Administration

The Kirk Session is responsible for the oversight of the congregation and it is made up of the minister and elders. Technically, the minister is the teaching elder and the other members are the ruling elders. These terms are a bit archaic and we normally refer to the “minister” and “elders”. In the same way, we often refer to the Kirk Session as the “Session”.

Voting members of the congregation are responsible for choosing a new minister, when it becomes necessary to do so, and they also choose the elders and members of the Church Committee, as well as taking decisions about other matters relating to the business of the congregation. The definition of a voting member is rather complicated; it is defined in the Code of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland,

Whitehead Presbyterian Church is a part of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, and the minister and one elder appointed by Session represent the congregation at meetings of the General Assembly, which normally meets once a year, and could be regarded as a sort of parliament of the Church. Local congregations are grouped together in presbyteries and we belong to the Presbytery of Carrickfergus, where again we are represented by the minister and one elder.

The Church Committee is responsible for business side of things. Members of Session are ex-officio members of Committee along with other members of the congregation. We are allowed to choose those members in different ways, but it is our practice to do so by election once every three years. The chief concerns of the Committee are the finances of the congregation and our buildings, and its work in these areas is guided by three sub-committees, finance, property and fund-raising.

The names of the members of the Session and Committee can be found by clicking here.