Presbyterian Herald December 2025/January 2026

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CONTRIBUTORS

Rev Liam Rutherford is minister of Ballydown Presbyterian Church and a member of PCI’s World Development Appeal committee.

Editor: Sarah Harding

Subscriptions and Advertising: Edward Connolly; Hazel Gilliland

Design and Layout: Edward Connolly

Printing: W & G Baird Ltd

Jason Nicholson is executive secretary of the Presbyterian Children’s Society and a member of Mersey Street Presbyterian Church.

Deborah Sloan is a member of Bloomfield Presbyterian Church. She is married to Russell and has four daughters. Having left a career in academia, she is now a freelance writer.

Ruth Sanderson lives in Scotland with her husband and two daughters. She is a freelance radio/television presenter and producer.

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 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 does not imply endorsement of the goods or services. Advertising will not be included if the product or service is deemed to be in conflict with the Church’s official views, or if it is inappropriate for a church magazine. It is not Herald policy to include any editorial content along with adverts. The editor reserves the right to decline any advertisement or letter without assigning any reason. Letters may be edited for publication. No correspondence can be entered into regarding nonpublication of advertisements or letters.

The Presbyterian Church in Ireland is a registered charity in Northern Ireland (NIC104483); registered charity in Republic of Ireland (20015695).

Unlocking eternal hope p38

The hedonic treadmill p22

Busy bees p18

Cover photo: Jamie Trimble

EDITORIAL

Prayer and lament

A lot has happened in the days running up to going to print for this issue of the Herald. A press conference in Assembly Buildings on Wednesday 12 November 2025 saw Dr Trevor Gribben step aside from his role as Moderator and retire as Clerk and General Secretary of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.

In a subsequent statement by Dr David Bruce, convener of the General Council, the Church acknowledged appalling failings in safeguarding practices, at Assembly Buildings level, between 2009 and 2021, with one additional case in 2022.

Pages 6 and 7 of this edition carry the statement of Acting Clerk, Dr David Allen, which was read in congregations on Sunday 16 November. The following day saw the commencement of a criminal investigation by the PSNI, the outcome of which is yet to be known. The PSNI has appealed to victims and survivors to get in touch – contact details for both the PSNI and Victim Support, as well as PCI’s response line, can be found on p7.

As a denomination we will approach Christmas this year as a people walking in the sorrow and shame of a great darkness. Present circumstances find us aching to see even a first glimpse of the dawning of the light of Christ. He alone can bring healing grace to the victims of our inexcusable failures. Unreservedly opening ourselves to the uncovering of his truth is the only way we will ever know freedom from these sins and shortcomings, or regain any measure of integrity for the future.

It may be difficult to see how we can even contemplate a happy Christmas. Instead, we find ourselves desperately needing to experience it as the beginning of a turning point towards hope and a restoration we will only find in Jesus.

These will certainly be challenging days ahead and so, as Dr Allen implores us to do, we can pray.

“Please pray to the Lord God Almighty…for those who have been affected by this…Pray that those who need help and support will seek it and get it, that they will find comfort and support; and pray that even though the Church has failed them, they will know that the Lord has not…”

Topical Tweets

@philknox

Love Rick Warren’s definition of evangelism…. ‘You build a bridge of love between your heart and theirs and you let Jesus walk across.’

@ChristianAidIrl

Fighting this year in eastern Congo has uprooted hundreds of thousands from their homes. Thanks to funding from @pciassembly our local partner CBCA built 60 shelters in North Kivu Province to house people living with a disability & elderly people whose homes were destroyed.

@irishchurches

For over a century the Irish Council of Churches has provided spaces for Christians from various denominations across the island to meet together. We want to pass our best wishes and prayers to President Catherine Connolly on the occasion of her inauguration to this high office. We have sought to facilitate interchurch dialogue as part of our work of reconciliation on an island scarred by many tragedies. Jesus’ words declare ‘blessed are the peacemakers for they are children of God’. Our prayer today would be that this presidency would allow the work of reconciliation to continue to flourish.

Herald subscription

With this being the final Presbyterian Herald of the year, now is the time to renew subscriptions.

In 2026, there is no change to the price of Heralds distributed through congregational agents –£20/€24.

Postal subscriptions are also available, although 2026 prices will reflect increases in postal charges.

The cheapest way to subscribe is digitally as a PDF emailed to you, which costs £16 (Euro equivalent). Contact the office by emailing herald@presbyterianireland.org

This year’s Ryder Cup had all the markings of being remembered as one of the greatest sporting events of all time. If you watched it, you’ll know just how much of a rollercoaster experience it was. The initial rush felt during the European charge, the shocking twist when the Americans made their comeback, that sinking sickly feeling of wondering if it had all been thrown away and then the relief as Shane Lowry made that putt to seal victory. So much to enjoy, remember and talk about.

Rob Gamble reflects on what’s been in the news recently….

However, as I write this, a few weeks after the competition, barely any of this has been mentioned. Instead, the big question that’s still being asked is: “Did the American fans cross the line?”

Instead of the respectful banter and good-natured rivalry that is usually enjoyed at the Ryder Cup, this year something uglier and full of personal attack played out before our eyes and it was hard to watch. Did some of the American fans cross the line? The easy answer to this is yes! But I think a better question to ask, and a harder one to answer is: How should we treat our rivals?

When it comes to interacting with those on the opposing side, those we disagree with, those we don’t like very much, or even those we might consider to be our enemies, how is it that we should view, respond to and treat these people? If we were to look for answers culturally of late, it would seem that the way to respond to our ‘enemies’ is, in varying degrees of severity, to hate them.

The online racial abuse suffered by the England women’s footballer Jess Carter during the Euros, the public harassment, hate and personal attacks directed at Rory McIlroy during the Ryder Cup, or the shocking murder of Charlie Kirk are but a few of many examples that could be given. And while these are examples that sit on the extreme end of the spectrum, I’m sure, if we’re honest, we can all admit to knowing how easy it can be, in small ways, for us to gravitate towards hating our enemies in our thoughts, words and actions.

In Luke 6, Jesus says something that provides a strikingly counter cultural challenge to both the extreme examples in the world that shock us and also to the small, everyday choices we make that shape us. How should we treat our rivals? According to Jesus, we should love them. This means doing good to those who hate us, blessing those who curse us and praying for those who

mistreat us.

Understandably, this might seem hard to palate and could produce feelings of indignation. However, the point is not to irritate us, nor is it to inundate us with a burden that can’t be carried. Rather, it’s an invitation to choose to live in a way that stands in contrast to the world around us. It’s an invitation from Jesus to partner with him in participating in the activity of the kingdom of God. And so, rather than sinking to our enemies’ level, getting one over them, or treating them worse than they might treat us, we are invited to consider doing good to them; which means choosing to live and act rightly towards another. When we might feel the urge to speak ill of others, or get dragged into an ugly war of words, we are invited to choose to bless those who curse us; which means to speak well of and to another person.

Finally, when we might want to think that our enemy should be excluded from anything to do with God, we are encouraged to pray for them; which, in part, means coming before God on their behalf, asking that he would connect with them in a way that melts their heart and moves them towards him.

None of this is easy. It’s full of complexity; it stands in contrast to what we see around us and what we might naturally feel within us. But then, this is a reality of the kingdom of God: it’s distinct, it’s different, it’s above and beyond, and yet it’s here in our midst, and we are invited to participate in it.

How should we treat our rivals? This is a difficult question, and how Jesus would answer it provides us with an even more difficult challenge. Thankfully, while this includes us, it doesn’t fall on our shoulders. We are to fix our eyes on Jesus, knowing that he isn’t someone who merely talks a good talk. Instead, he is the only one ever to have truly loved his enemies, which includes you and me. This is who invites us to partner with him and to become more like him as we live in and extend the kingdom of God to others, even to our enemies.

Rob Gamble is coordinator of discipleship at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Bangor.

Safeguarding statement

The following statement is from Rev Dr David Allen, Acting Clerk of the General Assembly. It was sent to all ministers to be read in every PCI congregation on 16 November, following safeguarding concerns that were highlighted and made public by the Church on 12 November.

By now you may have heard the distressing news reports about serious safeguarding failings in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. I want to share some things about that with you.

I apologise unreservedly to everyone affected by this and to the wider Church.

An investigation into the handling of past safeguarding issues at Assembly Buildings level has taken place.

Between 2009 and 2021, with one additional case in 2022:

• we failed to make referrals to statutory authorities when these were required;

• we did not respond adequately to concerns expressed to us about individuals in congregations;

• we failed to respond properly when people asked for help when they had suffered harm;

• we failed to keep proper and adequate records.

Also, we were told by statutory authorities that some offenders wanted to return to worship in church, and we didn’t monitor them as we should.

This was addressed as soon as we discovered it with the statutory authorities and all required safeguards now in place.

These failings do not involve our current safeguarding team, and did not involve everyone who was part of our team in the past. Alongside these failings, there were, and are, staff members doing outstanding work, and we thank them for it.

However, I must say now that these failures are inexcusable, and no excuse is being made for them. On behalf of the Presbyterian Church, I am deeply sorry.

I’m sorry, firstly, because people have been let down by us. Through past actions, or not acting as we should, we have put people at risk, and we know that some people have been harmed.

We have betrayed the trust that people placed in us and I am deeply sorry for the hurt and grief that this has caused. On behalf of the Church, I apologise unreservedly

to everyone affected by this and to the wider Church. We want to do everything we can to support victims and survivors of our failings. We are truly sorry.

If you are thinking about disclosing a concern about harm or abuse that has happened, whether that was in the church or somewhere else, I want to encourage you as strongly as possibly to do that. You can contact us, at the PCI response line. If you don’t want to speak to PCI, then please get in touch with the Police or Victim Support. All contact details are available by going to the PCI website, or by phoning Assembly Buildings and asking for Safeguarding [contact details are listed at the end of this article].

I’m sorry as well, because we are part of the church of Jesus Christ. He gave his life for us and he is the Head of his church. He calls on us to minister and reach out to those around us, showing his love, speaking his Word, and doing all that we can to bring honour and glory to him. We have failed our Saviour and Lord; we have dishonoured him.

I am inexpressibly grieved and ashamed by this – to dishonour our Lord in this way is beyond words. I ask you to join me in lamenting this, in seeking his forgiveness, and in asking for grace to do whatever he calls us to in light of our sin.

Last Wednesday was the first time we were able to tell people that we had found certain things. That was just the start of a very difficult process that’s going to last for some time.

We will not sweep this under the carpet; we will open ourselves to external review and will cooperate fully.

An external audit is already underway, designed by the Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland, called Section 12. This audit will review our practices and processes, and will be submitted to the Safeguarding Board.

We have been talking to statutory agencies, and are

continuing to do that, because we want to do things right, and we want their help in that. Again, we are cooperating fully.

On 1 December, Dr Richard Murray is due to become Moderator of the General Assembly. That day, he intends to announce that a special meeting of the General Assembly will take place next month.

This was a central failing, and I want to acknowledge people who provide compassionate and safe care in our local safeguarding teams. Thank you for doing that.

For many years, we have been blessed by a team of trainers in safeguarding, and hundreds of designated persons in our congregations. This is vital local work, and at a time when so much has been called into question, thank you for what you do.

Sometimes, when awful things happen, like this, we wonder what we can do. What we can do is pray.

Please pray to the Lord God Almighty, who is our loving Heavenly Father. Pray for those who have been affected by this – those who have been harmed and their families; those who will now be anxious and worried; those who feel betrayed; those who are now suspicious of us; and those who blame us, and may be tempted to blame God.

Pray that those who need help and support will seek it and get it, that they will find comfort and support; and pray that even though the Church has failed them, they will know that the Lord has not.

Please pray for all of our safeguarding teams and those involved in ministry within the lives of our congregations. I want to finish by saying again, that we are deeply sorry.

We should not be in this situation.

Join with me in pleading with God to be merciful to us, to forgive us, to purge us of our wrongdoing, and to make us more like the Lord Jesus.

Pray that his will would be done, here on earth, as it is in heaven.

Thank you.

Contact details for victims and survivors

PSNI is appealing for anyone who wishes to make a report or disclose information to contact police directly on 101 or via the dedicated email address: PCIenquiry@psni.police.uk

If victims want to avail of support, or just talk to someone who can help them navigate what is a triggering or traumatic time, please contact the Victim Support NI helpline on: (028) 9013 0405 (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 9am–5pm; Thursday 9am–9pm).

You can contact the PCI safeguarding review team confidentially by emailing: SAT@presbyterianireland.org or by phoning: +44 (0)28 9041 7308 (Monday to Friday 9am–4.30pm).

Pray that those who need help and support will seek it and get it…

NEWS | IN THE ROUND

Moderator resigns

Dr Trevor Gribben stood down as Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland on 30 November.

Speaking at a press conference, where failings in PCI’s central safeguarding functions from 2009 to 2022 were revealed, Dr Gribben expressed the Church’s regret and said, “Although not directly responsible for the professional delivery of safeguarding within the Church, nonetheless serious and significant failings in our central safeguarding functions occurred partly during my tenure as General Secretary. In light of this, I have decided it would be best at this time for me to step aside from my current role as Moderator.”

He continued, “In addition, I have asked, and been given permission to retire from my employed role as Clerk of the Assembly and General Secretary.

“I have made these decisions and taken these steps with the deepest personal regret that our central failings have caused such harm to those who deserve our protection the most.”

Dr Richard Murray takes up the role of Moderator on 1 December. One of his first acts will be to hold a special meeting of the General Assembly.

PCI responds to hurricane devastation

Following one of the most powerful hurricanes ever to hit the islands of the Caribbean, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) has sent £20,000 in emergency funding to support the relief effort of United Church of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands (UCJCI).

Communities in western and central Jamaica bore the brunt of the category five hurricane, with a wide range of infrastructure, including cars, houses, hospitals, schools and churches, being damaged or destroyed. Around half a million people have been left without power and 170 communities devastated by extensive flooding, resulting in thousands of people being cared for in hundreds of shelters that have been opened across the island.

In correspondence with the UCJCI with whom PCI has a longstanding relationship, it has been learnt that churches, church halls, manses and other church institutions have not been spared from varying degrees of damage, as have the homes of church members. PCI’s deep and prayerful concern has been expressed to the Church leadership in Jamaica.

Donations towards ongoing relief and recovery can be made at www.presbyterianireland.org/globalappeals

Festive appeal

‘Give the greatest gift this Christmas’ aims to raise £1 million to empower women into education.

The annual festive appeal from Tearfund focuses on women living in the Central African Republic (CAR), and how literacy can be a superpower for families battling poverty in a country where three in four women can’t read or write.

A partnership with SPAR, EUROSPAR and ViVO in Northern Ireland sees the retailer committing to match up to £500,000, raised through donations from supporters, shoppers and teams. Donation boxes will be in stores until 31 January or donate online by clicking on the QR code.

Chris Thompson, Tearfund’s director in Northern Ireland says, “We hope to give many more women across the world the chance to get equipped and get employed, or even better to create employment for themselves and others. I’ve seen first-hand the role that women play in bringing transformation to their communities.”

PSNI launches PCI investigation

The Police Service of Northern Ireland confirmed on Monday 17 November that they have launched an investigation following safeguarding concerns recently highlighted and made public by the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.

Assistant Chief Constable David Beck said: “…we have formalised a coordinated response working with statutory and support agencies to address the matters that have come to light as a result of the recent announcements by the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.

“Our immediate priority is the protection and safeguarding of anyone who may have been affected. In that regard I have established a dedicated PSNI investigation team under the supervision of an experienced senior investigating officer from our Public Protection Branch to lead what I can confirm will be a criminal investigation…

“I would encourage anyone who is affected to speak with our dedicated investigative team who will be on hand to provide specialist advice and signposting to other key services…”

PCI has welcomed the investigation and will be cooperating fully with it.

A spokesperson for PCI said: “Having been informed by the Police Service of Northern Ireland that they have launched a criminal investigation we welcome this believing it will provide a thorough, trusted and transparent outcome. We will cooperate fully with the investigation. We will make available all relevant files, reports and information to assist police with their inquiries.

