Honorary degree for Whiteabbey minister and next Moderator of Presbyterian Church in Ireland
A former Whiteabbey minister has been awarded an honorary degree ahead of assuming the Presbyterian Church in Ireland’s highest office this June.
A previous minister of Whiteabbey Presbyterian Church, Rev Trevor Gribben is the current Clerk of the General Assembly of the PCI and the Church’s next Moderator.
He was conferred the degree of Doctor of Divinity by the Presbyterian Theological Faculty, Ireland during a special graduation service at the chapel of Church’s Union Theological College in Belfast.
The event took place ahead of June’s General Assembly, when Dr Gribben will take over as Moderator for a year.
College Principal, Rev Professor Michael McClenahan led the service and gave the citation, referring to Dr Gribben as “a good friend, wise advisor of the church and pastor to many people.”
The principal explained that honorary degrees were the most prestigious awards that the PTFI could confer; as such they were awarded sparingly “and as a general rule conferred only on persons of conspicuous distinction.”
The Presbyterian Theological Faculty, Ireland awards degrees by the authority of its Royal Charter, which was granted by Queen Victoria in 1881 and revised by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2021.
Professor McClenahan spoke of Dr Gribben’s 37-year journey from his ordination in 1988 to serve as assistant minister at St Enoch’s and Duncairn Presbyterian Church in North Belfast, to Leckpatrick Presbyterian Church in 1990 and then to Whiteabbey Presbyterian Church in 1996, before his appointment as Deputy Clerk of the General Assembly in 2008 and Clerk in 2014.
He added that it was a sign of the respect in which the Clerk is held that 16 of 19 Presbyteries across Ireland nominated Trevor to serve as Moderator when he was elected Moderator-Designate in February.
Dr Gribben is the thirteenth minister to hold the office of Clerk since the formation of the General Assembly in 1840, and will be the seventh Clerk to service as Moderator in the past 185 years.
Referring to Dr Gribben’s love of cricket as a non-playing member of Waringstown Cricket Club, Professor McClenahan said that as Clerk of Assembly he had played three critical roles: “that of referee, or perhaps more appropriately for this Moderator-Designate, umpire. At the heart of the Clerk’s responsibility is the requirement to interpret The Code and guide colleagues in how to conduct business in the courts of the church.
“Trevor is not only umpire and coach, but, if I might put it this way, he is a fully engaged participant in the Christian race. He may be a non-playing member of Waringstown Cricket Club, but is not a non-playing member of this far more important contest.
“The Clerk has not forgotten that he was ordained as Minister of the Word and Sacrament, and it was as a Minister that he was appointed Clerk of the Assembly. Trevor is not a bureaucrat; he is a Minister of the Gospel. It is a great blessing to our Presbyterian Church in Ireland that Trevor has not forgotten the most important office that he holds within the Church. In that role Trevor has been a faithful friend and pastor to many people – often in times of great stress - and we give thanks to God for that today.”