Having returned from his recent 14-day overseas tour of Kenya, the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI), Right Reverend Dr William Henry, began a busy week-long tour of the Church’s South Belfast Presbytery on Sunday 1st March 2020. This is the fourth and final presbytery tour of his year in office.
Education features on Dr Henry’s visit, as does the social witness and outreach of the Church in the southern part of the city. Along with visits to Queen’s University and Royal Belfast Academical Institution, Dr Henry will also visit the Welcome Centre for the homeless, the International Meeting Point and a church run Job Club, that is part of a Christians Against Poverty project.
Meetings with business people and one of PCI’s residential care homes have also been scheduled, along with a courtesy call to the Lord Mayor of Belfast and a visit to the National Stadium at Windsor Park. During his tour, Dr Henry will speak in four congregations, starting with the morning service at Malone Presbyterian and evening service at Lowe Memorial. He will also speak at the Sunday 8th morning service at Ballycairn Presbyterian, concluding the tour that evening with a presbytery rally at Saintfield Road Presbyterian.
“The principle aim of each presbytery tour is for the Moderator to encourage ministers and congregations in their ministry and to see the incredible work that the Church is doing in the community, often quietly behind the scenes, in the name of Jesus and I am very much looking forward to doing that,” Dr Henry said.
“Just as I saw in Kenya these past few weeks, the gospel of Jesus Christ is not only good news, it always has an outward focus and translates into practical good deeds that help and build others up. I am looking forward to seeing the manifestation of this in South Belfast, which is a diverse and vibrant place, through the work of our local churches and people.”
The Presbytery of South Belfast has 18 congregations and includes over 3,300 families who are connected with the Church, which totals over 6,300 people of all ages.
Having planned the visit, Rev Morris Gault, Clerk of the South Belfast Presbytery and the minister in Cooke Centenary Presbyterian Church, said that the Presbytery was delighted to be able to welcome the Moderator to South Belfast. “As a Presbytery we trust that our ministers, elders and congregations will be encouraged as they seek to reach out to their communities. The Moderator’s visit provides opportunities for him to conduct worship and meet with ministers to hear of the many challenges and innovative projects that are taking place.
“I look forward to showing him the diversity and richness of the multi-cultural and diverse population that is South Belfast in what will be a busy week. In South Belfast we have areas of great poverty sitting side by side with places of great wealth and one of the main highlights will be his visit to Lowe Memorial’s Job Club, which is part of their Christians Against Poverty Project. Dr Henry will also meet with Queen’s Pro Vice Chancellor, Professor Richard English, and a visit to the Lord Mayor, Councillor Daniel Baker.”
Mr Gault also said that a major initiative of the Presbytery, in conjunction with PCI’s Council for Mission in Ireland, has been the growth of the International Meeting Point (IMP) on the Lisburn Road.
“This is a place of practical help and assistance to those who have come from various places in the world but who now live in South Belfast. Over 100 meals are served each day along with opportunities to find out about Jesus through conversations and Bible study. Dr Henry will visit the IMP on Wednesday morning and will return that evening to host a reception to acknowledge the work of the great number of volunteers there.”
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