This afternoon, I have the opportunity of addressing you within only days of becoming archbishop in what is any bishop’s major address of the calendar year! There are expectations that I will set out a plan for the diocese for the next few years, and that everybody can relax because we will all know exactly where we are going to go! If that is your expectation, then you are in for some disappointment! I have a great deal of listening to do so that leadership may be effective. I have started that process already. What is more, there is so much exciting and imaginative ministry and work in the diocese already that I must take all that on board as well. God uses good planning. God also uses the patient quiet and prayerful waiting upon him when no plan fits the challenge of the hour.

THANKS

So I want to begin by a word of thanks. That thanks is to the clergy and laity of the diocese who have made me so welcome – to the Dean of Christ Church who looked after our diocese so splendidly over the past few months, and organised the Enthronement last weekend in the Cathedral. The two archdeacons, each good friends and former colleagues when I served in this diocese twenty years ago, have been most helpful to me. I look forward to serving with you all in the months and years to come.

I am very honoured not only to be chosen as your Archbishop, but also to follow in the steps of Archbishop Walton Empey. We each began our ministries in St.Paul’s, Glenageary, under the late Bishop John Duggan, and we served together as members of the House of Bishops for almost seventeen years. Walton will long be remembered for his love of people, his care, his deep spirituality and his great sense of humour. We cannot thank Walton without also thanking Louie – a friend to us all, and a wonderful person in her own right. We hope that they will enjoy a long and fulfilling retirement. They have both given so much to us all.

PERSONNEL

Before proceeding to the main theme of what I want to say this afternoon, I mention some people who have or are serving in the diocese.

Two former rectors in the diocese have died, namely Canon Marcus Taylor who served for many years in Stillorgan and Blackrock, and Canon Ossie Barr, formerly of Booterstown. One of the first women to have been made Readers in the Diocese, Mrs.Daphne Wormell died, as did one clergy widow from the diocese, Mrs.Connie Clarke, widow of the late Canon Dudley Clarke of Drumcondra and North Strand and mother of Canon John Clarke of Wicklow. To the family of each we extend sympathy. May they rest in peace to rise in glory.

Among the clergy, Canon Dick Bertram of Donnybrook/Irishtown retired, as did two senior Representative Body figures from the diocese, Bob Sherwood and John Buttimore. We wish them well and a busy retirement!

I will not mention moves within the diocese, but only those coming to or going from the diocese.

The Revd Peter Smyth from Stillorgan/Blackrock has gone to Canada.

Joining us in the diocese have been the following:

Revd Olive Henderson, Priest in Charge in Rathdrum.

evd Craig MacCauley, curate in Kill O’the Grange

Revd Dr Alexander Jenson ,on the Theological College staff

Revd David Oxley, Incumbent in Santry, Glasnevin with Finglas.

The new deacons ordained this year were: Rev Sandra Hales in Lucan/Leixlip and Rev Robert Maxwell in Stillorgan/Blackrock.

To each we say welcome, and may God bless you in your ministry.

ALIENATION

At its heart, the Christian proclamation is Good News, Gospel. As the letter to the Ephesians reminds us – it is good news “to those who were near” and “to those who were far off”. In the days of the New Testament the distance between the two groups was religious and ethnic, and this unfortunately still has relevance. However this afternoon, my concern is to think of those who are described as “far off”, or those who describe themselves as being to all intents and purposes as “far off” – those who are alienated in one way or another from the mainstream of life. My concern is wider than those alienated from the churches; it is with those who are alienated within our society, and those who are on the very peripheries of society.

ALIENATION THROUGH POVERTY

Alienation comes about in many ways, but one way that it strikes home for many is through the grim reality of economic alienation – a polite word for abject poverty. We are at last being told in this Republic the truth that most have realised for a long time – the Celtic Tiger has fled our shores. What is more, many are not certain that they even got a glimpse of it! It is not hard to imagine the casualties in terms of job loss, social exclusion, and debt that will result. It is at a time like this that expectations right across society have to be realistic. In economic terms there is a question mark over the concept that a rising tide raises all ships. There is little doubt that an ebbing tide crushes the weakest and traps them most horribly in the bottom of the sea! Poverty and the risk of alienation implicit in poverty are extremely dangerous in a society where every person is “out for themselves”, for what they can get, for what rights they can demand. This is a challenge for us all at the present time.

HEALTH SERVICES

One of the most troubling aspects of an economic downtown for many people will be the fact that our health services are stretched to the very limit. We have excellent doctors and nurses in the health service, both from Ireland and overseas. Yet among these very people there is a sense of powerlessness and even alienation from the vocation to which they have committed themselves. The health services are not in trouble because of industrial unrest, but this unrest is a symptom of a service that is seriously in need of total overhaul. The layers of administration in between the Department of Health and those delivering healthcare are not proving effective, and an unwieldy administration is preventing many from receiving the very best of care. We must plead for no cuts whatever in the Health budgets. It has been proved frequently that the public are prepared to support a real attempt to provide better healthcare. An example of this is the superb public response when there has been an opportunity in one centre or another to provide advanced technology to hospitals. In these cases, a substantial amount of the funding has come directly from the local community. There is do doubt that the more involved people feel, the more they will commit themselves.