“As a consequence of the PSNI’s announcement today of their investigation we will not be able to make any further comment related to the inquiry or aspects pertaining to it.”

PSNI is appealing for anyone who wishes to make a report or disclose information to contact police directly on 101 or via the dedicated email address: PCIenquiry@psni.police.uk

If a victim wants to avail of support, or just talk to someone who can help them navigate what is a triggering or traumatic time, please contact the Victim Support NI helpline on: 028 9013 0405 (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 9am–5pm; Thursday 9am–9pm).

Chris Thompson from Tearfund NI, Pearl Beauty founder Elanna McGowan, who is also backing the campaign, and Bronagh Luke from SPAR NI. Photo credit: Press Eye.

PHS publication

A forthcoming publication from the Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland will look at the remarkable ministry of Rev Robert Barron.

Written by Dr Joe Thompson, Rev Robert Barron, D.D., (1852–1942), Minister of Whitehouse Presbyterian Church, costs £6 and can be ordered from www.presbyterianhistoryireland.com

PCI urges continued prayer for Middle East

Welcoming the ceasefire in the Middle East that offers hope of an end to the war in the Gaza Strip, PCI is encouraging its members to continue to pray for the situation in the region and its people.

Rev Richard Kerr, convener of PCI’s Council for Global Mission’s Global Development committee, said, “Tens of thousands of lives have been lost as a result of this conflict, and it has not been easy to sift through the propaganda from both Israeli and Hamas sources to ascertain and understand what was happening.

However, we are deeply grateful for the present ceasefire and pray that it will not only hold, but become the start of a long-lasting and enduring peace in the region.”

Presbyterian War Memorial Hostel reunion

Assembly Buildings hosts Festival of Remembrance

For the first time since its formation, the Royal British Legion in Northern Ireland held its Festival of Remembrance in the historic surroundings of Assembly Buildings in Belfast.

The event, which saw the auditorium filled to capacity, featured a mix of remembrance, ceremonial and light entertainment and was compered by Paul Clark.

Prior to the Service of Remembrance and poppy drop there was a march-on of Royal British Legion and Regimental Association Standards, and representatives from the various branches of the armed forces, civilian services and youth organisations. The service was conducted by RBL NI senior chaplain Dr Isaac Thompson, assisted by Rev Rhys Jones, Rev Alan Cobain and Rev Fr Tom Layden.

Assembly Buildings has been booked for the 2026 event.

Economic hardship for Indian Christians

Christians in a coastal village of southern India are under increasing pressure due to a social boycott, according to Open Doors.

A group of former students from the Presbyterian War Memorial Hostel gathered at the Dunsilly Hotel recently for their second friendship reunion.

This special occasion brought together those who resided in the hostel between 1965 and 1970, offering an opportunity to share memories, laughter, and genuine Christian fellowship.

For many attendees, those formative years at the hostel were pivotal in nurturing and deepening their Christian faith. For others, it was a place where they first encountered the transforming love of God.

There are plans for another informal reunion in 2026. Contact Ruth Stewart on 07824 531158.

Earlier this year, the community in the state of Andhra Pradesh announced plans to build a Hindu mandir. When Christians declined to contribute, they were denied access to communal fishing areas, excluded from social gatherings and cut off from essential goods and services.

India is ranked at number 11 according to Open Doors’ ‘World Watch List ’.

Front row: Iris McKee (Stevenson), Margaret Kyle, Rosie McFadden, Ann Wright (Gribben) and Ruth Stewart. Back: Sam Stewart, Hannah McGahie, Billy Kirkpatrick, Pauline Kirkpatrick, George Wright, Bill McCormick, Linda McCormick, Tom McFadden, Raymond McGahie and Les Simms.

The reason for the season

Sarah Harding talks to Rev Stephen Lockington about First Antrim Presbyterian’s Christmas tree festival last year, which won a special award from the local council.

First Antrim’s Christmas tree festival in December 2024 became a winning initiative when it scooped a prize at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council’s ‘Spirit of Christmas Awards’. The church came top of the ‘Reason for the Season’ category, which was awarded to the most festive school, church, or

community facility, winning a glass trophy and £100 towards its chosen charities.

The festival, which was a new venture for the congregation, was the brain-child of two ladies from the church – Alison Faulkner and Lesley Kirkpatrick – who were given the green light for it after pitching the idea to the kirk session.

Minister, Rev Stephen Lockington says, “It gave us all a lift. People really came together and worked together, so it was a great opportunity for fellowship and to reach beyond our walls too.”

Conducted over a Thursday and Friday evening and Saturday afternoon in December, the festival then culminated at the carol service on the Sunday evening, one of the church’s main outreach events of the year.

Over 30 trees were included in the festival, decorated by local schools, businesses and church organisations.

Stephen says, “Every element of church life was included – the Session had a large central display based

around a shepherding staff. First Antrim church choir, Antrim Choral Society, Antrim Primary School choir, Riverside School choir, and the band, drums and pipes of 1st (NI) Battalion Army Cadet Force all provided seasonal music and songs during the festival. We were really pleased to be able to raise £3,200 which went to two local charities –Lough Neagh Rescue and Friends of Cancer Centre.”

When asked to describe the congregation, Stephen says, “It has a good ‘Jesus-centred’ heart,” which was exhibited perfectly in the festival.

“It drew out the best in people and that is reflective of the heart in the church – there is a

joy and unity among the congregation. God was at work in this event and we were happy to follow his lead.”

First Antrim’s mission statement is: ‘For the fame of Christ, to be disciples and make disciples in Antrim and beyond’.

Stephen says this statement represents the outward focus of the congregation. “We’re keen to make connections beyond our walls. Antrim is a growing commuter town, and with the airport, the hospital and several big employers, there’s lots of scope for the church to engage with people for the gospel’s sake.”

The desire to go beyond its walls does not just extend into the town. There has been a sustained interest in overseas mission down through the years, a legacy of the minister emeritus, Dr John Dixon, who ministered at the church for 28 years. This includes a long association with OMF.

Lesley Kirkpatrick (L) and Alison Faulkner (R)

Rev Stephen Lockington

It drew out the best in people and that is reflective of the heart in the church…

The congregation currently has the Orme family serving in Japan with OMF and Irene McMahon, OMF national director of the UK and Ireland, is a member. Stephen adds, “We also have some retired missionaries who served overseas with OMF, chiefly in the Philippines, where Irene and her husband Wilson previously served – so there’s a good link there too.”

Stephen is also mindful that the church has a heart for reaching those who are coming to Antrim from overseas. As the number of migrants increases in the town, he says there is a strong desire in the church to reach out in a spirit of welcome.

“In times when there have been community tensions, the church was working behind the scenes –individuals did what they could to be good neighbours to all. Some of our members currently volunteer in the

English language classes at Antrim Baptist Church, so it’s good that local churches are working together in that way too.”

First Antrim has recently appointed a community outreach worker –Chris Brown. “His focus will be on community engagement, building relationships with those on the fringes, developing outreach during the week, and inspiring congregation members to reach out in their own lives,” says Stephen.

“We have lots going on from Sunday to Sunday; morning and evening Sunday worship are key opportunities to invite and welcome guests; Sunday ministries include crèche, Friends of God club and Elevation for our children and youth. And through the week there are ministries catering for all ages and stages: BB, GB, youth club, Little Legends, Bible studies, prayer times, PW, choir, craft class, Friendship

group and Chat ’N Chew. So there’s already lots of engagement and I know Chris has more ideas for welcoming people in other ways.”

First Antrim hasn’t repeated the Christmas tree festival this year –“It was a lot of work,” comments Stephen. He says Alison and Lesley began planning nearly a whole year in advance – starting to contact people and make arrangements in January. So, for any congregations keen to hold a similar event in 2026, the advice is –you need to start soon!

Tribute to Very Rev Dr Ivan Patterson

Former PCI Moderator Dr Ivan Patterson was a wise leader, a gifted preacher and a compassionate pastor.

That was the tribute given during a service of thanksgiving for Dr Patterson held in High Street Presbyterian Church in Antrim.

He was also described as a wise confidant, dear and supportive friend, and a devoted servant of his Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He served faithfully in the congregations that he ministered in, and also in the wider Presbyterian Church in Ireland as a long-standing presbytery clerk, and Moderator.

The youngest of three children, Dr Patterson was brought up near the County Antrim village of Buckna, where he worshipped with his family at the local Presbyterian church.

Attending Ballymena Intermediate School, he went on to the town’s technical college before working as a television repair engineer.

After seven years, he attended Queen’s University where he obtained a degree in Semitic Studies, spending time at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He completed his training for the ordained ministry at Union Theological College.

Dr Patterson was ordained in First Presbyterian Church, Bangor (now City Church Bangor) as assistant minister in 1980, serving there for two years before being installed as minister of Bushvale Presbyterian near Ballymoney in 1982.

In 1991 he was called to Newcastle Presbyterian where he served until

his retirement. During his ministry in the seaside town, Dr Patterson developed a special interest in Romania and formed a twinning arrangement with a congregation of the Hungarian Reformed Church in Hodos, Romania, where he often visited.

He also spent much of his ministry focusing on youth work and held a number of offices promoting this area of work. From 1989 to 1993, he was convener of PCI’s Youth Board, and in 2014 he was appointed the first chair of Youth Link, a body set up by the four main Churches to facilitate the development of youth work and ministry.

His service to the wider Church also saw Dr Patterson take on the role of clerk of Iveagh Presbytery from 1995 until 2020.

After nearly 30 years in parish ministry, in February 2011 Dr Patterson was nominated by 12 of PCI’s 19 regional presbyteries to be Moderator, the office he formally assumed at that year’s General Assembly.

His theme for his year as Moderator was ‘The Word is Life’, as his term was set against the backdrop of the 400th anniversary of the publication of the Authorised King James Version (KJV) of the Bible. As part of the commemorations around the KJV, Dr Patterson took part in a special service in Westminster Abbey.

It was a busy year away from his congregation, which saw Dr Patterson encourage the Church at home across the island, and partner Churches

He served faithfully in the congregations that he ministered in, and also in the wider Presbyterian Church in Ireland.

in Hungary, Romania, Latvia and Lebanon.

While he was unable to attend Irish President Michael D. Higgins’ first inauguration in 2011, seven years later in November 2018, Dr Patterson represented PCI at his second inauguration.

Dr Patterson retired in 2013, but remained busy. Having served for two years as vice president of the Irish Council of Churches from 2018, in April 2020 during the first month of the Covid-19 pandemic, he began his two years as president. During his term of office of one of the world’s oldest national representative church bodies, along with the Church of Ireland, Roman Catholic, Methodist Church and Presbyterian leaders, he took part in the ‘Service of Reflection and Hope’ in Armagh, to mark the centenary of the partition of Ireland and the formation of Northern Ireland.

Dr Patterson is survived by his wife Maureen, who he married in 1972, and his son Stephen, daughter-in-law Morag, and three grandsons, Sam, Tom and Nate.

Pray for Nepal

At the start of September 2025, protests began across Nepal, organised by students and young people who were frustrated with the state of the country.

The demonstrations, which came to be known as the Gen Z protests, began after the government imposed a nationwide ban on social media and they quickly escalated as protestors expressed dissatisfaction with government corruption, limited opportunities and wealth inequality. At the height of the protests, Kathmandu’s Parliament Building was set alight and at least 72 people died.

The protests largely came to an end after the prime minister resigned, though there have been echoes of frustration at the slow pace of the change. The protestors’ demands, many of which are related to deep-rooted issues, have not yet been addressed by the interim government and there is discontent, which risks bubbling into fresh demonstrations.

PCI partners in Nepal have asked for prayer, particularly for the government as it seeks to address the complex issues.

Prayer calendar

Throughout 2025, children, families and leaders across the Church have been praying for global mission through PCI’s ‘Blaze the Bee’ initiative.

In December, the Blaze prayer calendar is highlighting Myanmar.

Ballina installation

Rev John Brogan was installed to the Home Mission and inducted to the Ballina Special Ministry Project at a service led by the Presbytery of Monaghan on Saturday 18 October. The service was held in Ballina Presbyterian Church and marks the commencement of Mr Brogan’s ministry there.

New congregation

A service was held on Sunday 12 October to mark the constitution of Central Belfast as a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, under the care of the Presbytery of South Belfast and within the Urban Mission.

This is the first new Presbyterian congregation to be constituted in 11 years, since Donabate Presbyterian was established in 2014. Pictured are those who took part in the service, including Dave Dickinson (licentiate), Rev Stuart Hawthorne (minister, Carnmoney), Rick Hill (Council for Mission in Ireland) and Rev Andy Galbraith (moderator of South Belfast Presbytery). Rev Gordon Campbell, who is the convener of the new congregation, also contributed to the service.

INTERESTED IN BECOMING A MINISTER?

Ministry taster day

Those considering becoming a minister are welcome to come along to a ‘Ministry Taster Day’ at Union Theological College, Belfast, on Saturday 14 March, from 10.30am to 1pm.

This will be a helpful means of discerning whether God is indeed calling you into the ministry of PCI. There will be opportunities to: meet members of Faculty; listen to current students share their experiences of studying Theology at UTC; find out about different study pathways; discover what’s involved in the ministry application process; hear about community life at the college; have your questions answered; and enjoy tea/coffee and some lunch together.

There is no charge, but booking is essential. Please register by Friday 6 March, by emailing p.todd@union.ac.uk or telephoning (from NI) 028 9020 5080, (from ROI) 048 9020 5080.

Accredited preachers service of recognition

Twenty-three new accredited preachers, from 13 presbyteries, were recognised as having completed their course at a service in First Antrim Presbyterian Church recently.

This particular course of the Accredited Preachers Scheme started in July 2024. In future, courses will run on alternate years, with the next course starting in July 2026. Application forms are available from Union Theological College (admin@union.ac.uk) and the closing date is 12 December.

Another resource for small groups is now available. ‘Handling the Word’ has been replaced by ‘Sharing God’s Word’. The course includes a teaching video with an accompanying booklet for those participating in the course. The course will be made available to PCI ministers, when requested, to be used at their discretion.

Let’s Pray

Keep up to date with the latest prayer requests through PCI’s weekly email resource, ‘Let’s Pray’.

Hitting inboxes every Thursday morning, it provides prayer topics for the coming week, and features prayers and requests concerning all aspects of the life and work of the Church.

To subscribe, go to www.presbyterianireland.org/prayer

Devotional

As a new year approaches, why not consider signing up to PCI’s daily devotional, ‘Tides’?

Event for women

A special event for women to reflect on life’s seasons of challenge and change, embracing God’s constant presence through all phases, takes place at Assembly Buildings, Belfast on Saturday 7 February between 10am and 1pm.

‘Present…at all times’ aims to encourage and equip women to be emotionally and spiritually present with God, for themselves and others in their families, churches and communities by providing biblical insights on God’s unwavering presence and through hearing from those experienced in different areas of care, such as coping with loss, family transitions and compassionate response to suffering.

The Presbyterian Women event costs £10 – scan the QR code to book.

Website hubs

A number of hubs to help congregations connect with those outside the church, and also reach younger generations, are available on PCI’s website.

The ‘Outreach and Evangelism Hub’ provides encouragement, inspiration and ideas on how to connect, build relationships and gain confidence in sharing God’s story.

The children’s, youth and family ministry hubs are filled with curriculum ideas, organisations to draw upon, support and training for leaders and links to resources.

Access the hubs by scanning the QR codes.

Available each weekday morning, Tides is created and written by contributors from across PCI, and is an opportunity to read God’s Word, reflect on what he is saying and learn how to respond.

‘God of promise, God of providence’ and ‘Life in the risen Lord’ are among the themes planned for 2026.

Visit www.presbyterianireland.org/tides

Grow in your leadership

Are you aged 21–30 and serving in a leadership role within church? Perhaps you are a staff member, a ministry apprentice or intern, a volunteer, congregational committee member, or a relatively new elder.

If you are, then ‘Emerge’ is for you. This all-day conference in High Kirk Presbyterian Church, Ballymena will combine practical teaching, interactive workshops, real-life leadership stories, space to reflect on your leadership journey, and opportunities to connect with other emerging leaders from across PCI.

