Author: Paul McFadden

The Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Rt Rev Andrew Forster, spoke passionately about the value of curacies during debate about the RB Report presented to the General Synod on Friday 10th May 2024.

“We’re finding it more challenging for parishes to have curates,” Bishop Andrew said, “and it’s mainly for financial reasons. And the formation of curates – I’m convinced of this – the time spent in curacy models what happens into the future. So, what you learn as a curate, how you’re formed as a curate, really dictates the way you end up spending your ministry. So, it’s so important that we have good, positive role models as rectors and good, formative parishes to provide that experience of curacy. And it’s becoming more and more challenging for parishes to do that, mainly because of the cost imperative.

“What we see in the RB is a body that wants to resource the mission of the church of Jesus Christ, resource ministry in the church of Jesus Christ, and as they look at the future of curacies and examine it this year, I just plead for wonderful, abundant generosity.”

Proposing the RB Report, the Vice–Chair of the RCB Executive Committee, Lyndon McCann S.C. explained that the Chairperson, Henry Algeo, could not be present to propose the report as he had experienced a life-threatening medical event last October. He reported that Henry was having a remarkable and wonderful recovery and had been reelected as one of the coopted members of the RCB.

Mr McCann explained that the RCB is the trustee body for the Church of Ireland. It manages the Church’s investments, administers over 18,000 trusts, pays the stipends and pensions of clergy and performs a myriad of other financial and administrative tasks but its principal mission is to provide financial support for the core work of the Church, he said.

He said that the it was a “formidable and daunting range of activities” for any charitable organisation to handle but it was undertaken with commendable professionalism and dedication by the staff at Church House and a range of lay and clerical volunteers.

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Mr McCann reported that global markets had performed well in 2023 after a weak 2022 and this was reflected in the fact that total funds available to the RCB increased by 6.5%. Over the past five years there had been an increase in General Funds from €191m in 2019 to €235m by the end of 2023.

The RCB relies on General Funds to generate income to pay for allocations and operational costs. Mr McCann said that during 2023 General Funds achieved a Total Return for the year of 9.8%. The RCB’s income for the year was €7.8m while expenditure was €7.2m, leaving a surplus of €600,000.

Based on this, a sub–group reviewed the basis of the calculation of the sustainable withdrawal from General Funds (for the first time in five years) and proposed a modest increase in the allowable withdrawal from 3.5% of the previous five–year average opening General Funds balance to 3.6%. This will release approximately €200,000 additional monies to fund the Church’s activities. Given market and interest rate volatility, this will apply for two years only.

Referring to RB General Unit Trusts, Mr McCann reported that, reflecting the general upturn in the performance of their investments the Unit Price increased in RI from €4.21 in 2022 to €4.54 in 2023. In NI the unit price increased from £4.13 in 2022 to £4.25 in 2023. The RB General Unit Trust recorded an annual increase of 10% in each jurisdiction.

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Mr McCann stated that half of all expenditure goes on staff costs with other main items of expenditure relating to CITI and theological training, the episcopacy, and General Synod and its committees. He said this breakdown would change in the coming years as new strategic initiatives are undertaken, including the introduction of Pioneer Ministry and potential changes to the funding of curacies and safeguarding.

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Each year the Executive Committee holds a Strategy Away Day. At its Away Day last June the Executive reiterated that the primary objective of the RCB is to support the mission and ministry of the Church of Ireland, he said. Key focus areas include: providing a funding model for curacies, developing a funding strategy for third level chaplaincy, integrating Pioneer Ministry into the formal structures of the Church, developing a property and library strategy, extending the MindMatters mental health programme, developing a succession planning programme for the committees of the RCB.

He outlined a number of these strategic initiatives. Mr McCann said the RCB was committed to supporting Pioneer Ministry financially. The funding of the National Leadership Team is expected to be about €0.2m per year. It is forecast that five initiatives per year will start at an anticipated cost of up to €0.5m per year when the programme is fully operational.

He said that the MindMatters initiative was one of the most important projects supported by the RCB in recent years. During 2023 the Church Fabric and Development Fund committed €50,000 towards the second phase of the project and consideration will be given to the possibility of increasing the financial assistance.

Substantial monies remained in the Church of Ireland Flood Appeal Fund, he said and encouraged affected parishes to find application forms on the Property section of Parish Resources on the Church of Ireland website.

He highlighted the priorities of the RB Climate Change Policy: Energy usage, Transportation, Waste and Biodiversity. He stated that each of these is considered by the RCB as it develops policies for the life of the Church and as it manages its own operations.

He outlined developments in the Clergy Pensions Fund and the increase in the Pensionable Stipend.

Regarding Dignity in Church Life Policies, Mr McCann reported that there had been three successful applicants for admission to the Clergy Permanent Health Insurance Policy with another application pending. None had been rejected.

Turning to the consolidation of trusts he said that over the last number of months a team of solicitors operating on a pro bono basis had been working with the Property and Trusts Department with a view to bringing forward proposals at a diocesan level to amalgamate so of the over 18,000 trusts placed with the RCB into new trust funds which would operate in each diocese under four main headings: education, relief of property, support of stipends, and maintenance and upkeep of churches, parish properties, graves and graveyards.

Finally, he said that in the year ahead the future needs of the RCB Library would be addressed.

Drawing his remarks to a close, Mr McCann said none of this work could be done without the invaluable input of two groups of stakeholders: the staff of Church House and the members of the RCB. He recorded a number of changes to the staff including the retirements of Pauline Dunlop as Investment Administration Manager and Kate Williams as Head of Finance and IT and the departure of Special Projects Manager, Rebekah Fozzard. He thanked a number of staff who had retired and left during 2023 and welcomed new arrivals.

