aid has not only been committed to refugees but extended to those remaining in Ukraine, including the internally displaced who have fled to the west of the country. As the 20th century unfolded, land borders shifted in such a way that there is actually one Synod of the Hungarian Reformed Church, a diaspora community, located in Transcarpathia, west Ukraine. Prior to the Russian invasion, the Transcarpathian Church District had about 120,000 members worshipping in 100 congregations. It is the oldest Protestant Church in Ukraine and dates back to the 16th century. Through the decades of the Soviet era this Hungarianspeaking Church endured much suffering.
fototar.reformatus.hu
Bishop Sándor Zán-Fábián
www.jobbadni.hu/en
In Stalin’s time, 30,000 of the Hungarian men were transported to Siberia, never to return home. In the garden of the Church headquarters in Beregszász, a memorial lists the names of four pastors who were martyred, six who were forbidden to serve as ministers, and 16 who were imprisoned for their faith during that era, reflecting something of the communists’ brutal suppression of the church in Ukraine. Such has been the mass migration of the younger generations since this current Russian invasion began that it is endangering the survival of the Synod, but at this time it has an important role in caring for the internally displaced arriving in great numbers from other parts of the country. In this context, Bishop Sándor ZánFábián, head of the Transcarpathian Church District, has released a pastoral letter to the Synod’s ministers in which he asks them to, “Stay in your place, remain where you are”. In such a time as this, he underlines the importance of continuing to be gathering, praying communities and sharing the gospel. He reminds them of their responsibilities to be steadfast and patiently care for the sick, the elderly, and the internally arriving in great need from eastern Ukraine. This, of course, reflects the journey of the church in one corner of Ukraine only, but what about the rest of this vast country? Looking back, after the fall of
the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the USSR, Ukraine gained its independence in 1991 and began opening up. The church gradually reemerged, including Reformed and evangelical congregations in a number of regions, with new pastors and missionaries being trained.
Hungary shares a 100mile border with Ukraine, and thousands of refugees from the war have been pouring into the country. Some churches have been determined to be agents of broad-based political, social, economic and spiritual reform within the country, gradually transforming values and culture in society; impacting prisons, orphanages, and other social institutions. When former Soviet elites remained entrenched, stalling economic reform and civic liberties, the church had a role as a strong and influential agent of change. Christians participated in a series of protests and marches in 2004/05 known as the Orange Revolution which helped to change the mindset of the country. All in all, the churches have contributed to a greater sense of freedom and independence. Located at the crossroads
www.jobbadni.hu/en
of Europe and Asia, over the past 30 years Ukraine has also become a strategic launch pad for mission with hundreds of missionaries moving into former Eastern Bloc countries. By the time you read this, whatever stage the Russian invasion has reached, I suspect the Ukrainian refugee crisis may be even greater than it was on day 18 of the war. Do remember, even as we contribute to PCI’s partners – so fully engaged in responding without discrimination of race, gender, region or political affiliation – that Christians are amongst those fighting, sheltering and fleeing. That is often true of so many of the crises in the Middle East, Africa or Asia, as it is of Ukraine. And as for those from Ukraine’s churches who may come among us to escape the tragedy of war, it’s important to listen to them in their trauma, and hear their testimonies of God’s provision and protection; acknowledging them as co-workers with us in mission, not unlike the believers in Acts 8:4 who having been scattered, preached the Word wherever they went. Let us pray that out of their indescribable pain and brokenness, God would make them to be a blessing wherever they go, as he continues to unfold his kingdom purposes. Uel Marrs is PCI’s Secretary to the Council for Global Mission.
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Moderator, Dr David Bruce, offers a reflection for Easter.
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erhaps this is a provocative title for a Herald article about Easter – but the alternative is if anything, even more startling. “I believe in the resurrection of the body.” We say these words easily when reciting the Apostle’s Creed, but like much which is important in Christian theology there have been multiple, sometimes mischievous interpretations of it. So let me state it clearly. I believe in both the death of the body and the resurrection of the body. Death is horrid. Our family experienced a tragic and unexpected bereavement on New Year’s Eve 2021. Death came like a chill wind through our house, settled in every room, infected every conversation and left us stunned. It has taken months to recover, and the journey is not over. People have been very kind – sending words of comfort and offering practical support. How grateful we have been for these expressions of love. But this awful personal loss has forced us to ask some questions. What is it that we actually believe about death? Are these beliefs fanciful, or well grounded? What ought we to say at funeral services? Is death so insignificant a thing that we can comfort ourselves by dismissing its brutal force, taming it and even making it our friend? “Death is nothing at all. It does not count. I have only slipped away into the next room. Nothing has happened.
