Helping the cyclone victims in Burma through USPG

Patrick Comerford

The Bishops’ Appeal Fund announced a generous donation of €10,000 USPG – Anglicans in World Mission to help the emergency work of the Anglican Church in Burma with the victims of the recent cyclone. As a board member of USPG Ireland, I was pleased to thank the bishops for this important donation in the wake of the cyclone

Speaking during the debate on the report of the Council for Mission, I pointed out that USPG has a long-standing relationship with the Church in Burma as the main overseas funding partner of their work. Over the last 50 years, USPG has become the chief source of overseas finance for the Church of Myanmar (Burma). Through its Rapid Response Fund, USPG enables churches in the Anglican Communion to provide food, practical support and spiritual comfort in times of emergency.

A reported a communiqué this week from Archbishop Stephen on the plight in one parish that includes three villages; in one village, only three houses remain; in the second, 18 villagers have survived, but the other 70 have died; the third village has disappeared totally and the fate of the villagers is still not known.

The people of Burma are suffering under a brutal regime. There are practical ways to support the work of the Anglican Church in Burma through USPG:

● Donate directly through USPG Ireland;

● Sign up for the 300 Plus Club, a practical way of engaging with the work of USPG Ireland.

● Take a USPG collection obx, and place it in a prominent position in your church or at home;

● Take USPG donation envelopes and distribute them to your parishioners and friends.

The report of the Council for Mission was introduced by the Rev Geoff Wilson (Kilmore) and seconded by Miss Mavis Gibbons.

The report of the Methodist Covenant Council was introduced by Canon Adrian Empey and Bishop Harold Miller. The Rev Chris Matchett spoke of the conference on “mission-shaped church” at the Jethro Centre in Lurgan. Synod members also received a copy of a new publication, Working out the Covenant: Guidelines for the Journey, by Gillian Kingston.

During the late morning session of the synod received the report of the Church of Ireland Marriage Council, which was introduced by the Revd John McDowell. Canon Horace McKinley, reading Canon Jonathan Barry’s seconding speech, drew attention to the website of the Marriage Council, and urged all sections of the Church to develop their presence and resources on the web.

Just before lunch, the winners of competitions for the best websites, magazines and innovative use of modern media by individuals, parishes and dioceses were announced. This year also saw the introduction of two new awards in addition to the existing categories. Dublin and Glendalough’s Youth initiative, 3 Rock Youth won the award for most innovative use of newer technologies for its Crucial series of DVDs, designed for training young people for confirmation. Hollywood parish in Co. Down was runner up in the same category.

Canon Katharine Poulton collected the prize for the Revd Ian Poulton of Killiney-Ballybrack, Co Dublin, www.forthefainthearted.com, who won the award for the best blog for his “For the Fainthearted” blog. How pleasant it was for this new and sometimes naïve blogger to find I was the runner-up in this category.

In the websites category there were joint winners for the best diocesan websites between the Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross and the Diocese of Connor. The winning parish website was Christ Church Lisburn (Diocese of Connor) with CORE in Dublin as the runner-up.

In the magazines category, the best parish magazine prize was won by Willowfield parish (Down), while the runner-up was Together, the magazine of Holy Trinity with Saint Silas and Immanuel (Connor). N’Vision (Diocese of Derry and Raphoe) won in the Diocesan Magazine category, with the Church Review (Dublin and Glendalough) the runner-up in this category. In Mission, the magazine of CMS Ireland, was highly commended.

Canon Patrick Comerford is Director of Spiritual Formation, the Church of Ireland Theological College. He is a representative of the Diocese of Dublin at the General Synod.

‘The Church needs to be a voice for under-achievers’

The bishops of the Church of Ireland gathered in Galway

Patrick Comerford

In a clear and lucid presentation of the problems in education in Northern Ireland, the Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, the Right Rev Ken Good, said there had been many good news stories, but problems and challenges that need to be addressed. These include: “empty desks” – there will be 48,000 surplus places in schools by 2012; academic selection and under-achievement, with too many boys de-motivated by failure – the Church needs to be a voice for a fair deal for “under-achievers”; the price of grammar school success; and the review of public administration, which is creating uncertainty at a crucial point in the planning of education.

The removal of Protestant (TRC) nominees from school boards is also a problem, he said. He warned about the danger of “Terminal-5-type planning.” He called for an equal opportunity for all to reach their potential. He called for informed parental choice on transfer. And he called for a healthy diversity in which schools could maintain their distinctive ethos. Specialist resources should be shared.

Referring to the role of religious faith in state education, he said children at faith-based schools, which are the most popular and are over-sized, learn the lessons of greatest worth. He warned against the dangers of the Churches being cut out of this partnership. “We are prepared to work as an educational partner with the Department,” he said.

Bishop Harold Miller (Down and Dromore) spoke of his own experiences in a primary school in working class North Belfast, where he was one of the few pupils to get through the 11 Plus system. He described the “iniquity of that system” and hoped every child would get an equal opportunity.

The Dean of Belfast, the Very Rev Houston McKelvey, warned there could be no “one-size-fits-all” solution to the problems. Demographic changes in Belfast were unpredictable and volatile. “What kind of a world are we preparing our young people for?” he spoke of the increasing marginalisation of the Protestant Churches in education in Northern Ireland, and a secularism that is attacking mainly the Protestant community.

Archdeacon Philip Paterson of Down, referring to Bishop Good’s remarks on “empty desks,” said schools were being allowed to wither on the vine until they close. He said there was no area planning: “We knew this was coming, we knew this was problem.” The transferors would be a thing of the past, and there would be no transferors in the new schools. “We need to speak out, and we need to speak out cloud.”

Dean Henry Hull of Down spoke in defence of the grammar schools, academic selection and streaming. But he wondered how motivated many teachers are, and said every school had to become a good school.

