Presbyterian Church in Ireland selects new moderator

The Presbyterian Church in Ireland has selected Rev David Bruce, secretary to the church’s council for mission in Ireland to be its next moderator.

Born in Banbridge, Co Down, Rev Bruce (62) was nominated by 14 of the Church’s 19 presbyteries on Tuesday evening when they met across Ireland to elect a successor to the current moderator Rt Rev Dr William Henry.

Rev Bruce will officially be elected and installed as moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland at the start of this year’s general assembly of the church on June 1st.

The moderator-designate said: “I am hugely honoured to be invited by the Church to fulfil this role, and humbled that anyone should imagine I am able to do it.”

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Rev Bruce, who lives near Lisburn, and worships at Elmwood Presbyterian Church on the outskirts of the city, will be the denomination’s 175th Moderator since 1840 and the first in over 20 years to come from a position outside of parish ministry.

“With the UK having left the European Union last week and [as] we enter this transition phase, a new set of political relationships will be formed, both on this island and beyond. As members of an all-Ireland church we will remain fully committed to our people and their witness on both sides of the Irish border,” Rev Bruce added.

The moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland holds the post for one year, from June, or from general assembly to general assembly. The current moderator is Rev William Henry.

Of the church’s 19 presbyteries on the island those of Monaghan and Dublin, as well as Munster are in the Republic, while the presbyteries of Derry and Donegal are cross-border. All others are in Northern Ireland.