Day 2
From Vision to Reality – Developments in Pioneer Ministry Highlighted
“The Spirit is at work in our communities and we are simply joining in,” Caption Alan Williamson told Synod members this afternoon (May 11) while proposing the report of the Pioneer Ministry Council.
After a video presentation, Captain Williamson outlined updates in Pioneer Ministry in the Church of Ireland. “Pioneer Ministry was launched just over two years ago by the House of Bishops with the generous support of the Representative Body. Since then, it has grown from a vision into something real and tangible, taking shape in dioceses across the island – north and south, urban and rural, large and small,” he explained.
Over the past year, there have been a number of encouraging developments:
· The Pioneer Ministry Council has been working closely with the Leadership Team to shape governance, support selection processes, and respond to the needs we’re hearing from across the Church.
· 14 diocesan Pioneer Hubs are now active, each with their own Diocesan Advocate. These hubs are starting to build community, share good practice, and offer local support to clergy and lay people who feel called to pioneer something new.
· There are nine pioneers in training, with four full–time funded pioneer ministries launched and others emerging in different forms.
He thanked the House of Bishops, the RCB and every dioceses for engaging with the work as well as the Pioneer Ministry Team, the Revd Rob Jones, Archdeacon Barry Forde and Mrs Ingrid Brennan.
“This is still the beginning. There is much to do, and much more to discover. But already, there are signs of new life, new connections, and new hope,” he said.
Seconding the report Stella Obe (Dublin) quoted Charles Dickens and said that we are currently in the ‘worst of times’.
“Now, the statistics show that we have thousands of registered Church of Ireland members, but less than 50,000 are in church on any given Sunday across our dioceses. Why is this so? This is something that we all must ask ourselves,” she said.
But she said it was not all doom and gloom because now is also the ‘best of times’ with new things happening. “What excites me about Pioneer Ministry is the fact that we are bringing about new and varied expressions of worshipping. A lot of the millennials and other lapsed church members have become somewhat disillusioned and cynical about the Churches. Who can blame them given the scandals that have rocked the Churches in recent times,” she commented.
Pioneer Ministry aimed to explore new and fresh ways of reaching out across the divide to people with little or no interest in formal congregation church, she said. Its vision was to be a movement which will offer a renewed focus for the Church to connect in a fresh way with those whom it has lost connection with as well as bringing Jesus’s message in new ways.
She said: “There’s an old cliché about how Christians should ask themselves: ‘What would Jesus do?’ I would like to think that Jesus would use the tools available in the 21st Century to find a way to bring his message in the same way he did in the 1st Century”.
Speaking to the report, the Revd Samuel Mawhinny of the Presbyterian Church brought the greetings of General Assembly and thanked the Church of Ireland for its warm reception. He said he had resonated with a lot of what has been said. He felt that the denominations were struggling and were conscious that things are not the way they were in the past but he had sensed within Synod that there is hope. He recalled arriving to ministry in Fermoy and the welcome he received from the Church of Ireland. He said that the Church of Ireland had schools, buildings in every town and people in civic life whereas he had two families as he was the first Presbyterian minister there in 37 years. He urged the Church of Ireland to recognise its strength. He spoke of the quiet revival and said that while the denominations had taken a hammering, Christ was still Christ. He said young people were looking for leadership and Jesus was the best leader. He said he believed in the power of the word of God and when the word of God is central, growth happens.
The Revd Alistair Doyle (Tuam, Killala and Achonry) said it had been a joy to observe the dream of Pioneer Ministry become a reality. He said the advocates day was a great success and it was wonderful to see Pioneer Ministry weaving itself throughout the church. He said it was wonderful to observe the work of Valerie Rait in the West of Ireland.
The Revd James Boyd (Clogher) reported on a church plant in Lisburn and said it was a joy to see lives transformed and people coming to know Jesus. There were a number of new projects coming online. In one area four parishes were cooperating to create a new worshiping community for young people, he said.
The Revd Mark Lennox (Dromore) said he was pioneer advocate for Dromore Diocese. He said the church should weep for those in our communities who were lost. Pioneer Ministry allows us to reach those who conventional church does not reach. He urged people to see pioneer ministers as equal partners in the Gospel and to support them.
Tommy Cooke (Cashel, Ferns and Ossory) said he was a Diocesan Lay Reader and said Pioneer Ministry was the coal face, the business end of our church going forward. As a lay reader he said he confidently proclaimed the Gospel but said there was a scandalous deficit in teaching the Gospel and that we were now living in an anti–Christian society.
Dean Cliff Jeffers (Cork, Cloyne and Ross) said all of this might seem overwhelming and 18 months ago his bishop challenged the diocese to set up pioneer ministry hubs. They have spent a year learning about Pioneer Minstry and now have put together a project which has been submitted to the Pioneer Council. He encouraged people to get started in the process – “you don’t have to know everything, you just have to love the Lord Jesus,” he said.
Ruth Gyves (Dublin) addressed those who might be unsure about what is going on and how it might affect their parish. She spoke about Holy Trinity in Rathmines which she said 13 years ago was a large but dying parish. Then Rob Jones and his wife started fresh expressions and they planted this church within the existing parish. “It has grown and grown from strength to strength. For the people in the parish, the traditional members, the now see growth, young people coming in their droves into the church,” she reported adding that there are young families, youth group and a young adults service. “We have a thriving church as we took a risk 13 years ago. So do not fear, it will only lead to growth and something positive in our parishes and in our churches,” she concluded.