Speaking as a parent and one of the “transfer reps,” Mrs Hilary McClay (Down and Dromore) encourage the Board of Education to be a “voice for the under-dog.” Smaller schools, which were best able to deal with children with autism or English as a second language, but they were the schools threatened with closure.

“I wish the Bishop of Derry were the Minister for Education,” said Canon John McKegney (Armagh). “But,” he quipped, “I’m not sure he’s a member of Sinn Fein.”

Speaking on education in the Republic of Ireland, Mr Adrian Oughton (Meath and Kildare) said our schools are not multi-denominational schools, despite their portrayal in the media. “Our schools are Church of Ireland schools.” He criticised the publication of league tables in newspapers.

The Bishop of Meath and Kildare, Dr Richard Clarke, said we are moving into uncharted territory and an uncertain future, and said we needed to be open about the issues that would have to be debated.

Mr Alan Gillis (Cashel and Ossory) said if wanted to protect the ethos of our schools, parents must get involved. Canon Ricky Rountree of Powerscourt, Co Wicklow, spoke of the struggles in getting permission to have a new school built. “A building constructed in 1819 … is a health and safety nightmare.”

The Rev Patricia Hanna, chaplain at the University of Limerick, said there was no formal training for college for chaplains, and no forum for the chaplains to get together. Canon Doris Clements (Tuam, Killala and Achonry Diocese), a former school principal, said the ethos of Church of Ireland schools was noticeable, and pleased with everyone to ensure that ethos was retained.

The Secretary of the Board of Education Northern Ireland, the Rev Ian Ellis, drew attention to the new editions of Safeguarding Trust available in the Republic and in Northern Ireland.

The first part of the morning’s work was taken up with formally wrapping up the legislation tabled earlier in the week, passing all four bills, and concluding the debate on the report of the Commission for Ministry.

The General Synod passed a motion this morning asking for a bill to be brought before next year’s General Synod in Armagh to allow for payment to be made to non-stipendiary ministers. Proposing the motion, Mr Wilfred Baker (Cork) said the “non-stipendiary ministry has been a victim of its own success.”

Archdeacon Robin Bantry White (Cork) spoke of the critical role played by NSMs. “There would be no hospital chaplaincy going on at all this week were it not for non-stipendiary ministry,” he said. “It would be best if the structures were adapted and adapted correctly.”

Archbishop John Neill of Dublin said that while he was keen to support the motion, there were problems relating to Social Welfare legislation. “In order to get that changed, it might require legislation through Dáil Eireann. It is not a canon law difficulty, it is a civil law difficulty, and we have to get that sorted out,” he said. Bishop Michael Burrows (Cashel and Ossory) told synod: “This motion addresses an injustice and a folly in how we structure our ministry.”

Late on Wednesday, Mr Andrew McNeile (Dublin) said “the commission recognises that in many parts of the country non-stipendiary ministers are carrying out roles that are much broader in scope than was possibly originally envisaged, sometimes even equivalent to a full-time incumbent.”

Earlier this morning, the President of the Methodist Church in Ireland, the Rev Roy Cooper, was warmly received when he addressed Synod.

Canon Patrick Comerford is Director of Spiritual Formation, the Church of Ireland Theological College. He is a representative of the Diocese of Dublin at the General Synod.

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem

The mediaeval quintet at the civic reception in Galway last night

Patrick Comerford

The general Synod of the Church of Ireland, in an act of solidarity with Christians in the Middle East, has agreed to support the day of prayer for peace in Israel and Palestine on Sunday 8 June.

An emergency motion, tabled by Bishop Michael Jackson of Clogher and seconded by me commended a prayer for peace in Palestine and Israel that had been prepared by Church leaders in Jerusalem.

Dr Jackson spoke of the “continuing events of tragic proportions in Israel and Palestine. These events impede and curtail the best efforts of many people to create and sustain a society of stability marked by peaceful co-existence, let alone enable that society to progress in a way which is cohesive and enriching of the many traditions which there are in the region. It is one of the ground-rules of encounter with those of a Faith other than one’s own that one does not point up the best in one’s own tradition while at the same time pointing to the worst in the tradition of another. But this particular mode of operation is all too tempting, as we have seen over decades in Ireland relating to both denomination and culture.

“In proposing this motion, I am conscious that the Four Church Leaders in Ireland have just returned from an historic joint pilgrimage to Israel and Palestine to give thanks for the progress made towards political peace in Ireland and to give thanks in the Land we call Holy for new understanding and sense of fellowship now emerging. I am conscious that Bishop Suheil Dawani, the Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem, has earlier this week completed a five-day visit to my own Diocese of Clogher, during which he spoke repeatedly of peace and justice in a climate of respect and in the absence of violence. It is his vision that religion be ‘a driving force for peace’ and he speaks regularly of the need of all people in the region ‘to focus afresh on the marks of our shared pain, upon those scars caused by the mutual suffering of both Palestinians and Israelis. These scars remind us of the cost of failure to love, to accept each other and to forgive …’

“The motion before the General Synod not only asks members … to express concern about what is happening and to act with shared hope for justice. It also asks members of the Church of Ireland to pray in their own churches alongside the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem using the words and the spirit of the enclosed Prayer on Sunday 8 June. In so doing you will add the voice of your personal and corporate prayer to the voice of fellow-Christians in Israel and Palestine.”

Support for the motion came too from Canon Walter Lewis (Connor), who talked movingly about the plight of a Middle Eastern Christian family in his parish in Belfast, and by Canon David Moynan (Dublin), who spoke as the honorary secretary of Sabeel Ireland, which works with Palestinian Christians.

Earlier, during the debate on the Report of the Commission for Christian Unity and Dialogue heard the Bishop of Meath, Dr Richard Clarke, spoke of different approaches to dialogue, involving other member churches of the Anglican Communion, the member churches of the Porvoo Communion, other Christian Churches, including Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Roman Catholics, the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, and the other faith communities.

