New Moderator calls special General Assembly of Presbyterian Church in wake of safeguarding failings
A special General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland will take place later this month following the discovery of significant failings in the central administration of the church’s safeguarding processes.
The session was announced by the new Moderator, Right Reverend Dr Richard Murray, as he took office today (Monday, December 1).
Dr Murray has written to all ministers informing them of the special General Assembly on Thursday, December 18, in Assembly Buildings, Belfast.
“As members of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland family you will be aware of recent events in our denomination concerning the discovery of significant failings in the central administration of our safeguarding," wrote Dr Murray.
“This has led to the stepping aside of our Moderator and as a result, as the previous Moderator, I have the responsibility under The Code, the Constitution of our Church, to return to office.
“Today, 1 December, I have assumed the office of Moderator, and I want my first action to be the calling of a special General Assembly. The date planned for this is, God willing, Thursday, 18 December.
"We will meet in Assembly Buildings, in Belfast to call upon God as a people and to seek His face. Further details, of a practical nature, will be made available very soon.
“Please be assured that the purpose of this General Assembly is that we come together as a family before God to grieve and lament for our failings. At the same time, we also want to be particularly mindful of those who have been harmed as a result of our central failings."
The General Assembly will include worship and lunch before moving to a formal business session with a report from the General Council and resolutions. All sessions will be livestreamed and will be open to members of the public and media.
Dr Murray added: “As I conclude, please make this General Assembly a priority and come to it prayerfully so that we may seek the face of God together. Please pray for those who have been hurt by the failings that we have uncovered, and pray that they will have the courage to seek the help and support they need.
“Our prayer is also that God would have mercy upon us in the midst of this storm that has not only shocked us, but shaken and deeply humbled us.”
The Moderator is the most senior office-bearer of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, which has around 200,000 members. The previous incumbent, Dr Trevor Gribben, announced last month he was stepping down following “serious and significant failings” in safeguarding.
In a statement at the the time, the church said failures identified included:
- situations where we failed to make referrals to statutory authorities when these were required;
- situations where we did not respond adequately to concerns expressed to us about individuals in congregations;
- situations where we have failed to respond to people who, having suffered harm, have sought our help;
- situations where some offenders returning to worship in Church, following referrals to us by statutory bodies, were inadequately monitored.
The PSNI confirmed it was launching a criminal investigation following the safeguarding concerns and the church said it would be "co-operating fully" with it.