Seconding the report of the RCB, Dean Nigel Crossey, recalled that the RB Executive Committee had met eight times during the year and each meeting had been reported to the Representative Body of the Church of Ireland allowing members to ask questions and challenge any of the proposals from the executive committee. This, he explained, provided a transparent governance framework in compliance with the Charities Governance Code.

Dean Crossey said in setting the Executive Committee’s priorities there had been a noticeable shift from maintenance towards mission, from preservation towards outreach.

Highlighted areas of the RB report, he said that Pioneer Ministry was one of the significant and exciting initiatives that the RCB would be supporting over the coming years. Pioneer Ministry is an initiative to establish new ministry communities and church, he explained. Training for pioneer ministers is to be provided by the Church Army through the Church of Ireland Theological Institute. Pioneer ministers are supported by the Pioneer Ministry National Leadership team, with oversight by the Pioneer Ministry Council, and funding is provided by the RCB. It’s an initiative intended to enable and invigorate the mission of the Church, he added.

The RB had also recognised that there was also a need to support parish ministry which he said remained foundational to the life and witness of the Church. In this area the executive had been considering the provision of grants to support curacies.

He highlighted the advice and service provided by the staff of the RCB on issues surrounding compliance and safeguarding. During the year, he reported, the staff of the RCB developed a paper addressing the division of roles and responsibility between the RCB as policy developer and advisor and the dioceses having a responsibility for implementation. The Safeguarding Board have requested an external independent review of the governance of safeguarding and this review will be considered by the Safeguarding Board and the Executive Committee.

Dean Crossey also drew members’ attention to properties as the RCB is the primary trustee for the properties of the Church of Ireland. The executive has identified the need to review the property portfolio to determine their most efficient and effective use.

He also pointed to the staff organisation of the RCB and observed that with the refocusing of the Church’s priorities towards mission he would expect that over the coming years the RCB staff structure would need to evolve to address these changes.

Contributing to the debate on the report, Bishop Andrew Forster said it was good to see that the RB Report reflected that the RB was at the heart of the mission of the Church of Ireland. He said he was in awe of the expertise that is brought to the table of the RB as something of the discipleship of those members.

Addressing Bishop Andrew’s comments on the resourcing of curacies, the report’s proposer, Mr McCann, said, “In terms of the funding of curacies, I think, Bishop, you’ll find you’re preaching at an open door in relation to what you said on the funding of curacies. There is, I think, an unfair dichotomy in the parish itself having to bear the entire financial burden of sustaining a curate.

“Of course, there is an immediate and proximate benefit of the parish having an extra member of the ordained minister on the team; that, perhaps, has to be reflected some way financially. But the training of the curate is something that impacts on the long term health and survivability of the church as a whole, and I think it’s probably unsustainable to suggest that into the future that the entirety of the financial burden should have to rest with the parish in which the curate finds himself or herself. But, it is a work in progress and we will report back further in relation to that in the fullness of time – the ‘fullness of time’ being hopefully the Synod of next year.

Canon Andrew Orr, on behalf of Eco Congregation, thanked the RCB for their funding which enabled them to resource parishes in their climate related work at a local level. He said energy usage was the trickiest area for parishes to work at. He said there was not a lot of expertise but Eco Congregation was putting together a panel which could answer the questions of people from parishes who are addressing their energy usage.

Bishop Ferran Glenfield said there were churches all over Ireland orientated East/West and they all had rooves. He suggested that the rooves could be an asset for parishes with solar panels. He said there were opportunities to create energy for parishes and for their communities. “It is a no brainer … it is something we could contribute in urban and village streetscapes and even in rural parts,” he said hoping that parishes throughout the Church of Ireland could realise an energy dream.

Archdeacon Peter Thompson spoke about the age distribution of stipendiary clergy with a large proportion over the age of 56. He said the numbers coming in and going out don’t stack up and asked how the Church was planning for the future. He predicted that the shortfall in stipendiary clergy would be around 50% in six or seven years’ time.

General Synod approved the RCB allocations motion as follows:

That the General Synod hereby authorises the Representative Body to make the following allocations from General Funds in 2024:

A. Maintenance of the stipendiary ministry

• Episcopal costs €1,047,776

• Chaplaincy costs €317,328

• Miscellaneous €126,266

B. Pension related costs –

C. Training of ordinands €1,152,292

D.General Synod activities €1,205,048

E. Miscellaneous €16,461

F. Pioneer Ministry €241,377

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€4,106,548

General Synod Presidential Address by Archbishop John McDowell (May 10th, 2024)

The Church of Ireland’s Primate of All Ireland, Archbishop John McDowell, used his Presidential Address at the 2024 General Synod in Armagh to explore how members of the Church could live out a life of reconciliation. The General Synod was returning to the city for the first time since 2018. a

“We do not live in a world that has the appearance of being reconciled and at peace in any sense,” the Primate remarked. “There are many parts of the globe, as we sit here today, where people experience life as a perpetual night; a black darkness even at the midday.” Reconciliation requires love, in the sense of “our goodwill and benevolence towards our neighbours” and being “what binds people together against hatred and dishonesty.”

On the issue of migration, Archbishop McDowell asserted that Ireland was not ‘full’. “Ireland, North and South, has been right to welcome migrants and asylum seekers,” he said. “In one sense, such incomers made Ireland catholic – as in universal and diverse – in a way we hadn’t been before,” he said. “Perhaps not enough thought was given to how to integrate those newcomers and their needs into society, and what that means for social and physical infrastructure. That oversight does not excuse us from our responsibility to seek justice for our neighbour. Political failures cannot disapply the law of love. If the well-being of our neighbour (wherever they may have come from) is becoming more precarious, then we are called through the law of love to work even harder for justice.”

