Rev Ruth Patterson has just celebrated 50 years since her ordination as the first woman to be ordained in Ireland. The daughter of a Presbyterian minister, Ruth spent her early years in Co. Antrim where her father was minister of Lylehill Presbyterian Church, before the family moved to Donaghadee and later to Bangor.
Despite her upbringing and deep personal faith, ordained ministry was not something Ruth aspired to in her earlier years. She obtained a BA and Diploma in Social Studies from Queen’s followed by two years at the University of Toronto where she obtained a Masters Degree in Social Work. Returning to Northern Ireland in 1968 Ruth spent three years working with Rev Ray Davey and his successor at the Presbyterian Chaplaincy Centre at Queen’s.
As she considered what to do next, Ruth’s father, who knew of her desire to study theology, suggested that she think about training for the ordained ministry. Subsequently, Ruth studied theology at Edinburgh University, spent a year at the Presbyterian College, Belfast and on 2nd January 1976 was ordained as the Assistant minister of Gardenmore Presbyterian Church in Larne where she remained until December 1977. She received a call to Kilmakee Seymour Hill and ministered there until 1991. Her period of ministry there is greatly valued by Ruth. She feels she learned so much and received so much there. They were very fulfilling years.
In 1988 she and a small group of people with similar commitment founded Restoration Ministries, a non-denominational Christian organisation whose focus is on healing and reconciliation. This work grew so rapidly that she made the decision to come out of parish ministry and engage in this work full-time. She continues to work in this small but quietly effective ministry. Central to all that they do is prayer.
When asked to summarise her feelings on reaching the 50 year milestone in her ministry, Ruth told the Church Page:
“I look back with a sense of quiet and overwhelming gratitude to God for everything he has done in my life and ministry over the last fifty years. I am so grateful for the many doors he has opened. From this standpoint I can see how ordination has encouraged and facilitated a journey which I am still on – because there’s always more.”
To discover more about the work of Restoration Ministries, log on to: https://restorationministries.co.uk
