The Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) has announced that its next Moderator will be Rev Richard Kerr, the minister of Temple patrick Presbyterian Church in County Antrim.
Rev Kerr who served as a mission worker in Malawi for over a decade, will be the 26th Moderator to come from a County Antrim congregation and the 180th person to hold PCI’s highest office since the establishment of the Church in 1840.
He will be formally elected as Moderator by the Church’s General Assembly in June. The current Moderator Rt Rev Dr Richard Murray has only been in post since December 2025 when he took over from Rt Rev Dr Trevor Gribben who had resigned the previous month following an internal investigation which uncovered “serious and significant failings” in the Church’s safeguarding functions spanning more than a decade. Dr Gribben apologised “unreservedly” for the major shortcomings in the Church’s central safeguarding systems between 2009 and 2022, which had placed people at risk.
Sixty-year-old Rev Kerr, who is a grandfather of four, received the most votes in a second round of voting, having tied initially with Rev Ker Graham, minister of Clarkesbridge & First New town Hamilton Presbyterian Church, Garmany’s Grove and McKelvey’s Grove Presbyterian Churches.
Rev Kerr said: “I feel deeply humbled, and I’m very conscious that I cannot do this by myself, or in my own strength. I pray that God’s Spirit will grant me the wisdom and guidance that I will need to reflect His mission to the Church, wider society and our global community. I also recognise that I serve in partnership with God’s people who’ve elected me, and their prayers and support I deeply value as I seek to serve God faithfully in the year ahead.
“I’m also conscious of the significant central church failings in safeguarding that came to light last year, and my heart goes out to those who have been hurt by our failure. It is important to reiterate the apology made by the Moderator at December’s Special General Assembly, as we are sorry to all who we have failed, I want to do what I can to build on the contrition already expressed in December, seek to ensure that we learn from and address our failings, and work with all involved to rebuild trust that has been broken.”
Until June he will be known as the Moderator-Designate and continue to serve his congregation in Templepatrick.
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