10.04.2014
New ICC President Encourages Christians to Walk Confidently and Joyfully Towards a Future Determined by Jesus
Arklow Presbyterian Church was the venue for the 91st annual meeting of the Irish Council of Churches (ICC) which took place today (April 10). During the meeting the Revd Dr Donald Watts, Clerk of the Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, was elected as President of the ICC. This position is the most senior ecumenical role in Ireland and Dr Watts succeeds the Revd Fr Godfrey O’Donnell of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
Speaking at his installation, Dr Watts encouraged the churches to be forward looking and confident in their life and ministry. He evoked the words of Queen Elizabeth II during this historic week, in which she insisted that citizens of Britain and Ireland “no longer allow our past to ensnare our future”.
Suggesting that the churches in Ireland also take up this theme, that they cannot and must not be held by the past, Dr Watts suggested that “we, as Christian people, must be determined by the future, a future that Jesus has created for us, not one we have inherited from others”. He encouraged those present to “walk confidently and joyfully towards a future determined for us by Jesus’ death and resurrection”.
The newly installed President also spoke of his pleasure at the annual meeting being held in the Republic of Ireland. He pointed to an emerging trend of differences not only between the Christian traditions, but also within the denominations, north and south of the border, and outlined a vision for his presidency, whereby the ICC as an organisation could work towards ensuring that these divisions were overcome.
The installation took place during a service led by Arklow Presbyterian Minister, the Revd Michael Anderson. His local clerical counterparts Canon Martin Cosgrove, Roman Catholic; Canon Nigel Sherwood, Church of Ireland; and the Revd Ivor Owens, Methodist, also participated.
Afternoon discussions centred round the theme of the ‘Theology of the Remnant’. Frances Young, Emeritus Edward Cadbury Professor of Theology at Birmingham University, gave the keynote address entitled, ‘From Holy Remnant to Exile and Aliens’. President of the Methodist Church in Ireland, the Revd Dr Heather Morris, in her role as responder, urged churches to echo the character of God in the world, as “the very concept of remnant points beyond itself to something greater”. Delegates then divided into groups to discuss how they might transfer the knowledge and insight gained from today’s session into their own mission and ministry.
Dr Watts will hold the presidency until 2016, at which time the Rt Revd John McDowell, Church of Ireland Bishop of Clogher and current ICC Vice–President, will assume the role.
Photo caption: The newly installed president of the Irish Council of Churches, the Revd Dr Donald and outgoing President, the Revd Fr Godfrey O’Donnell pictured with clergy in Arklow. L–R: Canon Nigel Sherwood, the Revd Ivor Owens, Canon Martin Cosgrove, the Revd Dr Donald Watts, the Revd Fr Godfrey O’Donnell and the Revd Michael Anderson.