Press Releases16 Jan 17

Allchurches Trust Supports Church of Ireland’s Long Term Church Initiative with Grant to enable Greater Connections

The Church of Ireland has been awarded a generous grant by Allchurches Trust Ltd to support its ‘Long Term Church’ initiative. The emphasis of Long Term Church is on the wellbeing and sustainability of the Church of Ireland. The specific focus of the first tranche of the Allchurches Trust grant of £60,000 (from an overall grant of £90,000 over three years) is on the development of technological structures which will serve to better connect people with the Church. Allchurches Trust is a charity which promotes the Christian faith, and may be known to many Church of Ireland members as the owner of the Ecclesiastical Insurance Group.

The work supported by the grant will share resource materials and provide central support to all parish communities across the island of Ireland via a ‘Parish Resources’ section on the main Church of Ireland website. It will also allow the Representative Church Body (RCB) to develop a database to more easily connect with Church members, such as parish treasurers, select vestries, diocesan contacts and clergy, and for these people to identify and contact each other. Fundamentally, the project will help the Church to respond to the changing requirements of its membership, reduce the risk of people, especially young people, feeling disconnected to the Church and encourage the growth of the Church’s people–network across distance, generations and differences in lifestyle through the use of online meeting facilities.

Both the Archbishop of Armagh, The Most Revd Dr Richard Clarke, and the Archbishop of Dublin, The Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson, have welcomed the grant to enable this project, saying: ‘We are delighted that the Church has received this support from Allchurches Trust. As the Church faces an increasingly secular society, the RCB needs to be equipped to support the work of the Church as it readies itself for a challenging future. This grant will greatly assist the RCB in more effectively serving the wider life, outreach and witness of the Church into the long term.’

Chairman of Allchurches Trust, Sir Philip Mawer, said, ‘Allchurches has a long and proud tradition of support for the Church of Ireland and we are delighted that our latest grant will help its people network go digital. Online communities can work for Christians too and we are fortunate to be living in an age where the spiritual as well as the physical distances between people can be shrunk with the aid of digital communications.’

Mr David Ritchie, Chief Officer and Secretary General of the RCB, says, ‘It is envisaged that the benefits of this project will be far–reaching, facilitating the RCB to develop and deliver parish resources and to improve communication within our Church community. I am also pleased that this collaboration further strengthens the relationship between the Church of Ireland and the Allchurches Trust.’