The incoming moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) has said he does not want the church to be a “cold house for women”, as he insisted he “fully” supports the religious institution’s stance on female leaders in the offices he holds.
However, Rev Trevor Gribben (63) appeared to sidestep questions about his personal view on the internally contentious policy permitting women to become ministers and elders.
The organisation has been criticised in recent years after a previous moderator publicly expressed opposition to females being ordained.
More than 150 members of the church signed an open letter criticising Rev Dr Sam Mawhinney amid a backlash in 2023.
On Tuesday evening, Rev Gribben, who is from Tandragee, was revealed as the next moderator and is set to take up the top job in June.
Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph following his election, the current clerk of the General Assembly and general secretary insisted the church has “one clear policy”.
“Men and women are eligible for ordination on exactly the same basis, whether they be elders or ministers,” Rev Gribben said.
“It’s the position of the church and is the position fully supported by Trevor Gribben, clerk of the Assembly, and by Trevor Gribben moderator-designate, and by Trevor Gribben as moderator. If I survive until June, that is the policy.”
Referring to himself in the third person and appearing to refer to prepared notes, the leader-in-waiting stressed that “the church has also said you can be a minister, elder and be in leadership”.
“We have people in our ministry fully supportive of the ordination of women, and we have some people who believe it’s not what the Bible teaches, but we live together,” Rev Gribben continued.
“Does every minister agree with our policy? No, but they respect it.
“Women are eligible for leadership. Up and down our country, we have very fine women ministers preaching and teaching.”
Rev Gribben was adamant that the policy “is not controversial” and insisted that the church currently accepts the “difference” when it comes to theological positions, adding: “Some people have said it’s controversial. I don’t think it is. We have lived with that difference of opinion.”
When explicitly asked what his personal belief is on the ordination of women, Rev Gribben replied: “As clerk of Assembly, as moderator-designate and eventual moderator, I am more than happy to accept, support and encourage our policy on women seeking being eligible for ordination.”
Pressed again for his personal position, the clergyman said: “That is the view of the clerk of Assembly and moderator-designate. That is the view of Trevor Gribben in those roles.
“I am not two people. Every single bit of me is happy to support and encourage that policy,” he added, after being asked a further time if he supported the ordination of women in the church.
Presbyterian Church moderator-designate Rev Trevor Gribben at the Assembly Buildings in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland on February 5, 2025 (Photo by Luke Jervis / Belfast Telegraph)
Rev Gribben pointed out that he recently “gave a personal reference to a female” who applied to the Presbyterian Church of Ireland ministry and said he was “delighted to do so”.
“There are some fine women in our ministry, and some fine men too. People say to me from time to time that certain people were turned down for being women,” he said.
“But that narrative is promoted by people who don’t have great love for the church, or have been hurt by the church, and some people within our church do think it’s a cold house for women.
“We have differences within certain parameters — things like the emphasis on the Holy Spirit, for example. I hope and pray and do not want the Presbyterian Church in Ireland to be a cold house for women.”
It comes almost a year after incumbent Rev Richard Murray was elected as moderator after attracting the most votes and beating the only female candidate.
“Ultimately the Lord of the church determines who is the [moderator],” Rev Murray explained last February.
“It’s the Lord who decides it. And if the Lord wants a woman minister to be moderator next year, then that will happen.”
The incoming moderator praised his soon-to-be predecessor, who is currently in the US to attend a conference linked to today’s National Prayer Breakfast, expected to be attended by President Trump.
“[Rev Murray] pushed the boat out. He has been wonderful,” Rev Gribben said.
When asked about Trump’s appeal to Christians in the US, Rev Gribben said he “respected the democratic right of the people of America to elect a president”.
“[Trump] has ability of speaking to people and cuts through the waffle of politics. Do I agree with everything he says? No. Do I agree with the way he says things? No,” he explained.
“At times the way he says things causes unnecessary offence. His language at times can be hurtful. But just as Sir Keir Starmer and Micheál Martin [must do], President Trump must govern for the most vulnerable. And I hope our First and Deputy First Ministers have that at the forefront of their mind.”
The church leader said he hopes to “speak truth to power” during his tenure.
In 2022, Rev Gribben criticised the NI Protocol, which he claimed “didn’t work”: “The Windsor Framework is an improvement, but are things perfect? No. There have been promises made by the UK Government to fix things, and they haven’t been yet.
“There has been inequality of funding for NI for decades — that’s why our services are the way they are. And local politicians have not made the decisions they have to make.
“Going forward, there needs to be courageous leadership. The UK Government needs to go beyond a one-year fix; our local politicians need to help change our public services. That’s what I mean about, graciously, speaking truth to power.”