The event takes place on Saturday 21 March between 11am and 6.30pm. To find out more and book, scan the QR code.

Explore events for young people

Collaboration between neighbouring presbyteries and the Council for Congregational Life and Witness will see two ‘Explore’ events, aimed at 11–16-year-olds, held early next year.

Today’s young people are often seeking to find something that gives them their unique purpose and meaning. The events’ theme ‘Why am I here? – Fulfilling our true purpose’, will help young people explore how that longing can only be satisfied in Christ and his design for our lives through worship, a Bible talk, activities and workshops.

Fun-filled afternoon for children and leaders

‘Kids’ Big Day Out’, PCI’s annual event for primary schoolaged children, is back for another action-packed afternoon of music, interaction, games and activities while learning together about God 3-in-1.

Taking place in Carnmoney Presbyterian Church on Saturday 7 March from 2pm to 4pm, this is an ideal opportunity to bring children from your Sunday school, children’s organisations or other activities and come together as a group.

To find out more and to book, go to www.presbyterianireland.org/kbdo

The first event takes place at Clogherney Presbyterian Church on 27 February 2026, while Muckamore Presbyterian Church will host on 8 March 2026.

Scan the QR code for further information.

Children, Youth and Family Hubs

Outreach and Evangelism Hub

PERSONAL VIEW

Life lessons

Rev Neil MacMillan

Director of City to City Europe and speaker at ‘From Seed to Harvest’ church planting conference

I was born in Aberdeen, raised in Glasgow and ended up in Edinburgh. It’s been a downward spiral! My dad was a minister and I heard the gospel beautifully explained from an early age. My own faith took shape throughout my teens. I am married to Louise and we have four children.

I got involved in City to City Europe because the Free Church of Scotland loves church planting but our church plants remained small and our model of planting was expensive. I was tasked to learn how we could plant more fruitful churches at less cost. I knew of Tim Keller and City to City and connected with them to learn and be trained.

Church planting is a normal part of church life, along with evangelism, prayer, discipleship, preaching etc. It happens regularly in the New Testament and we all attend a church that was once a plant. Church planting reaches new people, new places, new generations and new cultures, and raises up new leaders and resources. Raising up the next generation of church planters is my biggest and most important challenge.

As we gather around the gospel at PCI’s church planting conference, my prayer is that it takes hold of our hearts and minds to strengthen our sense of mission. Alongside of that, I hope to share something of what God has done in Scotland and beyond through church planting and the insights we have gained along the way.

What frustrates me most about today’s society is hyper individualism marked by an over psychologised and often over pathologised sense of self.

I get frustrated with the church when bureaucracy kills momentum and becomes more important than the mission. I get sad at churches that fail to put the goodness, truth and beauty of Jesus on display, because it’s what the world needs most.

There are a number of things about church that I love: the people;

community; laughter; fun; and meeting God in the preaching of the Word or the singing of a song.

A time when I felt closest to God was when I was standing beside my mother’s grave conducting her burial. I was dreading the moment but was overwhelmed by a sense of God’s overflowing love.

I grew up with a lot of very poor kids from hard backgrounds. It gave me a sympathy for the outsider and those far from the hope of Jesus. My greatest achievement was getting into university despite not having the qualifications and being a total waster at school!

For 20 years I had ulcerative colitis; a debilitating, exhausting illness. It has taught me a lot about leaning on God just to get through the day.

The best present I’ve received was a season ticket to go and watch Scotland (football) with my son from my son. My best holiday was to the Alps with my wife and kids.

PCI church planting conference

My favourite hymn is How Great Thou Art. It has deep resonance for me in terms of people I have both loved and lost in this world.

The person I admire most is Nelson Mandela or my wife. How do I choose?

The best piece of advice I’ve been given was: “Son, don’t preach a sermon, preach the gospel” – from my dad when I started preaching.

The hardest lesson I’ve had to learn is that I am a sinner who needs a lot of the gospel every single day.

‘From Seed to Harvest’ – a conference to help strengthen the roots of church planting ministry in PCI –takes place on Saturday 7 February 2026 in Drogheda Presbyterian. Organised by the Council for Mission in Ireland, the conference aims to equip those involved in church plants across PCI. Please register through the PCI website. Scan the QR code for further information.

THE APOSTLES’ CREED

Jesus knows suffering Andrew Collins

“…Suffered under Pontius Pilate…”

From Jesus’s birth, the Creed takes us straight to his suffering under Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea from 26–36 AD. Why the apparent leap over Jesus’s life? Because the Creed condenses that life into one word: “suffered”.

Isn’t it a skewed summary? After all, Jesus had a boyhood, growing in wisdom and stature. He worked as a carpenter, went about teaching and healing, attended dinner parties, had retreats, spent time with friends – is that not all relevant to his life? Yes! And in every moment, his impeccable faith and obedience achieved the righteousness we need. Yet the Bible itself also sums up the life of Jesus as “suffering” (1 Peter 1:11; 4:1; Luke 24:26; Acts 17:3).

So, let’s consider how exactly suffering characterised Jesus’s life? Born in farmyard deprivation, he was driven under a death threat from his home as a young child, assuming refugee status with his family in Egypt (Matthew 2:13). This rejection of men – “His own received him not” – would intensify. He was hounded out of his hometown and almost lynched off a cliffside. Leaders of the religion he came to fulfil misunderstand him, misrepresent him, hate him. They plot his murder. Pause, and consider even one of these experiences. He suffered.

lame and injured, he is taking the burden of our diseases, disabilities and death upon himself. Pause and consider these experiences. He suffered.

Hebrews encourages you not to allow your suffering to pull you away from the Lord.

Jesus knew the sorrow of losing those he loved. He weeps and is moved with deep emotion at the death of his friend Lazarus. And as that same shadow loomed heavily over his own life we find him in a garden at night, heaving with deep sadness in prayer (Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22). His soul is sorrowful and deeply distressed. A depth of mood, an intensity of heaviness threatens to overwhelm him. He is in emotional anguish. He earnestly seeks this cup of suffering to be removed from him. Pause, and consider these experiences. He suffered. Then we come to Pilate. The Creed sets him forth as a representative over of all that Jesus suffered. Falsely accused, slapped, beaten, stripped and whipped, mocked, crowned with thorns. In many ways, his suffering under Pilate was the culmination of his other sufferings: the persecution; the oppressive authority; the power to violently kill; the bearing of mankind’s sicknesses reaching a climax in his own injuries, impaling, suffocation and curse-bearing death. Pause and consider that experience. He suffered under Pontius Pilate.

Jesus’s ministry began with a period of wilderness testing, and oppression from the liar, accuser and enemy, Satan. He was weakened through fasting for nearly six weeks. He was with wild animals (Mark 1:13), living with the peril of the untamed world. Pause, and consider these experiences. He suffered.

During his ministry, the weight of a crowd’s expectations for healing and blessing press in. Time and energy are demanded in proportion to a needy people’s craving for relief, healing and hope. He needs retreat. Power goes out from him (Mark 5:30; Luke 6:19). But what else did healing others need from Jesus? According to Matthew, “He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases” (Matthew 8:16–17, Isaiah 53:4), indicating that he received to himself our sicknesses, pain and disabilities in order to carry them away. This removal of physical suffering happens ultimately at the cross, where Jesus took for us the curse of sin that brought about all suffering. But as he touches, and speaks and declares healing to fevers, infections, leprosy; the paralysed and withered; the blind, deaf and mute; the treatment-resistant diagnoses; the

Why do we confess this in the Creed? Hebrews 4:15–16 summarises it. Does God really know my struggle? My sickness? My chronic illness? My physical health problems? My disability? My mental health problems? My loneliness? My fears – of death, of failure, of uncertainty, of disconnection? My shame – of rejection, of being misunderstood, of abuse from others? My trauma? My overwhelm and burnout? My persecution? Jesus suffered. Under Pontius Pilate. Pause and consider how he is able to have compassion and feel what you are feeling.

Hebrews encourages you not to allow your suffering to pull you away from the Lord. Rather, it must draw you near. Near to receive grace. Near to receive a kindness that is more real and lasting than your suffering. Near to receive help that will hold you fast, until all the Pilates are gone and there is only one good King, under whom you will live with no more pain and tears. Pause, and consider how he helps you and will deliver you. Because he suffered under Pontius Pilate.

Andrew Collins serves as director of counselling ministry for Biblical Counselling UK.

Busybees

Liam Rutherford introduces this year’s World Development Appeal (WDA), ‘Hives of Hope: Working together for a better tomorrow’, which is supporting a number of overseas projects, including one in Honduras that is helping families to run a beekeeping business.

In March, I had the privilege of visiting Honduras at the invitation of Christian Aid for this year’s World Development Appeal (WDA). Honduras sits in the middle of Central America with a population of just over 10 million people and a land area 25% larger than the island of Ireland. It has a sea coast on the Gulf of Mexico and one on the Pacific. It borders Nicaragua to the east, El Salvador to the south and Guatemala to the west. The official language is Spanish and it is predominantly Roman Catholic.

Honduras has a tropical climate and a mainly agricultural economy. It has many natural resources, including minerals, coffee, tropical fruit and sugar cane, and as such should be developing rapidly. However, wealth is largely confined to the urban centres and there is great disparity between rich and poor.

Around 60% of the population live in poverty and 19% of children under five…have impaired development.

Around 60% of the population live in poverty and 19% of children under five years of age have impaired development. The problems of climate change, inconsistent economic growth, growing levels of inequality and poverty, violence, political instability, displacement and limited access to basic social services, are some of the main factors leading to food insecurity and malnutrition.

The project

Christian Aid is working in Western Honduras through a faith-based organisation called the Christian Organisation for Integral Development of Honduras (OCDIH).

OCDIH works with indigenous communities on a range of small agricultural projects, including beekeeping, fish farming and coffee production.

One of the beekeeping projects we visited came about as a result of an earlier project tackling domestic violence, as it became clear that one of

One of the beekeeping projects we visited came about as a result of… tackling domestic violence…

the causes of violence in the home was poverty. So, the question was how to generate an income to try and alleviate the financial pressure on families.

This project works on different levels. There is the income generated through selling honey which helps to support the family and provide for the education of the children. There is also a strong cohesion arising from this cooperative venture which enables the women to grow in confidence and support one another. The women gain a much better awareness of how important it is to look after and maintain the environment. And then it also allows the women to develop leadership as they grow their small business.

OCDIH is providing training in beekeeping and is supporting the small cooperative venture that collects and bottles the honey. It is also helping to market the honey to the large retail outlets.

We were introduced to various families that OCDIH is helping and these are just short extracts from some of their stories.

Candida

Candida has 11 children and 37 grandchildren. She told us with great enthusiasm: “I haven’t been to school a single day in my life… My parents were very, very poor. Too poor. They couldn’t put any of their family [in school]. I cannot even read but I am very motivated.

“First, [OCDIH] gave me one [beehive] in one year, then the second one I received in the next year. Out of those, I now have four beehives! And in future, if I have 20 beehives, I will sell 10 and I will stay with 10 and continue...

“My husband helped me [make the hives] doing the frameworks on the filters and everything with the wood. And we live peacefully – I used to be very stressed. Now you can see I’m very happy. It has changed my life a lot.”

Maria

Maria has two daughters and runs a small shop from her home. She received two hives two years ago and has now divided them into four. She wants to build up the number of hives to 10 and then start selling the honey

“It was a dream. I wanted to have those beehives, but due to the situation, I couldn’t. But thanks to Christian Aid, this dream is a reality.

“My husband helps me building them – he’s the one that does the frames. Yes, indeed, it’s a team effort. My small daughter also, she loves watching them.

Candida works on her beehives

My daughter says, ‘These ones are going to be mine,’ and I tell her, ‘No, they are from God!’

“If you could pray for this project, because…I hope it can continue growing. And please pray for our families so that God can give us the wisdom to manage it.”

Jesus

Jesus, like his father, was involved in agriculture – keeping bees, and growing coffee and plantains.

Then about seven years ago, together with Jesus’ younger brother, his father migrated to the US. He felt that he was

drowning in debt trying to support his family and it was time to try something new. However, it was not long before he abandoned his family in Honduras and started a new life with a new family in the US.

For Jesus, this was a seismic shock. His mother suffered depression and they lost their family home. Jesus took on the responsibility of providing for his family. He found a wife and started a family of his own and continued to maintain the farm. He was doing fairly well and even had his own car – yet somehow was tempted to follow in his father’s footsteps and migrate to the US.

I wanted to have those beehives…thanks to Christian Aid, this dream is a reality.

“Well, in that decision of migrating, the truth is I lost everything. I lost my beehives, I lost my car, I lost my business too… I can’t understand why I took that decision.

“I reached Texas and there, immigration stopped me. I stayed there for around 15 days, detained. And during those 15 days, I reflected on my life completely, probably way more than [I had in] the last 28 years of my life... I said, ‘Hey, I had my life here… my future was in my hands. I had my family. I had great potential...’

“I realised that indeed I was living here [in Honduras] in richness… I just thought about my family, my boy and my girl, and they love me… and I just thought – what’s going to happen to them?”

Jesus quickly decided that he would request deportation. He arrived home and started again from scratch with the help of OCDIH.

He started growing plantains and has added coffee bushes in between the plantains as these two crops seem to work well together. Jesus has big plans and hopes to expand to 2,000 plantains and 20,000 coffee bushes. He also hopes, with help from OCDIH, to reintroduce beehives and start honey production.

“I would like it if you can pray, I would say for my project, for my integrated farm, which will be the base

Martin Alvarado who works for OCDIH

of all [the] income for my family…”

Jesus now has a message for the young people around him.

“My word is to be persistent. Problems, of course, we will have problems, but in this path, in this journey of moving forward in our life, sometimes we have to abandon things from the world… Be persistent and then you will see the success.”

I think of Jesus as a bit like the prodigal – who thinks that life would be better somewhere else – but ends up making a huge mistake that costs him everything. Very painfully he decided to return home to his family and start again.

It was with the help of OCDIH that Jesus was able to make that fresh start and now he is thriving and enjoying his young family.

…it’s definitely…an opportunity to also bring hope and introduce Jesus Christ in their life.

Carla

Carla worked for other NGOs before joining OCDIH. She finds that working in a Christian organisation really motivates her to share her faith.

“I feel motivated to do this job. It is because, for the first time, I had the chance to know an organisation based on faith. So that was perfect for me, with all my principles. And it allowed me in my work, but as well in the office and in the local communities, to have the chance to talk about Jesus to all the families...

“Every Monday we were developing a devotional with the technical team in my office as well. When we go to the local communities, when we have training with the families – with the women, with the local producers, with the youth – we also develop devotionals with them in a way that we can transfer and send a biblical message for all these people. And it surprised me that indeed, most of them do not know about this truth, this biblical truth. So it’s definitely a chance and an opportunity to also bring hope and introduce Jesus Christ in their life.”

In supporting the WDA this year, you will be helping dedicated Christians like Carla to bring hope to people like Candida, Maria and Jesus.

Rev Liam Rutherford is minister of Ballydown Presbyterian Church and a member of PCI’s World Development Appeal committee.

Find out more

To find out more about PCI’s 2025 World Development Appeal, to watch the video, or to make a donation, please scan the QR code or go to www.presbyterianireland.org/worlddevelopment

Maria and her family

The hedonic treadmill

As we approach Christmas, the most consumer-driven time of the year, Ruth Sanderson asks if we should all reassess our buying habits.

Recently, my almost-six-year-old ran into the kitchen, a little stream of blood running from the side of her mouth.

“Oh my goodness! What happened?” I exclaimed.

“MY TOOTH CAME OUT!” She screamed excitedly. And sure enough, the bottom front tooth which had been just a little wobbly the day before, had popped out after a committed crunch into an under-ripe pear.

She was ecstatic, not just because she now matched her two best friends who were also sporting gaps, but because there had been a long and slightly fraught discussion two days earlier about the tooth fairy. There had, of course, been quite a convoluted logistical chat about how and why the tooth fairy might operate. The conversation swiftly moved on to the going rate for one bottom tooth, which

was definitely much more than I ever remember getting!