When dealing with any complex moral or theological matter, he suggested that “we first ask ourselves should we speak or act about this matter at all?” If there was a need to contribute to the issue, the Primate noted that the Church of Ireland’s method had been to refer it to a group made up of clergy and lay people, of wide-ranging opinions and backgrounds.

“All this is to ensure that what we will say is indeed free decision taken in consultation, and after careful thought and prayer. The cohesion and unity of the Church of Ireland since Disestablishment has only been achieved through this continual, patient wrestling over time with complex issues, avoiding simplistic answers to difficult questions. And in that wrestling with issues we must above all respect the dignity of each individual.”

Archbishop McDowell’s sermon can be read in full below:

Brothers and sisters in Christ,

Although this is the fifth Presidential Address I have had the privilege of delivering since my election as Primate, it is the first time I have been able to do so in Armagh. That I am able to do so now is a particular delight to me as I know that this city holds a very special place in the hearts of many people in the Church of Ireland. For many of us Armagh is a city of hope and of reconciliation and I particularly want to thank my brother in Christ and in Primatial ministry, Archbishop Eamon Martin, for the hospitality he has shown me since I came to live here and for the partnership in the Gospel which we enjoy. Archbishop Eamon hopes to be with us here in the Synod Hall for a time tomorrow and I know he will be warmly received by all of us who admire the way he has helped model reconciliation as a central aspect of his intensely busy ministry.

In my first Presidential Address in 2020 I highlighted the theme of reconciliation and committed myself to a path of reconciliation – between communities, between these islands, between ethnic groups, between ourselves and the earth that we live in, and alsowithin the Church of Ireland. I remain committed to that path, which has taken and will take different forms in different contexts. Reconciliation in the religious sense is a gift given to us by God in his Son, but it also a vocation – indeed a struggle – to engage in, as we work out patiently and sometimes painfully what it means in every aspect of our lives: our personal lives, our lives in our communities and our life in the world.

We do not live in a world that has the appearance of being reconciled and at peace in any sense. There are many parts of the globe, as we sit here today, where people experience life as a perpetual night; a black darkness even at the midday. I need hardly name such places – Yemen, Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Sudan, South Sudan and many more. The commentators have allowed each one to slip from the headlines as a new conflict appears. We have no such option, as each should remain in our prayers and in our practical response. Not to give up once we have committed ourselves to some place or some body is truly Christian.

In previous Presidential Addresses, I have been happy to leave the business of the General Synod – our bills and resolutions and discussions – to the members of the General Synod and to those who will ably propose and second and speak to matters as they arise. I will do that again this year.

That leaves me free to say something about how we in the Church of Ireland might be present in today’s world and also to say something about our self-understanding – what we believe ourselves to be and how we exercise such moral authority as we have, in the name of Jesus Christ. Other Churches have other ways of living out their vocation as disciples of Jesus Christ, each way formed by providence through the processes of history. I make absolutely no claim that how we do so is the best way-merely that it is our way. It is the little offering which we bring into the treasury of the wider Catholic Church.

I want now to offer an outline of the particular manner in which I believe we should make our contribution to the ordinary life of the places where we witness, remembering that we live in a pluralist society and no longer seek to have either the first word or the last word, but hopefully we still have a word – and a distinctive word – to say in many areas of life.

As a follower of Jesus Christ, the principal questions which I need to ask myself at any time are: “how will what I do or say express my discipleship of Jesus Christ?” and “how will it contribute to the common good?” That is especially important for local or national Church Leaders and is crucial when we contribute to public debate.

Church Leaders are not party-political figures, nor are we the accredited representatives of any political community – and I cannot say plainly enough, we should not be so. Fortunately there are a large number of elected representatives from political communities who are able to speak and lead in that sense.

As a Church Leader I do not speak for, with, or to the Church, or to broader society in relation to political community. In many ways, the political or constitutional affiliation of Church of Ireland people is none of my business. An alignment of denominational and political affiliation has been too significant a feature of the history of this island, and has only succeeded in making many in society suspicious of where the Church’s conclusive loyalty really lies. It has impeded the Church’s usefulness in the world and has at times also cheapened the Gospel and its implications.

The God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Sovereign Lord of all peoples, a God of justice and mercy, who desires the good of all. For those of us whose Churches are organised on an all-island basis, this is especially important to remember. We who are called by his Name must behave according to His character.

Our guide in how we should follow our vocation – as individuals, as parishes and as a General Synod – is clear enough. We use these words in our Eucharistic liturgy, so they should also be familiar enough. They are these:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul and all your strength, and your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

These few words are a summary of the whole revelation of the nature of God and of our response to that revelation. And the way we are called to respond is known as the law of love.

So, what do I mean by the law of love? And why do I believe it applies (including the claim of self-sacrifice) to groups as well as to individuals? Just to be clear, love in this sense is not a vague warm feeling nor intense romantic passion. Love is our goodwill and benevolence towards our neighbours. Love is what binds people together against hatred and dishonesty. It is powerful; it requires courage.

The law of love is the expression of the nature of God, therefore universal in scope but applying in different ways to individuals and to groups in society. For this reason, we need to discern and to differentiate which way we are dealing with, otherwise the claims of love will be applied irrelevantly and ineffectively.

To put it another way, the demand to love God calls for absolute surrender (“you shall love the Lord your God with all your…”). But the love of our neighbour is relative and limited; we are to love them as ourselves. In no case in civic life are we to prefer our neighbour’s interests to our own; we are required to put them on a level. For a community which includes ourselves and our neighbour, both may be required to temper their own or their group’s interest in the cause of the common good. Wider loyalties should act as a check on narrower ones.

