Westminster Commissioning Abortion Services in Northern Ireland; Comment for the Tyrone Courier

As a Christian minister I hear about the plans to commission abortion services in Northern Ireland with horror and incredible sadness.

I believe the proposal to decriminalise abortion should have been considered by our representatives within the Northern Ireland Assembly, health being a devolved matter.  Likewise the intended commissioning of these services should be a matter solely for the devolved administration.  The Northern Ireland Executive’s division on this matter reflects the divisions within Northern Ireland society on this profound issue.  

The politicians from within the Northern Ireland Assembly and at Westminster who advocate abortion wilfully ignore the hundreds of thousands within this part of the UK who object, as the consultative process last year demonstrated.

I object to abortion and the intention to commission abortion services in Northern Ireland most vociferously.

My grounds for objection is based upon the humanity which the foetus has inherited from conception; a humanity which the unborn shares with those who have been born.  If killing of children after birth is a crime, then killing prior to birth is also a crime.  Biblically and morally there is no distinction between the humanity of a foetus and a new born baby apart from the fact that the foetus is enclosed and nurtured within the safety of the mother’s womb.

Abortion is often packaged as a being a health care matter for women.  From the moment a woman becomes pregnant she becomes a mother.  Therefore it is not in the interests of a woman’s health for her to abort her baby.  There are psychological and moral implications when a mother chooses to terminate her pregnancy. 

Abortion is described as pro-choice…that a woman has the right to decide what happens to her own body.  This is a red herring.  Do any of us have the right to mutilate our own bodies?  It would be entirely unethical for the NHS or a private health practice to assist us in self harm.  Therefore no-one has the right to do what they please with their bodies if it is harmful or injurious.  On this logic it is equally wrong to choose to deprive the growing infant within the womb, of the most sacred of all rights - the right to life.  I often reflect upon the enormous loss to society…the thousands and millions of people deprived of life with talents and energy and commitment which they could have offered to all of us.  But abortion has tragically and cruelly robbed both them and us.  

I call upon all our politicians with pro-life convictions to bring a motion before the Northern Ireland Assembly to prohibit abortion.  If the motion is lost then I appeal to them to continually bring this matter before the legislature as often as the procedures allow.  This is the greatest moral crusade of our generation.  Where a past generation was defined by opposition to slavery this generation must be defined by a campaign to give our children not yet born the freedom to live and to be protected within the womb.  

Among David Livingstone’s last writings, recorded on his tomb in Westminster Abbey is the description of Africa, on account of the slave trade, as being “the open sore of the world”.  He longed for the healing of the open sore and we are grateful to be living in an age when society is slowly being healed of the curse of racism.  

But discrimination against children in the womb continues.  Abortion is the open sore of the world in this 21st Century.  Our lawmakers have turned our proud and noble NHS into a killing factory with the implementation of abortion.  Society is horrified when children are murdered, trafficked and abused yet we are numb to the plight of the babies in the womb when the pregnancy is ‘terminated’.  The world continues to be traumatised by the Nazi death camps as those deemed weak and unfit for life were exposed to the ‘final solution’, yet we turned a blind eye and many chose to justify the slaughter of the innocent known as abortion.  

I have the greatest of sympathy for women who feel that this is their only option.  It is our lawmakers, our medical ethics and the attitude of millions in society which have made this tragic choice possible.  Abortion is a societal issue and as a society we share in the collective guilt.  But to those women whose circumstances are bringing them to the place where they feel this tragic choice must be made I say - STOP…there are other options…there is help and support…there is a positive, loving and caring alternative BUT abortion is not the solution…not for you and not for your baby.  

To those who are living with this tragic choice feeling and experiencing the guilt - I bring a message of comfort.  Bring your confession to God, He is forgiving, He will hear you and bring peace to your troubled soul.

I pray for God’s mercy and for an end to this cruel practice.

Peter McIntyre

23rd March 2021

Restarting In-Person Services - Responding to the Tyrone Courier

 

“Clogher Valley Free Presbyterian Church in common with the policy of our governing body, the Presbytery of Ulster, has been taking the Covid-19 pandemic very seriously in light of the sixth commandment which requires us to protect our own lives and the lives of our neighbours.  As a Church, however, we view the public act of worship as something that is essential for our spiritual as well as our mental health.  Therefore throughout this pandemic we have been endeavouring to strike a balance by taking all sensible and practical precautions, observing the regulations laid down by law while caring for the spiritual and mental health of our people.

Since the onset of the pandemic a year ago Clogher Valley Presbyterian Church has been in a constant state of restriction and we do not foresee a return to normal worship anytime soon.  

On occasions the restrictions have involved a regrettable pausing of in person meetings. During these periods, as was the case in the Spring of 2020 and more recently in January and February of 2021 worship continued through online ministry and Zoom prayer meetings.  Rev Peter McIntyre also hosts a weekly Sunday radio broadcast on Radio Star Country and has produced a series of videos entitled “Hope for the Journey” which received thousands of views.  Despite the challenges of lockdown more people have been reached with the message of the Gospel than would have been the case in normal times.

On the occasions when we are able to gather in-person Clogher Valley Free Presbyterian Church adheres to all Government and health regulations in accordance with our risk assessments.  Only a portion of the congregation can gather each Sunday morning with attendees coming on a rota basis to ensure social distancing.  With hand sanitising while entering and leaving the building, with designated seating and exits, with mask wearing required (except for those who are exempt), with no hymn books in use to avoid contamination and with a fog machine sanitising the building afterwards these are far from normal times.  For those who cannot attend, the services are streamed live.  Sunday school, Children’s Bible Club and Youth Fellowship continue to operate remotely via Zoom.  The Church has invested in order to minister via online in these challenging times.   Therefore we are able, for example, to combine an in-person mid-week Bible Study & Prayer Meeting with a Zoom prayer meeting enabling those who cannot attend to share personally with those who can.

During the course of the pandemic the congregation has been meeting in-person from July 2020 to January 2021 (except for the two week lockdown imposed by the Northern Ireland Executive in November / December 2020) and from 3rd March 2021.  The Northern Ireland Executive has not imposed a lockdown upon churches during this current phase of the pandemic, which we wholeheartedly agree with because as Christians we are absolutely committed to acting with due care and attention balancing our responsibility to pastorally nurture the physical, spiritual and mental well being of our people.  Our return to restricted in-person meetings from the beginning of March was based upon the reductions in infections, of hospitalisations and of deaths as well the “R” rate - all of which we considered to be an answer to prayer.  The worshippers in Clogher Valley are supportive of this approach.  In person meetings are missed greatly and the opportunity to personally gather is greatly appreciated despite the restrictions we are under.

If the Northern Ireland Executive extends restrictions in the future, according to the health and scientific advice, Clogher Valley Free Presbyterian Church will abide by the rule of the Presbytery of Ulster which will consider this matter with the utmost care and attention.  We take our duty as Christian citizens very seriously as the Apostle Paul teaches us so to do in Romans 13.

We are much in prayer that our nation will turn to God, that the sick and bereaved will be comforted, that our doctors and nurses will 

be strengthened, that our businesses will be able to return to some normality and that there will be a merciful conclusion to this most difficult time."

Peter McIntyre

19th March 2021