Fast forward to the night of the fallen-out tooth. Once I’d put her to bed, gnasher safely under the pillow, I had a sense of panic. Did we actually have any physical cash in the house? Gone are the days for many of us of having a purse full of loose change; everything is cashless, contactless, virtual. I couldn’t very well tap my phone on her forehead and make a monetary transaction… ping! It might spoil the wistful romance of the tooth fairy.

…contactless card and phone payments can make people spend more because they reduce the ‘pain of payment’…

I spent a bit of time rifling, burglar like, through drawers, bags, coats, pockets, down the back of the sofa with a chop stick. I came up with around three pounds of loose change made up of 20 or so coins.

The next morning, she was delighted, but also perplexed. “What are these?” she asked, picking the coppers out of an envelope sceptically.

“Money,” I replied, “For your tooth”. “Ooohhhh” – she looked in awe at this bounty and counted out each coin, completely oblivious to what they were or what value they held. I realised that my children hadn’t really encountered physical money before – only mummy’s card or phone and that familiar ping. Why should they? Around 22 million adults in the UK now don’t use cash. It made me wonder about the disconnect we have with money. Especially as adults, around spending

and whether that has an impact on how much we purchase.

An academic study, out last year, found that contactless card and phone payments can make people spend more because they reduce the ‘pain of payment’ by being quick and convenient, encouraging impulsive spending. Researchers also showed that digital payments are less memorable than cash transactions, and that people are therefore more likely to spend on a whim.

Let’s be honest, we all recognise that. A few pounds here, a few there. The ubiquitous tap tap tap on the card on the reader, the quick, non-humanness of it all.

Not only that, but so few interactions are now in physical shops; many people go weeks, even months, without having to venture out to a high street or shopping centre. A click on your phone and here are your groceries; a swipe across and there is a dress; a tap tap tap while you’re sitting on the sofa and what was abstract becomes a real parcel stuffed behind the plant pot at your front door. Our relationship to purchasing has lost the bulk of physical and tangible qualities that it once did. We purchase mindlessly, almost as a reflex.

As a nation, we are consuming more than ever without ever having to step inside a shop or even handle cash. According to the Office for National Statistics, 27% of all purchases in the UK are online.

It’s easier than ever before to shop. Like me, you may recognise the initial ‘rush’ of excitement from a new purchase, but then when it wears off, you just want to buy something else to re-capture that buzz. It has a name – it’s called ‘the hedonic treadmill’. Numerous psychological studies suggest that all this short-lived, endorphin-fuelled, easy shopping is in fact, making us more and more unhappy.

…it’s time to be mindful about sleepwalking into over-consumption…

Can you remember the last full day when you bought… nothing? Really think hard here. No coffee, no bits and bobs, no internet purchases, no quick checkouts on your phone? Hard isn’t it? I’ve been trying to do a mental audit of my past few weeks and I’m not sure I can pinpoint a particular day which didn’t include some sort of purchase. I think the last time I didn’t buy anything, was when I was laid up with a stomach bug and couldn’t physically move. Even then, it’s possible (amidst the heaving) that I could have bought something on my phone.

There is a movement called Buy Nothing Day. Started over 20 years ago, it was meant to create a counterpoint to excess consumption on Black Friday – traditionally the biggest shopping day of the year – to make the point that you don’t have to consume for the sake of it, that our heads, hearts and wallets would be better off if we all just… took a break.

It really made me consider how much I spend and the disconnect I have to money. With that disconnect comes a lack of engagement with how we use the resources that ultimately come from, and belong to, God.

Instead, what could I have done with the money I spent on a jacket that I really didn’t need?

How could I have used it to help someone else or save for the future needs of my family? Could it have gone to glorify God? It made me stop in my tracks – do I scrimp on giving financially to his work because of the desire for a quick, pointless buzz?

Jesus himself in both Luke 12 and Matthew 6 tells us that where our treasure is, that’s where our heart will be also. I don’t want my heart to be in an online shopping basket or at a checkout.

Even if we don’t manage to buy nothing, perhaps it’s time to be mindful about sleepwalking into over-consumption, and remember the greatest gift of all was paid for, not by money, but by the ultimate sacrifice on a cross.

INTERNATIONAL MEETING POINT

Loving the stranger in the city

Henry Coulter Assistant project leader

As relationships are deepened, opportunities arise to share God’s good news.

At the beginning of summer, a young man in his late teens came into the International Meeting Point (IMP) extremely nervous and unsure of himself. As we started to chat, his story slowly unfolded and the tears flowed. He had fled the conflict in the Middle East and the trauma of his exit from his home country was compounded by the harrowing journey across Europe. He had lost contact with his immediate family back home and was not sure if they were still alive. It was as if News at Ten had sat down in front of us!

over 40 people each week engaging with the videos and contributing in the discussion groups.

Across the two sites there are 16 different English language classes offered across four days. Learning English is one of the greatest needs as people integrate into life in Northern Ireland. The classes range from learning the basic ABCs to understanding the nuances of English. We could not run these classes, nor any of our activities, without the wonderful team of volunteers who faithfully serve so many.

Over the incoming days and weeks, we spent time with Zachry, helping him to navigate life in Belfast and providing love, care and support. He is just one among many who come into the IMP seeking help each day. What a privilege it is to be able to live out our mission statement ‘to love God and love the stranger in the city’ (Deuteronomy 10:19).

The IMP operates as one team across two sites in North and South Belfast, comprising of two drop-in centres and an Op Shop. We long to see the love of God shared, not just through Bible studies four days a week, but also through practical support. We are able to provide clothes, food, bikes and hot lunches all free of charge.

In September, we started another bi-lingual Alpha course in partnership with South Kirk Presbyterian Church. It is a joy to see

A great deal of our time is spent helping people with individual challenges, such as getting school places for their children or applying for driving licences. As we come alongside these families, there are opportunities to share the good news. That is a privilege.

As well as studies and support, classes and cooking, there is still time to have fun. Adding to the buzz of the centres is the noise of pool tournaments and ping-pong balls bouncing across the floor, as well as a bit of craic over coffee. One of the highlights of our calendar is taking over 160 people away during the summer for a day of fun and a barbeque. For many of these families, this is their only opportunity to get out of the city.

As relationships are deepened, opportunities arise to share God’s good news.

Thank you for your prayers for us.

Please pray:

• That the Word of God would penetrate hearts and many would come to trust Jesus.

• May all who serve in the IMP, staff and volunteers, know God’s strength, grace and wisdom as they show and share God’s amazing love with all who come in.

DEACONESS

The gift of a Bible

Roberta Irvine

Elmwood Presbyterian Church

How many gifts were there in total in the song, The 12 days of Christmas? Quick answer – a lot! In this season of gifting and receiving we all give thought to both the gift and the cost. Most of us ‘scale back’, budget, make a list (and check it twice) or join a ‘Secret Santa’ scheme to offer a comfort level which we can afford or have the heart to give.

At Elmwood, a team of kind and wise people manage the church’s outreach fund. Their heart for the community has allowed us to step out of our comfort level and place a ‘Bible Box’ stocked with free Bibles on the roadside. While we usually seek to give out tracts and Bibles by looking folk in the eye, getting to know them and praying with them, why this extravagant anonymity of the Bible Box?

…it has opened up conversations about the centrality of the Word of God.

• Practically, it is open 24/7 for the footfall on our pavement. A strong, discrete way to reach those who, like Nicodemus, walk past at night with questions about faith or those who walk home from school or work.

• It’s a sign! We are currently working on new signage at Elmwood, but if you want to know what we really believe, then take a Bible.

• Historically, parts of our island-wide Church were built by God using Irish ‘colporteurs’ who distributed Bibles. This is our 2025/2026 colportage in secular Lisburn.

• Biblically, we see the extravagant and lavish seed sowing of the farmer in Matthew 13.

At our church hall we all share how it has opened up conversations about the centrality of the Word of God. People within our ministries have found a confidence to admit they do not have a Bible and to ask for one. We joy

together each week as Bibles go out of the box. When I go to check on the box and find some Bibles have gone, I explain it’s like Christmas morning in my heart. As we thank God for the men and women who practically made this box possible, our resolution in 2026 for our 50th anniversary is to have the abundant gospel economy of the sower. Please join with us in praying. And finally, to answer the first question, there are 364 gifts in The 12 Days of Christmas!

Please pray:

• For those who have taken a Bible, that God will speak clearly as they read.

• For those who have quietly and quickly taken a Bible, that God will draw them into a local church fellowship.

• For those whom God is pulling toward him through the everpresent Bible Box, that God will draw them not just to take a Bible but to new and living faith.

URBAN MISSION

A remarkable year

Rev Rodney Cameron

St Columba’s Church, Lisburn

I…the review clearly showed the need to face our challenges: renewal is needed.

n November of 2024 we received a five-year extension to the Reviewable Tenure. This news was warmly welcomed by both the congregation and the people we serve on this side of Lisburn. Even so, the review clearly showed the need to face our challenges: renewal is needed. Our buildings and many of our people have faithfully served here for two generations.

One need for repair was evident by mid-January. We became concerned about a bump that appeared on the surface of the church roof, so we invited an agent from the insurance to take a look.

We were looking in the wrong direction. Two days later, it was the flat roof of the church hall that was wrecked in a storm. The Oliver Brown Hall, named after a former PCI missionary, lost most of the felt roof, which ripped off like an Elastoplast, and landed in the car park. No one was injured, but the damage meant that we lost the use of the hall for nearly all of 2025.

While Sunday services continue in the church building, some of our ministry and outreach has moved outside. Our family service, with an all-age format, has attracted new families to worship.

On the Monday before Easter, we held a prayer walk around the Old Warren Estate, with members of other fellowships in the area. We found inspiration from a picture lying in a store in prison, entitled ‘I AM’, which reflected the seven sayings of Jesus in John’s gospel. We also printed 500 copies of a Bible study on this theme, and copies were

distributed in Hydebank and Maghaberry prisons through the chaplaincy, as well as to homes around the church. The QR code will allow Presbyterian Herald readers to download a copy.

In July 2024, St Columba’s had over 70 children attend the summer club. This summer, we moved to Old Warren Primary School, and held the summer club there. It was great to see the children again.

By autumn, most of our small groups have resumed. Our kirk session has emphasised the need for prayer, both individually and collectively, praying for the renewal of our people and the restoration in our buildings.

Please pray:

• Give thanks for the faithfulness of the congregational committee which has worked tirelessly during the year.

• For the creative use of the Oliver Brown Hall in the outreach to the Old Warren and beyond, once it’s received back from the contractors.

• For a speedy resolution to the roof repairs in the church.

• For refreshment and renewal among church members and a new impetus to share the good news of the gospel, whatever the circumstances.

CARRIGART MISSION PROJECT

Settling in

Rev Dario Leal

Minister of Dunfanaghy and Carrigart Presbyterian Churches and project leader of Carrigart Mission Project

Transitioning… into a new place is never easy, yet the warmth of both congregations has made this process much more bearable…

At the end of May 2025, I was installed as the minister of Dunfanaghy and Carrigart Presbyterian Churches and as the project leader of the Carrigart Mission Project, based out of the Bewglas Centre. The Bewglas Centre, formerly the manse of Carrigart Presbyterian Church, is now used as an additional meeting space for the congregation and local community groups. The facilities are also available for church groups and ministries to hire, with future conferences and retreats being organised to benefit the wider Church.

Transitioning and settling into a new place is never easy, yet the warmth of both congregations has made this process much more bearable as they have journeyed with me throughout these months.

My initial experience was of ‘summer church’ – a period when both congregations see a significant increase in visitors attending Sunday worship. This offered many opportunities for interaction and a brief insight into the rhythm of these congregations. We experienced a steady flow of visitors, some of whom attended for more than one Sunday. It also provided an opportunity to observe the Bewglas Centre’s operations and gain a realistic understanding of its volunteers, bookings and potential areas of development.

The Centre was booked for the whole summer, which was very encouraging. I joined some of the ministries that came to visit, either with a devotional thought or just by being present. One highlight was the visit of a team from Windsor Baptist Church who ran a summer Bible club in the local area. They organised a shortened version of their summer

Bible club in Dunfanaghy and a Saturday fun day at the Bewglas Centre, which was well attended and proved very effective.

As we enter the winter months, the dynamic of the church has changed. There are few visitors, yet I have found a richness of faith within the congregations as we have enjoyed learning about prayer through the ‘Prayer Course’. We recently hosted a mini-conference on ‘Praying like Jesus’, which provided valuable insight into how the Bewglas Centre can be utilised.

The Carrigart Mission Project aims to share the gospel with the local community through words and actions. We are planning different activities in the coming months, including a one-day and an overnight spiritual retreat. We are making small changes to promote the Bewglas Centre to a broader audience across Ireland, reaching groups and individuals through missionally motivated activities, retreats, prayer and reflection programmes.

Do pray for us as we seek to develop the congregations and make the Bewglas Centre a place of rest where the Spirit of the Lord can transform, lead and equip. If you or your congregation would like to use the Bewglas Centre, do get in touch with us at bewglascentre@gmail.com

Please pray:

• Give thanks for the successful summer Bible club.

• That the prayer life of both congregations will continue to grow.

• That the Bewglas Centre will be a place of rest and transformation.

GLOBAL MISSION

Accounts of Theological Education by Extension

Volker Glissmann

Global mission worker, Southern Africa

I…our Church has supported the vital TEE work in many places for many years…

am a collector, and I collect all things Theological Education by Extension (TEE). I am a collector of all things TEE because I want to learn from those who walked before us.

Over the years, I have spoken with many early TEE practitioners. About three years ago, the idea arose that it would be good to collect their stories, preserve them and publish them. An Australian colleague, who has been involved in TEE since the late 1960s, agreed to work on the project with me. Over the last years, we collected 25 individual stories and experiences of those who have been involved, in one way or another, in implementing TEE in its early years. The accounts collected cover TEE programmes, both independent ones and those linked to theological colleges, in Africa, Asia, South America, Australia and Oceania.

Not surprisingly, the book contains articles by Irish Presbyterian global mission workers, such as Rev Uel Marrs, Rev Brian and Jean Gibson, and me, as well as references to the exciting work that Naomi Leremore does in TEE with the PCEA in Kenya today. As a global mission worker, I am not surprised, because our Church has supported the vital TEE work in many places for many years as the TEE ministry continues to build individuals and churches to serve God better.

Here is one unique story from the book of someone who found Jesus in prison, grew in faith through a local TEE group, became a church planter, used TEE for leadership training, and then became the director of a TEE programme in Papua New Guinea. Methodologically, TEE involves self-study materials combined with a discussion/fellowship group. Here is an extract from Philip’s story on how it started.

“I did TEE studies in prison as a newly born-again believer. TEE has brought me spiritual insights and new revelations from the Bible. The Bible became more meaningful, and to follow Jesus Christ was a sensible decision I had to make. The Bible and TEE have laid the foundation of my Christian belief and paved the way for higher and further theological education and ministry.

“Some students accompanying the Prison Fellowship ministry team came to Baisu prison one Sunday morning for fellowship with the prisoners. After the fellowship, the Prison Fellowship coordinator announced that they were offering a TEE course called ‘Come Follow Me’, a course on discipleship, free of charge for interested prisoners. He further remarked that this course will particularly help those who wanted to deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ and become his true disciple. There were about six of us who raised our hands to do the course. My intention was, as a newly born-again believer, to learn more about following Jesus Christ.”

The ebook, Theological Education by Extension: Accounts from the 20th century, is available by scanning the QR code.

The Glissmanns are living in Malawi. Jinhyeog is involved in a local primary school as a music teacher. Volker works off-campus as a programme developer for TEEC, the Theological Education by Extension College in Johannesburg, South Africa, and does grassroots theological training in Malawi.

Please pray:

• Join us in praising God. We praise God for the book finally being published and available globally as a free ebook.

• Continue to pray for global TEE practitioners, that they can continue to serve God in sometimes challenging circumstances.

• Please continue to pray for the health and safety of the whole family.

