Here today and gone tomorrow is the cynical comment of some on the role of Moderator in the Presbyterian Church, and perhaps Moderator of the General Assembly in particular.
Such hold office for a single year as primus inter pares (first among equals). How then can there be continuity in the leadership of the church? Clerks of the General Assembly come in here. Their role is in assuring a necessary link and a certain sustained guidance of the affairs of the church.
At the General Assembly last June a clerk was appointed to succeed the Rev Dr Samuel Hutchinson. Dr Hutchinson, after a ministry in Gilford and Clare, became deputy clerk in 1985, succeeded to the clerkship in 1990 and is now on the point of retirement.
His successor is the Rev Dr Donald James Watts, minister of Ballyholme, Co Down, for the past 21 years. He is a graduate in science of Queen's University Belfast; he graduated Bachelor of Divinity in the University of Edinburgh, from which he received the degree of Doctor of Philosphy in 1981 for a thesis on Eschatology in the Johannine Community - a Study in Diversity.
An appointment was made to the important post of secretary of the overseas board. Since 1840, when the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) as presently constituted came about, and when its first missionaries went off to India, dedication to overseas mission has been important. Today overseas workers (ministers, doctors, nurses, teachers, craftspeople etc) have carried on this work, often under the direction of the secretary of the overseas board.
The Rev R.J. Terence McMullan, after overseas services in Malawi, has served as convener of foreign missions and secretary to the board since 1982 and will retire next year.
His successor is the Rev William Samuel Marrs. He is a graduate in science of the New University of Ulster. He gained the degree Bachelor of Divinity in the University of Aberdeen. After an assistantship in Wellington Street, Ballymena, he served in Kenya as director of the theological education by extension project and as a lecturer at the Pastoral Training Institute of East Africa.
The summer 2001 issue of Christian Aid News carries a tribute to the late Rev Dr Carlisle Patterson, who died suddenly at Leatherhead, England, last April. Dr Patterson was a professor of philosophy in Wilson College, Bombay. On his homecoming to the congregation in the North, he served as the church's convenor of the inter-church relations board, and as organising secretary of the Irish Council of Churches.
Membership of the World Council of Churches, whose assemblies in New Delhi and Uppsala he attended as the church's representative, was of signal importance for him. Later he became home secretary and eventually general secretary of the Conference of British Missionary Societies. He became head of Christian Aids Department from 1976-87 and is remembered as a very special colleague who "brought an incisive mind, and a rare breath knowledge and experience to his role".
In 1986 the Presbyterian Theological Faculty of Ireland conferred the degree of Doctor of Divinity (honoris causa) on Dr Patterson. The citation noted he had achieved recognition as missionary, teacher, scholar, administrator and visionary of world Christianity.
Christian Aid Week 2001 has as its theme, "You're making a difference". A variety of fundraising methods and an apparent upsurge of generosity meant last year's total was exceeded.
Politicians have shown heightened interest in and sympathy with the work of Christian Aid. The British Chancellor, Mr Gordon Brown, comments: " A most important thing is that people are led to realise the extent of poverty, ill health and illiteracy in the developing countries".
Mr Michael Portillo, shadow chancellor and aspiring leader of the Conservative Party remarks: "People give to Christian Aid because it channels through grassroots community groups, which are best placed to reach neighbours overseas who need most help". The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Carey, claims that in his official travels abroad he witnesses "the wonderful transformation Christian Aid is making in partnership with the churches".
Part of the caring ministry of the PCI is its residential trust. High levels of occupancy in its various homes or residences is believed to indicate that a superior standard of care, within a Christian ethos, is desired and appreciated by residents and relatives. Accommodation in the Republic will see an addition. There will soon be 16 flats at Tritonville Close, Sandymount, Dublin. The foundation stone for these was laid by the Rev Dr T.W.J. Morrow in September last year and an official opening is expected this November.
The Church of Ireland correspondent is on leave