'Asylum seekers one of the best opportunities our church has got' to fulfil its Christian mission says Presbyterian report

That statement appears in a package of reports due to be presented to the all-island church's General Assembly, running from this Thursday to Saturday.

The package of reports – known informally as the Blue Book – is a vast collection a documents amounting to 316 pages.

It includes things like ministers' wages, segments about hot topics like assisted dying or abortion sex ed in schools, and updates from the various congregations.

• ‘SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS BEING REACHED’

One report in the Blue Book is titled 'Report on the Future Strategy, Structure and Sustainability of the International Meeting Place'.

There are actually two of these meeting places: one in south Belfast (Lisburn Road) and one in the north (Carlisle Circus).

To give an idea of scale, the former gets 100 visitors daily from "over 30 different countries".

Their mission is to "seek to proclaim the Good News through offering practical help" like English classes and parent-and-toddler groups.

The Blue Book report due to be presented to the General Assembly says this: "It is evident that a significant number of people are being reached through this Project and God is blessing the work.

"It has also become clear that the need is continuing to grow significantly in the area of migrants and those seeking asylum, not just in Belfast but right across this island.

"Statistics of the last few years in Ireland might suggest that reaching out to those who are making Ireland their new home is one of the greatest God-given opportunities that the Church has today."

It then cites figures showing the number of people getting asylum support in NI ballooned from March 2020 to March 2023 from 1,000 to 3,000.

In the Republic, asylum applications jumped from 9,571 in 2021 to "a remarkable" 81,256 in 2022.

Those are just asylum numbers, to which a surge of economic migrants can also be added.

The report adds that "central to the effectiveness of the International Meeting Point is the mix of meeting social needs of migrants while keeping evangelism central".

The church has about 190,000 members at present, of which all but about 10,000 are in Northern Ireland.

Like other churches, it faces an uphill struggle against falling congregation numbers.

The theme of Northern Ireland’s native population increasingly ditching Christianity has often been reported in the News Letter in recent years.

For example, a 2015 story by this reporter noted that a Nigerian clergyman who had just accepted a post in Northern Ireland – Rev George Okikiolu – was surprised to find Christianity in the Province much less “vibrant” than in his homeland, noting that things had “really changed” since the days of Britain exporting Christianity to Africa.

And just a fortnight ago, Methodist president Rev Dr John D Alderdice said: "Let’s be real and understand that many people view the church as entirely irrelevant to their daily lives and circumstances."

• APPEAL FALLS HALF-A-MILLION SHORT:

The troubles affecting the Presbyterian Church in Ireland are highlighted elsewhere in the Blue Book; in particular, in a section about something called the United Appeal.

This is essentially a target for how much money the church aims to collect each year.

It goes towards everything from training for clergy, overseas missions, and the infrastructure of the church at home; moderator Samuel Mawhinney has said that "every aspect of our Church’s mission depends to some extent on United Appeal".

(The appeal is separate from congregants' 'freewill offerings' – the standard collection plates passed around during Sunday services).

The report on the United Appeal finds the following: "The accounts for 2023 show that £3,037,036 was received against the 2023 Appeal target of £3,500,000.

"The Committee acknowledges that this response from congregations is challenging and perhaps reflective of the significant financial pressures on congregations and members."