GLOBAL MISSION

Trusting in the

Lord

Gary and Mary Reid Global mission workers, Kenya

W…our Lord spoke clearly to us through his holy Word that it was his will for us to leave.

e can only but praise and thank our Lord for all that he has done, is doing and will continue to do.

After a period of waiting, our Lord granted us the opportunity to travel back to Olkinyei and to fellowship with his precious children there. Whilst there, our Lord spoke clearly to us through his holy Word that it was his will for us to leave. How we blessed our faithful Lord for his anchoring Word to keep our hearts and minds firmly secure in him. We knew then that whatever the upcoming journey held in store, his unfailing Word could be depended on and, as he so graciously had promised before our journey, he would not fail us. We really needed this.

And so, we delved into the work which our Lord prepared for us to do, including much fixing and repairing. Nursery, primary and secondary school – Bibles and children’s stories were purchased and distributed (with some awaiting distribution when the schools reopen). Pulpit Bibles were presented to representatives of each of the six churches within Olkinyei and Siana, alongside Swahili study Bibles to the Sunday school representatives. A mixture of Swahili and English study Bibles were gifted to the church elders, the Mission steering committee and the staff at the Mission. We bless our Father for his provision and blessing towards the local children. The renovation of the girls’ dormitory at Olkinyei Primary School was able to progress quickly when the school officially closed for third term. Thirty metal bunk beds were manufactured and painted, and their 60 mattresses purchased and are being delivered

Please pray:

into Olkinyei. Desks have also been manufactured and painted for the soon-to-be completed classroom built at Isintin for a total of 50 children. The remaining classrooms are to be renovated now that the school has closed. Furthermore, two new classrooms are being constructed at Empiris, where we had previously constructed a nursery classroom in 2023.

The church families came together and raised a significant amount of money towards the foundation of their new church building at Nkaimurunya, as their title deed has been obtained. We bless the Lord for how he has gone before and has provided the remaining finance for the church to be constructed to completion.

God so graciously granted that our last service together as a church family would be very special. We deeply thank our Lord for granting us to be a part of these beautiful people’s lives and that we will be together, forever, worshipping him.

• Rejoice with Gary and Mary in the wonderful goodness, mercy and grace of our faithful Lord and for all that he has done and continues to do amongst the Maasai.

• For God’s continued blessing upon the beautiful Maasai and that his Holy Spirit will continue to work mightily in their lives, for his glory.

• For Gary and Mary as they return to Northern Ireland on final home assignment and seek the Lord’s leading for the future.

Speaking with grace & confidence

Rebecca Stevenson outlines the work of PCI’s Council for Public Affairs (CPA) and introduces a new resource: ‘Graciously Confident’.

Following the launch of a new podcast from PCI’s Council for Public Affairs (CPA) called ‘Graciously Confident’ in October, we thought it would be a great time to introduce this exciting new resource to you and remind you of the work that the Council does.

Are you concerned about how society is changing and the impact that these changes are going to have on the core issues that you care deeply about?

Perhaps you’re concerned about family; education; start/end of life matters; legacy issues; peace and reconciliation; migration; ending violence against women and girls; politics; poverty; the cost of living; special educational needs; or artificial intelligence… these are just some of the issues that CPA engages with on a weekly basis.

CPA is one of nine Councils within PCI; its main function is to speak out into the public square advocating a Christian worldview in a society that is changing at a rapid space. The Council Secretary is currently the Acting Clerk, Rev Dr David Allen. The Council convener is Rev Daniel Kane (minister in West Kirk, Ballymena) with myself as public affairs officer.

The Council consists of a committee, panels and task groups made up of ministers and members of PCI with a passion, interest or expertise on specific

How we engage in public square debates is as important…as what we say.

issues. As a Council we are not only passionate about the issues that we engage with, we also care deeply about how we engage; and a large portion of our work is done behind the scenes. This takes the form of meeting and lobbying MLAs and MPs, meeting with other parachurch organisations and meeting with members of civil society.

CPA does a significant amount of work in the education sphere through both the State Education committee and the Transferors Representative Council. This includes advocating for the Christian ethos in schools, appointing and supporting members of boards of governors, intervening in JR87 and working with the Education Authority NI to ensure Christian principles are included when new resources are produced.

The work of CPA also included producing the book Considering Grace: Presbyterians and the Troubles, and the follow-up Psalmody that will be released in spring. We organise and host conferences on various issues and make submissions to government; these ‘consultations’ or ‘calls for evidence’ are a valuable and vital way for PCI’s position on key issues to be formally submitted to government and policy makers. In the last year we have made 10 such submissions on issues such as poverty, assisted dying, marriage, cost of school uniforms, and changes in Relationship and Sexual Education (RSE). As a denomination, PCI is in a unique and valuable position to speak Christian truths into legislation and policy while it is being developed. How we engage in public square debates is as important to us as what we say. The Council aims to be gracious in all of its interactions with politicians, policy makers and others. A Christian worldview is becoming increasingly counter cultural and there are many who disagree with our views on issues. Therefore, our goal is to be gracious even when we disagree; these are not arguments to be won, it’s not our responsibility to change a person’s heart. We challenge their thinking, then we pray that God will change hearts.

We also aim to have gospel confidence in all of our interactions, that when we engage in conversations with politicians, lobby or advocacy we approach all of these from a place of trust in the truth and power of the gospel. Our ultimate identity is in

Christ, not politics or policy, and we have confidence in both the message and the method. We speak truth about justice, human dignity, morality and compassion without hostility or fear; our confidence is anchored in love and grace. In 2 Corinthians 5:20, we are described as “ambassadors for Christ”; as ambassadors we speak with confidence in his authority. This confidence allows us to be bold but gracious; politics can do a lot of good but it cannot save. We can work for the common good, seek justice and promote peace but we acknowledge that ultimately God is sovereign.

As a Council we are passionate about helping and encouraging you to engage with public square issues. As a result, the Council has developed and recently launched, ‘Graciously Confident’, a series of podcasts which will be released monthly, addressing many of the issues that the Council engages with. We have invited various experts in to sit down with the podcast host, Will Leitch, and unpack these issues so that you are equipped to talk about them from a Christian perspective. We invite you to scan the QR code to download the first episode, which addresses the issues of assisted suicide and euthanasia.

If would like to know more about the work of the Council of Public Affairs please reach out to me.

E rstevenson@presbyterianireland.org

M +44 (0)7384 601982

T +44 (0)28 9041 7204

Dr Rebecca Stevenson is PCI’s public affairs officer.

Graciously Confident podcast

Our ultimate identity is in Christ, not politics or policy…

To listen to the first episode of the Graciously Confident podcast, which addresses the issues of assisted suicide and euthanasia, please scan the QR code or search for Presbyterian Ireland wherever you listen to your podcasts.

It’s all about me

“Look into my eyes. You will see. What you mean to me. Search your heart. Search your soul...”

Maybe these lyrics are starting to sound familiar. Maybe you’re even beginning to hum the tune. Whether it’s the greatest love song ever written is debatable, but back in 1991, (Everything I Do) I Do It For You, the theme tune from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, spent a record-breaking 16 consecutive weeks at number one in the UK singles chart. It’s the longest unbroken run in the chart’s history. Radio stations played it constantly. It became a national earworm. In an era before downloads, people kept buying it and singing it to each other. If you were to bring everyone together who owned a physical copy, there would be over 15 million of them.

This is an example of what is known as a ‘cultural moment’. It’s something that captures widespread attention, enters the public consciousness, and dominates conversation. Cultural moments can include major

Deborah Sloan looks at individualism and the death of the monoculture and discovers that these negative trends in our society could actually have the effect of drawing people to Jesus.

People are feeling lonelier and more disconnected than ever… because we are experiencing the ‘death of monoculture’.

social or political events, important sporting occasions, pop culture phenomena such as the new season of a popular show or the release of a much-anticipated album (think The Traitors or Taylor Swift) and even an unprecedented global virus, i.e. the Covid-19 pandemic, which overnight, changed how people lived, worked and connected.

The key characteristic of a cultural moment is its ability to create shared

experience at a specific point in time. Television has not only provided entertainment for decades. It has also brought people together for significant cultural moments. The Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969 was watched by a worldwide audience of 650 million; 750 million tuned into the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. The opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games had 900 million viewers and in 2010, over a billion people saw 33 Chilean miners resurface after 69 days trapped underground. The state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II was watched by an estimated 4 billion globally and in 1985, 13 satellites were used to broadcast Live Aid for 16 hours to over 100 countries. Around 1.5 billion, 40% of the world’s population, saw the concert. And, of course, let’s not forget the 1966 World Cup final.

Geoff Hurst’s hat-trick is a cultural moment which has endured for almost 60 years. It has transcended generations.

“They think it’s all over; it is now!” Many, born long after the 4–2 victory at Wembley,

The moment [the algorithm] learned your deepest desires, it built you a prison of perfect content.

recognise those famous words. Cultural moments are not always time limited. They can leave a powerful legacy when deeply connected to the traditions and beliefs of a society.

In a recent BBC Radio 4 episode of Radical with Amol Rajan, Jordan Schwarzenberger, the manager of Europe’s biggest YouTube collective, The Sidemen, shared what prompted him to explore Christianity. It started with a profound sense of loss. People are feeling lonelier and more disconnected than ever in the 2020s, he said, because we are experiencing the ‘death of monoculture’. The systems that connected us have disappeared. Where once there was one massive singular stream of culture and one cultural conversation that everyone could join, nothing seems to capture attention like it used to. We are no longer consuming the same content, making the same references, feeling the same emotional connections. “Nothing feels like a big cultural moment anymore,” he said. And it’s the internet, specifically its algorithms, which are to blame.

If put on the spot, most of us would struggle to explain what an algorithm is. Yet, these data-processors are silently controlling our lives through the online content they present to us. They track

our search history and browsing habits and then suggest similar or related material. They identify our anxieties and play on them. As a middle-aged woman, what is pushed to me is not what is pushed to a teenage boy. “The moment [the algorithm] learned your deepest desires, it built you a prison of perfect content. No two people have the same feed. Your digital reality is now tailored 100% to you and only you. A shared reality has been shattered,” said Jordan.

This has left a gigantic hole in modern society. It’s fairly obvious, but without shared experience, we can’t find shared meaning. When we are individually glued to a small screen, rather than collectively gathered around something bigger, we’re no longer experiencing the same thing

It’s all about me

at the same time. But that’s not all of it, it seems. We can also be seeing completely different versions of cultural stories. “The Charlie Kirk I knew is not the Charlie Kirk you knew,” is a common refrain on social media as people realise the clips they saw of the US political activist were not the clips others saw. Two alternative realities can be running in parallel, with neither giving the complete picture.

www.jordanschwarz.com

Truth has become subjective, says Jordan. People are no longer sure what’s real. Polarised content leads to polarised people. “It’s all about me”. Self-interest outweighs community need. There’s a lack of interest in the greater good and a preoccupation with personal achievement. This manifests in all sorts of ways – consumerism, materialism, hedonism, and extreme forms of narcissistic individualism, including ‘main character syndrome’, a term coined on TikTok during the lockdowns. This is the perception that your life is a movie where you take centre stage. You must act as if you always have an audience. Everyone else is just a bit-part in your story.

“People are craving more than this,” said Jordan as he explained how this shattering of reality and collapse of truth had led him towards the Christian faith.

It’s all about me

In October, the Evangelical Alliance published a report called ‘Finding Jesus’. The report summarises research commissioned into how adults in the UK are coming to faith. It also provides guidance to churches on how to more effectively reach people. What emerges most clearly from the research is that very often, people’s journeys towards Jesus start with a deep dissatisfaction with their life.

For most respondents, the factors which prompted their faith search were primarily related to internal, personal and existential issues. They were, in essence, ‘all about me’. 37% said they needed help with life, 34% said they were looking for meaning, and 26% said they wanted to be a better person. They used language like “emptiness”, “something missing” and “a hole I couldn’t fill”. One interviewee said, “On the outside, and on paper, you would have thought I would be the happiest. I had everything I ever wanted. My partner had a successful business, which meant I didn’t have to work. We had two children, which is all I have wanted. We lived in a nice little village. And I just thought, ‘Wow, why am I not happy?’ Because I had what I’d always thought I wanted. But actually, I was quite miserable.”

In ‘Finding Jesus’, there are some vital pointers for churches. Whilst ‘me’

…young

adults are increasingly looking for facts and certainty…This is a significant cultural shift and one we should pay attention to.

reasons tend to initiate an exploration of faith and should be missionally prioritised, shared experience also matters considerably during the faith journey. People yearn to be part of a bigger story. 59% found attending church in person helped, 42% benefited from a course or small group, including safe spaces such as Alpha or Christianity Explored, and 38% mentioned how important the hospitality of other Christians was. This included invitations into people’s homes or simply having their name remembered from week to week. Being seen matters. One woman was especially struck that people had looked at her rather than at their phones!

“In a society of broken relationships and an ‘epidemic of loneliness’,” says the EA report, “people’s desire to be loved was very clear (48%). So too was a longing for hope and wanting their lives to have meaning (46%)”. However, just like Jordan, people are desperately seeking truth.

“One of the main things that drew people to the gospel, and one of the main reasons why they kept exploring Christian faith, was because they could see there was something good and true at the heart of it,” the report explains. “In a world where people aren’t sure who or what to trust, they

are looking for truth and goodness”. This was particularly emphasised by those under 25. “This suggests that in an anxious world of disinformation, fake news, subjectivity and huge uncertainty, rather than wanting to ‘create their own truth’, young adults are increasingly looking for facts and certainty and want to know whether the gospel is credible and can be trusted. This is a significant cultural shift and one we should pay attention to.”

So, what can we conclude from all this? Well often, it is just ‘all about me’. But perhaps Amol Rajan sums it up well. After his conversation with Jordan Schwarzenberger, he said this: “The millennia-old story of Christianity answers the big questions. It helps you identify your place in the universe, gives you a sense of meaning and helps you understand the purpose of your life.”

The ‘Finding Jesus’ report is available at: www.eauk. org/assets/files/ downloads/ Finding-Jesusreport.pdf

TALKING POINTS

Busyness

Norman Hamilton considers how a busy life can distract us from hearing God’s voice and doing his will.

The Lord has blessed me with quite an even temperament, so I don’t get over excited or overly despondent easily. Yet there is one question that I am often asked, and with which I always struggle: Are you busy?

If I answer ‘yes’, the conversation will usually lead us to telling each other what is in our diaries. If I say ‘no’, there is always an embarrassed silence for a few moments, which I then feel the need to break. Implied in that silence is an assumption that I would, or should, have confirmed that I was busy.

I am an activist by nature. I love trying to solve problems. And that alone keeps me busy, sometimes much too busy. So, my thoughts in this article are for those of us who consciously or unconsciously choose to embrace a busy lifestyle. That is important, for there are many people for whom busyness necessarily comes their way because of the huge responsibilities they have, or, for example, from the need to make ends meet.

the allure of getting ever more things.

I have tried to take this guidance on board, but it remains a real struggle, and is certainly work in progress. Yet, I do feel and know the benefit of trying to do so. Like other colleagues and friends, I try to take a few days away on my own several times a year to refresh both mind and soul. Decluttering my life has, perhaps surprisingly, opened new opportunities for ministry, and has certainly made me less “deaf to the voice of God” (a quotation from Comer).

…busyness is…a way of measuring how we stack up against other people…

Being busy poses a serious threat to physical and emotional wellbeing, as well as to the health of our souls. In today’s world, busyness is closely linked to being productive, being worthwhile and being valued. It is also a way of measuring how we stack up against other people; if we are not ‘busy’ there is a real danger of feeling inadequate or ‘spare’, and maybe even relatively worthless. The poet T.S. Eliot spoke of people who “are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves”. That is an enormous pressure heaped on us all, day in, day out. Thus the question: Are you busy?

But busy doing what? More time at work? More meetings to attend in church? More time on your phone? More emails and messages to answer? More people to see? More things needing done? A life of ‘more’ seems endless, and ever growing.