RACISM

Experience in other European countries in the past has shown that in times of recession, people become more narrowly nationalistic, more hostile to strangers, and racism rears its ugly head. This could have serious consequences for the immigrant population in our midst. Some have been doing work that Irish people were not prepared to do – and we must take great care that now people who have come from overseas are not made feel of no value. There has been a popular image in our national consciousness that the Irish have always been victims, and that we have always been bullied by those more powerful and affluent than we were. Let us take note how easily the one bullied becomes the bully, the abused becomes the abuser.

POLITICAL ALIENATION

Alienation goes further in Ireland and indeed in most of the Western world than economic and ethnic alienation. There is a political alienation of which the symptom is either apathy or anger. Those who fought hard for universal franchise in many Western countries have been betrayed by the low turnout at the polls of recent years. The memory of the struggles to include those who happened to be of the wrong social strata, wrong gender or wrong age has quickly faded. But this is a symptom of a problem rather than a cause of a problem. Apathy comes because people feel alienated from the political process, and feel that it is of little point to bother voting.

Alienation and powerlessness can easily lead to anger, and frustration, which in turn is equally dangerous to our society. This is not a specifically Irish problem, but yet it has its own features here that simply must be tackled. There is a disillusionment with politicians, which affects very negatively the many who are genuinely working in politics for the common good. We have a system of representation, which unfortunately has the effect of setting one TD against another in his or her own constituency, and this applies within political parties as much as across party divides. We reduce our politicians all too easily to messengers who will do favours for us. The possibility of corruption and self-interest is magnified as this occurs. Tribunals will expose the wrongdoers, but is anything being done to address the wider issues? The costly series of Tribunals have perhaps little more to contribute. What must now be tackled is the issue whether we have serious flaws in our structures that make corruption that much more likely. No society remains intact for very long with the level of scandal that has apparently been endemic in our public life.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Alienation constantly rears its head in Northern Ireland too. It is not my intention to use my office to make pronouncements on Northern Ireland, except inasmuch as events there impinge on us, or if we can ease the situation there, and encourage the many that are working for peace and reconciliation. Few would deny that the nationalist population were alienated during the Stormont days. That structure came to an end about thirty years ago. The Anglo-Irish Agreement and the Good Friday Agreement each were intended to point to a new way forward. We have in the Republic made a positive contribution to the Peace process. We do the Peace process a grave injustice if we do not recognise very honestly that it has serious deficiencies. The Unionist population is experiencing a significant degree of alienation at the present time. This is not a Protestant/Catholic divide; this is about the identity of the majority population in Northern Ireland. The isolation of the Unionist population, in that they have nobody to speak for them on the international scene except themselves, is causing deep anger and hurt, and it is being expressed in all sorts of different ways. It is easy from this distance to condemn the symptoms of alienation. It is far more difficult to address the causes. I would call upon those who are working so hard in Dublin, and also in London, on the Peace process to address this issue of Unionist alienation with far greater urgency than heretofore. There can be no real peace in Ireland until the two political traditions in Northern Ireland really begin to understand each other and to hear the fears of one another. This cannot happen when those of one persuasion feel that they have given everything away, and that they are still not being heard.

NICE TREATY

I wish to address one aspect of the forthcoming Nice Referendum. The outcome of this important Referendum could be determined not by the real issues, but rather by the very apathy or anger already referred to. There is a sense of alienation in European affairs as viewed from this island of Ireland. We must be honest that we were all very good Europeans when we were among the poorest parts of what was then the European Community. We gained so much, particularly in the areas of agriculture and infrastructure. The story is now different. Many more nations, far worse off than us, as well as far larger than us, have all appeared on the scene awaiting entry. We see our own influence waning, and we see more of European directives than of structural funding and agricultural subsidies. Coupled with the general alienation from political structures, the Nice vote could be determined by apathy or anger rather than an engagement with the real issues.

Through my involvement across the last four or five years with the Nordic and Baltic Churches who with us Anglicans in these islands are part of the Porvoo Communion of Churches, I have had occasion to visit some of the states which were formally part of the Eastern block. I have heard it expressed by ordinary people, by church leaders, and by senior political figures that it is vital for some of these countries to enter the European Union. They are feeling isolated as being no longer part of anything larger, and more importantly their freedom of the last decade or more is very fragile, and there are many that would suck them back into totalitarianism. They see membership of the European Union being a real step forward and an under girding of the freedom that they have achieved only within the last decade. They are asking questions that come down very simply to “What is Ireland now doing about this?”

It is vital that people in the Republic do not let apathy determine the result. On the other hand, it is vital that anger and frustration, and tough economic realities do not allow a vote out of mere selfishness. Whatever way a person votes, let that vote be thoughtfully worked through, but in the realisation that our domestic scene is not all that counts.

