WHO ARE WE ?

 

The Presbyterian Church in Ireland serves the whole of Ireland, North and South with a membership of around 300,000 ministered to in 562 congregations or parishes by ordained ministers. In our Christian worship, the preaching of the Word of God is central, in a setting of prayer and praise. There is no fixed liturgy. Prayers and hymns, psalms and paraphrases, Scripture reading and sermon are adapted to the needs of the occasion. The word 'Presbyterian' describes the form of our Church government which emphasises the individual and corporate responsibility of members. Ministers and members must share in the organising and running of every aspect of the Church's work. Locally this means the provision of worship and teaching along with pastoral care while the corporate work of the Church involves social action, evangelism, mission at home and overseas, training of ministers and working with young people and children. The best test of our church and its members lies in what their faith compels them to do for others, not just what has been done for them as individuals. The King and Head of the Church loved us and gave Himself for us so that we should no longer live for ourselves. We are called to service.

 

 

HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIANISM

 

Like other branches of the Universal Church, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland can trace its beginnings to the dawn of Christianity and particularly to the first evangelising journeys of St. Ninian and St. Columba in Scotland, in the fifth and sixth centuries respectively. The emergence of the Kirk as a distinctive church with special responsibility for the spiritual welfare of all the people dates from the Reformation of 1560, after which the present system of Presbyterian government was gradually evolved.

 

 

COURTS OF THE CHURCH

 

In the Presbyterian structure of church government, authority is vested in church courts, as distinct from an episcopal hierarchy of bishops and archbishops. At the level of the congregation the court is the Kirk Session; the next court is the Presbytery and finally the General Assembly, the supreme court. The chairperson of each court is known as the Moderator.

 

 

THE KIRK SESSION

 

The Kirk Session consists of the parish minister and a number of specially selected men and women, ordained as elders, who are responsible for the spiritual oversight of the parishioners and the organisation of the local congregation. (Elders have a pastoral responsibility for members of the congregation within their districts and share with the minister in the celebration of Holy Communion. Elders may also be called on to serve in the higher Courts and Committees of the Church.) Many congregations also have Financial Boards, known variously as Congregational Boards, Deacons' Courts and Committees of Management, with responsibility for the financial affairs of the congregation.

 

 

THE PRESBYTERY

 

The next court is the Presbytery, which is responsible for a geographical area made up of a number of congregations. It consists of all ministers within the area entitled to membership of Presbytery plus a number of elders, there being at least one for every congregation. Other full time workers for the Church are invited to attend Presbytery & General Assembly. This court has wide powers of oversight and ensures that the Word of God is purely preached within its area ,the Sacraments administered and Church business conducted according to procedures determined by the General Assembly.

 

 

 

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

 

The General Assembly: The Supreme Court is the General Assembly which meets in Belfast in June every year and consists of all ministers of the Church plus an equal number of elders, together with some members of the Diaconate, all "commissioned" by Presbyteries, amounting to some 1,200 Commissioners (N.B. not "delegates")

 

 

THE MODERATOR OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

 

The Assembly is presided over by a Moderator elected on the nomination of a the various presbyteries. Since all ministers in the Church enjoy equal status, the moderator is not "head of the Church", but technically "primus inter pares", that is first among equals. Though the Moderator's technical function as chairperson of the Assembly ceases with the close of the Assembly, the Moderator carries through in the succeeding 12 months an extensive programme of visits to Presbyteries to encourage ministers and congregations in their work and witness. In recent years it has also become traditional for Moderators to undertake overseas tours to see the work of missionaries working with partner Churches. The office is the highest honour the Church can bestow on a Minister.

 

 

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY BOARDS & COMMITTEES

 

The General Assembly Boards and Committees: While the principal work of pastoral care, evangelism and Christian education is the responsibility of local ministers and Kirk Sessions, they are helped in that work and enabled to share in the extension of it beyond their own parish by Boards and Committees of the General Assembly who undertake such activities as mission work at home and overseas, Christian education and social care.

 

History & Information on Trinity Presbryterian Church

The Cork Mission Statement

Archived Sermons

Links to other Presbyterian Sites on the Internet