Presbyterian Church: Tandragee minister has been elected new moderator

Co Armagh clergyman the Rev Trevor Gribben is to become the new moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.

It followed an election process last night (Tuesday) during which Mr Gribben received the most votes from the church’s 19 regional presbyteries when they met independently, in various locations across Ireland.

Known as the Moderator-Designate, he will be formally elected and installed as moderator by the General Assembly, when it meets in Belfast this June.

The Tandragee-born 63-year-old is the 13th minister to hold the office of Clerk of the General Assembly since the establishment of the Church in 1840, and will be the 7th Clerk to serve as the Church in its highest office, the last being Dr Sam Hutchinson who was elected in 1997.

Speaking following his election, Mr Gribben said, “Having served as an ordained minister within PCI for the last 37 or so years, it really is a great honour, and a very humbling experience, to be nominated as Moderator-Designate.

"Although it’s been my day-job over the years as Clerk to ring colleagues to inform them of their nomination as Moderator-Designate, it was a very different experience tonight to get that phone call myself from the Deputy Clerk.

“I am, however, very much looking forward to this new opportunity to serve in a different way, but with a fair degree of trepidation. As Clerk of Assembly, I’ve worked very closely with all moderators over the past while, but I suspect it will be very different stepping into that role myself.

“As I look forward to the year ahead it is with a strange mixture of emotions, including both a degree of both nervousness and excitement in almost equal measure. Nervousness, because it will be something new, which will involve setting aside much of what I currently do, yet exciting, because of the new opportunities for service and ministry that will open up.”