On the final day of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the all-Ireland denomination’s new Moderator, Right Reverend Dr Trevor Gribben, led the Assembly in prayer for the many places in the world racked by conflict and war, including the Middle East, Ukraine, Sudan and South Sudan.
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‘Lord bring peace’
The pause in business came following the Report of the Council for Global Mission, and the passing of a number of resolutions, including one in which the General Assembly resolved to ‘give thanks to God for the opportunity to partner in mission with churches, institutions and agencies around the world and commit to pray, especially for those enduring the ongoing impact of war, civil unrest and displacement, and living as persecuted minorities.’
From the Moderator’s chair, Dr Gribben said, “You'll be aware that our world is not a peaceful place, and we can name many situations where people are facing war, trouble, have been displaced from their homes and families, places that are often forgotten about in our western media, like Sudan, South Sudan, and places that are in the forefront of our media, places like the Middle East, Palestine, Israel, Gaza, Ukraine. These are challenging, difficult situations.
“Often the predecessors in this chair have been asked to make grand statements of political positions, calling politicians to change policies. As a church we’ve often resisted that, and sometimes we've been criticised for it. My predecessor, Dr Richard Murray, often called the church to prayer last year, writing to ministers about these situations…
General Assembly 2025 - Day Three
The Moderator continued, “We will all have our different views about Gaza, Israel, Palestine, where countries and terrorist organisations cross the line. 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. Pray that aid and medical supplies might get through to the people in Gaza who need them, to pray that people with influence in our world might still put pressure on governments, that they might seek to do justice, to love, mercy and to walk humbly with our God.
“Could I commend to the Church the work of our global partners? Some of them are in the Middle East, some of them are in Ukraine, the Hungarian Reformed Church, and to pray for brothers and sisters. Pray that violence might come to an end, the violence on our streets, in Northern Ireland, where we live, might come to an end. We sometimes resist making statements that others might make. I'm not saying they're wrong and we are right, but I hope we do not resist coming to the King of Kings to intercede for our world.”
Dr Gribben then invited the General Assembly to observe a period of prayerful silence, before leading members in praying for the situations that he had spoken of.
The Moderator’s prayer:
Let us pray.
Lord, we confess that we often talk a great deal, but we pray very little, often listening to the opinions of others, we pray very little, and when we do, we bring our solutions to you and ask you to bless them. Father, forgive us for such arrogance.
Forgive us also for neglecting to pray for our world, for the peace of nations. Lord, when your people do not pray, no one else will turn to you. So, forgive us when we are sometimes focused on issues that are very personal to us, that we fail to lift our eyes to you.
Today, father, we don’t bring to you our solutions, but we bring to you, our world. We pray for the suffering in Gaza. Lord, we pray that might be brought to an end, that people who are starving might get the food and the medical supplies, and the aid that they need. We pray Lord, that it might come quickly, that you, oh Sovereign God, you who sweep away kings and princes, might so move in the affairs of men, that you might bring peace and healing to that land.
So intervene, oh God, in the governments of our world, in Israel, those who lead in Gaza, America, in our own United Kingdom and Irish governments, and Lord in the way we can't understand, bring about peace, we pray.
For those who grieve the loss of loved ones captured and killed by terrorists in Israel, oh God of comfort, bring the peace that passes understanding, and we pray that people might turn to your son, the Prince of Peace, to know that peace in other parts of our world - places like Sudan, and South Sudan where war ravages, where people starve and are displaced, oh God intervene, we pray.
Lord, in the streets of Northern Ireland, Lord, bring your peace. We pray for neighbours and friends whose skin is a different colour than others, who are feeling threatened in communities across this province. Lord bring comfort, bring sense, be with the police as they stand in the middle. Be with those in authority, as they seek to do justice. Lord intervene, bring peace, we pray. And in our prayers, both spoken and unspoken, we lift to you our Heavenly Father, in the name of the Prince of Peace, we pray. Amen.