The Church of Ireland Guidelines on Interfaith Dialogue and Events are the first of their kind to have been published by a member church of the Anglican Communion.

On Wednesday afternoon, the General Synod also debated the report of the Liturgical Advisory Committee, the report of the Commission on Ministry. Mr George Woodman (Connor) hoped dialogue with the Jewish community would have a continuing priority for the Church of Ireland.

Perhaps Canon Horace McKinley (Dublin) was too generous in praising my work in the area of interfaith dialogue. But it was good to know this process has wide support throughout the whole Church.

Introducing the report of the Liturgical Advisory Committee, the Rev Gerald Field (Meath and Kildare) introduced the synod to Celebrating Communion, the first in a series of parish-based liturgical education programmes to be published in a series called Prism.

He said this programme of liturgical formation “is but a part of the on-going work of the LAC, as it has developed in recent years from the producing and revising of texts.” Much of the work of the LAC now focuses on making available wide-ranging resources, enabling the best use of those texts in the worshipping life and witness of the Church.

He drew attention to the worship pages of the Church of Ireland website and issues created by the laws of copyright, explaining why some texts were removed from the website. But he promised the collects, post communion prayers and readings for the full year should be available again shortly.

He expressed “immense appreciation” to the “devoted dedication” of Canon Ricky Rountree, acknowledging the volume of work he undertook during as Secretary of the LAC. “Many here will recall the regular appearance at General Synod for many years of that double-act of ‘Rountree & Burrows’ … returning this year in the re-formed ‘Canon and Bishop’ … as they guided synod through the crossed Ts and dotted Is of liturgical reform.

It was lengthy day, and we returned to the splendid mediaeval setting of the Collegiate Church of Saint Nicholas for a warm and generous civic reception hosted by the Mayor of Galway, Councillor Tom Costello.

It was a balmy evening in Galway, with a Mediterranean atmosphere in Shop Street as we left the reception. Bishop Richard Henderson of Tuam and the Rector of Galway, the Very Rev Patrick Towers, can be truly proud of their diocese, this city and this parish.

Canon Patrick Comerford is Director of Spiritual Formation, the Church of Ireland Theological College. He is a representative of the Diocese of Dublin at the General Synod

Anglican Covenant identifies ‘the fundamentals we have in common’

Mr Sam Harper, Archbishop Alan Harper, President McAleese, and Dr Martin McAleese at the General Synod on Wednesday afternoon

Patrick Comerford

The place of the Church of Ireland within the Anglican Communion and the relationship of the Church of Ireland with the other constituent churches was a major concern of the Standing Committee over the past 12 months, the Rev Shane Forster (Diocese of Armagh) told the General Synod on Wednesday afternoon.

Mr Forster, who was proposing the report of the Standing Committee, spoke of the way the proposals for an Anglican Covenant, first mooted in the Windsor Report had been handled at Standing Committee.

Quoting the Archbishop of York speaking at the General Synod of the Church of England earlier this year, he said: “The Covenant is mot a new creed on Anglican-wide canon law, nor an eleventh commandment chiselled on Mount Kilimanjaro by the Anglican Primates.” The intention of the Covenant is to “identify the fundamentals that we have in common and to state the basics on which our mutual trust can be rebuilt.”

He reminded the General Synod that the debate on the Anglican Covenant continues and the response from the Lambeth Conference this summer will be passed on to the Provinces later this year, “and we will be asked for another response before March 2009 before a final text of the Anglican Covenant is circulated to each of the Provinces in April of next year.”

Mr Forster said that while the Hard Gospel Project comes to an end this year, the project had asked fundamental questions about our responsibilities. “We should not stop asking ourselves these sort of questions at the end of the year – instead they need to become part of how we do Church in the 21st century.”

“Let us not be lethargic or indifferent about the work of this project,” he said. “It may end formally this year but needs to be carried on at every level in the Church as we question ‘who is my neighbour?’.”

The report of the Bishops’ Appeal, included as an appendix to the report of the Standing Committee, showed an increase in giving in euros but a drop in sterling giving, which Mr Fielding described as “disappointing.”

“We cannot hide our lamp under a bushel,” he said. “We need to let the wider world know what we as a Church do and how we contribute to society at large.”

As a tribute to the late Dean Desmond Harman, “the Bishops’ Appeal is establishing a scholarship in memory of Dean Harman … This scholarship will be awarded on an annual basis to an African priest to study development or peace and reconciliation studies in Dublin.”

He described it as a “very appropriate memorial to the former Dean of Christ Church cathedral, Dublin.”

Mr Forster also said the Central Communications Board had lobbied RTÉ to ensure the future of religious programming, and welcomed the appointment of Mr Philip Harron as the new Church of Ireland Press Officer.

The Church of Ireland welcomes the Irish Government’s launch of a process of structured dialogue between the Government and the Church in the Republic of Ireland, the General Synod was told on Wednesday afternoon.

Proposing the report of the Standing Committee, Mr Michael Webb (Dublin) said one meeting had already been held with representatives of the Church of Ireland, and a further meeting is planned.

“The dialogue provides a structured and transparent way in which the Churches can express their current concerns to Government at the highest level. The process is in its infancy but, hopefully, it will develop into a useful process rather than an elaborate talking shop.”

Mr Webb spoke of the difficulties in encouraging volunteers, but said “the attitude of the government and its agencies to the voluntary hospitals and voluntary schools in the republic of Ireland is not a shining example of encouragement to volunteerism.”

Mr Webb said the Standing Committee had responded to the call of “those who find difficulty in getting leave from work or family commitments in mid-week” by agreeing the General Synod next year will be held in Armagh over the weekend of 8-10 May. “We trust that this experiment will be supported by all members of Synod and look forward to monitoring the result,” he said.

