Church prepares to sell its headquarters

The Presbyterian General Assembly yesterday announced that it is planning to sell its Belfast headquarters, Church House.

The Presbyterian General Assembly yesterday announced that it is planning to sell its Belfast headquarters, Church House.

Continuing restoration costs and falling rents at shops in the Spires complex, owned by the church, were given as some of the reasons. It was further decided that decisions on the sale and re-siting of Church House to a new location would be left to the Church's General Board.

The General Assembly also congratulated the Government on the introduction of anti-smoking regulations in the Republic and urged that similar provisions be introduced in Northern Ireland.

An amendment to a motion, which was narrowly accepted at yesterday's session, was being interpreted by many as a rebuff to the Moderator Dr Ken Newell for inviting the Catholic primate, Archbishop Seán Brady, to attend the opening session. In a speech proposing the amendment, the Rev Andy Kerr, who ministers in east Tyrone and who is a nephew of Dr Newell's, said that matters which needed consideration by the church's doctrine committee included "does the church believe that those who hold to the Roman teaching of justification are Christians?" The amendment asked that the doctrine committee "be asked to consider how best the truth of the historic doctrine of justification by faith can be proclaimed relevantly in our present time." In his speech he said he had been "surprised by the vitriolic name-calling directed against those who in good conscience seek to take doctrine to its logical, apostolic, biblical, confessional conclusion. We should not ignore the wartime warning 'loose lips sink ships'," he said.

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He sensed "that my view (on the doctrine) is currently regarded as unacceptable if it impinges upon relationships with those who deny this this truth" and queried whether the unity of the Presbyterian Church "is in the process of being undermined, ironically in the name of unity." The amendment was accepted in a narrow vote, 163 to 161.

Mr Kerr would not comment on whether his amendment was inspired by Archbishop Brady's presence at the General Assembly but he was emphatic it was not a personal attack on his uncle and "absolutely not a rebuff to the Moderator."