The Rev Margaret Ruth Patterson was honoured as Alumna of the year 2000 at graduation ceremonies of the University of Edinburgh in December last. The highly prestigious award is conferred annually on a graduate "who has distinguished himself/herself in their chosen field and gained international recognition for their work."
Ms Patterson is a distinguished student having gained degrees in arts and the social sciences from Queen's University Belfast and the University of Toronto. She graduated in divinity at Edinburgh.
She was the first woman to be ordained in the Presbyterian church in Ireland in 1976 and served in Gardenmore, Larne, and Kilmakee, suburban Belfast. Her award is thought to be mainly for her highly regarded work for reconciliation in Northern Ireland over many years.
Ms Patterson is a daughter of the late Very Rev Dr Thomas Patterson, a moderator of the church.
The Moderator-Designate, the Rev Alistair Dunlop, who will succeed to the office on June 4th, is minister of Knock Presbyterian Church, Belfast. His father, James Dunlop, sometime minister of Oldpark, Belfast, was Moderator in 1964.
Mr Dunlop recently commented: "Churches need to be welcoming and inclusive. You cannot do effective work without the right resources in terms of facilities and people, and churches need to invest in both to create the best possible circumstances for presenting the Christian witness effectively."
Remarking recently on the declining number of families joining the Presbyterian Church, the Rev Harold Boyce said: "Our greatest challenge is not just to reverse statistical trends but also to make an evangelical church into an evangelising church. We need to turn a church which includes evangelism amongst its beliefs into a church where evangelism pervades everything we do."
Mr Boyce has been the Church's Director of Evangelism for the past year. He is helping to launch "Christianity Explored," a resource for churches willing to engage in outreach.
Under the auspices of the Marriage and Family Committee (MFC), a confidential counselling service has been offered to members of all denominations since 1964; well over 200 persons have received counselling and the problems addressed have included extramarital affairs, abusive relationships, violence, alcoholism, childlessness, financial difficulties and growing apart.
MFC, convinced of a growing need, is expanding its service. New counsellors are sought. Trained counsellors or those interested in becoming such are invited to contact Ms Stephanie Windrum, Co-ordinator Marriage Care Counselling, Board of Social Witness, Church House, Belfast BT1 6DW. Prospective counsellors will receive appropriate training and supervision.
The work of the Presbyterian Residential Trust in its five or so residences for senior citizens "continues very encouraging with all homes being full most of the time". People in Dublin particularly will note with pleasure that "building has commenced at Tritonville Close, Dublin, where 16 new apartments for older people are being built. This work should be completed by June 2001."
Over 100 people for the past 10 years have been preparing A Children's Bible - A Contemporary English Version. Key people among these have been translation consultants of the United Bible Societies from a wide variety of denominations and nationalities, with most of them among the most experienced translators of the Bible in the world.
Because it is translated directly from the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, authorities claim this translation is supremely faithful to the meaning of the Biblical text. The version also has features making it specially suitable for the younger reader. It has artists' full-colour representations of what are considered main events in the Bible record. The Bible is published by HarperCollins and will most certainly prove attractive for young and adult alike.