Therefore, in terms of civic life the way of love lies not through altruism, but through reasonable claim and just award; in short, through justice. Within the Church, between its members, the true measure and expression of love is forgiveness. Among the groups which make up a society the true form and expression of love is justice. So long as society is organised in groups with diverging interests, so love must express itself first in justice.

Perhaps it is worthwhile reflecting on the common interests of church and society, or where these concerns overlap: that is, in the area of citizenship. Of what it means to be a good citizen. What are the distinguishing characteristics of a citizen in the modern world? It has been pointed out that in the ancient world, the world, say, of the New Testament, the answer was obvious enough. A citizen was someone who was not a slave. He or she was someone whose choices and identity weren’t owned by someone else.

Or as the lawyers today would say: someone who had the liberty to dispose of his or her own acts. Just like a citizen in the ancient world, a modern citizen is someone who has a voice in the community, who has certain legal protections and who has a significant say in the choices of their own life. So the citizen has the personal dignity of making a contribution to the community or society where they live – in the vision shared by the community. To be a citizen is to be responsible for maintaining your personal and social environment – which of course entails relationships to others. Citizenship means a voice guaranteed a hearing and a person protected by law.

The idea of citizenship was very important in the early days of Christianity. The Greek word (ekklesia) which we translate as ‘church’ was the word used in the ancient world for an assembly of citizens. The Church didn’t make up a new word for what they understood themselves to be when they gathered for worship or for debate; they simply used the familiar word that meant a gathering of citizens – of people who were guaranteed a voice and guaranteed responsibility.

From the very start, the Church said to its members that, ‘regardless of the political arrangements around you, there is anotherplace in which you have non-negotiable rights and a gift to share, a place where you have the dignity of being a decision maker and being able to contribute to where you live’. The Church – ekklesia. All of this had consequences for the wider communities that church members, like you and I, are part of. It still does.

Christianity is not an opting-out of political or social life and conversation. It does not aim to remove people from civic responsibility; on the contrary, it is the place where the deepest kind of civic responsibility is nurtured and carried out into the world. And what is the deepest kind of civic responsibility? To love your neighbour as yourself.

Part of the purpose of Christian community is to learn to treat people – every person – as capable of civic dignity and freedom; as individuals capable of contributing to their nearer and wider social and political environment by free decision taken in consultation. From that point of view, the citizen assemblies which we call ‘the Church’ are places where we argue and debate about what we understand is good for the whole of society.

Imperfect as our means of putting these ideals into institutional or procedural form may be, that is how we conduct our business and exercise our teaching authority, both within the Church and in the world. When we are faced with any complex moral or theological matter, we first ask ourselves should we speak or act about this matter at all? And if we do feel that we have something to contribute to the issue, our method is to refer it to a group made up of clergy and lay people, of wide-ranging opinions, from different parts of this island, of different sexes and identities, so that the matter can be studied and prayed about and debated. All this is to ensure that what we will say is indeed free decision taken in consultation, and after careful thought and prayer.

The cohesion and unity of the Church of Ireland since Disestablishment has only been achieved through this continual, patient wrestling over time with complex issues, avoiding simplistic answers to difficult questions. And in that wrestling with issues we must above all respect the dignity of each individual. That is how we proceeded on issues which may look plain enough in retrospect – issues like the ordination of women or the re-marriage of divorced people in church. We took our time and arrived at a what we believed to be an outcome that was faithful to Scripture and to tradition, and which could be reasonably argued and presented, and received by the Church. In other areas, despite years of deliberation – such as on Communion for children – we were unable to reach a consensus and we let the matter rest.

Christian citizenship, both in the ekklesia and in the world, is about people of flesh and blood and the realities of their lives. In hisCity of God, St Augustine outlines two kinds of human belonging-together and two kinds of love. Do we live by bearing one another’s burdens? Or do we live at one another’s expense? Those are the two great human options. If you go, however slowly or fitfully, for the first option you are helping to build up the City of God. If you live by any other principle, it isn’t just that you are going for second best, but you are really opting for a form of chaos, and the best you can hope for or achieve is randomly-controlled selfishness.

Indeed, what we have learned in our ekklesia should provide us with the antennae to detect when we ourselves, or any spokespeople in the public realm, are using language that demeans or diminishes human beings. We should be able to scent when they are telling lies about what human beings (and indeed God) are actually like. So when politics is dominated by creating fear and scapegoats, those antennae should spring into action. Because fear and division-generating politics is not mature political discourse. It’s not real politics. It is playing with paranoia, which is the dangerous opposite of serving the community and building the community with a spirit of love.

And those antennae, developed in our parishes and councils, are more important now than ever. The contemporary world faces a range of challenges which in number and in intensity is probably unique. Thanks to the scale and nature of media sources these days, there is a much greater consciousness than ever before of those difficulties and challenges.

Playing with paranoia in such conditions is currently the domain of populists of both left and right. But it is all too easy for élites and wider ‘respectable’ society to become infected by it. Many interests can become vested in maintaining division rather than in building community. It has been the mark of statesmen and women in history to identify problems and injustices and to solve them. It has become the mark of many in public life today to identify injustices and problems and to exploit them.

Populist politicians, activists and commentators address and exploit the vast complexity and unprecedented scale of the challenges we face, not with policies but with slogans. Slogans such as ‘Ireland is full’. Well, Ireland is not full. Ireland, North and South, has been right to welcome migrants and asylum seekers. In one sense, such incomers made Ireland catholic – as in universal and diverse – in a way we hadn’t been before.