During the debate on the Standing Committee report, Mr Dermot O’Callaghan (Down) sought clarification on an article by Archbishop John Neill in the Church of Ireland Gazette on the Anglican Covenant.

The Bishop of Down and Dromore, the Right Rev Harold Miller, spoke of the difficult situations caused by the cyclone in Burma and the earthquake in China. He thanked the Bishops’ Appeal Fund for its partnership with Christian Aid and Tearfund on the project, “the Body of Christ has AIDS.”

Mr Adrian Oughton (Meath and Kildare) warned against blaming the poor for being poor. He said 35 of the 53 states in Africa had a life expectancy of less than 30 years, and the people of Burma are living on less than $1 every three days. He said it was difficult to get the message of the Bishops’ Appeal across in dioceses and parishes.

The Rev Colin Hall-Thompson (Down) made a strong plea for support for the Christian Aid Lenten Appeal, although details had arrived too late in his parish.

Canon John McKegney (Armagh) urged a greater identity for the Church of Ireland in communications. The logo was being used widely, “but after that we tend to fall flat.” He recommended attention to the use of common typefaces and the logo in communications. He repeated his appeal for the use of Christian names in synod reports, synod badges and other communications.

Mrs Joan Bruton (Meath) compared the branding of a hospital she recently visited with the lack of branding in Church of Ireland House, despite the warm welcome she received there. “There was no cross visible … We want people to know who we are and what we are about … A cross doesn’t cost a lot of money.”

Mrs Margaret Stephens wondered what arrangements would be made for Sunday morning services during next year’s General Synod, which is being held at a weekend in Armagh.

Mr O’Callaghan returned to the debate to challenge the permission given to Changing Attitudes to have an exhibition stand at the General Synod. Mr O’Callaghan, he denied he was speaking from a position of homophobia, referred to a Gay Pride parade in San Francisco, in which an Episcopalian bishop had taken part, but with images and slogans that made a mockery of the Church and Christian values. He urged the Church of Ireland bishops attending Lambeth to take a stand against pressure groups such as Changing Attitude.

Mr George Woodman (Connor) hoped the Synod would return to Dublin in the future and meet there more regularly.

Mr Oughton returned to the debate to express regrets that RTÉ had dropped its medium wave broadcasts, and that no religious broadcasts were available on FM on Sunday morning.

The Rev Andrew Forster (Elphin, now Armagh) commended the bishops for the new mission statement, and hoped it would become the “strapline” of the Church of Ireland. The Church of Ireland needed to emphasise growth, unity and service.

The Rev Adrian McCartney (Down) argued that the Church needed to be registered at national level in both jurisdiction as a legal entity, according to the latest charity legislation. He warned that incorporation at a diocesan level would leave open the possibility of dioceses affiliating with other provinces.

The Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Rev Alan Harper, agreed that this was an important issue. He assured the synod that developments in legislation were being monitored and the standing committee was being kept up to date. Diocesan secretaries had been consulted. He assured synod that the matter would be brought back to synod, and pointed out that it needed legislation.

Archdeacon John Scott (Dromore) asked about a motion on prayer for the Middle East to be used on 8 June, which had been referred to in the Archbishop of Armagh’s address on Tuesday.

Archbishop Harper said the prayer had been composed by the Churches in the Middle East and would be dealt with under Standing Order 33 with a motion to be tabled by the Bishop of Clogher, Dr Michael Jackson, and Canon Patrick Comerford (Dublin).

Replying to the debate, the Rev Shane Forster said planning for next year’s synod had not yet been finalised. He promised to pass on other specific points that had been made in the debate.

Mr Forster also proposed setting up a small implementation group to identify the priorities in the report Living with Difference – A Reality Check and to bring forward specific recommendations. The work of the Hard Gospel Project which comes to an end in January, he said, and this group would allow the recommendations of the report to be carried though. The membership of the sub-group would be proposed at Standing Committee.

The Dean of Armagh, the Very Rev Patrick Rooke, said the work of the project should not go on for ever, but a smaller focus group would allow the report’s recommendations to be implemented. Dean Rooke also paid tribute to the work on the Hard Gospel project of the Rev Earl Storey, Mr Stephen Dallas and Mr Philip McKinley.

Mr Alan Gilbert (Cashel and Ossory) praised the work of the Hard Gospel Project.. but said more work needed to be done on the differences between science and religion.

The Rev Robert Miller (Down and Dromore) hoped the work of the new group would be properly resourced.

During the debate, Canon Brian Courtney (Clogher) attacked the present balance of representation in the general Synod, and compared the Church of Ireland to Mugabe’s Zimbabwe.

The motion was passed without dissent.

As part of the process of synodical and structural reform, Mr Andrew McNeile (Dublin) proposed a motion endorsing and supporting “the honorary secretaries’ request of all committees and boards to submit their purpose and future aims and objectives as part of their submission to the Book of reports and requires that this should henceforwards be part of the standard reporting format.”

The motion was seconded by Mr Roy Totten (Connor) and passed without debate.

Canon Patrick Comerford is Director of Spiritual Formation, Church of Ireland Theological College. He is a representative of the Diocese of Dublin at the General Synod

President McAleese addresses General Synod

President Mary McAleese is greeted by Archbishop Alan Harper on her arrival at the General Synod (Photograph: Patrick Harvey)

Patrick Comerford

President Mary McAleese is the first Head of State ever to address the General Synod of the Church of Ireland, and she received a rapturous welcome and a standing ovation in Galway this afternoon.

These are days to relish, days to be very, very grateful for, she said. She praised the Churches for their role in leading the people of the island of Ireland to mutual respect. This is a pivotal or watershed moment in Irish life. She spoke of how we have been released from history’s vanities, and how the context has changed.