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Everything remains exactly as it was…. What is this death but a negligible accident? …I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner…” These words are often quoted at funerals today – presumably in an attempt to shrink the impossible scale of what has happened to manageable proportions. But what these words offer is empty of hope. They are quoted from a sermon preached by Canon Henry Scott Holland in St Paul’s Cathedral following the death of King Edward VII in 1910, but are almost universally misunderstood. Canon Scott Holland makes this reference to expose the futility of such thinking about death, not to celebrate it. He goes on in his sermon to explain the Christian hope, based not on an empty notion of death as a convivial or trivial thing which needs no remedy other than the passage of time until we are all joyfully reunited. Instead he rightly describes death as a dark enemy, the
Death un-does us. Resurrection re-creates us. It is the sure guarantee that in Christ who defeated death, we may be re-made.
final obscenity: “…the cruel ambush into which we are snared [making] its horrible breach in our gladness with careless and inhuman disregard of us.” This latter sentence describes my New Year’s Eve experience. This I can identify with. Into this awfulness, the truth of the statement “I believe in the resurrection of the body” begins to gain some traction. Death un-does us. Resurrection recreates us. It is the sure guarantee that in Christ who defeated death, we may be re-made. The Westminster Confession of Faith upon which Presbyterians rely as an explanation of the most important teachings of the Bible, says that although our bodies return to dust when we die, our souls “immediately return to God who gave them” (Confession, Chapter 32). Having returned to God, believers: “behold the face of God in light and glory, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies.” This is important, because it points forward in time to an as-yet unfulfilled promise of God. The Confession goes on to explain: “At the last day, such as are found alive shall not die, but be changed; and all the dead shall be raised up with the self-same bodies…which shall be united with their souls forever.” This two-step understanding of what happens to us after death is not a version of purgatory, but a clear celebration that our ultimate destiny with God is a
We must not talk it down, rationalise it away, or dismiss it as a myth. Upon this rests our hope. We are a resurrection people…
bodily thing, as real and as tangible as our physical lives are today. The same, solemnly and sadly, applies to those who died outside of Christ. They too will be raised by Christ, but “to dishonour”. The concluding verses of the hymn For All The Saints Who From Their Labours Rest captures this sequence well: “The golden evening brightens in the west; Soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest: The peaceful calm of paradise the blest Alleluia But lo! There breaks a yet more glorious day; Saints, triumphant rise in bright array; The King of glory passes on his way! Alleluia From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host Singing to Father, Son and Holy Ghost Alleluia.” In saying, “I believe in the resurrection of the body,” we are not only saying that on the third day, Jesus was raised from the dead. We are talking about ourselves. This is our ultimate hope. We will be raised to be with Christ, for he was raised, and we are in him. In respect of this teaching, the manner of our death is not the issue, or by what means our bodies returned to dust (burial in a cemetery, or at sea,
cremation or by other means). The central hope of Easter is that in Christ, we will be raised with him. Without this sure hope, the gospel is empty rhetoric. And so, the biblical story of Good Friday leading to Resurrection Sunday offers us a hope-filled pathway to follow in the sometimes shocking harshness of the Christian life. When it may seem that because of the bruising nature of the battle, all hope is lost, it is not. It is however the case, that such hope emerges from a white-hot crucible of suffering. Let us not miss this. The cross was a complete subversion of everything the followers of Jesus believed and hoped for. In whatever ways they may have understood Jesus’ influence, teaching and rule, they did not see his death coming and certainly not on a Roman cross. This is why, having learned of his death they were in despair. “We had hoped that he was the one who would redeem Israel” (Luke 24:21). But the manner of his death suggested the opposite – that their hope was misplaced. His death in such a way, seemed to say that their oppressors had won, that the kingdom of Rome was secure and the kingdom of God was a pipedream. They fearfully realised that (as N.T. Wright expresses it), “Crucifixion of a would-be Messiah meant that he wasn’t the Messiah”, and that they had been deluded. Furthermore, their own safety as those who were publicly aligned with him was also at risk. Hope gave way
to paralysing fear. They were crushed, terrified and fled for their lives. So, break out the banners and let the trumpets truly declare what happened. He is risen! He is risen bodily, physically, actually, historically and truly. He is risen in a way that defies the laws of biology, chemistry and physics. He is risen to state a truth that is not wishful thinking, but will stand the scrutiny of the centuries. He is risen indeed! Because of what happened that day, the world is not the same, and never can be again. The universe has bowed to his mastery. The world now spins as an act of worship to him, and the entire cosmos affirms it. We find that life, now re-defined and re-born, is a different thing to what it was on Good Friday – no longer constrained by time but unshackled as it reaches forward to eternity. The angels cry “Holy”, and paradise is now prepared like a city of mansion-houses to receive its people. We must not talk it down, rationalise it away, or dismiss it as a myth. Upon this rests our hope. We are a resurrection people, settled on the identity of Jesus, enthralled as he sweeps us up into his arms of love and grace. He is risen! Welcome home this Easter! Dr David Bruce is Moderator of the General Assembly. His brother, Nigel died in a drowning accident in New Zealand on New Year’s Eve, 2021.
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