A Presbyterian minister from Killyleagh is to be the new Clerk of the General Assembly.
The Rev Jonathan Boyd has been appointed to one of the leading positions within the denomination at the General Assembly.
The 43-year-old father of four will leave his congregation at the end of this month to take up his new post at the beginning of July. He first arrived in Killyleagh in May 2022 to take charge of the united congregation of 1st and 2nd Killyleagh Presbyterian churches, which became one church for the first time under his leadership.
Thanking the General Assembly for the trust that it has placed in him, Mr Boyd said: “This office has serious responsibilities and the church faces challenging circumstances. As I prepare for that I’m conscious that I bring with me relatively little experience, certainly compared to recent clerks. I will have a lot to learn and I will have to learn quickly.
“But thankfully the Church depends on God, not on clerks, and he is as good and kind and wise and generous as he always has been and always will be. He has given us his own Son. We can surely trust him to provide what is needed each day. I certainly don’t think I could possibly be in this position if the Lord wasn’t opening doors and shoving me through them, and I trust that when he calls someone to serve, he also equips them.
“I’m very grateful that he has already raised up many wise and experienced men and women in the church who I can learn from and many good, godly people who have offered their prayerful support.”
The Clerk said that he was very grateful for the many messages of encouragement that he had already received. “We have many warm-hearted, encouraging people in our denomination who want to get on with doing things together that God has called us to do.”
