The new minister who has received and accepted a Call to serve the Irish District as a part-time Minister from 22nd April 2024.

It's been a few months since I've come on board with the Irish District, and it's been wonderful to get a chance to visit the five churches I'll be working with, to meet people involved in those congregations, and to get a sense of the history and ethos of the Moravian Church in this area.

As an American who has spent 14 years in Northern Ireland and who grew up internationally, I very much appreciate that the Moravian Church is a global denomination, with connections in a variety of cultures and contexts throughout the world. The daughter of Presbyterian (USA) missionaries/teachers, I grew up in Japan and India, so spent my growing-up years and became most familiar with the climates and cultures of Asia. My family was based primarily in Tokyo for the first 20 years of my life, after which they settled in Princeton, New Jersey - the area we now call home in the US. During university, I also spent a year studying and living in Jerusalem.

It was whilst training for ministry at Princeton Seminary that I met my husband Alex, and only a few years after we got married, we received an invitation to ministry within the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. Alex's family had spent time in Northern Ireland when he was a child, which is how we came upon this connection - so in 2007 we moved to Belfast and began working in two congregations. During this time, our three children - Eva (15), Amos (13) and Phoebe (11) were born.

After nearly 7 years in Belfast, we decided to return to the US to do further studies and live closer to family, thinking that we would probably settle somewhere there. However, it was not long after we left that we felt a very strong call to return to Ireland in some shape or form. Our hearts had become strongly connected to this place, in ways we didn't quite understand until we had tried moving back to the US for a time.

So in 2017, we had the delightful opportunity to return to Northern Ireland in a different capacity - to serve with the Corrymeela Community for Peace and Reconciliation. Since then, we have been based in the beautiful Ballycastle on the north coast. Alex is now Leader of the Community, and we are both involved in the daily rhythms of the residential centre, particularly through worship leadership. Whilst we have been living here, I have also taken up various pastoral roles in the area.

It has been a gift to discover more about the Moravian Church's ministry and presence in Northern Ireland. I am thankful for the opportunity to learn from the Moravians in Ireland, for the chance to minister in these churches, and for the Moravian presence in this place since its founding. I look forward to walking alongside these congregations, supporting the ministries in existence, and seeing what new things might unfold as well.

Sr Kiran Young Wimberly