Perhaps not enough thought was given to how to integrate those newcomers and their needs into society, and what that means for social and physical infrastructure. That oversight does not excuse us from our responsibility to seek justice for our neighbour. Political failures cannot disapply the law of love. If the well-being of our neighbour (wherever they may have come from) is becoming more precarious, then we are called through the law of love to work even harder for justice.

We are at an important moment not just in Irish or British history, but in world history. Is it to be a moment of breakdown or a moment of breakthrough? Neither breakdown or breakthrough are instantaneous or surprise events. They are always carried in the womb of history and are the product of conscious choices. History is not simply something which must be understood and endured. History is the process whereby we can make our world more humane and more just.

It is a process which, through conscientious decisions, can produce an “us” that doesn’t currently exist, but is latent in that womb. We can choose to be a people who are deeply involved in the nature of God and of one another, and who for that reason, abhor the threats of a malevolent fanaticism, whose only contribution to community life is hatred, bitterness and division. If we are deeply involved in the nature of God, how different our contribution to community life should be – in accordance with the law of love.

We are at a point in the history of the world when many things will change. Many things need to change. Many of our own darlings may disappear without trace. It may be we can preserve nothing but our values, through which, as the Bishop of Clogher said in his sermon earlier this morning, we “use our patience, skills, and loving care to help any who come near the church door. And the impact we may have to bring hope and healing is immeasurable through the grace of God”.

The question I want to conclude with is this: Given all that I have said about this hinge point in history and the moral seriousness of the hour, to which we are called to respond: who can carry this moment alone?

No-one can.

But we are not called to carry it alone.

As we approach Pentecost, where the gift of the Holy Spirit was given “when they were all together in one place” – as the whole of the Church of Ireland is in some sense today – let us draw on the resources we have been given:

All the promises of God and all the words of the prophets. The apostolic witness and the glory of the gospel, which has only reconciliation and life in it and nothing of division and death. The virtue and wisdom of the Irish saints – of Patrick and Columbaand Brigid – and the mists of sorrow and struggle through which they passed.

And we have each other.

God has not called us to be his voice and his compassion in the world and then left us bereft.

Exactly a week ago, during our four-day meeting in Rome, the Primates of the Anglican Communion had an hour-long audience with Pope Francis in the Vatican. In the course of his short address, the Pope spoke about the Primacy of the Holy Spirit and went on to say:

“We are called to pray and to listen to one another, seeking to understand each other’s concerns and asking ourselves, before enquiring of others, whether we have been receptive to the Spirit’s promptings or prey to our own personal or party opinions…God’s way leads us to cling more fervently to the Lord Jesus, for only in communion with him will we find full communion with one another.”

He was referring of course to ecumenical dialogue, but I hope his wise words find a welcome at the start of this General Synod.

May we find full communion with one another as we seek closer communion with the God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ: the Sovereign Lord of all peoples, a God of justice and mercy, who calls us by his Name.

Dozens of parishioners from throughout the Derry Rural Deanery were commissioned at a service in All Saints Clooney on Sunday evening to serve as churchwardens, secretaries and treasurers, glebewardens and select vestry members, and to sit on parish safeguarding trust panels or serve as safeguarding volunteers.

Select Vestries from St Columb’s Cathedral; St Augustine’s; Christ Church, Culmore, Muff and St Peter’s; Glendermott; Clooney; Faughanvale; Leckpatrick and Dunnalong; and Donagheady were commissioned at the service, which was led by the Rural Dean, Rev Canon David McBeth.

Clergy from all eight parish groups took part, including the Archdeacon of Derry, Ven. Robert Miller, who performed the blessing, and the Dean of Derry, Very Rev Raymond Stewart, who led the prayers of the people. It was a significant occasion for the Dean who, 25 years to the day earlier, had first been installed as a canon. Canon McBeth led the congregation in a congratulatory round of applause to acknowledge the anniversary.

The thought-provoking Sermon, which was preached by the Rev Canon Katie McAteer, spanned over 2,000 years of church history, ranging from the 1st Century AD right up to the forthcoming diocesan review.

Positions of responsibility didn’t stop with Select Vestry membership, Canon McAteer suggested. There could be election to office at Diocesan Council, other boards, Diocesan Synod and perhaps General Synod. She recalled an issue raised at General Synod several years ago, following the passing of a resolution that if a Select Vestry removed a tree from property in which the RCB had invested, the vestry had to ensure that two trees were replanted to compensate – “all very environmentally conscious”.

A member of General Synod – “a more august person that little old me” – asked Canon McAteer to raise the matter at General Synod. “‘Tell me,’ he said, ‘we’ve just had to remove a tree growing out of the parapet at the top of our church tower. Do we now have to plant two trees up there to replace it?’ And synod just collapsed with applause.

“I wonder when was the last time you heard a story that made you chuckle or even laugh out loud? And how did it make you feel? Sometimes you’re still smiling ages later because laughter can make your whole day seem different, seem brighter. It’s a great morale booster. And morale is at the heart of our Gospel story this evening [Luke 24: 36-48].”

Canon McAteer said the morale of the disciples had hit rock bottom in the hours after the awful events of a certain Friday in Jerusalem. “Everything had been lost. Every hope destroyed. Every expectation smashed. They were left a battered, disheartened, directionless group who had no idea what would now happen. Then, in a moment, all is changed. Those two disciples, who had given up hope and gone back to Emmaus to continue their ordinary lives, suddenly had their eyes opened and the whole world is a different place.

“It is almost impossible for us to imagine the depths of their gloom and despondency, and just as hard to imagine the power of the morale change that came into their lives. It was a morale change that was so profound that it changed them from a ragged and motley group of individuals into a world-changing movement.

