Press Releases
Armagh Diocesan Synod, 2007
ARMAGH DIOCESAN SYNOD 2007
Tuesday, 16 October 2007 : The Synod Hall, Armagh
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS
The Most Reverend Alan Harper.
Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of All Ireland
My dear sisters and brothers in Christ, this is the first meeting of the Diocesan Synod of Armagh that it has been my privilege to address as archbishop. My very first words must be words of thankfulness and delight at the welcome I have received in the diocese since coming here and especially gratitude to so many people who have offered to Helen and to me their support, advice and guidance.
I want, particularly, to recognize the support of senior colleagues in ministry, especially the Ven. Raymond Hoey and the Very Revd Patrick Rooke, together with the Archdeacon’s colleagues as Honorary Secretaries, Mrs Elizabeth McClure, Mr Ivan Davison and Canon Terry Scott. I also want to recognize with gratitude the support of the Diocesan Secretary, Mrs Jane Leighton with her assistant Mrs Jennifer Kirkland. In addition, I am fortunate in having received the guidance of Mrs Roberta Haffey, who stayed on after the retirement of Lord Eames to see this “new boy” into post. In Mrs Pamela Hutton, I am confident that I have acquired a most able colleague as many of you will already have discovered.
All in the diocese were, I know, delighted that Mrs Haffey was honoured by Her Majesty the Queen in being appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire. We were equally delighted that Lord Eames, himself, should have been recognised personally by the award of the Order of Merit. On behalf of Armagh Diocese I warmly congratulate them both.
NEW BEGINNINGS
The community
The Year of Grace 2007 has been a year of new beginnings in many spheres. Obviously I am conscious of new beginnings for me and for the Diocese of Armagh, but it has also been a momentous year for the whole of Ireland as a result of the emergence of partnership government in Northern Ireland. Since Tuesday 8th May (which, coincidentally was the first day of General Synod) an Executive and a Legislative Assembly has gone to work and the world has been amazed by the apparent transformation of attitudes among bitter political enemies. If there was something of the character of a “love-in” at the beginning, good will and honest intention has translated into the beginnings of solid achievement in government. It would be easy to be beguiled into thinking that it will all be plain sailing from here on. It will not. In particular, the residual issue of the dismantling of paramiltarism in all its forms remains a work in progress, but it is just that – a work in progress.
There has been a particular focus in the past three months on the Ulster Defence Association. In respect of the members of the UDA I want directly to say a number of specific things. First, I believe that you should believe that the war is over. Therefore, whatever justification you may have pleaded for retaining weapons of lethal force, that justification no longer exists.
I recognize, however, that there are pressing issues facing the community in loyalist areas, issues that affect the future of your own families and friends, which require to be addressed with very great urgency. I do not believe, however, that retaining weaponry will make any contribution whatsoever to addressing and solving those problems.
I do recognize that, after years of conflict and the experience of a culture of lawlessness and criminality, it is difficult to feel sufficiently secure and sufficiently respected to set your weaponry aside. However, weaponry has nothing to contribute to transforming the life of Loyalist communities.
Nevertheless, there is something that has a major contribution to make, and that “something” goes under the broad name of “community development”. First, therefore, I want to salute all those ordinary (but actually extraordinary) people who are committed to working to bring transformation to the communities to which they belong. I am grateful when government and other agencies equip people and trust people enough to engage in the hard work of community development. Nor do I exclude from this the work, which I have seen at first hand, of the Conflict Transformation Initiative (CTI) that began its work only last March and from which, I understand, funding has been or is to be withdrawn.
Controversy has surrounded the Conflict Transformation Initiative because it has attempted to address community issues in areas highly influenced or dominated by the UDA. What I have seen indicates to me that the 15 member staff of the CTI has the capacity to reach elements of the loyalist community who are hardest of all to reach. The criticism that the CTI has received focuses upon links with the UDA. Let us be clear: those links exist, both in the genesis of the proposal to put the initiative in place and in the personnel, some but not all of whom have associations with the UDA. However, the raison d’etre of the CTI was to transform the mindsets and the expectations of members of the UDA and of the communities within which they are embedded, and to offer them some hope of taking their place in society without the motivation to descend to illegality. The CTI was intended to be a process through which people who have been left behind, or have otherwise resorted to anti-social actions and engagements, can re-establish self respect, acquire life and work skills, re-connect with the true character of their cultural heritage, relate respectfully and peaceably with their Catholic neighbours and move on from the destructive and ultimately sterile ways of the past. It seems to me that this was an experiment worth pursuing. My appeal to the UDA is not to be deflected from the path of decommissioning at the earliest possible moment.