But she warned: “What we sow now we will also reap … the seeds of tomorrow’s Ireland are being sown right now by us.”

Recent changes mean old language and old perspectives have become redundant. But she reminded synod members of the riches in parish lives, and the importance of steady and strong leadership. And there is a challenge to find newer and better ways of relating to one another.

“For the first time ever in our history this island has the chance to feel the surging power that comes from working together hand-to-hand,” she said. She talked of the need for collegial and collaborative ways of working with one another. We now needed to use this hard-earned time for the benefit of history. She reminded us of the Gospel challenge to love one another, to forgive one another and to be charitable to one another.

She praised the role of the Churches in working for peace and building cross-border relationships, working as problem-solvers and reminding us that we are part of a bigger and deeper global family.

The things that once paralysed us are now behind us. Now we had to be a light to a world brought down by violence, poverty and disease. “Love does triumph,” she declared.

Ireland is neither Catholic nor Protestant, she reminded us. It is a homeland for all, with a multi-faith heritage in the making.

Earlier, in a humorous aside, she said that on her arrival at the Radisson SAS Hotel in Galway she saw a sign saying “Spirit One Spa” and had the immediate image of the bishops of the Church of Ireland in a hot tub.

“We share very many things,” Archbishop Alan Harper quipped later.

Welcoming the President, the Archbishop of Armagh said she needed to know with what respect she is held within the Church of Ireland. He praised her contribution to dialogue and to hearing disparate voices. Later, he said hoped her presence at the General Synod would be a kairos moment. The Lay Honorary Secretary, Mr Sam Harper, presented the President with a replica of Saint Patrick’s Bell.

Canon Patrick Comerford is Director of Spiritual Formation, the Church of Ireland Theological College. He is an elected representative of the Diocese of Dublin at the General Synod

‘Challenging times’ in theological education

Philip McKinley and Stephen Dallas of the Hard Gospel Project at the general Synod this morning (Photograph: Patrick Harvey)

Patrick Comerford

The future of theological education and ministry formation came up for discussion at General Synod again this morning when we received the report of the Representative Church Body.

Introducing the report, Mr Sidney Gamble said “these are challenging times for the development of a new Theological Institute … The RCB will have to make available substantial additional funding as the changes now being undertaken in theological training take effect. These changes will have considerable cost implications for parishes and dioceses as well as central church. At this stage I should let you know that at the request of the House of Bishops the concept of situating in Dublin on a single site the functions of clergy training, the library and the administration of central church is currently being explored by the RB [Representative Body].”

He said “the views of various stakeholders have been obtained. Possibilities are now being explored, but this exercise is still at a very early stage.”

Seconding the report, the Archdeacon of Down, the Ven Philip Patterson, described the Ministry Formation Project and the plans for the new Church of Ireland Theological Institute as “one of the most exciting things to happen in the Church of Ireland in recent years.” But he was critical of the way the costs involved had been presented, and predicted they would continue rising.

“Last year we were presented with the vision and currently this vision is being transformed into a reality. Although many details still have to be worked out, one thing is quite clear there are to be cost implications attached to the new project. Page 19 of the report tells us that already in 2008 the allocation for training ordinands has risen from almost €1.3 million to just over €1.6 million a rise of 26%. The likelihood is that this cost is likely to continue to rise and that is quite apart from capital costs, which in a best-case scenario could be neutral, but may not be.

“Some aspects of the project – particularly the internships – still have to be finalised and decisions taken as to where the costs should be charged. The important thing in such a venture is that the ‘new ship’ should not be spoilt for a ha’peworth of tar. It may well be that the general fund cannot bear the full cost of the project. The bishops may have to come to General Synod to ask for an assessment on the wider church to meet the full cost. We should not shrink away from such action.”

He also described the regulations requiring No Smoking signs in churches, particularly churches that are Grade A listed buildings, as “a piece of overkill legislation.”

“Thank you archdeacon,” said the Archbishop of Armagh. “The synod notes the issue by which you are incensed.”

During the debate, Bishop Richard Henderson of Tuam repeated his plea for a “place apart,” which he said was necessary for the development of the spiritual life of the Church of Ireland and our life in the Trinity. It’s a plea he’s made so many times before. But it’s a plea I fear the Church is ignoring ... and ignoring at its peril.

Dr Alan Acheson wanted to know how much the bishops cost the Church. Even the bishops accepted (unanimously) that we should know from next year on.

This morning we also heard about the need to develop a spirituality that is appropriate to environmental change and global warming, about the need for the Church to invest in the young people and in youth work and about our failure in invest in children’s ministry, which the Revd Ted Woods (Rathfarnham, Dublin) described as the foundation for youth work.

“There is no-one doing children’s ministry, even on a part-time basis,” he said, adding that in many parishes Sunday Schools are non-existent while those that do exist are often under-resourced and badly resourced. “Why are we so blind?”

Yet there was ray of hope in that corner when Mr Billy Kingston spoke of the work of the Rev Isabel Jackson in children’s ministry in the Diocese of Cashel and Ossory.

Today in the church calendar we commemorate Saint Matthias in our opening worship and prayed the Collect of the Day:

Almighty God,
who in the place of the traitor Judas
chose your faithful servant Matthias
to be of the number of the Twelve:
Preserve your Church from false apostles
and, by the ministry of faithful pastors and teachers,
keep us steadfast in your truth;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Our worship each morning is being led by the newest member of the House of Bishops, Bishop Alan Abernathy, but their number will be brought back up to 12 with the consecration of Canon Trevor Williams as Bishop of Limerick and Killaloe on Monday 8 September.

Canon Williams got caught in procedures this morning when he missed the opportunity to deliver a speech he had prepared as the seconder to one of the reports. But his voice will be a great addition to the House of Bishops. His work as a broadcaster, journalist and with the Corrymeela Community, and his frontline experience in a demanding Belfast parish, equip him well, in the words of the collect of today, for “the ministry of faithful pastor and teacher … steadfast in your truth.”

