Press Releases
Bishop of Connor looks ahead to new challenges & opportunities
In his first presidential address as Bishop of Connor, the Rt Rev Alan Abernethy stressed the importance of safeguarding planet Earth and of valuing both children and elderly people within a parish.
Addressing 350 guests at the annual Connor Synod, the Bishop spoke of his desire to make spirituality a priority in his ministry, and of the need to re-engage with a society that may consider the church to be past its sell-by date.
Bishop Abernethy was appointed Bishop of Connor by the House of Bishops of the Church of Ireland which met in Dublin on April 17. He was consecrated in St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast, on June 29 and enthroned in his Cathedral of Christ Church, Lisburn, on September 6.
The former rector of Ballyholme parish told Synod that for the last 26 years he had served in parish ministry and knew the joys and sorrows that service brings. “I understand the loneliness of leadership and the cost of caring for others. Ordained ministry is an amazing privilege but it is not without a great cost. I understand that the one negative and hurtful comment can haunt and be lost amidst the many words of encouragement. I want to be there for those who carry the burden and heat of the day,” the Bishop said.
He remembered the Rev Tom Priestly, who died in August, and asked Synod to pray for Mr Priestly’s family and for his parish of St Colman’s, Dunmurry. A silence was observed.
Looking to the future, the Bishop said: “We need to move from maintenance mode to mission and this will present new challenges and opportunities. In my lifetime society has changed dramatically and we need to find new ways of engaging and connecting with a society that can see us as past our sell-by date.”
Highlighting his desire to make spirituality a priority in ministry, the Bishop said that during Lent he intended to lead special evenings on the subject of prayer.
As Bishop, he said he wanted to stimulate discussion on how the church values the children it is responsible for, and how they can be incorporated into parish life and worship. “I have often emphasised our ministry to young people but I am now even more concerned about our ministry to and with children who become our young people,” Bishop Abernethy said.
The church also needs to find ways of ensuring it does not lose sight of its older members who have served the church faithfully for many years, the Bishop stated.
Tackling the issue of climate change, he said: “Increasingly we are becoming more and more aware of the wonder and yet the unravelling of some of the complex and interdependent aspects of planet Earth.
“I want to commend to you the work of Christian Aid as they seek to bring to our attention the need to do something to encourage government to meet their targets for cutting carbon emissions and to help us all realise there are things we can do everyday to help protect planet Earth.”
The Bishop expressed his enthusiasm for Connor’s diocesan link with the Diocese of Yei in Southern Sudan, established at last year’s Synod. “We have much to learn from people who appear to have so little and yet have so much of the joy of the Lord,” he said.
Connor’s Diocesan Synod took place in the Royal Court Hotel, Portrush.
For further information contact:
Karen Bushby,
Connor Diocesan Communications Officer
Tel: 028 4066 0798
Mob: +44 (0)7766 103880
E-mail: Connor DCO
Bishop Alan Abernethy’s full Presidential Address to Connor Diocesan Synod.
Introduction.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is with joy and trepidation that I address you as your bishop today. During the last few months I have been adjusting to so many new things and getting to know many people. I have felt bewildered at times but under girding the experiences has been a profound sense of joy at the amazing trust that has been given to me. Thank you for the welcome you have given to us as a family and to the many prayers that have been offered up for us. Please do continue to pray that I may be given wisdom as I seek to serve you and in so doing lead us all forward as a diocese. My thanks in particular to the three archdeacons who help share the care of the churches, the diocesan staff who have broken in a few bishops in their time, my secretary Rosemary Patterson who is such a gift to me and to the diocese and above all to my family for their love, patience and laughter.
Clergy.