The jigsaw of our community, after decades of destructive conflict, is composed of many individually shaped pieces. Fitting those pieces together into a cohesive and coherent whole is the work of every citizen but especially the responsibility of those in government. This will not happen and cannot happen overnight. Each fragment will require to be given individual attention as ways are sought to find for each a fitting place. That work was not concluded on May 8th, it was only begun on that day. The hard work begins when the euphoria of a breakthrough has ebbed away. We are now in that phase of patient hard work. The people of God must facilitate that work by their words and actions and also by their constant prayers. Those words attributed to Sir Frances Drake spring to mind:
Lord God, when thou givest to thy servants to endeavour any great matter, grant them also to know that it is not the beginning but the continuing of the same until it be thoroughly finished that yieldeth the true glory; through Him who, for the finishing of thy work, laid down his life for us, our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEW BEGINNINGS
The Diocese
I want now to address my vision for the Diocese of Armagh within the context of this new Ireland, north and south, in which we find ourselves and wherein we are called upon to be salt and yeast and light as fellow workers with Christians of other denominations in the mission of God through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The diocese is the local expression of the universal Church. It is formed of diverse individual parishes which work together for the common good in the service of the Gospel. Each parish ministers in the particular place wherein it is set and each contributes its particular gifts to the mission of the whole. Thus we belong with and to one another within the Body of Christ. As we seek to serve and to support one another, so we face common challenges and we are stronger and more effective in confronting those challenges when we tackle them together.
I want to identify a number of fresh challenges, new situations, which face us as a diocese. I also want to outline the responses I propose to initiate. Here is a summary list of issues that I believe require our attention as a diocese:
- The challenge of secularism and the priority of mission
- The development of a spirituality for the 21st century
- The impact of inward migration
- The challenge of climate change and environmental responsibility
- Suicide and self harming behaviour, especially amongst young and young adult males
- Related to 5 above, the issue of problematic drug and alcohol abuse
- The development of a wider vision of the Church
It is my intention to invite the Diocesan Council to consider these issues, but before they do I propose to set up working groups to work on these matters and draw together reports and recommendations to be taken to the Council. We need to develop a culture and a strategy for mutual consultation, support and assistance – a truly diocesan response – to each of these issues.
Let me say something, briefly on each one.
1. The challenge of secularism and the priority of mission.
The task of the Church is to enable people to catch a glimpse of the glory of God and to point them towards Christ as its clearest and most compelling expression. We attempt to do this Sunday by Sunday in our worship and that is what we should be about in our daily encounters with those whom we meet.
We need to acknowledge, however, that the number of people who voluntarily seek us out and find a place for themselves in Sunday worship is in decline. How easy would it be for a stranger to come in, off the street, on a Sunday morning (even if they got the time right) and immediately join in our acts of worship? How welcome might they feel? Would they know what books to use or feel at home with the liturgy? Or would they need guidance to make anything at all of what goes on? What do we need to do to make our churches more inviting?
That is only the start of the business, however. Most people with no church connections will never even consider crossing the church threshold. They have all sorts of (generally) inaccurate or inadequate views of what church is and who Christians are. They also think we spend the better part of our time and energy squabbling and arguing. If they concede the possibility of God at all, or are seeking to give expression to their spiritual longings, they are put off not by Christ but by those who claim to follow Christ. I know, they have often told me so!
Furthermore, there exists a militantly secularizing lobby that wants nothing to do with the Church and to eliminate its influence, seeing us (wrongly) as reactionary and opposed to human rights and the freedom of the individual.
The first thing to say is that we should not panic about this. Nor should we circle the wagons and become defensive. We have a faith which requires us to serve and love even those who have no time for who we are or what we do. So we should focus on adding value to people’s lives, especially those who are most vulnerable and damaged.