Canon Patrick Comerford is Director of Spiritual Formation, the Church of Ireland Theological College. He is an elected representative of the Diocese of Dublin at the General Synod

We cannot take Anglican unity for granted, says Archbishop Neill

The Collegiate Church of Saint Nicholas, Galway, the largest mediaeval parish church still in constant use in Ireland (Photograph © Patrick Comerford 2008)

Patrick Comerford

Saint Nicholas’ Collegiate Church in Galway was a splendid setting on a perfect May evening for last night’s Synod Eucharist. We had a magnificent range of music and settings from the parish choir. Mark Duley gave us everything, from traditional Irish, through Russian Orthodox and monastic plainsong chants to the joys of Palestrina, ending with a joyous recessional with all singing and swaying to African rhythms as Tom Gordon beat the drums.

The careful and joyful choice of music was a good presentation of the unity and diversity that has been fostered and encouraged in his parish by the Rector of Galway, the Very Revd Patrick Towers.

Unity and diversity in parish life are easy to rejoice in. But do we take it for granted in the Church of Ireland? And are we concerned about maintaining the unity and diversity that has long been a hallmark of the Anglican Communion.

These themes were central to the synod sermon preached by the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr John Neill -- one of the finest synod sermons I have ever heard.

Archbishop Neill warned us that we must not take the unity of the Church of Ireland and the unity of the Anglican Communion for granted. “We must ensure that different theological emphases and differing judgments are not allowed to become matters for division,” he said.

He said the Anglican Communion is “going through a very difficult few years.” Referring to this year’s Lambeth Conference, he said: “It is easy to blame our lack oif formal structures to deal with a time of crisis – but this is, of course, part of what it is to belong to a communion of autonomous churches.

“Nevertheless, we are working on an Anglican Covenant which will spell out something of the implications of being both autonomous as churches and being in communion with each other,” he said.

Archbishop Neill also felt the crisis “can be viewed positively. It has enabled us to discover more of what it means to wrestle with the recognition of diversity and the call to unity which is of the very nature of the Church.”

The Collegiate Church of Saint Nicholas is the largest mediaeval parish church in Ireland still in constant use. It was built around 1320 on the site of an earlier church, and local tradition links it not only with Saint Nicholas of Myra – “Santa Claus” – but with Christopher Columbus, who said to have prayed here in 1477, and with Oliver Cromwell, who besieged the city in 1652.

Canon Patrick Comerford is Director of Spiritual Formation, the Church of Ireland Theological College. He is an elected representative of the Diocese of Dublin at the General Synod

Putting the 39 Articles in their context

Members of the General Synod gathering in Galway today. The photograph includes Mrs Averil Forrest and Dean Leslie Forest of Ferns, Archbishop John Neill, Mrs Betty Neill, and Lady Sheil

Patrick Comerford

I often wonder what strangers visiting our parish churches think when the open the Book of Common Prayer, pore over its pages, and read some of the words and language in the 39 Articles.

I’m happy that the Church of Ireland owns and enjoys its history. But is a prayer book the appropriate place to publish the words written in another age without explaining their original context?

The Dean of Armagh, the Very Rev Patrick Rooke, and Mr Dermot O’Callaghan, one of the leading lay members of the General Synod, tried to put things to right on Tuesday afternoon with a proposal that all future editions of the Book of Common Prayer should include a Declaration immediately preceding the Articles of Religion.

The declaration would put the 39 Articles in their historical context. The language used about Roman Catholics and Anabaptists were typical of the polemics of the day, but it sounds offensive today.

We cannot deny our historical past – indeed we can rejoice in it. But we should be able to explain ourselves, and accept that they do not “represent the spirit of [the Church of Ireland] today.”

The Rev Dr Eric Culbertson couldn’t accept that there had been any change in either the Church of Ireland or the Roman Catholic Church since the days of the Reformation. He did tell us he was speaking “the truth in love” … but then went on to misrepresent the Roman Catholic position, saying that Church “worships” the Virgin Mary. Eric wants us to use only the words of Cranmer, Latimer and Ridley, without any watering down.

Eric’s misrepresentation of Marian doctrine was challenged forcefully by the Bishop of Cashel and Ossory, the Right Rev Michael Burrows. He wondered how Anglican understandings of truth are best defended by being rude to others.

The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr John Neill, pointed out it was impossible to rewrite historic documents that have been important landmarks on the journey.

This declaration boldly states: “The Church of Ireland seeks the visible unity of the Church. In working towards that goal, this Church is committed to reaching out towards other Churches in a spirit of humility and love, that together all Christians may grow towards unity in life and mission to the glory of God.”

A two-thirds majority, voting by orders, was needed to allow the introduction of a bill in the General Synod next year. Resolution No 1 was passed with overwhelming majorities among both the clergy and the laity (Clergy: 102-7; Laity: 143-24).

The seven members of the house of clergy who opposed this move included the Archdeacon of Down, the Ven Philip Patterson, and Dr Culbertson.

Amendments to the Bill have to be lodged within 30 days, and we still have to debate any drafted legislation next year. But thank goodness we have taken the first long-needed steps towards making those strangers from other churches welcome when they visit our parishes and pore over the pages of the Book of Common Prayer.

Earlier in the afternoon, the Dean of Connor, the Very Revd John Bond, said he was delighted to be in Connacht and Galway for the General Synod. But commenting on the heat in the synod hall, he said he now understood why Cromwell had said: “To Hell or to Connacht.”

Dean Bond was introducing the bill that makes provision for the Archdeacon of Belfast to be the Precentor of Belfast Cathedral ex officio.

