Standing Committee & RB25 Sep 18

September 2018 Standing Committee News

The Standing Committee of the General Synod met on Tuesday, 18th September 2018, in Church House, Dublin. Canon Gillian Wharton opened the meeting in prayer. The Archbishop of Armagh paid tribute to Dr Paul Harron, who will be leaving the role of Church of Ireland Press Officer this autumn, to take up a new position in another organisation. He remarked that Dr Harron had given tremendous service to many members of Standing Committee and also to the Church of Ireland at large.

Safeguarding

As previously reported, the Standing Committee approved Adult Safeguarding: The Church of Ireland Code of Good Practice at its April 2018 meeting, subject to some further clarification. The September meeting approved amendments to the Adult Safeguarding policies and the revised Safeguarding Trust child protection policies for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland respectively, the updated terms of reference for the Church of Ireland Safeguarding Board, and the Church of Ireland Child Safeguarding Statement (as required by law in the Republic of Ireland).

Stipends

The Standing Committee approved recommendations, by the RCB Stipends Committee and the Representative Body, for minimum approved stipends (MAS) with effect from 1 January 2019 i.e. increases of 2.5% in Northern Ireland and 1% in the Republic of Ireland to reflect the Consumer Price Index measure of inflation. The MAS will be £29,603 in Northern Ireland and €37,855 in the Republic.

Synodical representation

A report was received from the Working Group on Synodical Representation, which met for the first time on 4th September 2018. Canon Wharton reported that the meeting was positive and had carried out a thorough analysis of the original bill and the proposed amendments as tabled at the 2018 General Synod; a further meeting of the Working Group will be held on 4th October 2018 and this will be followed by a special meeting of the Standing Committee to be held at Taney Parish Centre, Dublin, on 12th November 2018.

Budgets

Ms Hazel Corrigan reported on applications for funding from various committees and boards for 2019 which had been considered by the Budget Sub–Committee, which recommended that all amounts requested be met in full: a total of €312,549, representing a 2.5% increase from 2018. It was resolved that these recommendations be adopted and forwarded to the RCB Allocations Committee. These will support the Church’s work across a range of areas of mission and ministry, including Children’s Ministry projects, worship resources, and training courses and events for clergy and lay members.

Publishing

The Braemor Studies series, published by Church of Ireland Publishing, is a selection of dissertations by Masters (MTh) students of the Church of Ireland Theological Institute. Standing Committee was informed that two Braemor Studies have been selected for publication this year: Infertility to IVF by the Revd Nigel Cairns, and Mind and Ministry by the Revd Rebecca Guildea.

Appointments

The Honorary Secretaries reported on a strong level of interest and a large number of high–quality expressions of interest for the new Consultative Group on Disability. These will now be given due consideration by the Honorary Secretaries, to reflect skills and experiences in this area of service, and recommendations will be brought to the November meeting of Standing Committee.

Ms Zephryn Patton was appointed to the Church and Society Commission (to serve until 2020) and Standing Committee also endorsed the co–option of Mrs Ethne McCord to the same Commission. Mr Wilfred Baker, Ms Hazel Corrigan, the Ven George Davison, and Canon Andrea Wills were appointed to serve on the Budget Sub–Committee (also until 2020). The Ven Robert Miller and Mr Richard Codd were nominated, for appointment by the Archbishops and Bishops, to serve on the Governing Council of the Church of Ireland Theological Institute (for the triennium beginning in January 2019).

The meeting closed with the Grace.