When I received the phone call from the archbishop on the 17th April my reply was; “How can I say no”, he went on to inform me that within minutes I would be contacted by the press office and would need to inform them what my priorities would be as a bishop. I found that instinctively my first priority would be the clergy, that I wanted to be their “father in God”, to be a pastor to the pastors. For the last 26 years I have served in parish ministry and know the joys and sorrows that it brings. I understand the loneliness of leadership and the cost of caring for others. Ordained ministry is an amazing privilege but it is not without a great cost. I understand that the one negative and hurtful comment can haunt and be lost amidst the many words of encouragement. I want to be there for those who carry the burden and heat of the day. I want to walk and pray with you and offer you the support I know is necessary. Already I have visited many of you and have been humbled to see what you are doing and how you have welcomed me. Thank you to all of you who give of yourselves in serving others. Members of synod please value and appreciate those in leadership and particularly those who are ordained. The ministry of encouragement is one of the greatest gifts we have in our fellowship together.
There are issues surrounding the future training of our clergy that I have been involved with in central church. We are increasingly facing a situation where we can no longer just maintain what we have but look to how we can prepare and train for mission. We need to move from maintenance mode to mission and this will present new challenges and opportunities. In my lifetime society has changed dramatically and we need to find new ways of engaging and connecting with a society that can see us as past our sell by date. We will need to also think outside the box and be creative in all that we do. Indeed we may have to take risks for the kingdom and my prayer is that we can do that with other denominations.
I want to pass on my thanks at this point to the rural deans who are so important in carrying the responsibility for vacant parishes and for encouraging fellowship in the deaneries. Thank you for the extra workload you carry not least when parishes are vacant. Thank you also to our diocesan curate, Canon Ken Ruddock. I have been at the receiving end of his help as I have been doing some vacancy duty. I received very clear instructions of the services, the music, the readings and even a map on how to get there. Thank you for everything you do and also for how you do it with grace and care. I know you also appreciate the help you receive form retired clergy, lay readers and indeed parish readers. We are a team and thank you to everyone who plays their part.
As a diocese it was with profound shock and sadness that we learnt of the death of the Rev’d Tom Priestley. Words are inadequate as we still struggle with his death and I want this synod to send our prayers and thoughts to his family, his parents, Johnny and Jean, his brother John, sister Aisling and the family circle. I also want to note our support for the parish of St. Colman’s Dunmurry. All of us who are seeking to help have been uncertain what to do and I thank the parishioners for their patience and friendship. A special word of thanks to the rural dean, the Rev’d John Budd for his care and sensitivity.
Please will you stand as we remember and give thanks for Tom a faithful priest and friend and offer to God the pain of family and friends. We keep silence.
Prayer.
In the midst of ministry and the busyness of many of our lives there is the danger that we forget our roots, the roots of our dependence on God. One of the things I am enjoying in being a bishop is for the first time in my m ministry I have my own chapel. This is a sacred place that allows me to be still and quiet without leaving our home. I always found it difficult praying in my study as I was surrounded by so many things that distracted me. I want to make spirituality a priority in my ministry. I want to learn more of what it is to be in Christ rather than to be just busy for Christ.
Next Lent I am going to lead two evenings in the three archdeaconries on the subject of prayer. I will refer to them as schools of prayer to enable us all to look at the why and how of prayer together and learn form each other. I will lead them as a fellow struggler rather than the expert. More details will follow.
Children.
Recently someone sent me the following joke:
“Last week I took my children to a restaurant. My six-year-old son asked if he could say grace. He then said; God is great. God is good. Thanks for the food and I would thank you even more if mum gets me some ice cream. Amen.”
Along with laughter from the other customers nearby I heard a woman remark, “That’s what’s wrong with the country today. Kids don’t even know how to pray. Imagine asking God for ice cream.”
Hearing this my son burst into tears and asked “Is God mad at me?” As I assured him that God wasn’t mad at him an elderly gentleman approached the table. He spoke to my son and said: “That was a great prayer” and then in a whisper he added; “Too bad she never asks for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes.”
Naturally I bought my kids ice cream at the end of the meal. My son stared for a moment and then he did something that I will never forget. He picked up the ice cream and walked over to the woman and with a big smile said to her: “Here this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes and my soul is good already.”