“The disciples were a group entirely without resources or organisation,” Canon McAteer said, “in a world that was violently hostile. If we think that we live in a world that is not interested in what the church has to say, we should try First Century Palestine. The morale change came not through laughter – although, I imagine, they would have laughed with joy at meeting with Jesus – but with a sense of the power of Christ in their hearts. ‘Were not our hearts burning within us?’ say the pair who would surely have gone back to Jerusalem with a spring in their step to share their story.

“The disciples had the presence of the risen Christ and the faith to live as he commanded, and that is how they not only met the outside world but changed it beyond recognition. What a morale boost. They had met with the risen Lord and their lives were changed.

“Can we put our hands on our hearts and honestly say that we have been changed? The disciples walked about seven miles from Jerusalem. They reached their home and it’s dark and then, when they realise Jesus has been with them, they travel back those seven miles that night. Have we ever felt so changed by what we have read or heard, have we ever felt so strongly about our faith, that we dropped what we are doing and said, ‘What is it that God wants me to do?'”

Canon McAteer said she didn’t know how many people smiled when they heard about the upcoming Diocesan Review. It was, she said, a God-given opportunity to look for that morale boost that would change people’s lives. As leaders in their parishes, they had responsibilities – a role to play – caring for church buildings and their parish communities. “We have buildings. We have focus. How do we review what the church is doing in this diocese – the good and the not-so-good? Where is the room for improvement and how do we go about that? Are we doing what we should be doing? Could we do it differently? How are we being the Kingdom of Heaven in the place God has planted us? Are we flowering where we are sowing? How, as people entrusted with leadership in our parishes, are we involved in reviewing God’s call on our lives?”

The disciples believed, Canon McAteer said, that their morale was changed and remarkable things happened. “Morale-changing encounters can happen to us,” she said, “but we have to be open to the possibility that the risen Christ might walk along with us and even talk with us.

“So many of our churches have spires, steeples and towers that symbolically point from the height of heaven. But it is your responsibility not just to maintain our places of worship but to ensure they stand for a different way of relating to God in a changing landscape.”

Our SEEDS Children’s Ministry chose a magnificent day for youngsters to see the splendour of God’s creation during a visit to Gortin Glen Forest Park in County Tyrone earlier today.

The children were there for a special Family Fun Day for young people with additional needs and they were rewarded with a bright, dry day, with no rain to mar their enjoyment.

The day began with hymns followed by games in the ‘Forest Classroom’, where the children – and the adults – learned how to pot sunflower seeds, which they were invited to take home with them and grow to their full height.

The ‘classroom’ was then moved outside, into the woods, where the youngsters were led on a sun-dappled walk along leafy, tree-lined forest paths, stopping along the way to learn about the flora and fauna in this beautiful part of the world. The highlight of day was seeing the sika deer close up in their enclosure. And one of the children even got to use the diocesan camera – taking a couple of photos which are featured below.

Volunteers from a number of parishes served as leaders for the day, assisting our Diocesan Children’s Ministry Officer Kirsty, and our Diocesan Youth Officer Claire, by supervising the day’s activities. And occasionally, when time allowed, a few of the adults reverted to childhood, testing themselves on swings and other park attractions.

The day concluded with some children and grown-ups picnicking in the forest while others chose to stop off for a treat on the way back home.

The new Rector of Leckpatrick and Dunnalong, Rev Andrea Cotter, was instituted on Friday evening (April 19th, 2024) at a service in a packed St Patrick’s Church in Ballymagorry, which drew many of her new parishioners from Bready and Ballymagorry, along with parishioners from All Saints Clooney – where she had served her curacy – and friends from Ballymena where she had lived prior to her ordination.

The Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Rt Rev Andrew Forster, earned loud cheers at a celebratory supper afterwards when he told guests that Andrea had come from the Diocese of Connor – for whom her husband, Richard, worked – but that he thanked God for having brought her to “the Promised Land” of Leckpatrick and Dunnalong.

At the beginning of the service, Bishop Andrew said it was his great pleasure to welcome the congregation to what he called “this momentous occasion as we institute Andrea as the new Rector of Leckpatrick and Dunnalong churches. So, it’s wonderful to see the church so full tonight; the sun is shining; we’re smiling and we’re going to have a wonderful evening together in the presence of almighty God.”

Turning to the new incumbent he said, “It’s wonderful tonight to see many of the threads of your life, Andrea, represented in the congregation. You have family, you have friends from Ballymena days, including the Rector of Ballymena; you have friends who trained with you in ministry; you have the wonderful parishioners of All Saints Clooney who have nurtured you and loved you as you loved them during your curacy; and you have all these new friends and family whom you will meet. So, it’s wonderful to see so many of you here tonight, and I want to give a special welcome to clergy from other denominations in the area who are with us this evening. We appreciate your presence and your prayers with us.

“Andrea has been a blessing to All Saints Clooney and a blessing to our diocese, and it filled my heart with joy whenever she was nominated to me to be rector of these parishes. And I know she will serve you with diligence, with grace, with determination and with love. So, thank you, Andrea, for responding to God’s call to serve these parishes, to be here and to love God’s people as you share your love for him.”

Rev Cotter was mentored during her curacy by Clooney’s Rector, Rev Canon David McBeth, who preached the sermon. “No one here, tonight, is a spectator,” he told the congregation. “Each one of us has a part to play in the ongoing drama of God’s plan and purpose – both in our individual lives and in the world around us.”

