THE PRESBYTERIAN Moderator -elect has spoken of his commitment to working for better community relations without wishing to “dabble in politics”.
The Rev Norman Hamilton, speaking for the first time yesterday since he was elected by Ireland’s 19 presbyteries on Tuesday, said he was “greatly humbled and surprised that this has come to him”.
At his first press conference, he outlined that “relationships in the wider community matter a great deal to me; whatever I try to do in the public arena is driven by theological and biblical perspective. It is not my wish to dabble in politics.”
Rev Hamilton (63), is minister at Ballysillan in north Belfast, and rose to prominence through his mediation work in the Holy Cross dispute in 2001. He was closely involved in efforts to end the unrest over Catholic primary pupils from Ardoyne who had to pass an ongoing loyalist protest on their way to school.
When questioned about the period, he said: “My abiding memory was of intense distress and walking those 400 yards and being close to tears. It was resolved in the sense that the violence had stopped, but it left a legacy that is still there.”
Rev Hamilton will take up office on June 7th in succession to Dr Stafford Carson.