The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) has appointed the 43-year-old father of four, Rev Jonathan Boyd of Killyleagh Presbyterian Church in Killyleagh as its new Clerk of the General Assembly.
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General Assembly appoints new Clerk
While he is the 14th Clerk of the General Assembly since the establishment of the all-Ireland denomination in 1840, the role has changed within the Church. Following the departure of his predecessor, February’s Special General Assembly created a new Senior Leadership (SLT) Team for the church, which also comprises the Deputy Clerk, and the new position of Director of Operations. Mr Boyd, when in post, will be team lead.
The SLT was established in the wake of the safeguarding crisis, with the Clerk and Deputy Clerk. Together they were given primary responsibility for supporting and servicing the work of the commissions and councils of the Church. The Director of Operations was given the primary responsibility for supporting and servicing the work of the charity, including regulatory compliance, and safeguarding.
The new Senior Leadership Team will be line managed by the convener and co-convener of the General Council. The latter is a new position, and will be nominated to the General Assembly on Friday.
Thanking the General Assembly for the trust that it has placed in him, Mr Boyd said, “This office has serious responsibilities and the church faces challenging circumstances. As I prepare for that I’m conscious that I bring with me relatively little experience, certainly compared to recent clerks. I will have a lot of learn and I will have to learn quickly. But thankfully the Church depends on God, not on clerks, and he is as good and kind and wise and generous as he always has been and always will be. He has given us his own Son. We can surely trust him to provide what is needed each day.
“I certainly don’t think I could possibly be in this position if the Lord wasn’t opening doors and shoving me through them, and I trust that when he calls someone to serve, he also equips them. I’m very grateful that he has already raised up many wise and experienced men and women in the church who I can learn from and many good, godly people who have offered their prayerful support.”
The Clerk, who will take post in July said that he was very grateful for the many messages of encouragement that he had already received. “We have many warm-hearted, encouraging people in our denomination who want to get on with doing things together that God has called us to do.”
Speaking of his congregation in County Down, where he has been minister since 2022, he said that they have “been magnificently gracious in the way that they have handled this development. My time in Killyleagh has been a wonderful blessing and I leave with immense gratitude for the love and support that the congregation and the elders have shown and continue to show. The view from the manse over Strangford Lough is I think unrivalled in PCI, but the people are better and I will miss them more. It’s very hard to leave them and I think I owe it to them to do this job well.”
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Speaking about his family, he continued, “This is a hard transition for them, leaving their church, their school, their friends, their home. I would appreciate prayers for them. I’m also deeply thankful to my wonderful wife Jane for all her support and encouragement…The Assembly has heard plenty from me in the past. Who knows, I might be quieter now as the Clerk. I know that I will have to take time to listen to people – to their ideas, their questions, and their concerns and their stories. It will take time to rebuild trust in the leadership positions in the denomination. And right now, Moderator, it’s probably time for me to be quiet, sit down, and do some of that listening.”
During the Session, the General Assembly also re-appointed the Principal of Union Theological College, Rev Professor Michael McClenahan for a further year. It also agreed to appoint the outgoing Acting Clerk, Rev Dr David Allen as Assistant Clerk. As previously agreed, this role has defined responsibilities in connection with Reconfiguration of Ministry and is not a part of the SLT.