Preparations underway for Prebyterian church annual General Assembly

Meeting a little earlier than usual in PCI’s Assembly Buildings, in central Belfast, the General Assembly will meet from the morning of Tuesday, June 10 and close on Thursday June 12. The moderator, Rev Dr Richard Murray, will formally constitute the meeting in prayer and preach at a service of worship, before chairing debates until Wednesday afternoon.

Then, before 1,000 members of Assembly, invited civic guests, and members of the public, Dr Murray will lead the installation service of his successor, Rev Dr Trevor Gribben, who will become the 179th person to hold the church’s highest office since the establishment of the church in 1840. He will also be the eighth clerk of the Assembly to occupy the moderator’s chair and the first Clerk to be elected moderator since Rev Dr Samuel Hutchinson in 1997.

“It is a significant change in role for Trevor and one a General Assembly has not seen in nearly 30 years. It is a great honour to be elected moderator, and we wish him well and will keep him in our prayers, not only for this General Assembly, but for his year in office,” said acting General Assembly clerk, Rev Dr David Allen, who became acting clerk earlier this month, and will serve the church in his new role until Dr Gribben returns as Clerk following next year’s General Assembly.

“I think that the first time I came to a General Assembly was in the late 1980s as a student for the ordained ministry. In those days, the clerk and moderator sat on what seemed to be a very high platform at the front of the Assembly hall, which then had two public galleries. While much has changed since the renovations to the Assembly Hall in the 1990s, I didn’t think that I would be where I will be next month - on the platform, as acting clerk.” said Dr Allen.

“For Trevor and me, it will be a very different General Assembly. But some things don’t change and that is the very purpose of the Assembly itself – an opportunity to hear the reports of the church’s various councils and commissions, while debating and deciding matters that are central to the life and mission of PCI.

“But it goes much deeper than that because what we are actually doing is hearing how God has been at work in His church. The General Assembly is also a time for thanksgiving, allowing us the opportunity to thank Him for what he has done, and to prayerfully ask for guidance to discern His will as we seek to follow Him in the year ahead.”

Dr Allen added: “General Assembly is a time when the PCI family comes together: ministers and elders, men and women from our 500-plus congregations across Ireland, along with some of the broader Presbyterian family from our partner churches overseas, accompanied by our brothers and sisters in Christ from other denominations at home. It is a time when we also give collective voice to issues of concern in the public square, which is important.”

This year will mark two significant events for PCI, as it will be the 185th anniversary of the very first meeting of the General Assembly, which took place on July 10, 1840 in Rosemary Street Presbyterian church, Belfast. It is also 120 years since the General Assembly met for the first time in Assembly Buildings, following its official opening on June 5, 1905.

“The General Assembly is an essential part of the rhythm of our Presbyterian church life and I would encourage all who are entitled to attend to come and take part. This year’s meeting will largely follow the new format that was first introduced last year, following earlier decisions of the Assembly. In one significant change, however, rather than having a separate evening worship event; this year there will be two additional ‘Reflective Worship’ times during Assembly business.

“Led by the moderator, these will take place on Wednesday and Thursday, alongside the opening worship service, installation service, and Friday’s communion service, which all are welcome to attend,” said Dr Allen.