The Church of Ireland
Diocesan Press Release

1. The Ordained Ministry

In 1976, the traditional patterns of ministry were relatively undisputed in the Church of Ireland. The clergy/laity divide was still strong, and the rector or the curate had, as by right, a place of respect in society. I can still remember a shocked parishioner in Carrickfergus where I was curate spot me moving a burco boiler from the hall to the church and declare, 'In Canon Rutherford's day you wouldn't have been doing that kind of thing!' The four of us who were ordained in June 1976 were all in our twenties, and sensed a call from God in the flush of youth to give our whole lives to this vocation. That was the normal pattern, and the monastic model of training for ministry which still reigns supreme in the Church of Ireland was designed for people like us: single, young, male and academically educated. We could, relatively easily, leave all and go to Theological College for three years, and didn't need to return home at weekends.

Much of this has radically changed in that quarter of a century, and I want to highlight some of the changes which have taken place:

a) We now ordain not only to stipendiary ministry, but also to non-stipendiary ministry, and we are grateful for the special kind of ministry offered by non-stipendiaries, who live out their vocation not only in and around the parish, but in their day-to-day life as priests in the context of their work. They are a reminder to all of us of the witness of our lives in the workplace. In the Diocese of Down and Dromore we have 16 non-stipendiary ministers.

b) People are going into the ordained ministry at all different ages and stages of their lives. The majority of people in training are now married. It is normal, rather than rare, for ordinands to have been engaged in another career before going into the ministry. This should be something from which we benefit, but I must confess that I fear we often act as though the previous experience of people in the wider world of work is not relevant to what they do when ordained.

It also means that models of training based on monastic models are not necessarily appropriate. They can put impossible strains on some marriages, where husbands and wives live separately from Monday to Friday of each week, and the spouse who is not in training for ordination feels that the role of the church is simply to take their marriage partner away from them. This can lead to great resentment and hurt, and in my view we need to be looking for ways in which couples can be held together more during training, whether that requires married accommodation in Dublin or other new ways of training.

Also, we need to remember that the church in our generation needs the fresh creativity of young ordinands. So often when young Christian people are considering their career, the ministry is not even something which is considered. Many schools never mention it in Careers Guidance, so we need key Christian people in parishes to be looking out for potential young people who may have a vocation, and to present the ministry top them as an exciting opportunity to serve their Lord and master.

We are ordaining women to the ministry. That would have been unheard of in 1976, and I, for one, would certainly have disapproved at that time! Thankfully, in the Church of Ireland, this has not been a divisive matter, though I am aware that there are people who still find the ordination of women to the priesthood difficult, and if they have genuine theological reasons I will both respect them and protect them. Many more, of course, have been deeply blessed through the ministry of women, and, relatively quietly, two particular historic events in this regard have taken place since last Synod in the Diocese of Down. First of all, we have appointed our first woman rector in the diocese- Denise Blakely, to the Parish of Carrowdore and Millisle; and secondly, I have made Elizabeth Johnston the first woman canon of Down Cathedral. Elizabeth is a daughter of this diocese, and like so many godly women, gave her life to missionary work in India, where she was ordained deacon in 1981. It is a joy to honour the ministry of women in the church, exercised in so many ways down through the ages, and indeed, their ministry in the diaconate and priesthood of the Church of Ireland.

One of the things we are all grateful for is the way in which the numbers of those being ordained have remained more or less stable over that 25 year period. This has not been the experience of all churches. This year, 27 people will be made deacons, 7 (a good biblical number) in Shankill Parish, Lurgan on 17 June. That is a particularly large number, and we are grateful to God - you will see in Paul Hewitt's "Exploring Ministry" Report that the number attending selection conferences last year broke all records.

You may also be interested to note that, in an eighteen month period, we have had to find new incumbents for almost a quarter of the parishes in the diocese. I want to thank the Boards of Nomination, because this has required many, many meetings. I thank them for the way they have gone about this task with integrity, and I am glad to say that we have not had any difficulty in finding clergy who are interested in working in Down and Dromore. We welcome those at this Synod who are new incumbents in the diocese.

2. The political situation.

Most of us remember the Northern Ireland of the 1970s -the sense of hopelessness, devastation, and utter darkness. Attempts at peacemaking, Sunningdale and its aftermath, hunger strikes and the daily routine of bombing, murder and mayhem. Sometimes, it is only in looking back to the 1970s, that we see how far we have come, and yet, we also realize that there is a long distance to go. I do not need to tell you how devastating the past quarter of a century plus has been for this province. We live in a land of deep sectarian sickness, and it is vital that those who follow Jesus Christ and his ways do not accept sectarianism and division as normality. Such sickness has led to the dehumanizing of people who are 'different' in the minds of both sides of this community. We are at this stage in our history doing (as the new Methodist President, Harold Good described so brilliantly in his presidential sermon last week) exactly what the Children of Israel did in the desert. We are in danger of looking back with hankering for a past that has gone for ever, when God is in fact calling us all to a future for both our communities.

Looking back to 1976 and the aftermath of Sunningdale, makes me utter a heartfelt prayer for our desert experience: 'Lord, stop us going round in circles'.

