Sir, – At the recent launch of the book Considering Grace – Presbyterians and the Troubles, the Rev Tony Davidson, minister of First Armagh Presbyterian Church, remarked that the book “provides an opportunity for the church to reflect on its pastoral response to its members” (Presbyterian Notes, November 9th).
At the same event, the current Moderator, the Rev Dr William Henry, stated that “the book prompts us to consider gracious engagement, modelling the grace of Jesus”.
Considering the distinctly ungracious treatment recently meted out to Steven Smyrl by the Presbyterian commission set up to investigate his same-sex civil marriage – widely reported in the Irish Times and elsewhere – the Moderator should send copies of the book to senior figures in the Presbytery of Dublin and Munster, and at Church House, as a matter of the greatest urgency. – Yours, etc,
ROY STANLEY,
Rathgar,
Dublin 6.