It is Sunday and the people of Galway are out. The Salthill promenade is crowded, the beaches are busy, Eyre Square is bustling, and the hardy souls are in for a swim (the ocean currents make the water surprisingly warm). And well they should be out, because I arrived on this island the 1st of July and today, the 15th of August, is the first sunny day I have experienced. Not that I have never seen the sun, but every other day it has shown between the clouds and around the showers. Many days I have explored the surrounding counties by bicycle, and I quickly learned that waiting for fair weather was futile. If it was clear when I started out it would rain before I finished. If it was raining when I started it would soon clear up. Rarely drenching downpours, but an ever-present coastal drip—water to make the land green and give the place the name The Emerald Isle. Such is the weather on the west coast of Ireland.




For the past six weeks I have been preaching and leading a mid-week Bible study at the Methodist-Presbyterian Church of Galway. It is unique among Methodist and Presbyterian churches in this country, not only because of its status as an amalgamated church but because it has three nearly equal constituencies: tourists, Africans and white. The white participants are either Irish or expats from parts of the UK or elsewhere. The Africans are mostly asylum-seekers, or began with that status but have gone through the court system and received what is known as a Leave to Stay. The previous pastors of the church were a clergy couple, the husband from Sierra Leone and the wife Irish. They were sent to the church by the Methodists nine years ago with a specific charge to reach and aid the newly arrived asylum-seekers, and they did an excellent job but have moved on to another charge. So the alternating system of governance means that it is the Presbyterian’s job to carry on from here—which will be a difficult task…

Aside from the preaching and teaching responsibilities I have had contact with individuals and responded to one hospital request for “a Presbyterian priest”—a reflection of terminology in this Catholic culture. But the net result has been to have plenty of time to experience Galway (like the grand fashion parade called the Galway Races)

do my exploring. And I can say I now pretty well know Mayo, Sligo, Connemara, Galway and Donegal counties. I also did a cross-country jaunt to attend a Bible Study in Dublin, so visited much of the middle between west and east. Sounds impressive, I trust, but as the distance from Galway to Dublin is just over 200 kilometers, it sounds more impressive than it actually is.

The downside to this time has been that Nancy has not been with me except for the first weekend, as she is doing a Fulbright English Language Specialist assignment in Vietnam. Her experiences have been completely different, and her schedule much more demanding than mine, but it is for her to write about her time there. For me it has meant being without her—missing her and not having her partnership in the ministry as we have had before during my similar ministries in other Irish churches.

Tomorrow I head north for a Presbyterian Church of Ireland irregular General Assembly. The term irregular does not imply a problem, rather it indicates that this assembly is not the annual business gathering, rather it is a periodic gathering for prayer, general assessment and visioning. Should be interesting. At the end of next week I take my week away from Galway—cycling southern France with Brian, my cycling buddy from Northern Ireland. Then a final Sunday preaching and a return to Greensboro for me, while Nancy flies on to Ethiopia for September.

So my fifth tour in Ireland is drawing to a close. Each time I have asked myself and God whether what I have done has really helped the church and the kingdom of God, and each time I seem to come to the same conclusion. From my perspective it has been a privilege and a joy—a chance to share the gospel with people, to use my gifts, to hear how others from different cultures hear and understand the Scriptures, and to meet and enjoy a wonderful country with gracious people. And for the church there has been a bit of stability in a time of change, a chance to experience the preaching and teaching of a strange foreigner, and an affirmation of the caring and commitment of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland for those congregations that are part of its family. For some it has even meant a new perspective on their faith and what it means to follow Jesus. I guess in God’s economy this is a win-win arrangement—each party is challenged, stretched, encouraged, and blessed. Praise be to God!