Wednesday 12th June 2002

The church is growing faster than it has ever done in its 2000 year history and in the Anglican part there are nearly 8000 new adult believers each day converted to Jesus Christ and around 400 new Anglican congregations being planted every week somewhere in the world.

These were the figures presented by Bishop Derek Eaton, Bishop of Nelson, New Zealand, preaching yesterday at the consecration of the Rt Rev Ken Good as the new Bishop of Derry and Raphoe in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh.

Bishop Eaton spoke around the theme “What on earth is the church for?” and said the answer was within the three dimensions of love – love of God, love of neighbour and love for one another.

In loving God Christians are called to worship and to holiness.

He said: “I have a sneaking suspicion that God doesn’t really care whether we are worshipping Him in silence or banging a tambourine or an acoustic guitar or playing a beautiful pipe organ. God doesn’t care how ‘high’ it is or how ‘low’ it is. How dressed up we are or whether worship is with a prayer book or an overhead projector. We will all have our preferences and we can become very narrow minded about these things. But God is asking how much love is there in our worship?”

As for holiness the Bishop said: “The world isn’t particularly interested or concerned about holiness. It doesn’t like the word holiness. It laughs at it. It has a musty old-fashioned smell about it. But the word ‘holiness’ is such a positive word in Scripture. It’s not negative at all. It simply means ‘God-like’ – ‘Christ-like’. Bourgeois respectability or middle-class morality or just being nice is no substitute and neither is being religious.”

In loving our neighbour Bishop Eaton said the Church is for those outside, people who never darken the doors of church buildings.

“Jesus used his hands for two things – to serve people and to save them. He used them with water to wash dirty feet and he allowed cruel nails to be driven through them. These are the two things we are called to do for our neighbours. To serve them and in a sense to save them. The parable of the Good Samaritan is enough to tell us about service. But we dare not stop there – men and women do not live by bread alone. We must have evangelism – the sharing of our faith. We have a solemn task and sacred responsibility of bringing people to God,” he said.

Bishop Eaton concluded that the Church was a community where we are to learn to love and respect one another.

“That’s so important across our differences and disagreements,” he said. “We may have beautiful buildings. We may have fine strategies. We may have great worship and yet fail miserably. Jesus said that, ‘it is by your love for one another that the world would know.’ We must take Jesus seriously. Therefore the Church must foster sound teaching and fellowship.”

Bishop Eaton spent 20 years in North Africa and Egypt as a missionary before being made Bishop of Nelson Diocese in New Zealand. In recent years church attendance in the Diocese of Nelson has increased by some 47% and is one of the fastest growing dioceses in the Western World with much of that growth among young people.

Archbishop Robin Eames, Primate of All Ireland, who was assisted by the bishops of the Church of Ireland, conducted today’s consecration service. Mr Charles Payne, Principal of Ashton Comprehensive School, Cork; Mr Mark Patterson, Presenter BBC Radio Foyle and the Rev Shirley Kingston, Auxiliary Priest, Dunganstown Union, Cork, read the lessons.

The ecumenical visitors were the Rev Alistair Dunlop, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Rev Harold Good, Methodist Church in Ireland and Monsignor Ignatius McQuillan, Derry Diocese.