Drumreagh minister installed as Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland
Ballyreagh minister Rev Dr Richard Murray was installed as the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland on Friday (June 21).
In a significant change to the installation of his predecessors, his formal election and installation took place on the second day of the General Assembly, with business paused for the special service.
In his last official act, the outgoing Moderator, Dublin minister Dr Sam Mawhinney, led the service in front of many former moderators, ministers and elders from PCI’s 500-plus congregations from across Ireland, civic guests and members of the public.
Accompanied by his wife Lynn, their son and daughter-in-law, who attended the service of worship, were members of Dr Murray’s congregation, Drumreagh Presbyterian, where he has served for the last seven of his 33 years of parish ministry.
Also present was His Majesty’s Deputy Lord Lieutenant, for Belfast, Professor Alastair Adair, the city’s Lord Mayor, Councillor Micky Murray. Representatives from the Northern Ireland Policing Board, Police Service of Northern Ireland, Education Authority and Controlled School’s Support Council, attended.
In a touching tribute to his late father-in-law, Dr Murray wore the silk robes of the Very Reverend Dr David McGaughey, who wore them at his installation as Moderator in 1994, 30 years ago this month, when Dr Murray was studying for the ministry at Union Theological College.
Dr Murray opened with a bold statement at the start of a robust evangelical message. “Let me start today with what I believe is one of the major problems of the Christian church here in our modern day and age,” he said.
“It’s not what many people suppose, the contraction of the church, a phenomena faced by all the main denominations, rather what I believe is a major problem the modern Christian church faces is not contraction, but connection. How to connect the Good News of what God has done for us in the person and work of Jesus Christ with a world that is at best uninterested, and at worst hostile?”
Following a reception for guests who attended the installation, which Dr Murray hosted in Assembly Buildings, the Assembly continued its business into the evening.