Since the signing of the Good Friday agreement Presbyterians "have both urged and prayed" for the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons.
A recent announcement that "final acts of decommissioning have taken place" will have significance for the whole of Northern Irish society, not only as a symbolic, confidence-building measure, but also as an integral part of bringing peace to the divided people in Northern Ireland by removing the threat of violence and securing trusting relationships.
While it is a conviction that no one can know if all IRA weaponry has been given up, it is recognised that the amount is very significant, as is the act itself of decommissioning.
From a republican perspective, it is construed as an act of courage demanding strategic and committed leadership, resulting in the republican cause now about to be a "full political expression of its goals and aspirations".
Unionist concerns about the credibility of the total act of decommissioning and its tardiness are also appreciated. It is to be hoped loyalist paramilitaries will also totally decommission.
It is clear that the majority of people in the North wish for peace. It is believed the time has come for politicians and all in society to focus on issues that affect the common life of all, and are indubitably beyond the boundaries of sectarian or racial divisions. A challenge for the people of the North now is the healing of centuries-old fractures in society.
The foregoing, much of it expressed in a report of the general board of the Presbyterian Church (the most representative body in the church apart from the general assembly) have led to the hope for "momentous changes in society".
In Wexford this evening a book will be launched with widest appeal to people of all denominations and none. It is The Rambling Rector, from Columba Press, by the Rev Norman Ruddock.
Enthusiastic, knowledgeable gardeners will instantly recognise the title as taken from the name of "a vibrant climbing rose". But the author has lived and worked in the US and no doubt "rambled" there as well as in New Zealand and Japan in his retirement. The book is the story of his life from 1935 till 2004.
His frankness is engaging as he describes his "native heath" and upbringing, his schools, college and university. His humour is entertaining, perhaps especially when he tilts critically, but always playfully and courteously, at bishops. The warmth of his family life is appealing.
There is interesting retelling of experiences in his ministries in the Church of Ireland, with valuable shared experience from clerics. Ruddock's account of his 11-year ministry in St Iberius, Wexford, is inspiring reading. His courage in the face of cancer, and ministry to others similarly afflicted, is praiseworthy.
In the intractable, violent state of affairs in Palestine/Israel significant Christian work for peace is taking place. Sabeel, an ecumenical movement with a Bible-based theology, works out of Jerusalem. It aims at developing spirituality "based on justice, peace, liberation, non-violence and reconciliation".
The Rev Dr Naim Aleek, its founder and director, will speak at a public meeting in the Milltown Park Conference Centre, Sandyford Road, Ranelagh, on Tuesday, November 15th at 8pm.