Presbyterian Moderator attends the Ploughing Championships

This week, Presbyterian Moderator, Right Reverend Dr Richard Kerr was in Tullamore, County Offaly, supporting outreach work of the Church at the National Ploughing Championships. Dr Kerr joined volunteers to welcome people to the Presbyterian stand and took time to meet with representatives from the IFA and Macra na Feirme. 

Organised by the all-Ireland denomination’s three regional presbyteries, which are located in the Republic of Ireland – the Presbytery of Dublin and Munster, along with the Presbytery of Monaghan and the Donegal part of the of Derry and Donegal Presbytery – the Church has had a presence at the event since 2016, when the Championships. 

Dr Kerr was brought up in Ramelton, County Donegal before leaving for agricultural college in County Tipperary, becoming a dairy farm manager near Dundalk in County Louth. 

Dr Kerr said, “With my farming background, I have really enjoyed spending time at the Ploughing this week. I have been encouraged to see my colleagues on the Presbyterian stand as they witness for Jesus and had the opportunity to visit other stands as well. PCI has long running partnerships with Tearfund and Christian Aid and it has been good to catch up with their representatives.

“It was most encouraging to see the high numbers of young people coming in to chat at the PCI stand. They were searching for hope and meaning to life, and so it was a real privilege to meet them and spend time with them.” 

The Minister of Tullamore Presbyterian Church, Rev William Hayes, has been involved in the team organising the stand ever since the Nationals came to County Offaly. “It has gone really well, with lots of good conversations in the tent, which has been pretty packed. We are delighted that Dr Kerr could join us,” Mr Hayes said.

“This was our ninth year hosting a stand. Each time we have offered a place to rest weary legs, some refreshments, and a listening ear. The formula certainly seems to work if the hundreds of tea bags that we get through each year is anything to go by! Conversations range from the friendly and superficial, “How far have you come today?” through to, “What type of church is a Presbyterian Church?” and on into the profound, “What do I need to do to be right with God? If desired, it is always a privilege to pray with people.”

“It is an exhausting time of evangelism and outreach for everyone on the stand, but we hope and pray that every conversation, every act of hospitality and every New Testament, or piece of gospel literature taken away would, through God’s Sovereign Grace, “fall on good soil and produce a crop a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown,” as Matthew’s gospel tells us,” Mr Hayes said. 

PCI's Rural Chaplain, Rev Kenny Hanna, was also in attendance at the National Ploughing Championships. The Rural Chaplaincy strap-line is 'Caring for farmers, their families and the Community - Bringing the hope of Jesus the Good Shepherd', and Kenny uses events such as the championships to reach out to the farming community with the good news of Jesus.