The downsides of being busy are fairly obvious, not least that we can easily find ourselves too busy to do much serious thinking, reading or praying. For when there are deadlines to be met, or events to attend, or things to be organised, the immediate tends to squeeze out what is important. In his now famous book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (published back in 2019), Rev Mark Comer gives some guidance on how to deal with what has been called “the great enemy of the spiritual life in our day”. He highlights the need for silence, solitude, rest and a turning away from

The example of Jesus himself has become ever more important to me. When I look at the ministry of Jesus, the pressures were very real and very demanding. He was often surrounded by large crowds pressing to hear what he was saying; wanting to be healed; or hungry and needing to be fed. That did not get in the way of him talking to and teaching his disciples, or going away for extended periods into quiet places to pray and commune with his Father in heaven. He was the perfect model of putting first things first, and not allowing the expectations of others, or even the pressures of doing very good things such as healing people, to get in the way of that special relationship with his Father.

Jesus told us that he had come to give life that was abundant (John 10:10). Where does busyness fit in here? With difficulty I suggest. Not that we should be idle or nonchalant or unconcerned about people or about what is happening, but that our energies are used against the question: Am I showing the grace of God in what I do? Day in, day out? Am I using the capacities and the energy God has given me to honour him, or is the emphasis rather on what makes me feel good? Is my busyness bringing godly contentment or is it a way of avoiding some tough questions?

In his ministry, Jesus ruthlessly sought to eliminate hurry. Can I – and you – settle for less than what he did? Surely not.

Norman Hamilton

Very Rev Dr Norman Hamilton is a former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.

Equipping the next generation

Sheena McCartney shares how Love For Life can help equip and resource parents, leaders and churches to support the next generation in knowing their worth, flourishing in their relationships and valuing their sexual choices.

“Mummy, I need to talk to you…”

As any parent, when these words are urgently uttered, my mind races to the worst possible outcome as I brace myself for the revelation that’s about to hit. My son follows excitedly with: “I’ve added some things to my Christmas list!”

In our house, it seems like ‘the list’ starts to be compiled earlier each year; our kids eager to get it just right when inevitably, the week before the big day, they’ll change their minds!

This got me thinking – if I could make a list for them of all the things I wanted them to have in their lives, only things that would last longer than a Lego set or a dolls’ house, what would

Feedback from churches

“I would encourage all churches to bring LFL into their church, and I would go as far as to say that they should cover all ages – have the younger ones go through the course that’s relevant to them, but also take the older generation through the shocking nature of what young people are exposed to every day, so that the parents/grandparents, and all members of the congregation can better support and disciple the young people within their care. I think this approach is hugely beneficial as it empowers the parents to reinforce the teaching that the young people receive directly.”

Rev Andre Alves-Areias, Toberdoney Presbyterian Church

I put on this list? If I could choose character traits for them, values they would uphold, truths they would have ringing in their ears, which ones would I prioritise?

Often, we feel like we don’t have a voice when it comes to our children’s values and choices in relationships and sexuality; the messages from our culture can seem too loud, drowning out any influence from their faith or church. Yet 72% of our young people tell us that their family has the biggest impact on their choices. When it comes to questions of relationships, identity and sex, silence in our families and in our churches is simply not an option. Our young people want to talk about these topics.

Formed in 2002, Love For Life (LFL) is a Christian charity with a long-standing reputation for delivering holistic Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) in all school types and in many different community and church settings across Northern Ireland. Our programmes for young people, parents and carers aim to inspire, equip and resource the next generation to know their worth, flourish in their relationships and value their sexual choices.

When it comes to questions of relationships, identity and sex, silence…in our churches is simply not an option.

Book a programme for your church

Love For Life offers sessions for parents in small group settings, allowing specific issues to be addressed in greater detail, and with more interaction. Visit www.loveforlife.org.uk for all programme information, but here are a few highlights:

Face to Facebook helps parents to navigate the online world with their children, while Birds and Bees explores how and when we should broach sensitive topics about growing up. Our newest workshop, Anchored, invites adults of faith to explore God’s life-giving story for relationships and

Feedback from churches

“As a parent and a youth leader, I am aware that our children have so many voices surrounding and influencing them, so we wanted to invest in this area as a church leadership. The sessions LFL has run so far (Birds and Bees, Game On, Face to Facebook) have been incredible, both for parents and our young people. The sessions were designed in a way which invited young people to engage well and all of the parents left feeling they had done something really worthwhile with their Sunday evening. We know this is something we need to continue making space for within our curriculum, keeping the conversation open and making sure our young people know that we are open to talking.”

Hannah Cree, youth coordinator, Downshire Presbyterian Church

sex in our current cultural context.

Although Love For Life has a growing ministry supporting adults, parents and leaders, our strategy keeps young people very much at the centre. Last year we engaged with 51,100 pupils in school, and facilitated 105 programmes for church youth.

Churches are particularly eager to book our Rooted sessions for youth, which bring the focus of conversation around identity, attractions and relationships back to God’s relentless love and his life-giving story for humankind.

Our three-session programmes such as Game On and Picture This continue to be popular in both youth groups and Girls’ and Boys’ Brigades, venturing into themes such as healthy relationships, sexual health and consent.

iClick is a standalone session that will create space for young people to

Find out more Book

We would love to visit your church, share about our work, and facilitate our programmes. We now have capacity to deliver Face to Facebook, Birds and Bees and iClick sessions in every part of Northern Ireland at no cost.

Pray

Join our supporters list to receive updates and prayer points.

…our desire is for churches to create space for honest conversations about authentic relationships.

reflect on how they act online and empower them to get the most out of their experience.

What a joy to share a biblical perspective on all these important topics!

Recognising that young people need much more than a one-off talk, we provide a printed resource called Pursuit, encouraging them to pursue godly character. This is accompanied by a seven-session Leaders’ Guide, which can be emailed to a leader, allowing them to journey this resource with their young people.

Having noticed a gap for young adults, we are also in the process of writing a resource for groups that will encourage 18–30s to grapple with how faith intersects with desires, boundaries, friendships and habits.

In all of this, our desire is for churches to create space for honest conversations about authentic relationships.

As I reflect on my Christmas wish list for my kids, I couldn’t ask for more, for them or for others, than what is expressed in our vision at Love For Life: that they would value themselves, relationships and sex in a thriving society. Contact me at: sheena@loveforlife.org. uk to find out how you can join us in realising this vision.

Sheena McCartney is Head of Church Engagement at Love for Life.

Give

Our work relies on the generosity of churches and individuals like you, so get in touch if you would like to stand with us financially to ensure young people continue to hear a possible, purposeful, and life-giving vision for their character and relational choices.

Volunteer

Could you volunteer for a couple of hours a week in our office? Please get in touch and share your skills.

Unlocking eternal hope

Imagine the excitement of reading the Easter story from your very own New Testament in your language for the first time! That’s what happened for the Mokpe people of Cameroon this year, who had the New Testament launched in their language on 29 March, just three weeks before Easter Sunday.

“Reading God’s Word in my language has changed my life forever,” said Mokpe minister, Rev Ekoka Molindo. “I can preach and understand the Word in totally new ways, and I know it will be the same for any Mokpe person reading God’s Word in their language.”

Having the New Testament translated into their language is already transforming lives and the Mokpe church. “The New Testament in Mokpe is more than a translation,” said Princess Lynn, a Mokpe woman, at the launch event. “It is a powerful symbol of our identity, culture and faith. It embodies the hopes and dreams of our

community, and we firmly believe it will be a transformative tool for spiritual growth, healing and empowerment.”

The Bible changes lives

Many of us have experienced how the Bible changes lives. Through it, God has changed us personally, and many of us have seen its power to change lives in our churches too. But for the Bible to change lives, as it is doing amongst the Mokpe people in Cameroon, people need to be able to understand what God is saying through his Word.

Yet one in five people – that is over 1.5 billion people – around the world don’t yet have the Bible in their language. The message of hope, love

…over 1.5 billion people…around the world don’t yet have the Bible in their language.

and salvation contained in God’s Word is locked in languages they don’t understand. Loren Cunningham, the founder of Youth With A Mission (YWAM), has described this as the biggest obstacle to world mission. But that obstacle is now being dismantled at an unprecedented rate.

A year of unprecedented momentum

In the past year, as Wycliffe Bible Translators’ ‘State of the Bible’ report shows, there has been amazing progress to creating a world where everyone can know Jesus through the Bible. Over the last year:

• The largest number ever of Bibles and New Testaments were launched (118 – almost one every three days).

• 197 million people have the whole Bible in their language for the first time. That’s almost equivalent to the population of Brazil.

• A further 54 million people have the

Alfred Thompson reports on the incredible progress in Bible translation over the last year.

New Testament in their language for the first time. That’s nearly the population of England.

• One new language programme was launched every 19 hours. That means work started for people speaking 461 languages.

This remarkable progress is the fruit of translation teams, churches and mission agencies working in partnership to transform lives through Scripture.

The foundation of Bible translation

The work of the local church, as well as many other mission agencies, is built on the foundation of Bible translation. We know that where the Bible has been translated into people’s languages the church grows, people understand the gospel and come to know Jesus, and those who already know Jesus grow more deeply in their faith and discipleship.

“One thing that is absolutely clear

is that Christian impact overlapped almost exactly with the incidence of translation of Scripture,” says the missiologist, Lamin Sanneh. “In other words, there were very few places, if any, where Christian awakening had taken root where people didn’t have Scriptures in the mother tongue. In fact, I couldn’t think of any.”

That is exactly what is happening all around the world – like with the Mokpe church. Where the Bible is translated, people are coming to know Jesus and the church is growing.

Unlocking God’s Word for every heart

We live in an extraordinary moment in history when more people than ever before have the Bible in their language – and more Bible translation is in progress than ever before.

The Presbyterian Church in Ireland is making a significant contribution to the ministry of Bible translation. More than 15 members of PCI serve through Wycliffe Bible Translators in various parts of the world. And many Presbyterian churches and church members give generously, and pray consistently, for the work of Bible translation. That giving and praying is a key reason for the rapid progress in God’s Word being unlocked for more and more people.

But the work of Bible translation is a means, not an end. The end is lives transformed. Bible translation is not about producing books on shelves. It is about unlocking eternal hope. It is about giving people the opportunity to hear God speak to them in the

language they dream in, laugh in and cry in. It is about churches being strengthened, disciples deepened and whole communities transformed.

A precious gift

The Upper Pokomo people of Kenya also celebrated getting the New Testament in their language this year. There was a great celebration, full of singing and dancing, as the Scriptures were no longer distant for these people.

Upper Pokomo church leader Douglas Machafu, speaking at the launch, summed up the day’s joy: “The Upper Pokomo people have been using foreign languages. However, today, a precious gift has been unveiled. My people will hold it like a treasure in our community.”

Where once Upper Pokomo churches relied on using other languages, they can now read, preach and sing in their own. It is a transformation that will shape generations to come. As celebrations like those of the Mokpe and Upper Pokomo people ripple across the globe, it is clear that the vision of a world where everyone can know Jesus through the Bible, has, over the last year, moved even closer to becoming a reality.

Wycliffe Bible Translators’ ‘State of the Bible’ report is full of statistics and stories from the past year. You can read it at: wycliffe.org.uk/sotb

Alfred Thompson is an elder in Saintfield Road Presbyterian Church and leads the communications team for Wycliffe Bible Translators.

Upper Pokomo women in Kenya celebrating having the New Testament in their language for the first time

Princess Lynn holds the New Testament in her Mokpe language for the first time

Making room

Jason Nicholson outlines the life-changing support and hope the Presbyterian Children’s Society offers to families in need.

The Nativity is often framed in comforting Christmas imagery – a humble stable, a simple manger, watchful shepherds, radiant angels and a guiding star. Yet beneath this familiar story lies a more unsettling reality. The birth of Jesus is marked by poverty, displacement, vulnerability and exclusion. These circumstances – far from incidental – are divinely ordained, shaping our understanding of the Incarnation. God enters human history, not through wealth or influence, but through the lived experience of the poor and the vulnerable.

It’s cold outside

Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem, prompted by a Roman census (Luke 2:1–5), was an act of compliance rather than choice. It reflects the power dynamics of an occupied people and the daily hardships of life under imperial rule. John Stott observes that the Incarnation begins “not with a display of divine privilege, but with

a renunciation of it”. Similarly, Paul reminds us that “for our sake he became poor” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

Far from home, Mary and Joseph were turned away when shelter was most needed. “There was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7), is more than a narrative detail – it is a symbol of how easily the vulnerable are overlooked. In a world measuring worth by status, the Nativity challenges human assumptions about value. In a parallel way, the Presbyterian Children’s Society, for nearly 160 years, has sought to respond to need, affirm dignity and provide care to those society might otherwise neglect. We see beyond the problems – we see the promise within every child.

The Society currently supports around 780 children in 390 families across more than 180 Presbyterian congregations.

For such a time as this

The birth of Jesus was no random event. Every detail – moment, place, people – was perfectly chosen by God. Similarly, the Society emerged not by chance, but at the precise moment God appointed, in a world displaying both the brilliance of human achievement and the brokenness of human need.

Victorian cities like Glasgow, Belfast, Liverpool and Dublin thrived as engines of industrial progress, their goods reaching the farthest corners of the globe. National pride was immense. Yet beneath the polished surface, another story unfolded: populations grew faster than housing could support, families struggled and traditional community bonds weakened. Despite evident prosperity, poverty cast a long shadow, prompting debate over its causes and remedies. Some attributed it to moral failure, others to industrial and economic change, advocating for compassion and greater levels of social and political intervention. These tensions continue to echo in modern discussions about welfare and social

responsibility. Through it all, God was at work. Just as he chose the perfect time for Jesus’ birth, he raised the Society in a season of great challenge and change, bringing light into shadows and hope where despair had taken root. Today, we continue to work in similar circumstances.

Come dine with me

While the Nativity exposes poverty and exclusion, it also affirms that divine action often meets human need in the most unexpected places – a theme woven throughout Scripture. Isaiah 58 describes true fasting as sharing bread with the hungry and welcoming the homeless (Isaiah 58:7). Hospitality is not optional but essential evidence of our faith and shared humanity. Jesus identifies with those on the margins: “I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was a stranger, and you welcomed me” (Matthew 25:35). The early church lived this calling, ensuring that “there was no needy person among them” (Acts 4:34).

These passages offer more than moral instruction; they provide a biblical basis for the importance of pastoral care within the church. Through the Society, we continue to embody this Samaritan spirit, assisting families in need with compassion, not condescension. Our help is not ‘charity’, reluctantly dispensed, but rather warm-hearted compassion generously given. For many, the manger is more than a symbol, it’s a summons – to make room at our tables for those often left outside, unseen, or unheard. This challenge resonates deeply in communities across Ireland today. Rather than see people as ‘other’, let’s treat them as ‘brother’.

God of the poor

The gospel places poverty of spirit and humility at its centre. God does not redeem humanity from a distance but enters its fragility. Jesus’ birth in poverty, ministry among the marginalised, and his death outside the city walls reveal a consistent pattern of divine humility (Philippians 2:5–8). The manger mirrors the church’s identity – a place marked by humility, welcome, community and care. N.T.

Wright calls this “a mission from the margins,” where the church serves not from superiority but from shared vulnerability, bearing witness to a God who makes room for those at life’s edges.

Unlike the innkeeper… you can open doors of hope and opportunity for children and young people in our Church.

Life on the edges

One striking aspect of the Nativity is who first hears the news. The angelic message is not given first to kings or priests, but to lowly shepherds keeping watch by night (Luke 2:8–20). This choice is deliberate: the good news belongs to the marginalised. Throughout Luke, this theme recurs –the poor are lifted, the hungry fed and those who mourn comforted (Luke 4:18). In this ‘upside–down kingdom’, the last are made first, and the least are chosen to bear God’s grace. The Nativity invites reflection: God’s love reaches where society forgets, offering light in darkness, hope in despair and a reminder that none are beyond his care. The Society mirrors this mission in its ongoing work of supporting families in financial need.

Hope at the margins

The Nativity reveals God’s identification with the poor and shapes the church’s calling. We cannot proclaim salvation while ignoring material need. As James declares: “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:17). The church must take a stand in the struggle between wealth and want. Following Christ means entering places of need, beyond the safety of our buildings. Through its grants, the Presbyterian Children’s Society brings hope and help to those who need it most, embodying the mission of the Incarnation in practical and transformative ways.

