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Retired Clergy Association first meeting of 2026

Friday January 23rd 2026

Members of the Retired Clergy Association and the Methodist Ministers Retired Clergy Fellowship at their joint meeting in Bangor.

The first meeting of 2026 for members of the Retired Clergy Association (RCA) was held at Christ Church, Primacy, Bangor, on January 20 when they were invited to join with the Methodist Ministers Retired Clergy Fellowship.

This is now an annual event which affords the opportunity of renewing friendships and making new ones, and of hearing a speaker on a subject of mutual interest. Altogether, 29 retired clergy came together in the warm and very comfortable surroundings of Christ Church where the generous hospitality before the meeting was very welcome.

The Rev Billy Davison, Chairman of the Methodist Fellowship, welcomed everyone and the guest speaker, Dr Richard English, Professor of Politics at Queen’s University Belfast.

Before the talk, Denise Wilson, the Community Pastor at Christ Church, described some of the history of the congregation which attained Covenant status in 2025 as a joint Church of Ireland/Methodist worshipping and witnessing community. She said that it continues to be an exciting journey with approximately 200 families connected with Christ Church, and an average of 85 people worshipping on a Sunday morning. Denise then led the opening devotions.

Professor English took as the title of his talk ‘Making Peace – Christianity, Politics, and Political Violence,’ and addressed his comments under three headings:

1/ Christianity has a restraining effect on violence. The biblical teachings on compassion, mercy and forgiveness still influence society’s thinking and are a significant part in making peace, thereby contradicting the often-heard claim that Christianity contributes to violence.

2/ Christianity is far more important than people recognise. It is embedded in our culture and we should be more open, less embarrassed, and more up-front about our Christian beliefs. The assumption that Christianity will fall away as society ‘matures’ is misleading. When compared with the violence and divisions in non-Christian societies, Christianity offers the opposite. Its most important contribution is to restrain violence and evil.

3/ Christianity in Northern Ireland today provides us with good assets. We are demonstrably now less violent than other parts of the world. Moving away from the violence of the ‘Troubles’ most of our politicians now talk with each other face-to-face, no matter how imperfectly. Dr English felt, with a degree of optimism, that Northern Ireland is now ‘the gold standard of peace,’ and we need to talk up what we have, which reflects the importance of what Christianity has done and what it still has to do in our society.

Professor English concluded his talk by thanking the clergy present for the role they played in peace-making over the years and what they still do. There followed a lively question and answer session. 

Bishop Patrick Rooke, Chair of the Retired Clergy Association, concluded the meeting by thanking the speaker for his fascinating insights. He thanked the Rev Davison, Chair of the Methodist Retired Fellowship and his colleagues for arranging the meeting and Denise for her opening devotions, and the catering team at Christ Church for being such generous and welcoming hosts.

He offered the condolences of the RCA to the Rev Davison who had experienced a recent bereavement on the unexpected death of his son, and good wishes to the Rev Dr Harold Good for a quick and full recovery following his recent surgery after a fall.

Report by Jim Campbell, Secretary, Retired Clergy Association

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