Standing Committee & RB22 Jun 10

June 2010 Standing Committee News

The Standing Committee of the General Synod met in Dublin on Tuesday 15 June 2010. The Archbishop of Armagh read a statement regarding the publication of the Saville Report. He said, ‘… As we hold the victims of Bloody Sunday in our prayers let us continue also to remember the thousands of others whose suffering continues and whose memories may have been reawakened by today’s publication and the media attention it will evoke. My hope is that the lessons of the past will help us to build and sustain a better future for all our people...’ (The full statement, as well as statements made by the Bishop of Derry & Raphoe, and the Archbishops and Bishops of the Church of Ireland, are available as press releases at www.ireland.anglican.org/.) The meeting then opened with a scripture reading and prayers.

General Synod 2010
The Honorary Secretaries reported on the attendance figures for the meeting of the General Synod in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, 6-8 May 2010, which were as follows:

 
They also presented a more detailed comparative analysis of the attendance figures for previous years:

Wide-ranging discussion on the arrangements and proceedings for the 2010 General Synod took place, with constructive comments noted by the Honorary Secretaries for the future. Thanks were expressed to the Dean and staff of Christ Church Cathedral for all their help over the three days and to the Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral for the General Synod Eucharist.

It was noted that the General Synod 2010 passed a resolution to approve guidance documents for use by Church of Ireland Select Vestries or equivalent bodies registering as charities under the new charities legislation, namely: a ‘Church of Ireland Statement of Charitable Purpose’ and a ‘Church of Ireland Statement on Public Benefit’.

The dates for General Synod 2011 are Thursday 12, Friday 13 and Saturday 14 May, to be held in Armagh.

Church of Ireland Gazette
It was resolved that Mr Albert Fenton be appointed as a member of the Association of Church of Ireland Press Ltd.

Auditors
It was resolved that PricewaterhouseCoopers be appointed as Auditors of the accounts of the Representative Church Body for the year 2010, on terms to be agreed by the RCB Executive Committee, such terms to be reported to the Standing Committee.

General Synod / Standing Committee Finances
There was extensive debate around the nature of the financial pressures on and the future funding of core activities of the Church which are funded centrally, the Standing Committee Budget Sub-Committee facing requests to make additional savings. Members discussed a desire to interlock more clearly the work of the General Synod with the RCB. More broadly, there was discussion around disentangling a culture of ‘subscription’ over ‘giving’ in the Church and the encouragement of promoting a philosophy of Christian stewardship.

Child Protection Officer (RI) Review
Standing Committee resolved that the role of CPO RI be continued for a further three years subject to a review (of the role, not the post-holder) and recommended to the Representative Church Body Executive Committee that the post remain part-time on a three-year term.  It further recommended that the role description of the post be amended following the conclusions of a report of the review of the post received.

Children’s Ministry
Mr Peter Hamill reported to the Standing Committee on the progress of the Children’s Ministry Working Group. He outlined how it had carried out research and collated feedback from nearly all the dioceses across Ireland and that the process would be completed by November. He further indicated that children’s comments on church are being sought in the Autumn. There was also discussion about thinking of children’s own ministry to the Church, which should be cherished and facilitated for its own value, as well as the ministry of the Church to children.

General Synod Royalties Fund
Following a recommendation from the Central Communications Board, Standing Committee approved a payment of €1,000 from the General Synod Royalties Fund towards the publication of Churches Dedicated to St Anne by Duncan Scarlett.

Christian Aid Ireland
It was agreed that the following be nominated for consideration by the Nominations Committee for appointment to the Board of Christian Aid Ireland: Canon Timothy Kinahan, Canon John McKegney and the Very Revd Houston McKelvey.