Thursday, June 12, 2025

Rev Trevor Gribben becomes Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

The new Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) has completed his first general assembly, during which he was formally installed to the highest office in the church.

Rev Trevor Gribben is the 179th person to become moderator since the Church was established in 1840.

He is also the first Clerk of the General Assembly to become Moderator since 1997.

It is the eighth time this has happened in 185 years.

Members of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland have been meeting in Belfast for three days, during which they committed to establishing at least 10 newly constituted congregations and launching 10 more "church planting projects" in the next decade.

On the final day of the assembly, Dr Gribben led prayers for the many places in the world racked by conflict and war, including the Middle East, Ukraine, Sudan and South Sudan.

He told those gathered that people were facing war and displacement in places often forgotten about by western media, like Sudan, South Sudan, and those in the forefront of media reporting like the Middle East, Palestine, Israel, Gaza, Ukraine.

"We will all have our different views about Gaza, Israel, Palestine, where countries and terrorist organisations cross the line," he said.

He told the assembly: "Individually, we all want to say we support, or oppose, various views and opinions. Perhaps the greatest thing our church can do, however, is to pray; to pray for the peace of those communities."