The President of the Methodist Church of Ireland hopes he will be able to support those who are in ministry in the church during his year as President.

Reverend David Nixon, who is originally from Blacklion, began his presidency in June of this year and has been busy travelling around the island of Ireland meeting with congregations.

“We have lay people and we have ordained people who are in ministry every day and giving of themselves, and it’s not always easy to keep going,” said Rev. Nixon.

“There are a lot of pressures. You are trying to do your best, trying to give of yourself continually, and one thing I want to do is try and encourage them and appreciate them.

“When you are doing that as a volunteer or a minister, it can get in on you, and I just want to encourage the people who are giving of themselves every day and every week and every month, and maybe are not always appreciated for what they do.”

For his year as President, Rev. Nixon’s theme is ‘God’s lavish love’.

Having lost his wife, Rhoda, to cancer in 2020, Rev. Nixon said he saw how God showed his love through people.

“For me, even though the last couple of years have been difficult and difficult for Rhoda, both of us – Rhoda especially – experienced and appreciated the love that so many people showed and sent her.

“You don’t meet God on the street and he says ‘Here is a packet of love’, but he shows love to us through other people.

“He uses us then, in turn, to share our love with others, and it is our responsibility and our privilege.”

Like many other denominations, Rev. Nixon acknowledges there are challenges for the Methodist Church, but he is also encouraged by what he has seen since he took up his post.

“We have the same challenges that way as any other denomination, and Covid-19 has left it very difficult in terms of attendance.

“And yet, during the pandemic in many ways, it has been quite remarkable because although we couldn’t attend in person it suddenly opened up a whole new world in terms of social media and being able to livestream services.

“Now, you do miss the face-to-face and you need to get a balance between the two of them [between in-person and online worship], but it [technology] has created opportunities that were not there before.”

Rev. Nixon visited Killarney and Kenmare Methodist Churches in Co. Kerry recently and was encouraged by the growth seen there.

“It is lovely to be able to travel around and see the various churches; many of them I would have heard about and heard about the success here and there, and the way the church is growing and whatnot, and it is really encouraging to be able to visit them.”

Rev. Nixon will return to his home church in Blacklion in October in what is a busy year for him, but he is enjoying it.

“It’s nice going around preaching in the various congregations. The message of God is still with us; we still have a story to tell.

“We, as people in the Church, have received God’s love. We know what it means to be loved by God and it’s a joy for us to pass on that love to other people as we speak to them, as we try to find ways of helping them, and as we encourage them and support them,” added Rev. Nixon.