Press Releases31 Mar 04

'Trailblazer' ideas on ministry go to Synod

?TRAILBLAZER? IDEAS ON MINISTRY GO TO SYNOD

The Church of Ireland General Synod meeting in Armagh in May will be challenged to set a new agenda for change in the church?s ministry over the next ten years.

Speaking today at the conclusion of a series of consultations with representatives of Church of Ireland parishes and dioceses which began in September 2002, the chairman of the church?s Commission on Ministry, the Rt Rev Richard Clarke, Bishop of Meath and Kildare, said: ?We have been on a journey discussing, listening, learning and evaluating the Ministry of the Church of Ireland. Now we have reached a milestone when words need to be turned to actions. It is time to connect our vision and ideas of ministry to the whole church.?

Bishop Clarke said that the Commission on Ministry is to make a presentation to the 650 clerical and lay members of the Church of Ireland General Synod meeting in Armagh from 11 to 13 May 2004. The presentation is expected to set out challenging questions about the theology of ministry as well as proposals for new initiatives in lay and ordained ministry.

?I anticipate that this presentation and subsequent debate at General Synod will suggest an agenda for change and restructuring of the ministry over the next ten years. It is our aim to be a church that knows what it is doing and does it supremely well,? said Bishop Clarke

Trailblazers

Many delegates involved in the consultations have expressed satisfaction at how the meetings inspired and developed ideas and suggestions for the future shape of ministry.

Rev Dr Susan Patterson, Kilmore, said the consultations could produce a serious challenge to the present structures. She said: ?I sense that we could be prepared to challenge some of the enshrined structures and beliefs about ministry. It may be that the Church of Ireland could become a trailblazer for the whole Anglican Communion. That excites me.

?We may be prepared to do a new thing led by the Holy Spirit. A lay-ordained leadership team ? why not? I am in charge of eight parishes. Why shouldn?t lay people be in leadership roles??

Carolyn O?Laoire, Dublin said: ?I am delighted that we have moved to looking at ministry more theologically. I believe strongly in the priesthood of all believers. There are so many different types of ministry, a whole diversity of possibilities. Ministry is a way of living. The laity is acknowledging that they have been too passive and are now exploring their role.?

Former headmaster Bill Frizelle, Armagh, a Diocesan Lay Reader and a member of General Synod said: ?I see the rector as the leader. A man or woman set apart, a person ordained for a specific Eucharistic function in the church. He or she is also a focal point in the community ? a people person ? who can communicate with everyone.

?Of course people need to be trained and one top priority for me is an effective selection process for ordinands. The selection criteria need to take account of candidate?s potential as a leader and manager as well as the validity of vocation. In the past I have been puzzled by some of the decisions arrived at by selection panels.?

Exploring

Rev Stephen Forde, Larne, was stimulated by the presentations and group discussions. ?We have begun to get to the deep questions?, he said. ?This process has allowed this to happen and it is a challenging experience. In the Diocese of Connor, with 14 vacancies at present, and in the church in general we are facing the reality of reduced clergy numbers. The parochial system is close to breaking point and amalgamation is not the answer. There are issues that all believers have to face.

?We need to be exploring different models of ministry and setting up pilot projects. That?s not a matter of spreading the clergy around to do the same things. We need to change what the clergy do and change people?s understanding of their ministry in the church. The popular perception is of clergy being providers and nominal members being consumers.. That needs to change.?

Archdeacon Bantry White, Cork, recognized the widening responsibilities in ministry and called for a range of training for clergy and lay people. He said: ?At the start I was not a great fan of this process but it has got better with each meeting. It is emerging that the church has to be more businesslike in the way it meets social and legal responsibilities. The Bishop?s responsibility, for example has been greatly enhanced by such things as Safeguarding Trust and related issues, patronage of schools, unauthorized ministry, expectations of the law and requirements of statutory services for training in certain areas such as pastoral visiting in hospitals. These things demand a managerial style and discipline.?

Gifts

Canon Ken Kearon, Irish School of Ecumenics, recognised the emerging consensus that ministry is a function of every baptised member of the Church. ?Ordination is a particular role within the Church. We can learn lessons from the business world but we must be careful not to turn the Church into a business. The Church is more like a movement rather than a business.?

He added: ?It is interesting to hear that ?pastor? may not be the ideal model of ministry because it implies a passive reception by the congregation. Also the idea of ?priest? being only one of the gifts within the community of believers.?

However there is an urgent need to find ways of relating the vision of change and development to parishes, said Canon Alan Abernethy, Ballyholme.

?We could easily spend all day talking about these things but we must get on with managing pilot projects and exploring different models of ministry. We need to test these things. It?s not a matter of trying to find one right answer; there may be several answers. It?s exciting ? exploring how to make it happen. Many new ideas are already up and running, not least in relation to the role of the Select Vestry, ? he said.

Brian Freeman, Dublin, who spent his career in the insurance business, welcomed the fact that the debate on ministry had moved on to dealing with specifics.

He said: ?I was interested in the question ?does the rector have to be ordained?? That?s an obvious question that doesn?t as yet have an answer. I was also encouraged by the fact that we got down to parish level with discussions on what incumbents need in terms of skills and qualities to manage a parish. I would encourage more lay support for clergy and I was a little surprised to hear that in some parishes that is not happening. I?d like to know more about what is happening and why. It seems there are still parishes where the clergyman is expected to do everything. That?s not on.?

He added: ?It was good to link the visions of ministry with practical ideas. I think we have moved beyond visions and I can now relate much better to the issues around ministry.?

Diversity

Businessman Tony Forbes, Armagh, a member of General Synod and a member of the Church of Ireland Gazette Management Board, held out little hope of real progress in developing new models of ministry without the bishops actively driving the process.

?What is going to happen after General Synod?? he asked. ?That will be the real test for all that has been done so far. One key factor is the backing of all the bishops for change. In business the board of directors need to be going in the one direction in order to reach milestones and targets. How do you achieve change? Choose leaders, empower the laity and release finance?.

Rev Ted Woods, Dublin, said that the demand for strong leadership in the parish situation is now urgent. ?In responding to the challenge of change we must be prepared to develop in terms of diversity. It?s going to be messy in the sense that in one parish a strong directional leadership will be necessary, in another the leader may not be ordained and in yet another group style of leadership may emerge. We are moving out of the one style, one model period. We need to experiment.

?We need to begin with a proper statistical survey of religious beliefs and practices. The results of such a survey could reveal an even more urgent situation than we imagine at present. ?The Hard Gospel? scoping study is a good model to develop and apply to a wider brief.?
Bishop Michael Jackson, Clogher, concluded: ?Collaborative ministry will make heavy demands of lay and ordained people. The Commission is suggesting that we seek to discern diaconal, priestly and episcopal gifts in the whole people of God alongside those three ministries as historically intrinsic to the life of the Church of Ireland.