THE CHURCH’S RESPONSE

I have spent much time this afternoon identifying areas in which alienation is experienced in our society and nation. But this is something that we cannot speak about effectively unless we see how that is tackled within the life of the Church, and in our own case within the Church of Ireland in this united dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough.

DIOCESAN FORUM

Last year the Diocesan Forum took place. It provided a positive and welcome opportunity to involve people in the life and witness of the church, in ways far beyond that provided for in Synodical structures. It is encouraging today seeing the participation of so many people in a Diocesan Synod, which is a serious commitment of time by busy people. This is not taken for granted, but is deeply appreciated. In most dioceses, there is also the feeling that participation in the life of the Church in the parish and diocese goes beyond the specific areas of the concerns of the Select Vestry or of the Diocesan Synod. People are genuinely concerned that there is a vision to be shared of what the Church must be, and where the Church must be active into a new millennium.

SUMMIT ON MINISTRY

People are concerned too that the ministry of the Church receive a new focus – and this was so apparent in the recent Summit on Ministry bringing together representatives of each diocese. From that Summit, I have been given two words by participants – Flexibility and Collaboration. The more that I reflect on those two words, they convey to me the heart of what the Spirit is saying to the Church of Ireland at the present time. Flexibility infers openness to new opportunities, and a discerning where God is in the situations that we encounter. Collaboration is at the heart of Christian discipleship – being workers together – bound together in a common mission – respecting the contribution of each. It involves clergy and laity together, it involves trust, it involves the encouragement of one another, it involves the development of gifts, the provision of training, the affirming of each part of the living body of Christ. There certainly could not be priorities more necessary to the Church today. It has strong ecumenical overtones, and we welcome the presence of a Methodist representative at this Synod, reminding us of our Covenant of collaboration.

RESPONSE TO THE FORUM

The Diocesan Forum does not stand in isolation from what is happening throughout the Church of Ireland, but what it does do is bring into sharp focus the areas in which there is something that under the hand of God we can and must do together.

I have studied the reports of the Forum. There is a wealth of material and ideas to be digested, and all that I can do is to offer some general comments about the way in which I hope and believe that we might bring it all forward. Those areas not mentioned are not deliberately ignored. They are areas in which I must do a lot more listening and listen to those concerned with their development. I mention three areas from the Forum report that I want to encourage strongly:

PRIORITIES TO BE PURSUED

FAITH FORMATION

(a) The first is Faith Formation. It is exciting to hear the work that is being done already in adult Christian education in the diocese. This has highlighted the need to look afresh at primary faith formation itself. This includes issues of child ministry, youth ministry, preparation for Confirmation, the nurturing of young adults, and the primary evangelism of those drawn towards faith later in life. With the right people given the responsibility for each aspect of this work of the diocese, it would be one of the most exciting investments, both financial and spiritual, that we could make. The work on Youth Ministry, on a Confirmation Programme, and on Faith Development all belongs closely together and will receive any encouragement that I can give.

ORDAINED MINISTRY

(b) The next area of concern, though not in any order of importance, is the Ordained Ministry. I see words like leadership, motivation, spiritual support come to the fore here. I also see the link between clergy and laity brought out clearly in collaborative ministry and issues in social and community ministry. These all belong together. I make no apology for the fact that one of my prime responsibilities as a bishop is for the care and support of the clergy. This does not mean support over against anybody else; it means support of a pastoral, spiritual and practical nature. The ordained ministry is less attractive to many today, and it is often spiritually draining for those involved in it. The challenge of ministering in a situation in which more than ever is demanded, and where the degree of marginalisation is increasing is more than some can bear. We must commit ourselves as laity and as clergy to pray for each other, but also to provide the practical and spiritual resources that are being highlighted.

WORSHIP

(c) The third area of concern that I will mention that comes through from the Report of the Forum is Worship. Worship of God is not only the focus of our activity; it is also the way in which many encounter the Christian community. The development of worship, the variety of liturgy, the message of worship, the attractiveness of worship – these are all priorities for the dioceses and for the parishes. It is of particular concern to me as a bishop that the Church should be encouraged to offer what is best to God, whatever our particular tradition, and that we should understand the richness of our various experiences of worship. In two years time, we will have a new Book of Common Prayer. This could be just a new book, or it could be an opportunity for a real renewal in worship. Let us make sure that it is just that.

CONCLUSION

Turning now from the Forum itself and bringing my address to a close. I would travel a little further on the subject of worship. Worship today if it is to serve the Lord of the Church must be accessible to people. This does not mean that it always has to be in one particular mood or another, it does not always have to be simple, it does not always have on the other hand to be elaborate and formal – but it must be welcoming. If our worship is not welcoming, then our parish church is not welcoming, and then our parish community is not welcoming.

My vision for the Church of Ireland today is of a Church that is welcoming to all who come to find meaning, and to meet with God. But it cannot end there; it is only worth being welcomed if there is really something to offer. The living Lord of the Church may be seen in many different ways, encountered in countless forms, but at the end of the day we only have Jesus Christ to offer to a needy world.