Standing Committee & RB
November 2009 Standing Committee News
The Standing Committee of the General Synod met in Dublin on Tuesday 17 November 2009. The meeting opened with a scripture reading and prayers. On behalf of the Standing Committee the Archbishop of Armagh expressed sadness at the recent death of the highly respected and much missed Dean Hamilton Leckey and conveyed sympathy to his family. The Archbishop also asked that the Committee’s concern and good wishes be conveyed to the Principal of the Presbyterian Union Theological College, Belfast, following the recent fire there.
Honorary Secretaries’ Report: Code of Duty and Conduct
Following the resolution of General Synod 2009 that the Standing Committee report to General Synod in 2010 on progress towards a Code of Duty and Conduct for ministering in the Church of Ireland, the Standing Committee requested that the Archbishops and Honorary Secretaries invite two people to conduct a preliminary examination of the issue to assess the scale and priorities of the work required. The Revd Terence Dunlop and Mrs Karen Erwin have agreed to conduct this preliminary examination. Mr Dunlop, who is an ordained priest of the Church of Ireland, is the Secretary of the Judicial Studies Board. Mrs Karen Erwin has been a long-standing partner solicitor and the founder of Erwin Mediation Services. They will be assisted by the Revd Stephen Farrell, curate-assistant of Taney, diocese of Dublin.
Churches Together in Britain and Ireland
The Revd Canon Robert Fyffe, General Secretary of CTBI, addressed Standing Committee on CTBI’s work and current priorities, focussing on faith and order; engagement by its 38 member Churches across the four nations and in Europe and the world (especially China); and on the dramatic effect of climate change. Canon Fyffe stressed that human thriving was not just about economics but about the spirit and the creation of communities, and that the Church was well placed to express its voice through serving the community. The Archbishop of Armagh thanked Canon Fyffe on behalf of Standing Committee for an inspiring insight into how the Church can re-imagine itself in times of dramatic change in population mobility and diversity.
New Charities Legislation
Mr Adrian Clements and Mrs Janet Maxwell gave a presentation on charities legislation and updated Standing Committee on the information meetings which have taken place in Northern Ireland over the past months. The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland invited responses to Meeting the Charity Test – Demonstrating Public Benefit and the Standing Committee approved a response to this public consultation. The response is available for viewing on the Church of Ireland website.
General Synod Royalties Fund
Standing Committee resolved that a grant of €2,500 be made from the General Synod Royalties Fund for the publication by Church of Ireland Publishing of Reader Ministry in the Church of Ireland by George Leckey; that a grant of €3,000 be made to the Four Courts Press, Dublin, to subvent the republication of the Letters of Primate Boulter 1724-42 (Eds Patrick McNally and Kenneth Milne); and that a special grant of €75,000 be made to the Allocations Committee to support expenditures in the areas of liturgy, education, the purchase of books for the RCB Library and communications for 2010.
Consultative Group on the Past
The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) invited responses to the recommendations of Consultative Group on the Past. The Church of Ireland Consultative Group on the Past Working Group prepared a response which was submitted to the NIO in the name of the Working Group for the consultation end date of 2 October 2009. Standing Committee discussed the response, thanked the Working Group for its efforts and adopted it. Standing Committee agreed that the response to the consultation be made available for viewing on the Church of Ireland website: http://ireland.anglican.org/officialsubmissions.
Civil Partnership Bill 2009
Standing Committee requested that the Church in Society Committee prepare a memorandum on the draft Civil Partnership legislation in the Republic of Ireland for discussion at its meeting in January 2010.
Interim Report from CIYD
An interim report from the Church of Ireland Youth Department was received with enthusiasm. It contained information on an encouraging level of youth work, partnerships and networks across the island, reflecting a high level of current momentum. It was noted that CIYD’s work and reputation has grown in significance throughout Ireland.
Church of Ireland Historiographer
A report was submitted by Dr Kenneth Milne, the Church of Ireland Historiographer, indicating a steady output of historical publications relating to the Church, such as St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin: A History (Eds. John Crawford and Raymond Gillespie) and The Proctor’s Accounts of the Parish Church of St Werburgh, Dublin, 1481-1627 (Ed. Adrian Empey).
Meissen
The Revd Canon Dr Ian Ellis’s report on a meeting of the Meissen Commission held in Whalley Abbey, Diocese of Blackburn, from 17 to 21 September which he attended as the Observer for the Celtic Anglican Churches was gratefully noted.
The Compass Rose Society
The Bishop of Cashel expressed gratitude for the work of the Compass Rose Society and suggested that it might be worth highlighting in future Church of Ireland-related publications. The Society was formally established in 1997 and the funds which it raises assist the ministry of the Secretariat and the Anglican Consultative Council. Church of Ireland members with an interest in its work are encouraged to seek further information via www.compassrosesociety.org
Embrace
Embrace, a group of Christians working together to promote a positive response to people seeking asylum, refugees, migrant workers and minority ethnic people in Northern Ireland has sought financial support. Standing Committee referred the request for funding to the Dioceses in Northern Ireland.
Church of Ireland Press Office.
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