No matter what our divisions at this present time, the vast number of people in this province want devolved government. We have truly appreciated the Assembly in Stormont, with all its failings. At the General Synod we heard a heartfelt plea by Canon Houston McKelvey (and may I take this opportunity to congratulate Houston on his appointment as Dean of Belfast)….that, in terms of education, "we do not return to the bad old days of direct rule with inaccessible part-time ministers with no effective local checks on the administrators".

We have also been very grateful for the work of Brid Rogers, the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, for the way in which she handled the Foot and Mouth crisis; and it has been an encouragement for all of us to see our local politicians actually deal with the everyday, bread and butter issues of life in Northern Ireland, and move on from our constant preoccupation with the constitutional question.

However, we all know that, at this point in our history, we stand to lose many of the developments there have been. Beneath it all, the divisions are as great as ever, and there is enough destructiveness in us as a people to remain stubborn and lose all. I want to make two pleas in relation to this largely to those in the nationalist, republican and catholic community (I hope I have often enough said strong things into the protestant and unionist community to have earned the right to say this):

• Firstly, I plead with all armed groups to put an end to their weapons. In particular, with the results of last week's elections for Sinn Fein, the IRA are in a strong position to make a courageous move. They must decide what to do, but it would be tragic if intransigence meant that the progress we have made so far was brought to nothing, and we all know the real danger of that happening.
• Secondly, I plead with political leaders in the nationalist parties and to church leaders in the Roman Catholic Church, to fully support the new police force. Many of us are unsure of what exactly the problems are here, but they desperately need resolution speedily. Not doing so has left us all in a policing vacuum, which urgently needs to be filled. Otherwise, paramilitary forms of policing will continue to flourish, in the absence of a fully acceptable force, and the danger is that present members of the RUC will also become discouraged. We need an agreed police force which will be respected across the whole community, and this is the desire of the vast majority of people. It has been encouraging to learn this week from Sir Ronnie Flannagan that a third of the applicants for the new force are Roman Catholics, and, as we know that people will be recruited for the new Police Service on a 50% catholic, 50% protestant basis. Movement needs to happen on this - and to happen soon.

To the protestant community I say that I am deeply saddened to see sectarian flags reappearing in some areas in large numbers yet again this year in the build up to July. People in these areas have no option but to see their streets staked out in the way in which an animal would define its territory (and I gather that paramilitary groups have even agreed to carve up territory between them by negotiation) and in some areas people even have to pay for them in street collections. If any of us put up advertising where it was not allowed, it would be removed, but no one dares to remove such flags, presumably because of fear. The last thing we need this month is a build up of sectarian tension at such a sensitive time in our history.

3. Relationships between churches.

The 1970's were, probably, the heyday of optimism in terms of closer relationships with other Christian churches. I can personally remember the joy of fellowship between Roman Catholics and Protestants who had discovered one another as true lovers of Jesus Christ, through charismatic renewal. I remember clearly the hopes of ARCIC (the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission) that we might find a new and biblical way of understanding some of our areas of difference. I remember the new openness to receiving communion in other churches of the Reformation. The possibilities seemed enormous.

At the other end of this quarter century in the ministry, we all need to recognize how far we have come, in our friendships and relationships across the churches. Things which would have been inconceivable twenty five years ago are normal today. However, it is not for nothing that this particular period has been described as an 'ecumenical winter'. The publication of One Bread One Body, followed quickly by Dominus Iesus, and the Note on Sister Churches, has been a salutary reminder of the real differences we experience. Perhaps the fact that these documents have caused such hurt is a sign itself of greater closeness, and perhaps the focusing on areas of difference is an important part of the development of relationships.

We, in Down and Dromore, are utterly committed to reconciliation, and we have rightly emphasized that reconciliation is not necessarily the same as inter-church worship. We remain so committed and even more firmly in the present context. In some parishes, reconciliation is progressed by doing social things together, or being involved in the community together. In other places, simple but powerful worship occasions have been held. We know well how much our reconciliation cost the Lord on the Cross of Calvary, and we should expect that there will be a cost to us in terms of suffering. This was illustrated for me when I heard a lady from Portadown at the Methodist Conference tell us about a joint Songs of Praise held in Portadown. One week it was held in Seagoe Parish Church, the next week in the Roman Catholic Church in William Street. About 350 people were present on these occasions, including Methodists, Presbyterians, Roman Catholics and Anglicans. On each occasion, a person with a video camera stood outside on the street and filmed those going in. I have reason to believe that the video of this may have been shown on the hill of Drumcree. Such intimidatory action can not be acceptable in any civilized society. Whether it was intended to frighten Orangemen or others who went to those services I do not know. It may simply have been the work of an individual, but it can create an atmosphere in a town which has already enough problems, and is to be utterly condemned.