Pensions aren’t just for the old and boring

The lobby outside the General Synod in Galway today

Patrick Comerford

Tuesday afternoon of the General Synod was taken up with a lengthy discussion of a new bill to amend Chapter VI and Chapter XIV of the Constitution of the Church of Ireland.

This bill concerns clergy pensions, and involved detailed and difficult work on the part of Lady Sheil and many others. Normally scheduling debates of this sort after lunch leads to yawns and to much dozing.

I wonder whether it was an effort to stir us out of our dozy indifference when once again the Archdeacon of Down tried to block the bill getting even a polite first reading.

Clergy pensions are hardly the main concern and worry of the hundreds of people who have travelled to Galway for the General Synod. But Philip Patterson wanted them to throw out this bill before it even got an airing.

And he used his procedural opportunity to take the bill apart in detail … something that might have been reserved for the later stages in the debate.

The bill did get to be debated by the General Synod, and there were more analytical approaches to the detail later on, including those by the Dean of Cork, the Very Rev Nigel Dunne, who conceded the need for reform, but could still express his worries and concerns.

Archdeacon Patterson was supported by Canon Brian Courtney of Enniskillen Cathedral Parish (Diocese of Clogher) and Canon Roderic West (Dromore), who accepted that something had to be done, but didn’t tell us what.

The fact that lay members of the synod could be interested in this debate was demonstrated by Mr Niall Stratford (Rathfarnham, Dublin), who pointed out how good the provisions in the bill are.

Canon Patrick Comerford is Director of Spiritual Formation, the Church of Ireland Theological College. He is a representative of the Diocese of Dublin at the General Synod

The Church of Ireland remains an Episcopal church

Archdeacon Philip Paterson … move on bishops and doctrine defeated

Patrick Comerford

The first heady debate at General Synod came this afternoon with an attempt to erode some of the Episcopal nature, principles and understanding of the Church of Ireland.

The Rev Adrian Wilkinson (Douglas, Cork) and Lady Sheil had introduced a bill to revise and amend and replace Chapter VII of the Constitution of the Church of Ireland. This bill seeks to shake up the whole procedure for clergy discipline in the Church of Ireland.

Archdeacon Philip Paterson (Down) moved an amendment to remove those provisions in Section 39 that provide for the House of Bishops to make a statement on “the current and orthodox position of the Church of Ireland on … doctrine and ritual.” He wondered what would happen when bishops got it wrong.

Archdeacon George Davison (Kilmore) asked what is meant by the collective understanding of the bishops. The house of bishops reflects the diverse nature of the church, and has a wide variety of theological and liturgical views and practices, he said.

Mrs Justice Catherine McGuinness, a former member of the Supreme Court, questioned the wisdom of leaving it to lawyers to decide the doctrine of the Church.

Canon Jonathan Barry (Down) said a previous generation of bishops had got it terribly wrong in the past when it came to divorce and remarriage. “This is serious,” he said. “This is desperately serious.”

The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr John Neill, said the House of Bishops had never claimed infallibility and that while he opposed the bishops on divorce and remarriage in the 1980s, the House of Bishops and General Synod were of one mind. He said the provisions in Section 39 protected members of the Church against extreme views held by one bishop.

Replying to the debate, Archdeacon Patterson said he was worried about making the bishops a tribunal within a tribunal.

The amendment was roundly defeated, and the bill has moved on to the next stage. In an Episcopal church we should look to lawyers for law and to the bishops for doctrine.

Canon Patrick Comerford is Director of Spiritual Formation, the Church of Ireland Theological College. He is a representative of the Diocese of Dublin at the General Synod

As long as Palestinians suffer there will be no justice, peace, stability or hope

Archbishop Alan Harper: in his presidential address this morning drew attention to the plight of Palestinian Christians

Patrick Comerford

The General Synod of the Church of Ireland is meeting in Galway – and in Connacht – for the first time. General Synod has now met in all four provinces of Ireland. For the first time, a President of Ireland is to address the General Synod. President Mary McAleese is due to speak at General Synod on Wednesday.

In his visionary presidential address this morning, Archbishop Alan Harper, spoke strongly about turning vision into venture. He spoke passionately of the problems facing Palestinian Christians and the need for peace in Middle East. Archbishop Harper, and the other three main Church leaders, recently visited the Palestinian Territories and Israel. He hoped Jews, Christians and Muslims – as members of the three great monotheistic faiths – would see that religion, which is part of the problem, became part of the solution in Middle East.

“As long as Palestinians suffer what they experience as Israeli occupation, aggression and oppression, and as long as Israelis endure guerrilla attacks undertaken by militant Palestinians, (some of whom deny the right of the State of Israel to exist,) so long will there be no justice, no peace, no stability and no hope. And yet justice, peace, stability and hope are what all right minded Israelis and Palestinians long for, including the Christians of the Holy Land, most of whom are ethnic Palestinians.

“If the vision of peace and an interdependent future can take root in Ireland, aided by the patient commitment and enlightened self interest of the governments of the United Kingdom, the United States and the Republic of Ireland, may not a similar vision overtake the embattled peoples of Israel and Palestine?”

Archbishop Harper described his recent visit to the Holy Land in the company of Cardinal Brady, the Presbyterian Moderator, Dr Finlay, and the President of the Methodist Church, the Revd Roy Cooper, at the invitation of local church groups and with the support of Trocaire and Christian Aid, as “a harrowing but not hopeless experience.”

“I find myself deeply moved by the resilience of West Bank Palestinians in circumstances of intolerable hardship, denial of dignity and severe restriction of freedom of movement, he said. “I weep that the only Israelis encountered by Palestinians are either young conscript soldiers at innumerable checkpoints, or armed settlers who, in turn are guarded by the Israeli Defence Forces. The settlers continue to be permitted to occupy greater and greater tracts of what was Palestinian land and they are provided with infrastructure, including good roads and assured water and electricity supplies, far superior to that afforded to resident Palestinians.