He told them that Andrea had been called by God to lead her two new parishes into a God-ordained future. But she wasn’t the only one who was being called this evening. “We’re all called – clergy, laity – to continue God’s work, and now is the hour to consider what that call might have been to each and every one of us.

“To the people of Leckpatrick and Dunnalong, congratulations. Congratulations. You have called as your new rector one of the finest young women I have ever known. But I want to tell you a few things about her.

“Don’t let this little, innocent face fool you! Number one: be careful what she gives you. We were all at a clergy conference a couple of years ago and she gave us all Covid. She’s the only minister I know who knocked down about 52 ministers in one go. So, be careful what she gives you. But she also has a great sense of humour. She enjoys a good bit of fun, a good laugh and a good joke.”

Canon McBeth said the new rector was no ‘softie’ and that her husband, Richard, would certainly know about that. “Andrea is the boss. When she says, ‘Jump’, Richard says, ‘How high?’ And, in fact, it was getting that way with me. I was wondering who was the boss? She was telling me to do this and do that. To be honest, I was terrified not to do it.”

Turning to serious matters, though, Canon McBeth said Reverend Andrea had been an exceptional minister. “She is a strong theologian, a creative liturgist, a provocative preacher, a fine administrator and, most of all, she has a pastor’s heart. She is kind, she is loving and she is caring.

“So I say to you, Leckpatrick and Dunnalong, be kind to your new rector. Treasure her as a gift, because she was certainly a gift to All Saints Clooney. She is a gift to the church universal, she’s a gift to the diocese and she’s a gift to your parishes in particular.

“Cherish her, but let her lead, for God has called her to be your spiritual leader. Trust her, for here is a rector that you can trust, and without trusting each other none of us can accomplish anything for the Lord.

“Andrea has come to you absolutely committed to doing powerful work for the Lord. Don’t hinder her. Listen to her. Support her. And help her accomplish the glorious mission God has for Andrea and you today. Grow together. Accomplish great things. Change the parish together. Together light a fire for Christ in this part of your church in the world, a fire that will draw many to its life-giving flame, a fire that will challenge some, comfort others, and always push back darkness.

“To my colleague, Andrea, remember whose you are. You belong to the Lord. He is the one who has called you and put you in this place.”

Bishop Andrew was assisted in the Service of Institution by the Archdeacon of Derry, Ven. Robert Miller, and by the Diocesan Registrar, Rev Canon David Crooks.

After the service, the congregation moved to the nearby Milliken Hall to enjoy refreshments and speeches. Rev Cotter addressed the gathering, thanking Canon McBeth for guiding her through the “two years, seven months and twelve days” of her curacy in Clooney.

Among those there to share her joy this evening were her husband Richard, her twin sister Emma, her brother-in-law, David McAleese, and nephews Graham, Austin and David.

In the concluding speech, Bishop Andrew referred to the new Rector’s “infectious personality”. He pointed out that he – like Canon McBeth – had contracted Covid from Andrea at that ill-fated clergy retreat.

Incidentally, Rev Andrea wasn’t the only person celebrating on Friday evening. Local parishioner Tommy Robb was enjoying his 86th birthday – an occasion made all the sweeter by a rousing rendition of ‘Happy birthday’ by everyone in the hall.

Parishes in the Diocese of Derry and Raphoe have been urged to consider applying to the Church of Ireland Priorities Fund which was set up in 1980 to support areas of ministry and social responsibility which were deemed to be in need.

The fund’s chairman, Roy Totten, was invited to address clergy from right across the diocese today by Bishop Andrew Forster, who felt that parishes here could be benefitting more from it, by devising projects that met the fund’s objectives and could draw down financial support. Mr Totten told the meeting in the Diocesan Centre that, since it was set up, the fund had allocated more than £21m in grants to parishes right across the church.

When it was first established, he said, the priority in the Church of Ireland was “spiritual and not material – in other words people and not buildings. We’re really keen to help you to reach out to people.”

Mr Totten explained how the fund operated. It was supported by “generous giving” in parishes in every diocese of the church. The committee then had “the responsibility and the privilege” of redistributing that money to projects which met certain criteria, to the tune of between £500,000 and £600,000 a year.

“Finances are focused on projects which help congregations to grow spiritually and to connect with people outside your worshipping communities,” he explained. There were four categories: training – lay and ordained; Christian education (to develop RE in schools, support children’s ministry and provide Christian education for adults); outreach initiatives – to encourage new and creative projects, including church plants and missional areas; and innovative ministry in a rural context, to encourage projects in sparsely populated areas, in rural or village settings.

Around half of the applications for funding fell within the ‘outreach initiatives’ category. “What we won’t do is pay a salary,” he said, “but if it’s something that is new within your parish and reaches people, we are willing to help with it. Grants can be for a two-year period but one thing you’ve got to understand is that we do not provide continuous funding for projects.”

Mr Totten encouraged parishes in sparsely populated areas consider starting projects that fell within the ‘innovative ministry in a rural context’ category. “We to find new forms of ministry that connect with rural communities,” he said.

Parishes were advised to visit the Priorities Fund website – https://priorities.ireland.anglican.org – for more information. Applications for support are open from April until the end of October, and the committee then spends four months deciding which projects to support.

Clergy also heard about the benefits for parishes of engaging in global mission partnerships with dioceses in other countries. They heard a presentation from Crosslinks’ Mission Director, John McLernon, and its Ireland Team Leader, Richard Balmer, about some of the missionary work they do in more than 30 countries around the world.

Principals, teachers and school management board members gathered in Letterkenny’s Mount Errigal Hotel this evening (Wednesday 17th April) to celebrate the achievement of schools in Donegal under Church of Ireland patronage.

