The minister of Adelaide Road Presbyterian Church in Dublin, Rev Dr Sam Mawhinney, has been elected Moderator-Designate of the all-island denomination.
His appointment, via the church’s annual election on Tuesday, means that for the first time in almost a quarter of a century, a minister from a congregation in the Republic will become Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.
From Ballycastle, Co Antrim, the 60-year-old father of three received the most votes from the church’s 19 regional presbyteries.
Dr Mawhinney was one of two nominees. He will be formally elected as Moderator by the church’s general assembly in June.
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“It is a position I have not sought, but happily accept as God’s will for my life,” he said.
He currently ministers to about 110 families in Dublin’s city centre congregation totalling around 150 people.
