Standing Committee & RB23 Jun 25

Standing Committee News

The Standing Committee of the General Synod met on Tuesday, 17th June 2025, in Church of Ireland House, Dublin.

The meeting was opened by Ms Hazel Corrigan with a Bible reading from Luke chapter 10 and in prayer, interceding that members would balance busyness with moments of peace and prayer, and remembering the violence and unrest affecting many people in the world.

The report of the Honorary Secretaries noted two casual vacancies – for a clerical member over 45 years for the Diocese of Meath and Kildare; and a lay member over 45 years for the Diocese of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh.

The Standing Committee approved PricewaterhouseCoopers to be appointed as auditors of the accounts of the Representative Church Body for the year 2025, on terms to be agreed by the Executive Committee and with such terms to be reported to the Standing Committee.

Members reviewed the General Synod 2025, the in–person part of which was held over two days in Lawlors Hotel in Naas, Co. Kildare, and the remote session on one evening the following week.  Satisfaction was expressed with the venue regarding the facilities, the staff and the accessibility from all parts of the island.  The successful trial of recording attendance by QR code on the Saturday was also noted, and the RCB staff’s assistance with this was gratefully acknowledged. The statement issued by the Archbishop of Armagh and the Archbishop of Dublin, to express words of comfort to the people of Gaza following a request made in the course of the business of General Synod, was noted.

The Standing Committee approved that the General Synod of 2026 will take place from 7th–9th May 2026 in the Slieve Donard Hotel in Newcastle, Co. Down, and that the General Synod of 2027 will take place from 6th–8th May in the Armagh City Hotel.

Suggested amendments to the Dignity in Church Life Prevention of Bullying and Harassment Policy were presented by the Bishop of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe and the Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, on behalf of the House of Bishops.

The Bishop of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe gave a presentation on the Armagh Agreement and the relationship between the Church of Ireland and the Moravian Church in Britain and Ireland.

That Standing Committee approved the terms of reference for the Secular Marriage Venues Working Group, arising from the related resolution of General Synod 2025.  The membership of the working group shall be appointed by the Standing Committee and shall consist of 12 members, as follows:

• two members from the House of Bishops (one from the Province of Armagh and one from the Province of Dublin);
• four clerical members of the General Synod (two from each province);
• four lay members of the General Synod (two from each province); and
• two Honorary Secretaries (one from each province, and one clerical and one lay).

Should any member of the working group cease to be a member of the General Synod before the working group has delivered its final report to the General Synod, he or she will cease to be a member of the working group, and the Standing Committee shall appoint another representative in his or her place.

The working group shall report to the Standing Committee of its progress in March 2026 and in March 2027.  The formal report of the working group shall be appended to the report of the Standing Committee to General Synod until final recommendations are made to the General Synod of 2027.

Appointments

The Revd Meurig Williams (Cork) was appointed as the Church of Ireland Reuilly representative, in succession to the Revd Christine O’Dowd Smyth.  Mr Williams will join the contact group for the Reuilly Agreement, an ecumenical agreement on issues of mutual recognition of the Anglican Churches in Britain and Ireland and the French Reformed and Lutheran Churches.

The Bishop of Cashel, Ferns and Ossory was appointed to represent the Church of Ireland at the annual meeting of European National Councils of Churches, hosted by the Conference of European Churches, to take place from Monday, 15th September, to Wednesday, 17th September 2025, in Copenhagen.

Ms Audrey Hobson was nominated as Church of Ireland representative on the Secondary Education Committee.

The meeting closed with the Grace.