Open doors. Change lives. The Society currently supports around 780 children in 390 families across more than 180 Presbyterian congregations. These families face diverse challenges – bereavement, separation, divorce, disability, single parenthood, unemployment, or low income – which can quickly push household finances to breaking point. Every day, they need practical support, compassionate guidance and the reassurance that they are not alone.

Last year, the Society distributed nearly £700,000 in grants – and this year the need is even greater. Your support makes a positive difference. Unlike the innkeeper who closed his doors, you can open doors of hope and opportunity for children and young people in our Church. By giving today, you help meet urgent needs, provide relief in times of crisis and show God’s love in action. Together, we can transform lives, putting faith into works that truly matter.

To find out more or to donate, please go to:

www.presbyterianchildrenssociety.org

Jason Nicholson is executive secretary of the Presbyterian Children’s Society.

New elders in Myroe

A service of ordination of ruling elders was held in Myroe Presbyterian Church recently. Andrew Blair and Andrew Paul (middle, front row) were ordained by a commission of Coleraine and Limavady Presbytery. Also pictured (back row) are: Dr Trevor McCormick (clerk of presbytery), Dr Peter Fleming, Ian Martin, Geoffrey Ferris and Andrew Dale. Front row: Richard Blair (Myroe clerk of session) and Rev Geoffrey Jones (moderator of presbytery and minister of the County Londonderry church).

New elders in Mersey Street

Jason Nicholson and Joshua Craig have been ordained and installed as elders in Mersey Street Presbyterian Church. They are pictured with members of East Belfast Presbytery commission. Front row: Rev Colin Burcombe (minister of the Belfast church), Mr Nicholson, Mr Craig and Richard McIlhatton (Christ Church). Back row: Rev Robin Aicken (St Andrew’s, Belfast), Rev Jim Campbell (retired), Lynda Francis (elder in First Holywood), Martin Hampton (deputy clerk) and Stephen Moore (clerk).

Elder installed in First Ballyeaston

Stephen Simms has been ordained and installed as a new elder in First Ballyeaston congregation. He is pictured (centre right) with Fred Hand (deputy clerk of Templepatrick Presbytery), Rev Stephen McNie (moderator of presbytery) and Rev Edwin McDowell (minister of First Ballyeaston).

New elder in Ebrington

Christine Holmes was recently ordained and installed as an elder in Ebrington by Derry and Donegal Presbytery. Pictured in the front row are: Tom McQuillan, Rev Colin McKibbin (clerk of presbytery), Mrs Holmes, Rev Stephen Hibbert (moderator) and Rev Paul Linkens. Back row: John Nesbitt, Rev Alastair Rosborough and George Walker.

New elders in First Omagh

Four ruling new elders have been installed in First Omagh Presbyterian Church by a commission of Omagh Presbytery. The new elders – Ian Alexander, Janice Vance, Linda Ellis and Stuart Harper – are pictured in the front row with Rev Jonathan Boyd (moderator of Omagh Presbytery) and Rev David Reid (presbytery clerk). Back row: David Millar, John Magee, David Garrett, Rev Jane Nelson (minister of the County Tyrone church), David Vance, Rev Jonathan Cowan (who gave the charge to elders and congregation) and Edward Stevenson.

Ordination in Ballygilbert

Three new elders were recently ordained in Ballygilbert. Katie Armstrong, Vicky McLaughlin and Richard White are pictured in the front row with Rev Mark Johnston (moderator of Ards Presbytery) and Rev Craig Jackson (minister of the County Down church). Back row: Wallace McKee, Rev Jeff McWatters, Peter Davison (clerk of session) and Stephen Carroll.

New elders in Craigavon

Four new elders – Trevor Canning, Richard Pickering, Pete Graham and Graeme Belshaw – were recently ordained in Craigavon Presbyterian Church.

Tag good news stories from your congregation on Twitter with #lifeinpci and @pciassembly

Retirement in Ardstraw

Raymond Finlay recently stepped down as a ruling elder of Ardstraw Church, after 31 years’ service and is now an elder emeritus. The County Tyrone church thanks God for Mr Finlay’s faithful service over the years. He is pictured with his wife Rosemary, who has been a constant support to him over the years. Also pictured is Rev David Reid who presented gifts on behalf of the congregation.

Ballyhenry installs new elders

Robert Murphy and John Neill were recently ordained and installed as elders in Ballyhenry. They are pictured with their wives, Christina and Sarah, and members of the North Belfast Presbytery commission who led the service.

Service of licensing in Muckamore

A commission of Templepatrick Presbytery recently licensed Matthew Kirk as a probationer for the ordained ministry. Mr Kirk, originally from Moira, was accepted into PCI through the Reception of Ministers and Licentiates committee having spent the last number of years as a member of the International Presbyterian Church in Leeds and most recently achieving a master’s from the Reformed Theological Seminary in the United States. He will serve as part-time assistant in Muckamore while completing studies in Union College. He is pictured in the front row along with (left to right) Geoff Moore (representative elder, Muckamore), Rev Stephen McNie (minister of the County Antrim congregation) and Mervyn Rea (representative elder, Killead). Back row: Rev Principal Michael McClenahan, James Livingstone (presbytery clerk), Rev Alan Moore (acting moderator), Rev David Morrison and Dr Gordon McIlroy (representative elder, Second Randalstown).

LIFE IN PCI

Celebration in Faughanvale

Maud Patton celebrated her 100th birthday recently. Originally from County Fermanagh, but now living in Eglinton, Mrs Patton is a member of Faughanvale Presbyterian Church. She is pictured with Donald Montgomery (clerk of session in the County Londonderry church) and former PCI Moderator Dr Rob Craig.

Presbyterian Church in Ireland 2026 Calendar

Featuring scenes from across the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the calendar will be a useful addition to the home or

With two months on view,

selected Scripture verses are also displayed alongside.

Only £5/€5 each (including postage)

compiled by Harry Douglas

To pre-order your calendar please visit www.presbyterianireland.org/pcicalendar or call +44 (0)28 9041 7297

REVIEWERS

RD – Ruth Dalzell worships at Second Comber Presbyterian

Abigail and the Christmas Contest

Bethany McIlrath

THE GOOD BOOK COMPANY

£6.99

Abigail is back for her fourth adventure in this series by Bethany McIlrath and this story, like the others, does not disappoint.

She is looking forward to Christmas in this newest edition and her cousin Evangeline is coming to stay. There is a lot of excitement brewing for nine-year-old Abigail as she has plans for an amazing Christmas contest – and her aim is to win!

But soon the competition between the cousins, mingled with the messiness of a toddler brother, takes its toll and Abigail is not having as much fun as she hoped. In the story, she learns to apply the lessons she is reading through their family Bible devotions, understanding more about what it means to follow Jesus in all situations of life.

The Abigail book series – and this edition is no exception – take the world, experiences and adventures of a nineyear-old girl and weave biblical truths into what she is learning about life. These stories and experiences can help the readers to see how the biblical truths apply to them as well.

As with many offerings from The Good Book Company, there are some free resources available. In the back of the book, there are questions for a six-week book group for children. Online there is a Christmas Contest party pack to download with everything you would need to recreate Abigail’s Christmas contest, including scoreboard and trophy, for children over the holidays.

This is a great new edition to the Abigail books and a definite recommendation.

PG – Peter Gray is a member of Knock Presbyterian Church

RB – Ruth Bromley is PCI’s children’s development officer

A Very Very Maverick Christmas

Maverick City Music

AVAILABLE VIA STREAMING SERVICES

It’s the most wonderful time of the time so they say and here is an album to focus our attention on the birth of our Saviour.

Maverick City Music was founded on a commitment to break the unspoken rules of the Christian music industry and help artists produce beautiful songs. Their 2021 holiday project,

With Heart and Soul and

The thoughtfully designed cover to this book of 24 daily devotions for Advent invites one to pick it up and explore, a rewarding experience.

Its theme is the songs the author hears in “Divine Office – the pattern of daily liturgy used by the church over the centuries.” These are the Benedictus (Zechariah’s song), the Magnificat (Mary’s song), the Nunc Dimittis (Simeon’s song) and Gloria in

A Very Maverick Christmas, captures this groundbreaking, inclusive spirit perfectly, delivering an expansive Christmas EP that earned commercial success and a GMA Dove Award nomination. This has now been rereleased with some bonus tracks for 2025 as A Very Very Maverick Christmas. This album beautifully blends contemporary Christian and classic gospel songs, turning familiar carols into sprawling, spontaneous worship encounters. It’s less a traditional Christmas playlist and more a dynamic celebration of the Incarnation.

They have produced powerful medleys, seamlessly weaving traditional Christmas favourites with modern anthems. Highlights include the vibrant Joy to the World / Joy of the Lord and the intimate pairing of Silent Night / Jesus We Love You. With guests like Phil Wickham and Natalie Grant featured, A Very Very Maverick Christmas is an album which will help shape your worship during this festive season.

Excelsis, the Song of the Angels, all found in Luke.

Daily repetition, Chester writes, encouraged him to think about the words and make them his own. However, others, I suspect, may sometimes find that frequent repetition engages autopilot and a nudge to re-engage the brain is helpful. He also explains that Luke is placing the Nativity as the climax of a centuries-old story and these songs summarise the preceding events.

In his Day 15 devotion entitled ‘Peace’ he shows that to whom peace is given changes depending on whether the NIV or the King James Bible is read. The hint is that Bible study benefits from having several translations to hand.

Each song is introduced by the text in full as it may be sung and as it appears in Luke. The reflection which concludes each daily reading is often taken from wellknown carols and which we also may sing on auto-pilot.

Aimed at a wide audience, this could make a useful stocking filler.

Voice

Tim Chester

an

Appointment of Conveners of General Assembly Committees

Applications are invited for the convenerships of the following General Assembly Committees: Nominations Committee under the General Council

General Assembly Business Committee under the General Council

United Appeal Committee under the General Council

Global Mission Committee under the Council for Global Mission

Global Development Committee under the Council for Global Mission

These positions are open to ministers, elders and communicant members of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.

Application forms may be downloaded from the PCI website at www.presbyterianireland.org/convenerships

Further information for these posts can be obtained from the Deputy Clerk, Peter Gamble, at the email address below or telephone +44 (0)28 9041 7204.

Completed applications should be forwarded no later than 5pm on Friday 13 February 2026 to: deputyclerk@presbyterianireland.org or by post to The Deputy Clerk, Assembly Buildings, 2–10 Fisherwick Place, Belfast BT1 6DW.

PA systems • Loop systems Projectors & screens • Installation & repairs alan@audiopromotions.co.uk www.audiopromotions.co.uk 07855 450887

Part of the Great Commission

Giving thanks to God and celebrating 50 years of broadcasting award-winning Christian programmes to the nations, from Bible drama to podcasts, current affairs, music, youth and children’s shows. BE PART OF IT... Do you have a calling as a technician or engineer, a writer, producer or a voice actor? If you do, be part of the Great Commission at Commission. Discover how you can volunteer or become a ‘Friend of Commission’ at commissionradio6a@gmail.com

CHURCH RECORD

VACANT CONGREGATIONS, MODERATORS AND CLERKS OF KIRK SESSIONS

(Information supplied by clerks of presbyteries, conveners of Assembly commissions and councils.)

1. LEAVE TO CALL GRANTED

Application forms are available on request from the Clerk’s Office or may be downloaded from the PCI website.

BALLEE and BALLYKEEL:

REV R.A. MORRISON: (Ballee) Mr John Quigley, 81 Queen’s Avenue, Magherafelt, BT45 6DB. (Ballykeel) Mr T. Simpson, 163 Crebilly Road, Ballymena, BT42 4DP.

BANBRIDGE ROAD, DROMORE:

REV R.A. LIDDLE: Mr Alan Robinson, 25 Beresford Green, Dromore, BT25 1HF.

BLOOMFIELD:

REV GRAEME KENNEDY: Mr Andrew Shott, 7 The Walled Garden, Belfast, BT4 2WG.

CASTLEDERG, SECOND and DRUMQUIN:

REV ROBERT McFAUL: (Second Castlederg) Mr Bert Huey, Tossa, 8 Listymore Road, Castlederg, BT81 7JG. (Drumquin) Dr Paul Booth, 54 Bradan Road, Drumquin, Omagh, BT78 4QQ.

DONEGAL TOWN and STRANORLAR: (Reviewable Tenure – 7 years)

REV ROBERT ORR: (Donegal Town) Mr Oswald Perry, Drumenagh, Donegal Town, F94 N7P8. (Stranorlar) Mrs Audrey Chambers, Magheracorran, Convoy, Co Donegal.

DUNGANNON:

REV JAMES O’NEILL: Mr David Miller, 1 Bushvale, Dungannon, BT71 6QA.

DUNMURRY and KILMAKEE: (Reviewable Tenure – 7 years)

REV S. STOCKMAN: (Dunmurry) Rev Gilbert Young, 39 Saintfield Road, Lisburn, BT27 5BH. (Kilmakee) Mr Alastair White, 94 Greenburn Way, Lambeg, Lisburn, BT27 4LU.

FINTONA and DROMORE:

REV JONATHAN COWAN: (Fintona) Mr Keith Boland, 119 Blackhill Road, Fintona, Omagh, BT78 2LN. (Dromore) Mr Lynden Keys, 25 New Park Road, Dromore, Omagh, BT78 3JU.

DROMARA, FIRST and DROMARA, SECOND:

REV PAUL JAMIESON: (Dromara, First) Mr I. McCullagh, 10 Mullaghdrin Road, Dromara, BT25 2AF. (Dromara, Second) Mr Richard Kernaghan, 89 Rathfriland Road, Dromara, BT25 2EB.

LOUGHBRICKLAND and SCARVA: (Reviewable Tenure – 5 years)

REV DR MARK GRAY: (Loughbrickland) Mr Fred Cairns, 20 Scarva Street, Loughbrickland, Co Down. (Scarva) Mr Robert Jordan, 3 Station Rd, Scarva, Co Armagh, BT63 6JY.

OMAGH, TRINITY and GILLYGOOLEY: (Reviewable Tenure – 7 years)

REV JANE NELSON: (Trinity) Mrs Claire McElhinney, 112 Clanabogan Road, Omagh, BT78 1SN. (Gillygooley) Mr Raymond Smyth, 82 Gillygooley Road, Omagh, BT78 5PX.

RALOO and MAGHERAMORNE: (Reviewable Tenure – 7 years)

REV ANDREW WATSON: (Raloo) Mr Geoff McBride, 72 Raloo Road, Larne, BT40 3DU. (Magheramorne) Mr Morris Gardner, 89 Ballypollard Road, Magheramorne, Larne, BT40 3JG.

SLIGO: (Home Mission)

REV DANIEL REYES-MARTIN: Mr Albert Higgins, Carraroe, Sligo.

STRABANE and SION MILLS: (Reviewable Tenure – 7 years)

REV P.B. HOUSTON: (Strabane) Mr William Watson, 44 Orchard Road, Strabane, BT82 9QS. (Sion Mills) Mr Colin Campbell, 26 Albert Place, Sion Mills, Strabane, BT82 9HN.

2. LEAVE TO CALL DEFERRED

BALLYRONEY and DRUMLEE:

REV LIAM RUTHERFORD: (Ballyroney) Mr David Peters, 30 Seafin Road, Ballyroney, Banbridge, BT32 5ER. (Drumlee) Mr Graham Truesdale, 128 Lackan Road, Ballyward, Castlewellan, BT31 9RX.

GORTNESSY:

REV DR SETH WRIGHT: Mr Ross Hyndman, 32 Temple Road, Strathfoyle, Londonderry, BT47 6UB.

HILLTOWN and CLONDUFF:

REV KENNETH NELSON: (Hilltown) Mr John Ervine, 51 Rostrevor Road, Hilltown, Newry, BT34 5TZ. (Clonduff) Mr Cecil Brown, 39 Bannfield Road, Rathfriland, Newry, BT34 5HG.

