Footballer’s brother takes Presbyterian top job
-06/06/06
NB This is the corrected v
Footballer’s brother takes Presbyterian top job
-06/06/06
NB This is the corrected version of the original story in which it was suggested that David Clarke was himself a professional footballer. In short we dropped the ball!
More than 1,000 delegates have installed the brother of a former professional footballer as the new moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.
Dr David Clarke succeeded Dr Harry Uprichard when he was installed yesterday at the General Assembly of the biggest Protestant denomination in Northern Ireland.
About 1,200 members of the church are meeting in Church House, Belfast this week.
They will hear reports from 18 boards and commissions and vote on more than 200 resolutions.
Dr Clarke, 59, has been minister of Terrace Row Presbyterian Church in Coleraine for the last 26 years.
He said he measured his effectiveness by “preaching the sort of sermons I would like to listen to”.
“Pastoral care, growing good relations with other churches and providing activities for all ages that develop our faith are also important aspects of our congregation’s ministry to the community in Coleraine,” he said.
He described his ministry as “evolutionary rather than revolutionary” and while “the priority of preaching is at the core of my ministry, visitation is not an optional extra”.
“It is vital to an understanding of one’s congregation, and their needs and fears, and helps inform preaching. A minister leads a team of workers, mostly voluntary, and he has to lead by example,” said Dr Clarke.
He added: “We are moving into a new political dispensation, and a changing social fabric. Instinctive reactions will have to give way to a more thoughtful and mature approach. While presenting and defending our own ideals, we must recognise and protect the rights of others.”
Dr Clarke, originally from Ballymena, was nominated by 14 out of the 21 Presbyteries who voted in February.
He is one of eight children and among his brothers are two Presbyterian ministers and a former professional footballer with Sunderland.
After leaving Ballymena Academy he completed a law degree at Queen’s University before studying Theology at Magee University College and the Presbyterian College, Belfast.
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland has about 300,000 members in over 560 congregations.
Footballer’s brother takes Presbyterian top job
-06/06/06
NB This is the corrected version of the original story in which it was suggested that David Clarke was himself a professional footballer. In short we dropped the ball!
More than 1,000 delegates have installed the brother of a former professional footballer as the new moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.
Dr David Clarke succeeded Dr Harry Uprichard when he was installed yesterday at the General Assembly of the biggest Protestant denomination in Northern Ireland.
About 1,200 members of the church are meeting in Church House, Belfast this week.
They will hear reports from 18 boards and commissions and vote on more than 200 resolutions.
Dr Clarke, 59, has been minister of Terrace Row Presbyterian Church in Coleraine for the last 26 years.
He said he measured his effectiveness by “preaching the sort of sermons I would like to listen to”.
“Pastoral care, growing good relations with other churches and providing activities for all ages that develop our faith are also important aspects of our congregation’s ministry to the community in Coleraine,” he said.
He described his ministry as “evolutionary rather than revolutionary” and while “the priority of preaching is at the core of my ministry, visitation is not an optional extra”.
“It is vital to an understanding of one’s congregation, and their needs and fears, and helps inform preaching. A minister leads a team of workers, mostly voluntary, and he has to lead by example,” said Dr Clarke.
He added: “We are moving into a new political dispensation, and a changing social fabric. Instinctive reactions will have to give way to a more thoughtful and mature approach. While presenting and defending our own ideals, we must recognise and protect the rights of others.”
Dr Clarke, originally from Ballymena, was nominated by 14 out of the 21 Presbyteries who voted in February.
He is one of eight children and among his brothers are two Presbyterian ministers and a former professional footballer with Sunderland.
After leaving Ballymena Academy he completed a law degree at Queen’s University before studying Theology at Magee University College and the Presbyterian College, Belfast.
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland has about 300,000 members in over 560 congregations.