The audience were treated to a presentation by Dr Jacqui Wilkinson from the Church of Ireland Centre at Dublin City University who shared a presentation on ‘Life in the Church of Ireland Primary School through the voices of the children’. It was based on interviews the academic had done with more than three thousand pupils at 92 Church of Ireland schools in the Republic to explore their attitudes towards school ethos.

Mrs Wilkinson’s research presented a very positive picture of life in these schools, giving the teaching professionals and managers much food for thought. 72% of the pupils attended a Christian place of worship “at least sometimes” and almost 90% of the schools held assembly and taught RE at least once a week. The vast majority of children found their schools to be welcoming and caring places, which taught them to respect others and care for the world around them. They also felt God was “very important” in their schools.

Mrs Wilkinson, who is a lecturer in Religious Education in the DCU Institute of Education, said in her experience, every school was different. Emphasizing the importance of parish-school links, she said that Church of Ireland schools shared many of the same values as other schools but it was their foundation in Christianity that distinguished them.

The Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Rt Rev Andrew Forster, thanked Mrs Wilkinson for her presentation and for sharing the results of her research with the Donegal schools. He told the teachers present that they should never underestimate the impact they had on the lives of the children they cared for and educated. And he told the members of boards of management there that they were the people who were prepared to do “the heavy lifting” in their communities to make sure that their children’s welfare was protected, that their education was resourced and that they were blessed by what was happening in their school lives.

Bishop Andrew also thanked the Archdeacon of Raphoe, Ven. David Huss, for organising Wednesday evening’s event. Archdeacon Huss had opened the meeting, welcoming Dr Wilkinson and also singling out the recently appointed Moderator of the Derry and Donegal Presbytery, Rev Susan Moore, who was in the audience. Of the 31 schools in the county under Protestant patronage, 17 are managed by the Church of Ireland, 11 by the Presbyterian Church and three are under joint control.

Clergy and members of the four main churches in Londonderry gathered in the city’s Guildhall on Tuesday afternoon for an event to celebrate their work together to build a better community for citizens young and old, and of all denominations. They were welcomed formally by the Mayor of Derry City and Strabane, Councillor Patricia Logue, who congratulated them on the work they were doing to build a better city and a more cohesive community. 

The afternoon of fellowship arose from an initiative begun two years ago by four inner city churches – St Augustine’s (Londonderry), Long Tower Chapel, First Derry Presbyterian Church and Carlisle Road Methodist Church. Since then, a number of other churches have ‘come onboard’, and that was reflected in the variety of people who came together for today’s celebratory meal at the Guildhall.

Among the church leaders present were the city’s two bishops, Rt Rev Andrew Forster and Most Rev Dr Donal McKeown; the new Moderator of the Derry and Donegal Presbytery, Rev Susan Moore; the Chairperson of the NW Methodist Mission, Rev Dr Stephen Skuce; the Archdeacon of Derry, Ven Robert Miller; the Dean of Derry, Very Rev Raymond Stewart; the minister at First Derry Presbyterian, Rev Colin Jones; the Rector of St Augustine’s, Rev Nigel Cairns; the Administrator of St Columba’s (Long Tower), Fr Gerard Mongan; Rev Peter Morris of Clooney Methodist Church; and Fr Stephen Ward (Long Tower).

Speaking at the start of the event, Bishop McKeown said this was a city and a community that had shown it believed in the resurrection. Early on, when politicians found it hard to even sit in the same building together, church people in the city were working hard, laying foundations, trying to build a better city.The Bishop singled out Mrs Joan Doherty, of the Methodist Church, for the work she had been doing to bring the churches together over recent years, and for helping to organise today’s event.

At its last meeting in October 2023, Diocesan Synod resolved that a Commission should be established to conduct a strategic review of our dioceses. We are now seeking expressions of interest from individuals who would like to be considered to become members of the Commission. 

Diocesan Council has agreed that the Commission should consist of the Bishop, the two Archdeacons, and up to 9 other members.

Further detail including information on the remit of the Commission is in the attached document. 

To express an interest in being a member of the Commission, please email bishopsoffice@derryandraphoe.org including the words ‘expression of interest’ in the subject line and giving:

– a brief description of your role(s) held in parish & diocese.
– a brief outline of your special interests or areas of expertise.

Expressions of interest need to be received by 5pm on Friday 19th April.

Thank you very much for giving this matter your prayerful consideration. May the Lord continue to guide his Church for his glory.

With every blessing,

The Rt Revd Andrew Forster

Bishop of Derry and Raphoe

The Ven Robert Miller

Archdeacon of Derry

The Ven David Huss

Archdeacon of Raphoe

Tributes have been paid to the former Diocesan Architect for Derry and Raphoe, Miss Caroline Dickson, who passed away in hospital last Friday after a short illness.

Miss Dickson retired from the diocesan role last year after 40 years’ service. Throughout those four decades, she worked diligently on the Diocese’s behalf, displaying formidable expertise when it came to work on buildings of great historical significance.

Last year, at the Diocesan Synod, a special presentation was made to Miss Dickson by Bishop Andrew to acknowledge the outstanding service she had given Derry and Raphoe.

Miss Dickson’s funeral will take place in her beloved local church, St Mura’s (Fahan) on Thursday afternoon at 2.30pm.

She was predeceased by her parents Christine and Peter Dickson and is sadly missed by her cousins, her fellow parishioners, her many friends and colleagues, and by the wider community in Fahan.

(Photo: last October, at the Diocesan Synod, Bishop Andrew made a presentation to the late Miss Caroline Dickson to mark her retirement after 40 years’ service as Diocesan Architect. The Bishop was accompanied by Ven. Robert Miller, Archdeacon of Derry)