In his opening address to the Presbyterian Church in Ireland’s (PCI) Special General Assembly in Belfast today, (18 December), the all-Ireland denomination’s Moderator, Right Reverend Dr Richard Murray, apologised to those who have been hurt or harmed as a result of the Church’s central safeguarding failings, saying to those it let down, “we are deeply ashamed and sorry.”
Dr Murray resumed the office of Moderator of the General Assembly on 1 December, following PCI’s public announcement last month of significant failings in the central administration of its safeguarding processes. One of his first official acts was to call the Special General Assembly.
Opening the one-day meeting in front of ministers and elders from across the island, Dr Murray’s address was part of a service of worship that included hymns, scripture readings, and prayers that were led by former Moderators. Specific proposals to address the safeguarding failures and related matters will come before Members of Assembly this afternoon.
During his address Dr Murray said,
“For those of us in the church this has been one of the hardest things to bear at this time - that the name of the Lord has been brought into disrepute, people have been harmed and the gospel, God’s good news, brought into disrepute.
“Hence, I believe it’s more than appropriate – it’s necessary – that we gather together in this Special General Assembly to grieve and lament for those who have been hurt and harmed (and for their families who have to pick up the pieces), acknowledging that there will be things these good people have to live with for the rest of their lives. And to them we say ‘Sorry that you have been hurt or harmed by our failings.”
In his address, the Moderator took as his theme ‘God’s word for a time of penitence’ from Psalm 6.
“…as we sit under God’s word, and as I take you through it, I want God’s word to get into us, searching us and piercing to the division of soul and spirit, humbling us, reminding us that apart from God, we are nothing, and apart from God we have nothing. “Brothers and sisters, first and foremost we must be a people before God and that’s why we have started with a more extended worship time than we normally would have at a General Assembly to bring us to our knees, to make us cry out after God to make us cast ourselves upon the Lord, that He would have mercy upon us.”
Dressed in a three-piece suit and tie, forgoing the formal dark robes of a Presbyterian Moderator so often seen at the opening of the General Assembly, Dr Murray said at the start of his address,
“…none of us could have expected to hear the words of the headlines on BBC Evening Extra’s programme on 17 November at 5pm: ‘A criminal investigation has been launched into the Presbyterian Church in Ireland after concerns were raised about safeguarding issues’...As a presbyterian family we have been horrified to learn that people in our care have been hurt and harmed and as yet we do not know the extent of our failings. And yes, the vast majority of our ministers, elders, designated persons, and office staff are men and women of integrity and honour, but some have let us all down and for that we are deeply ashamed and sorry.”
Dr Murray, who is the minster of Drumreagh Presbyterian Church near Ballymoney in County Antrim, also shared the reaction of people he knew to the news, including a younger minister who called to his manse
“…in despair wondering will he go on, wondering should he give up? And maybe some of you listening to me have felt the same way? That the foundations are being destroyed, that if we can’t protect children and the vulnerable, what does that say about us? Especially when children were so often found around our Lord Jesus Christ?” Asking the question, ‘so where is God when things look to be crumbling?’ Dr Murray drew from the fourth verse of Psalm 6, and a Hebrew world which translated in the English Standard Version of the Bible is ‘steadfast love’ and in other translations as ‘mercy’, ‘unfailing love’, or ‘devoted love’ – the covenant love of God.
“…[B]ut it’s a commitment love, a love that has a vow to back it up. In other words, God has put Himself on oath, as He says in Hebrews 13; “I will never leave you or forsake you”. And that’s what David [who wrote the psalm] is holding onto in the crisis he is facing - not just the love of God, but the covenant love of God, and that’s why he says in verse 4, “Turn, O Lord, deliver my life, save me for the sake of your steadfast love.”
Concluding his address Dr Murray paraphrased Romans 8:28, saying, “May God have mercy upon us. May God comfort those hurt and harmed. May God deliver us from our enemies. May God lead us through this dark tunnel and grant us better days ahead. Because all things (even bad things) work together for good for those who love God, for those called according to His purpose.”
Following the service of worship, in the afternoon the General Assembly will discuss proposals to elevate significantly the position of safeguarding within PCI and establish a new Safeguarding Department, along with the effective resourcing of safeguarding centrally, and at an appropriate time, a full, independent external review of safeguarding in PCI.
The General Assembly will also be asked to establish a task group that will look at governance, culture and integrity. If agreed, this will include the role of Clerk of the General Assembly and General Secretary of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and the possible separation of these roles. A report on this will be brought to a second Special General Assembly in February of next year. An update on recent engagement with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland will also form part of the business proceedings. Other measures will also be discussed.
