The Presbyterian Moderator-designate, Rev Dr Ken Newell, will be officially installed as Moderator in succession to Dr Ivan McKay at the opening session of the Presbyterian General Assembly this evening in Belfast.
Rev Dr Newell (61), who is minister of the Fitzroy congregation in Belfast, was nominated by 12 out of the 21 presbyteries that comprise the General Assembly of the Church in Ireland in a supplementary election for the moderatorship on March 2nd last.
It followed a tied vote a month earlier. For Rev Dr Newell it was the second year he has been involved in a supplementary vote following a tied vote last year also between himself and Rev Dr McKay.
Among the expected congregation of 1,200 people this evening will be delegates representing Presbyterian congregations around Ireland, invited guests of the General Assembly and Rev Dr Newell's personal guests.
These latter will include the leaders of Ireland's other three main Churches, the Catholic primate Archbishop Seán Brady, the Church of Ireland primate Archbishop Robin Eames, and the president of the Methodist Church, Rev Jim Rea.
In his final address as Moderator, Rev Dr Ivan McKay will this evening reflect on his year of office.
Rev Dr Newell, a former missionary in Indonesia, has described his ministry as "attempting to bridge the gap between the church and those for whom the church is an alien place."
He is, along with Father Gerry Reynolds, joint leader of the Fitzroy-Clonard Fellowship which has allowed Catholics and Protestants to experience together their shared faith and explore seriously areas of difference. This ground-breaking initiative was recognised with the honour of a Pax Christi International Peace Award in 1999 for what was described as "grass roots work for peace in Belfast".
In another initiative, between 1990 and 1993, Rev Dr Newell was also involved with others in separate dialogue with Sinn Féin and Loyalist paramilitary groupings which helped create an atmosphere in which ceasefires could be discussed and agreed. He has also invited Unionist, Nationalist and Orange leaders to Fitzroy, including Sir Reg Empey, Lord Molyneaux and Mr John Hume.
His contribution has also been recognised internationally when, following the Dayton Accord, he was invited to address delegates from Serbia, Bosnia, Albania and Croatia on the subject of reconciliation.
More recently, he served as chaplain to Belfast's first SDLP Lord Mayor, Mr Alban Maginness. He also ministered to many who suffered loss as a result of the September 11th attacks during which time he was ministering at Old Greenwich Presbyterian Church in the suburbs of New York.
Rev Dr Newell considers himself from a "strong evangelical tradition" but also as "comfortable and relaxed within the wider church".