The next Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland will be the
Rev Ivan Patterson, minister of Newcastle Presbyterian Church.
Mr Patterson was nominated by 12 out
of the 19 Irish presbyteries, who met yesterday to vote for a new
Moderator.
He will take up office in June in succession to the Rev Dr
Norman Hamilton, who continues as Moderator until that time.
Mr Patterson, minister of Newcastle for the last 20 years, said: “I am absolutely overwhelmed to be elected as Moderator. I am very happy to serve the Church and to represent its members but am somewhat daunted by the thought of the year ahead.”
Voting for each candidate was as follows:
-
Rev Ivan Patterson (Newcastle) 12 votes (Armagh, North Belfast, East
Belfast, South Belfast, Carrickfergus, Coleraine/Limavady, Dromore,
Dublin/Munster, Iveagh, Omagh, Route, Templepatrick.
Presbyteries).
- Rev Roy Patton (Ballygilbert) three votes (Ards, Monaghan, Newry).
- Rev Joseph Andrews (Ballee, Ballymena) two votes (Ballymena, Tyrone).
- Rev Roy Mackay (Second Comber) one vote (Down).
- Rev Rob Craig (Kilfennan, Londonderry) one vote (Derry/Donegal).
The Moderator-designate, 62, describes his ministry as “conservatively Biblical with a strong evangelical outlook.
“I
get great satisfaction from helping people and would love them to
become more knowledgeable about the God of the Bible and the implication
of that for their lives. We cannot expect people to come and
find us so we have to be open to be found. That means being and active
in our communities, making our Christian voice heard and having
confidence in Christ to share our faith through being involved in what
is going on outside the walls of our church as well as inside,” he says.
To emphasise this his congregation of some 350 families have just
completed a development programme creating a new reception area and
other facilities that make their church, which faces directly on to
Newcastle Main Street an open and welcoming building for everyone,
everyday.
Mr Patterson was brought up in the Co Antrim village of
Buckna, where he attended the local Presbyterian Church.
After
schooling at Rocavan Primary School, Ballymena Intermediate School and
Ballymena Technical College he worked as a television repair engineer
before continuing his studies to gain admission to Queen’s University.
After
graduating in semitic studies he completed his training for the
Presbyterian ministry at Union Theological College gaining a Masters in
Theology in 1979 and also studied for a short time at the Hebrew
University in Jerusalem
Mr Patterson was ordained in 1980 and
served for two years as assistant in First Bangor Presbyterian church
before becoming minister of the Bushvale congregation near Ballymoney in
1982.
In 1991 he was called to Newcastle Presbyterian church.
Throughout his ministry Mr Patterson has taken particular interest in
youth work and overseas mission.
He served a convener of the
Presbyterian Church’s Youth Board between 1989 and 1993 and was the
first chairman of Youth Link, a body set up by the Presbyterian,
Methodist, Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic churches to provide
support and training for youth leaders and community relations
experiences for young people.
He has also travelled to Kenya,
Nepal and India to see church work there and has a particular interest
in Romania, establishing a twinning arrangement between his church in
Newcastle and a congregation of the Hungarian Reformed Church in Hodos,
Romania.
Mr Patterson is married with a married son and two grandsons.