Irish Times Notes12 Jan 19

Church of Ireland Notes from ‘The Irish Times’

SEARCH Colloquium

‘Developing Ministry: What is the Spirit Saying to the Church?’ is the subject for this year’s SEARCH Colloquium, which will be held in partnership with TCD Chaplaincy on 30 March in TCD’s Long Room Hub. 

Canon David Hewlett, Principal of the Queen’s Foundation in Birmingham, and a former Lecturer in Systematic Theology in the Church of Ireland Theological College, will be the keynote speaker at the opening session. Dr Hewlett’s theme will be ‘Radical Challenge and New Possibilities’. There will be contributions from Bishop Michael Burrows, Chairman of the Commission on Ministry, and the former Chairman, Bishop Ken Good, and responses from a panel of the Ven Andrew Forster, Canon Gillian Wharton, the Revd Rob Jones and the Revd Abigail Sines.

In the second session, ‘The Path to Effective Ministry’, there will be presentations on vocation by Canon David Gillespie and the Revd Cathy Hallissey, and on pathways to training by Canon Maurice Elliott, with responses from the Revd Dr William Olhausen, Canon Kevin, Ms Uta Raab, the Revd Willie Nixon and the Revd Lynne Gibson.

After lunch there will be a session on ‘Deployment – the Right Person in the Right Place Under the Right Conditions’ – chaired by the Bishop of Derry with contributions from the Ven, Wayne Carney, the Ven Robert Miller and the Very Revd Susan Green.

The final session will deal with support, spirituality and self–care for clergy and lay ministers. Chaired by the Ven. Leslie Stephenson, this session will include contributions from the Revd Bruce Pierce, the Very Revd Maria Jansson and the counsellor Laurie Randall.

To enrol for the one–day colloquium, please contact SEARCH’s treasurer, Mr Michael Denton, at subscriptions@searchjournal.ireland.anglican.org. Including lunch and mid–session refreshments, the day costs €35: concessions are available.

The proceedings of the colloquium will be published in the summer issue of SEARCH and those wishing to subscribe to the journal should contact Michael Denton. The annual subscription, for three issues per annum, is €22/£19 with a special student rate of €11/£9.50. SEARCH is the only Church of Ireland journal which deals with theological and related issues and ought to be required reading for ordinands, bishops and clergy and all laity who wish to be informed about key issues in the life and witness of the Church.

Next Friday at 2.30pm there will be a service in St Patrick’s cathedral, Dublin, to celebrate the 350th anniversary of The King’s Hospital, Dublin. Founded as the Hospital and Free School of King Charles II, Oxmanstown, the school was for long associated with Thomas Ivory’s beautiful building in Blackhall Place, now the headquarters of the Incorporated Law Society, where many country Protestants spent their formative years. KH now occupies spacious modern buildings and grounds in Palmerstown, where under the guidance of the Chaplain, Canon Peter Campion, Precentor of St Patrick’s cathedral, it continues to provide for the spiritual as well as the educational needs of many young Church of Ireland people.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins next Friday and continues until 25 January. In Dublin and Glendalough the inaugural service for WPCU 2019 will take place in the Church of St John the Baptist, Seafield Road, Clontarf, on Friday evening at 8pm. This service is organised by Dublin Council of Churches and all are welcome to attend. The theme of WPCU 2019 is ‘Only Justice’ based on Deuteronomy 16:18–20: “Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue.”  Materials have been prepared by Christians from Indonesia.