Standing Committee & RB
Standing Committee News June 2026
The Standing Committee of the General Synod met on Tuesday 16th June 2026 in Church of Ireland House, Dublin.
Ms Hazel Corrigan opened the meeting with a reading from Matthew chapter 5 and a prayer for understanding, wisdom and patience for the discussion in the Standing Committee meeting.
As it was the last meeting of the Standing Committee before Bishop Pat Storey’s retirement the Archbishop of Armagh paid tribute to Bishop Storey stating that her presence, individual outlook and share of gifts at Standing Committee would be greatly missed.
The Archbishop of Armagh also mentioned that Dr Kenneth Milne has stepped down as Church of Ireland Historiographer and highlighted to Dr Milne’s extensive knowledge of historical lore and scholarship.
The Very Rev Kenny Hall, Dean of Clogher was congratulated by the Archbishop of Armagh for recently being awarded with an OBE in the field of reconciliation.
In the Honorary Secretaries report, Ms Hazel Corrigan spoke about representatives from the Church of Ireland attending different meetings of other church denominations and organisations. This included 11 representatives attending the Irish Council of Churches AGM, Dean Stephen Forde, Archdeacon Jim Cheshire and Ms Diane Ruddock attending the Presbyterian Church in Ireland General Assembly, Rev Helene Steed and Rev Martin Steele attending the Methodist Church in Ireland Annual Conference and the Very Rev Susan Green attending the General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church. Additionally Mr Roy Totten will be attending the Provincial Synod Moravian Church in Great Britain.
Resolutions and Presentations
The Standing Committee approved that PricewaterhouseCoopers be appointed as auditors of the accounts of the Representative Church Body for the year 2026, on terms to be agreed by the RCB Executive Committee, such terms to be reported to the Standing Committee.
A review of General Synod that was held in the Slieve Donard Hotel in Newcastle Co Down was discussed. It was the first General Synod to be held for three days in–person since 2019. The benefits of having the Synod in–person were highlighted as well as the music and timing of the Synod service. Some concerns were raised in relation to the location of the stands and entrance into the Synod Hall. The process of submitting amendments was also mentioned.
The Standing Committee approved that the General Synod of 2027 will take place from 6–8 May 2027 in the Armagh City Hotel and that the General Synod of 2028 will take place in Whites of Wexford on 11–13 May 2028.
The Standing Committee approved that the Guidelines and Definitions regarding a Statement of Serious Concern referred to in Section 31 of Chapter IV and Section 34 of Chapter VI of the Constitution of the Church of Ireland. This followed on from the legislation passed at General Synod 2026.
Alongside some minor amendments the Standing Committee approved the Guidelines and Support for Stipendiary Church of Ireland Clergy to be published for distribution. This document is designed to be a helpful tool that can be used by clergy.
Rev Canon Malcom Kingston provided an update on the creation of a list of potential mediation services that could be used by clergy if needed.
The Standing Committee approved the updated Terms of Reference document for the Safeguarding Board and also approved the updated Terms of Reference document for the Case Management Committee.
Mr Lyndon MacCann SC presented the Opinion of the Legal Advisory Committee. After this the Standing Committee approved that the Standing Committee receives the Opinion of the Legal Advisory Committee and instructs the Honorary Secretaries to publish the judgements of Disciplinary Tribunals and the Appeal Tribunals in accordance with this Opinion, and to produce a publication policy and explanatory guidelines consistent with the terms of this Opinion. The members of the Legal Advisory Committee were thanked for their work and expertise in drafting the Opinion and for thoroughly answering the question posed by Standing Committee at the March 2026 meeting.
The Standing Committee approved that the Standing Committee agrees the terms of reference for the review of the Priorities Fund.
An overview of the role of Assessor and the need for a Deputy Assessor was brought to Standing Committee by Mr MacCann. The Standing Committee approved the following resolutions:
· In the Standing Orders adopted by the House of Representatives of the General Synod; that in SO 5 following the words ‘the Assessor’ shall be inserted ‘and the Deputy Assessor’,
· That in SO 8 following the first occurrence of the word ‘Assessor’ shall be inserted the words ‘and Deputy Assessor, two persons’ and the words ‘a person’ shall be deleted and following the second occurrence of the word ‘Assessor’ shall be inserted the words ‘and Deputy Assessor’.
· That in SO 24(a) following the word ‘Assessor’ shall be inserted the words ‘and Deputy Assessor’
· That the index to the Constitution should be appropriately updated.
The Standing Committee were made aware of the work of the European Christian Environmental Network and approved that a €500 donation be given to the European Christian Environmental Network.
Appointments
Mrs Patsy Devoy was appointed as a member of the Marriage Council. Mrs Devoy had previously been the Mothers Union representative on the Marriage Council but has now been appointed as a member in her own right.
Professor Brian Walker was appointed as Church of Ireland Historiographer for a term of 6 years.
The Very Rev Nigel Dunne was appointed as Vice–Chair of the Complaints Committee following the retirement of Ven Leslie Stevenson.
His Honour Judge Tom Burgess has retired from the Legal Advisory Committee and there is now a vacancy on that committee.
Reports
It was reported that following the annual general meeting of the Irish Council of Churches Bishop Michael Burrows has been appointed as Vice–President of the ICC.
The Archbishop of Dublin highlighted that the report from the International Anglican Women’s Network was interesting and important.
The meeting closed with the Grace