To such belongs the kingdom. I find the innocence and honesty of children refreshing and yet they are often not heard. In parish ministry one of our greatest gifts is a child and every time we baptise we as congregations make promises to incorporate them into the life of the faith community. Yet there are times when that community can be very adult. I want to encourage and stimulate a discussion regarding how we value the children we are responsible for? How do we incorporate them into our parish life and worship? I have often emphasised our ministry to young people but I am now even more concerned about our ministry to and with children who become our young people.
Elderly.
In parish ministry I had also come to see the amazing value and worth of our older generation. I do not like the term “the elderly”. One of my former parishioners preferred to suggest that she was not suffering from old age but rather from youth deficiency. In Jewish culture and communities the older members are treated with great respect as they are seen to be wise and worth listening to because of their life experience. I do think we need to find ways of ensuring that we do not lose sight of those who have served God and the church faithfully for so many years. There are also imaginative ways we can help the different generations serve and help one another.
Planet Earth.
I am sure many of you watched the series of television programmes planet Earth. They highlighted the beauty, the savagery, the complexity and the wonder of this planet earth. I found it fascinating to learn more of the animal kingdom and how many species survive and how difficult some of them have to do so. The pictures of the male penguins huddled in circles at seriously sub zero temperatures to keep themselves and their eggs warm for the future survival of the species was one of the highlights. There was also the savagery of the elephants being attacked by a pride of lions. The fragility of the planet was also attested to by the melting ice cap and the polar bear really does face an uncertain future. Increasingly we are becoming more and more aware of the wonder and yet the unravelling of some of the complex and interdependent aspects of planet Earth.
I want to commend to you the work of Christian Aid as they seek to bring to our attention the need to do something to encourage government to meet their targets for cutting carbon emissions and to help us all realise there are things we can do everyday to help protect planet earth. The Rev’d Neil Cutcliffe took part in the Cut the Carbon March and he returned home last week. He with others from around the globe walked 1000 miles in 80 days to highlight these issues.
- 95% of people in the British Isles are aware of the fact of Global Warming.
- 28% are aware that it is already causing dramatic changes as we speak BUT
- Only 7% of people are aware that as individuals there is something we can do about it and it is that figure of 7% that the march hoped to change.
If you would like more information visit the website www.pressureworks.org or talk to the rector of Mossley.
I believe we are stewards, guardians of the most amazing planet earth.
Yei Diocese.
I asked recently about what had excited me in parish ministry. There are many things but in the last few years I had come to value the link that we as a parish had with Kajiado diocese in Kenya. This link was a three-way partnership that included C.M.S.I. and there help was vital and I know they will be part of our link with Yei in Sudan. We learnt much not least the importance of looking beyond our own culture and experiences to learn of how other people in very different circumstances incarnated the gospel.
Bishop Jeremiah was present at my consecration and we have very deep bonds of affection. I am excited by the link that has been established recently with Yei diocese in Sudan and look forward to the presentation this evening and I do ask for your support as we seek to develop this link. We have much to learn from people who appear to have so little and yet have so much of the joy of the Lord.
Special Thanks.
I have thanked some people already but I want to say thank you and farewell to Bishop Sam and Mrs. Noreen Poyntz as they move back to Dublin to be with their family. We thank them both for their faithful and willing service to this diocese even in their so-called retirement. We wish you well in the name of the Lord. Thank you also to my chancellor Mr Willoughby Wilson as he has decided the time has come to take more time for family and travel. Your faithful service has been appreciated and thanks for being with me today to guide me through my first synod. Thank you also to the senior registrar for 25 years service in this capacity to the diocese and indeed to the wider church. Your attention to detail has already made me feel I am on solid ground.
Conclusion.
Thank you for your welcome and your prayers I look forward to the journey ahead and ask for your patience and support. I offer myself to you as a disciple who is still on a journey of faith and for all of us I want to claim the promise that our lord has promised to be with us always. So let us journey together with Him and see where he leads us.