In this ecumenical winter, the work of the Methodist/Church of Ireland Covenant continues. A new draft was submitted to the General Synod and the Methodist Conference, with the intention that the Covenant itself should be placed before our governing bodies for ratification in 2002. This would commit our two churches to closer relationships in a way which has been described as akin to engagement. It is noteworthy that groups who have got together to discuss the Covenant across the two denominations have sent in very encouraging and positive feedback. Could I ask that any churches in Down and Dromore which have not yet done this with their Methodist counterparts do so as soon as possible. One of the great joys of this year has been to see the opening of the very beautiful new church in Movilla Abbey. We congratulate all concerned and especially Ken Higgins, who is formally to be instituted as rector on 28 June. My own celebration of 25 years will be at a Communion Service in this new church, and I will never forget the experience of the joint Methodist/Church of Ireland Confirmation Service on the first Sunday in the new building. Indeed, I have never heard of more joint Methodist/Anglican events taking place that this year.

4. Changes in our province

Quite honestly there are many issues which I would like to look at under this heading, but there is not time. One of the key strands of our Think again strategy is Outreach, and this includes both evangelism and serving God in the community. To engage in either of these enterprises we need to actually notice what is happening in the community, and sometimes we have not been good at this. What do you observe about the time and place in which you are situated?

Our major Diocesan Conference at the end of November in the Bangor Elim Centre will be a conference on Outreach, with speakers, seminars, stories, opportunities to explore what outreach means for my parish : and people from my parish will be invited (up to our limit of 500). There are may issues to be faced: single mothers, suicides among young men, stretched hospitals, the areas of abortion and euthanasia, valuing the elderly…. It goes on. But the one which I would want to end with today is the situation of people coming into this province from other cultures and places. It has been suggested that we Ulster people are twice as racist as we are sectarian. I do not know if that is true, but it is worth honestly asking. Most of us live our lives as though people of other races hardly exist, and yet we only have to go into Belfast any day of the week to find someone from another culture trying to sell us a copy of the Big Issues. Our primate has utterly condemned the use of Magilligan prison for housing asylum seekers, and I gather that several of these people have now been moved to Magaberry. We must say with a loud voice that prisons are not suitable for housing asylum seekers under any circumstances. Other suitable places must be found.

One of the tests of Jewish faith in the Old Testament, and Christian faith in the New is how we treat the stranger among us, whether we care and offer hospitality or simply ignore and marginalize. I fear we often take the second option, and we need to change our ways speedily, because our society is changing fast. Our much-valued image of Irish hospitality needs to be extended to all : because so many of us have benefited from hospitality of other nations.

People

I wish to end my address this year, by thanking and remembering certain people. During the year we said farewell to Canon Godfrey Quayle as Lay Honorary Secretary. The speeches were made at a celebration in Church House, and we allowed ourselves to roam freely over different memories of Godfrey's time in that post, but I simply want to say a public 'Thank you' today.

Last year we celebrated 25 years of Neill Wilson in the role of Diocesan Secretary. Neill has been off work ill for the past few weeks, and has been greatly missed. I have heard the staff in Church House say that, if he came through the door they would just give him a big hug and breath a sigh of relief. Neill has been described to me as a man 'quick to think and slow to speak'. He simply gets on with the work. But he has also built up an excellent staff around him, and I want to thank them all for the additional responsibilities they have had placed upon them. Especially, I hope you will not mind me singling out David Cromie, our Diocesan Accountant who has also been functioning as Diocesan Secretary - no-one knows the workload which David and the other staff have carried this year.

Might I also thank my two archdeacons for their constant support during the year, my long-suffering secretary Betty McLaughlin, and the equally long suffering people of Kilkeel, whom we congratulate on their Jim's project, for having us back a third year in a row. I also thank Hilary McClay for her work as Diocesan Communications Officer. Hilary is having some time out to review her commitments as she settles into a new parish, and Betty is acting as Communications officer in the meantime. I also thank, in anticipation,

Sir Antony Campbell for acting as my assessor at this Synod, and last but not least, we thank all the staff of the Think Again team - Norman Jardine (Director), Charlie Leeke (Reconciliation), Nigel Parker (Outreach), Andrew Brannigan (Youth), and Mary Coles (Administrator) for holding our vision before us.

At this Synod, we also remember those who have died during the past year:

• Wing Commander J Higginson;
• Mr W J Louden
• Canon Patrick Synott
• Dean Jack Shearer
• Revd Cecil Burrowes

Our prayers are with their loved ones, and we thank them for their contribution to the life and work of this diocese.

The Bishop of Connor

Last month at the Connor Diocesan Synod, Bishop James Moore announced that he would be retiring on 18 November. Bishop 'Jimmy' must, quite simply, be one of the most loved people in the Church of Ireland. It has been a total pleasure to work alongside him across the river, and the only thing which lightens our sadness at his retirement is the fact that he is coming to live in his old Diocese of Down and Dromore. Jimmy and Mary, we thank God for your ministry and pray for a long and happy retirement among us.

Concluding remark

There are so many other important things I could have included in this Presidential Address. Some of them will emerge in the course of the Synod as we look at what has been happening in the diocese. It has been a full and busy year, indeed a full and busy four years and a bit for me, and I will happily and with confidence entrust the diocese to my two archdeacons for three months from late July as I set off to recharge my batteries on a three-month sabbatical. I know that, with the Think Again team in place and the clergy in good heart, I will come back to find the diocese more alive than ever.