“The denial of opportunity for ordinary Israelis to meet ordinary Palestinians, share their stories, their hopes and especially their fears, is a tragic consequence of the policy of separation symbolised most dramatically by the Separation Barrier. Israel rightly requires security for its citizens with freedom from attacks by militants. There is no doubt that the building of the Separation Barrier has significantly reduced the number of such attacks.

“Yet, in truth, security is never guaranteed by force of arms, but only by the creation of circumstances that disarm hostility. I believe that any country which takes upon itself the responsibility to annex additional territory also takes upon itself the responsibility to treat the inhabitants of the annexed territory with the same respect, care, justice and equality it accords to its own citizens. Not to do so is at the least discrimination and at worst may amount to collective punishment.”

He expressed concern that as the search for peace is delayed, there is a greater “likelihood that moderates will be supplanted by extremists. Meanwhile, the Christians of Israel and Palestine are steadily reducing, both in numbers and as a proportion of the population of both Israel and the West Bank. I should make it clear that Christians express no sense of any threat from Islam. Rather what threatens is the intolerable conditions in which they are forced to live together with opportunities for a peaceful and prosperous future elsewhere.”

He pointed out that “for 2,000 years the ancestors of Palestinian Christians have worshipped at and preserved the Holy Places. The places themselves, evocative though they be, are inanimate stones. It is the people who are the ‘Living Stones’ and who through living and worshipping there make the Holy Land much more than merely a museum. The Living Stones need our active support and solidarity. They need to know that they are not the forgotten people of the Middle East. We need to ensure that those who go on pilgrimage to the Holy Land are as committed to the Living Stones as they are to the Holy Places.

“Let us put Palestinian Christians at the heart of our continual prayers for peace and justice. As in Ireland so in Israel and Palestine, religion is a component of a conflict about land and identity. It seems to me important for people of faith to try to contribute positively to the resolution of such conflict. Three great faiths have the Holy Land as both meeting place and common ground. In these days of inter-faith dialogue might it be possible to pursue the search for peace and parity of esteem by an exploration and articulation of shared ethical values?”

Christians, Muslims and Jews already share a monotheistic faith and have shared spiritual roots in Old Testament scripture, he pointed out. “If religion is part of the problem it must become part of the solution. Only by working constructively towards it may religious people, with integrity, pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”

The need to engage passionately with the world as disciples and as people actively engaged in discipleship. The mission we are engaged in is not our mission, but God’s mission, he said. He used a video-clip on the work of the Jethro Centre in Shankhill Parish, Lurgan, as an example of the Church serving the whole community through seeking and sharing the right vision.

He spoke too of the need for synod reform. The first steps had been taken with a re-evaluation of the Church’s committee structures, and the decision to hold General Synod next year in Armagh over a weekend, and new ideas about focusing over a three-year synod period on one aspect of the life and work of the Church each year.

Looking at training for ministry, the archbishop spoke of the need to integrate training and practice and to develop a culture of life-long learning. He told synod members the distinction between NSM and stipendiary ministry needed to be seen only as a matter of deployment. While outlining some of the proposals for the new Church of Ireland Theological Institute, he apologised for the lack of communications to staff members at the Church of Ireland Theological College.

“I have … to accept that not everything has been handled as well as we should have liked. It would be untrue to say that we have made no mistakes in taking forward our proposals, particularly in managing the flow of information between the bishops and the staff of the Theological College. I want to express to the staff our regret that sometimes we could not, for reasons of confidentiality, keep them fully informed. I hope that Professor Empey and his colleagues will accept the genuineness of my expression of regret. This has been and remains a complicated and fast moving scenario throughout which we have learned important lessons. We remain genuinely grateful to the staff of the Theological College for their service to the Church of Ireland over the past years.”

Archbishop Harper paid “particular tribute to Canon Professor Adrian Empey, who has been Principal of the Church of Ireland Theological College for the past seven years. Adrian Empey is a scholar of international repute who also brought to his oversight of clergy training a wide experience in parochial ministry, both urban and rural. He took responsibility for the Theological College at a crucial time for the Church of Ireland, during a period of great change, which also included the first formal academic inspection of the College – an exercise he encouraged and supported throughout. In thanking him for all that he has contributed throughout his ministry, I take this opportunity to wish him and Mrs June Empey everything that is good for a long and rewarding retirement.”

In addition, the archbishop paid tribute to Bishop Michael Mayes, who retired at the end of March as Bishop of Limerick and Killaloe, to Dean Desmond Harman, who died last December, including their work with the Church of Ireland Bishops’ Appeal Fund.

The opening worship was led for the first time by the Bishop of Connor, the Right Rev Alan Abernathy. In the opening session, there were tributes to Canon Ian Ellis, clerical honorary secretary, who is still recovering from surgery, to Mr Derek Philips, who is retiring from the RCB staff after 45 years, and to Mr Michael Davey who is standing down as assessor after many years.

A sad task was the election of a clerical honorary secretary to replace Dean Harman. The Archdeacon of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, the Ven Robin Bantry White, was elected when he was proposed by the Dean of Ossory, the Very Revd Norman Lynas, and seconded by the Dean of Limerick, the Very Rev Maurice Sirr. Earlier in the morning, the House of Bishops met and confirmed and ratified the election of Canon Trevor Williams as Bishop of Limerick and Killaloe.

Professor Brendan Leahy also spoke warmly of Dean Harman, Bishop Mayes and Bishop-elect Williams when he spoke as the guest representative of the Roman Catholic Church.

Synod humour

“I was built more for comfort and speed” – Sam Harper.

Canon Patrick Comerford is Director of Spiritual Formation, the Church of Ireland Theological College. He is a representative of the Diocese of Dublin at the General Synod.