Commission on Ministry
Commission on Ministry appoints two working groups
The Commission on Ministry have appointed two new working groups to examine a vision for mobilising ministry and training and employment issues. The decision was made following a two-day meeting in the Dromantine Conference and Retreat Centre, Co Down on October 12/13th.
Under the chairmanship of the Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Rt Revd KR Good, the Commission received presentations from a number of members of the committee, including Revd Alan Abernethy, Ms Ruth Handy and Mr Andrew McNeile.
Revd Paul Hoey, chairperson of the Parish Development Working Group, was invited by the Commission to offer a presentation of the work of his committee and suggested possible links with the Commission on Ministry.
The Commission also heard from Ven Donald McLean, the Revd Canon Adrian Empey and the Revd Tom Gordon on clergy in-service training. They described how proposals for a lifelong approach to clergy training were expected to commence in 2007.
Complimenting an emphasis on training, were presentations by Revd Olive Donohoe on ?Training for Lay Ministry? and Rev Tom Gordon on ?Auxiliary Ministry?. Revd Ted Woods spoke of his experiences of collaborative ministry in Rathfarnham parish.
Concluding the meeting, the Commission appointed two small working groups to prepare reports for the next meeting. The following were appointed to the first working group entitled ?A Vision for Mobilising Ministry?:
Revd AF Abernethy (convenor)
Ms R Handy
Mr HRJ Totton
Revd ECJ Woods
The following were appointed to the second working group which is to look at training and employment issues:
Mr AN McNeile (convenor)
Revd OMR Donohoe
Revd Canon CA Empey
Rt Revd AET Harper
The Commission finally agreed the date of the next meeting would be an over-night meeting on 13/14 February 2006 in Dromantine once again.
The Commission on Ministry at Dromantine Conference Centre, Oct 2005
Left to right: Mr Roy Totten, Ven Donald McLean, Mr Derek Phillips, Ms Ruth Handy, Revd Canon Gary Hastings, Revd Tom Gordon, Revd Ted Woods, Revd Olive Donohoe, Rt Revd Alan Harper, Rt Revd Richard Henderson, Mr Andrew McNeile, Rt Revd Ken Good, Revd Canon Adrian Empey, Revd Alan Abernethy, Mr Sam Harper, Revd Paul Hoey.