RICHVIEW:

REV N.S. HARRISON: Mr Victor Garland, 25 Abingdon Drive, Belfast, BT12 5PX.

SETTLED STATED SUPPLY APPOINTED

BALLINA and KILLALA: (Home Mission)

REV JOHN BROGAN.

BALLINDERRY:

VERY REV DR W.J. HENRY, Minister of Maze.

BOVEEDY:

REV DR T.J. McCORMICK, Minister of 1st Kilrea.

CAHIR: (Home Mission)

REV WILLIAM MONTGOMERY, Minister of Fermoy.

KATESBRIDGE:

REV N.J. KANE, Minister of Magherally.

LURGAN, FIRST:

REV JOHN HUTCHINSON.

TYRONE’S DITCHES:

REV J.K.A. McINTYRE, Minister of Bessbrook.

3. DECLARED VACANT

ANAGHLONE and GARVAGHY:

REV D. CONKEY: (Anaghlone) Mr John Logan, 4 Bluehill Road, Katesbridge, Banbridge, BT32 5LU. (Garvaghy) Mr James Smyth, 35 Tullyglush Road, Banbridge, BT32 3TN.

ARMAGH, THE MALL:

REV A.W.T. MARTIN: Mr Colin Berry, 26 Killuney Park Road, Armagh, BT61 9HG. BADONEY, CORRICK and GLENELLY:

REV ROGER McELNEA: (Badoney & Corrick) Mr Edmund Allison, 31a Strahulter Road, Newtownstewart, BT78 4ED. (Glenelly) Mr Ivan McKelvey, 37 Main Street, Plumbridge, BT79 8AA.

BAILIEBOROUGH FIRST, BAILIEBOROUGH TRINITY, CORRANEARY and ERVEY:

REV JONATHAN PORTER: (Bailieborough, First) Mr Fred Gilmore, Lisgar, Bailieborough, Co Cavan, A82 YW66. (Bailieborough, Trinity) Mr Leslie McKeague, Urcher, Bailieborough, Co Cavan, A82 EY72. (Corraneary) Dr Alan Hunter, 9 Rockfield Rise, Cootehill, Co Cavan, H16 PX00. (Ervey) Miss Jean Archibald, Largy, Drumconrath, Navan, Co Meath, C15 PH99.

BALLYCAIRN:

REV MORRIS GAULT: Mrs Lucy Mulholland, 32 Blenheim Park, Carryduff, BT8 8NN.

BALLYCASTLE: (Home Mission)

REV G.W.M. GLASGOW: Pat Shirley, 22 Dunamallaght Rd, Ballycastle, BT54 6PB.

BALLYGOWAN:

REV ALAN JOHNSTON: Mr David McKee, 83 Tullyhubbert Road, Ballygowan, BT23 6LY.

BALLYNAHATTY and CREEVAN:

REV JONATHAN COWAN: (Ballynahatty & Creevan) Mr John Nevin, 116A Clanabogan Road, Omagh, BT78 1SN.

BALLYNAHINCH, FIRST:

REV ANDREW CONWAY: Mr Brian McKee, 25 Mourne View, Ballynahinch, BT24 8EL.

BALLYMENA, HIGH KIRK:

REV D.B. McCORRISTON: Mr G. McQuoid, 196 Ballymoney Road, Ballymena, BT43 5HG.

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BALLYWEANEY:

REV R.W. GASTON: Mr Alan Brown, 9 Kilmandil Road, Dunloy, Co Antrim, BT44 9BH.

BANAGHER:

REV DR MARK GOUDY: Mr Ivan J. Montgomery, 66 Teenaght Road, Claudy, BT47 4DD.

BELLAGHY and KNOCKLOUGHRIM:

REV TREVOR BOYD: (Bellaghy) Mr Harry Ferson, 12 Railway Terrace, Castledawson, Magherafelt, BT45 8AY.

BELVOIR:

REV B.J. WALKER: Mr Brian Dunwoody, 19 Drumart Drive, Belfast, BT8 7ET.

BENBURB:

REV BOB ALLELY: Miss Janice Allen, 5 Langs Crescent, Armagh, BT60 1DB.

BOARDMILLS, TRINITY:

REV GRANT CONNOR: Mr Adrian Patterson, 41 Cabra Road, Legacurry, BT26 6NB.

CARLISLE RD and CROSSROADS:

REV JOHN HANNA: (Carlisle Road) Mr Trevor Galbraith, 45 Hazelbank Road, Drumahoe, BT37 3NX. (Crossroads) Mr Richard Russell, 31 Creevagh Road, Londonderry, BT48 9XB.

CASTLEDAWSON and CURRAN:

REV STEWART GLENDINNING: (Castledawson) Mr Grainger Stewart, 46 Killyneease Road, Castledawson, BT45 8DS. (Curran) Mr Robin Boyce, 48 Lurganagoose Road, Knockloughrim, BT45 8QY.

CAVANALECK and AUGHENTAINE:

REV RODNEY BEACOM: (Cavanaleck) Dr Charles McKibbin, 9 Tattenabuddagh Lane, Fivemiletown, BT75 0NW. (Aughentaine) Mr John McCrory, Screeby Road, Fivemiletown, BT75 0TP.

CRUMLIN:

REV STEPHEN McNIE: Mr James Livingstone, “Edin”, 56 Largy Road, Crumlin, BT29 4RW.

CUMBER and UPPER CUMBER:

REV DR ROBERT BUICK: (Cumber) Mr Cecil Pollock, 248 Tamnaherin Road, Londonderry, BT47 3LY. (Upper Cumber) Mr Jack McFarland, 12 Cregg Road, Claudy, Londonderry, BT47 4HX.

DONEGORE, SECOND:

REV E. McDOWELL: Mr Samuel Gawn, 120 Parkgate Road, Kells.

DRUMBANAGHER FIRST & JERRETTSPASS and KINGSMILLS:

REV B.D. COLVIN: (First Drumbanagher & Jerrettspass) Mr George Moffett, 16 Glen Road, Drummiller, Newry, BT34 1EP. (Kingsmills) Mr Raymond McCormick, 119 Kingsmills Road, Bessbrook, Newry, BT35 7BP.

DRUMGOOLAND and KILKINAMURRY:

REV ANDY DOWNEY: (Drumgooland) Dr Alastair Chestnutt, 22 Fruitvalley Road, Ballyward, Castlewellan, Co Down, BT31 9RE. (Kilkinamurry) Mr Mervyn Copes, 43 Carnpark Road, Dromara, Dromore, Co Down, BT25 2HD.

DUNLUCE:

REV P.L. McKELVEY: Mrs Jean Sharpe, 8 Oldtown Road, Ballymoney, BT53 6PH.

DUNDROD:

REV DAVID MORRISON: Mrs Alison McClure, 20 Thorndale Road, Dundrod, BT29 4UD.

ESKYLANE:

REV R.S. AGNEW: Mr S. McKee, 14 Eskylane Road, Antrim, BT41 2LL.

FAHAN: (Home Mission)

REV PHILIP POOTS: Mr James Lamberton, 1 Deanfield, Limavady Road, Londonderry, BT47 6HY.

FAUGHANVALE:

REV P. LINKENS: Mr Donald Montgomery, 25 Carnmoney Road, Eglinton, BT47 3JJ.

GARRYDUFF:

REV NOEL McCLEAN: Mr Stanley Lee, 12 Cambourne Park, Ballymoney, BT53 7PG.

GILNAHIRK:

REV STUART McCREA: Mrs Heather Taylor, 163 Gilnahirk Road, Belfast, BT5 7QP.

GLASCAR and DONAGHMORE:

REV R.M. MOODY: (Glascar) Mr Alan Little, 38 Loughbrickland Road, Rathfriland, Newry, BT34 5HF. (Donaghmore) Mr David Shilliday, 21 Cargabane Road, Donaghmore, Newry, BT34 1SB.

GLENARM and CAIRNALBANA:

REV W.J.A. MOODY: (Glenarm) Mr R.Reid, 6 Kilnacolpagh Road, Broughshane, BT42 4LN. (Cairnalbana) Mr B. Alexander, 84 Drumcrow Road, Glenarm, BT44 0DL.

GREYABBEY, TRINITY:

REV DR DONALD WATTS: Mr George Angus, 2 The Farm, Mountstewart Estate, Greyabbey, BT22 2AD.

HELEN’S BAY:

REV PETER LYLE: Mr David McAuley, 23 Beverley Hills, Bangor, BT20 4NA.

HYDEPARK and LYLEHILL:

REV ALAN MOORE: (Hydepark) Mrs Lynas Alexander, 22 Broadacres, Templepatrick, BT39 0AY.

KEADY, SECOND and DRUMHILLERY:

REV W.J.I. THOMPSON: (Second Keady) Mr David Coulter, 1 College Glebe, Killylea, BT60 4GL. (Drumhillery) Mr Ivan Orr, 79 Cormeen Road, Killylea, BT60 4NA.

KELLS: (Home Mission)

REV ALAN McQUADE: Miss Ruth McCartney, Shancarnan, Moynalty, Kells, Co Meath, A82 PF60.

KILREA, SECOND:

REV BRIAN SMYTH: Mr John McIlrath, 9 Moyagoney Road, Kilrea, BT51 5SX.

LURGAN, FIRST:

REV L.W. WEBSTER: Mr Norman McCleery, 12 McCormack Gardens, Lurgan, BT66 8LE.

MAGHERA:

REV ASHLEY GRAHAM:

NEWMILLS:

REV SEAMUS BURKE: Dr Stephen Sharpe, 61D Moss Bank Road, Portadown, BT63 5SL.

NEWTOWNARDS, REGENT STREET:

REV MAIRISINE STANFIELD:

NEWTOWNARDS, SECOND:

REV C.W. JACKSON: Mr Ivan Patterson, 11 Heron Crescent, Newtownards, BT23 8WH.

NEWTOWNSTEWART and GORTIN:

REV GUNTHER ANDRICH: (Newtownstewart) Mr David Dunbar, 32 Main Street, Newtownstewart, BT78 4AA. (Gortin) Mr Adrian Adams, 32 Lisnaharney Road, Lislap, Omagh, BT79 7UE.

ORRITOR and CLAGGAN:

REV M.J.O. CURRIE: (Orritor) Mr Maurice Freeburn, 7a Killycurragh Road, Cookstown, Co Tyrone, BT80 9LB. (Claggan) Mr Thomas James Bell, 100 Lough Fea Road, Cookstown, Co Tyrone, BT80 9SS.

PORTADOWN, FIRST: REV R.I. ABRAHAM: Mr Robert Dowey, 3 Lynden Gate Park, Portadown, BT63 5YJ.

PORTGLENONE, FIRST:

REV J.D. McGAUGHEY: Mr A. Montgomery, 13 Connaughtliggar Road, Portglenone, BT44 8BS.

PORTAVOGIE:

REV G.J. SIMPSON:

RANDALSTOWN, O.C.:

REV CHRIS WILSON: Mr Alun Coulter, 48 Portglenone Road, Randalstown, BT41 3DB.

CHURCH RECORD

continued from page 49

RAPHOE and BALLINDRAIT:

REV R. EDGAR: Mrs Sylvia Cole, The Common, Raphoe, Donegal.

RATHCOOLE: (Urban Mission)

REV A. CARSON: Mr Norman Creaney, 7 Coolshannagh Park, Newtownabbey, BT37 9LA.

RAY and NEWTOWNCUNNINGHAM:

REV GRAHAM ORR: (Ray) Mr David Hetherington, Drumoghill, Manorcunningham, Co Donegal. (Newtowncunningham) Mr Derek Roulston, Moyle Hill, Newtowncunningham, Co Donegal.

ROSTREVOR and WARRENPOINT:

REV R.J.A. McCLURE: (Warrenpoint) Mrs Heather Gray, 25 Donaghaguy Road, Warrenpoint, BT34 3RZ. (Rostrevor) Mrs Doreen Henderson, 14 Greenpark Road, Rostrevor, BT34 3EY.

TOWNHILL:

REV J.D. McGAUGHEY: Mr R. Dickey, 23 Grange Cottages, Toomebridge, BT41 3GR.

TULLYCARNET:

REV R.S.J. McILHATTON:

URNEY:

REV ROBERT McFAUL: Mr Norman McMullan, 80 Orchard Road, Strabane, BT82 9QT.

WATERSIDE:

REV COLIN JONES: Mr William McIlwaine, 19 Glenaden Hill, Altnagelvin Park, Londonderry, BT47 2LJ.

WEST CHURCH, BANGOR:

REV ALVIN LITTLE: Dr Maureen Bennett, 27 Barn Hill, Donaghadee, BT21 0QA.

WOODBURN and LOUGHMORNE:

REV JOHN STANBRIDGE: (Woodburn) Mr Robert Logan, 555B Doagh Road, Newtownabbey, BT36 5BT. (Loughmorne) Mr Lionel Brehaut, 21 Cairn Road, Carrickfergus, BT38 9AP.

TEMPORARY STATED SUPPLY ARRANGEMENT

BELLVILLE:

REV J.T. GRAHAM: Mr Mervyn King, 29 Ardmore Road, Derryadd, Lurgan, BT66 6QP.

PORTADOWN, ARMAGH ROAD:

REV P. McCLELLAND: Dr David Lowry, 5 Ridgeway Park South, Portadown, BT62 3DG.

SPA and MAGHERAHAMLET:

REV DAVID BINGHAM: (Spa) Mr Stephen McBride, 28 Ballynahinch Road, Castlewellan, BT31 9PA. (Magherahamlet) Mr David Whan, 74 Castlewellan Road, Dromara, BT25 2JN.

WHITEHEAD:

REV P. BOVILL: Mr Warren Heggan, 44 Middle Road, Islandmagee, Larne, BT40 3SL.

THE MINISTRY

Installed:

Rev John Brogan, into the Home Mission, 18 October 2025

Resigned:

Rev John Brogan, as Minister of Glenarm and Cairnalbana, 17 October 2025

Rev Kenneth Henderson, as Minister of Ballyweaney, 31 October 2025

Retired:

Rev Albert Baxter, as Minister of First Portglenone, 2 November 2025

Rev Robin Brown, as Minister of First Portadown, 31 October 2025

Inducted:

Rev John Brogan, to Ballina Special Ministry, 18 October 2025

Died:

The Very Rev Dr Ivan Patterson on 29 October 2025

THE ELDERSHIP

Died:

ARMAGH ROAD: Mitchell Graham

BALLYCARRY: Mabel Bell

BALLYCLARE: Martin Hull

BALLYKEEL: Robert Gibson

CONVOY: Jane Laird

CUMBER: John Pollock

DUNDONALD: Calvin Jones

FAUGHANVALE: Robin Graham

FISHERWICK: Tom Hunter

HIGH KIRK, BALLYMENA: Robin Mitchell, Cecil McMullin

ISLANDMAGEE: John Magill

KILBRIDE: Desmond (Des) Humphries

LOWE: Eunice Moore

MONREAGH: Sarah Hunter

NEWTOWNBREDA: Frederick Desmond (Des) McClean, Bobbie Cousins

SESKINORE: Jean Patterson

CLASSIFIEDS

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Piano Tuning

LET JUSTICE FLOW LIKE RIVERS

The Irish Council of Churches and Irish Inter Church Meeting, along with the Church Leaders invite you to a creation care conference.

The Irish Council of Churches and Irish Inter Church Meeting, along with the Church Leaders invite you to a creation care conference

Keynote speakers:

Keynote speakers:

Dr Jim McAdam, 40 years in agricultural and environmental research in the Government sector in Northern Ireland and Queen’s University Belfast,

Dr Jim McAdam, 40 years in agricultural and environmental research in the Government sector in Northern Ireland and Queen’s University Belfast,

Dr Gail Heffner, author ‘Reconciliation in a West Michigan Watershed’, Dr Hilary Marlowe, Girton College, Cambridge.

Dr Gail Heffner, author ‘Reconciliation in a West Michigan Watershed’, Dr Hilary Marlowe, Girton College, Cambridge.

tickets are £10 to be purchased at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1870086843089?aff=oddtdtcreator tickets are £10 to be purchased at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1870086843089?aff=oddtdtcreator