We should also note something else: except amongst those who have blatantly suppressed their instincts, there is a longing to find a spiritual anchorage point, to find meaning and value and purpose in existence. They are our target group, together with those who have wandered off without thinking much about it and might welcome the opportunity to be reconnected to the life of Christ they once knew.
A key player in evangelization and mission is and will increasingly be the witness of the cathedrals and especially our Cathedral Church of St Patrick, Armagh. Why? Because people actually seek it out. They are looking for the heritage of sacred space associated with the unique Apostle to the Irish People. Our cathedral has, perhaps, the key pivotal role to play in energizing the mission of the whole diocese and creating contact with those who know not God but seek Him. It is already a place not just of tourism but of pilgrimage. There are rich opportunities here on which to build. But, and there is a big but, the resources of our diocesan cathedral are inadequate in all but the quality of the cathedral team.
I therefore propose to put together a working group to consider the challenges of secularism and mission, and especially the role of our cathedral in that, and to report their conclusions to the Diocesan Council for discussion and action.
2. I turn next to the Development of a Spirituality for the 21st century. The first thing to say is how welcome is the initiative of the Dean and Chapter in appointing the Revd Grace Clunie to be Director of Celtic Spirituality in Armagh Cathedral. It is a brilliant initiative and a brilliant appointment. It is also inextricably linked with the imperatives of mission. I shall ask the group to be established to address secularism and mission also to consider how we might go about renewing and developing an authentic contemporary spirituality with space for prayer, quiet reflection and fresh engagement with the Holy Scriptures.
3. I mentioned the Impact of Inward Migration. I believe that this is a fact of life in modern Ireland that requires us to explore what it means for us to care for and welcome the stranger, be that stranger a permanent or merely a temporary resident. I want to share with you some insights I gained last week at a meeting of the Primates of the Porvoo Communion in Dublin.
The Archbishop of Latvia spoke of the impact of emigration on his own country and countrymen. He told us that:
- 86,000 Latvians work or study abroad, mostly in Britain and Ireland
- 200,000 may leave Latvia in the next ten years
- 60% of Latvians look positively on moving away
- 40% have considered it for themselves
- 22% may emigrate in the next two years
Imagine the impact of all of that on Latvians as a nation and on their country. Already it is difficult to get builders in Latvia. They have to be recruited from Ukraine and Moldova and elsewhere. Latvians abroad want to keep up contact with their home Church, which is Lutheran. It may be that Latvian Lutheran pastors will be sent to minister to ex-patriot Latvians.
Most Latvians abroad want someday to return home but are away for economic reasons and because of working conditions at home. This can mean that families are separated for 8 years or more. They also need, as all humans do, contact with compatriots in the diaspora. We heard of Lithuanians children without parents, brought up by grand parents, who see their natural parents only once a year.
I tell you all of this to give you a flavour of what it may be like to be the stranger in our midst, and what price such people pay. What contribution has the Church to make to this issue? The assumption too easily made is that all migrant workers are Roman Catholic. That assumption is wrong, but even if it were not, do the words “I was a stranger and you took me in” ring in our ears? How are we to respond to the opportunities of service offered by the influx of people from across the world? I shall invite a working group to address these issues and recommend a strategy.
4. The challenge of climate change and environmental responsibility can hardly be over emphasized but what are we doing about it? We hear of eco-congregations: what are they and where are they? The least we can do is follow the lead at central church level and identify recommended steps that respond to the challenge that faces the world. The Church must practice what it preaches or it is discredited. We cannot preach environmental responsibility and not practice it. We cannot be what God made us, fellow stewards in caring for creation, and not study what that means for and demands of us. I shall invite a group to address these issues.
5. and 6. Suicide and self harm, and linked to that problematic drug and alcohol abuse are major issues confronting the parishes of this diocese, as events in the past months have shown. Yet, most clergy, and indeed, most people feel totally ill equipped either to intervene or to respond after a tragedy. BSR(NI) has produced a strategy for parishes on drug and alcohol issues, training and expertise are available to help in dealing with the tragedy of suicide and self harm. We need to make that information and training widely available and we will. However, underlying causes are not always easy to establish. There is certainly no single cause, although dysfunctional families and a dysfunctional society no doubt play their part. We need to give much thought to the causes of the human misery that lead to such events and to the way in which we, as a community of faith respond. I will appoint a group of people to identify what we as a diocese can do to give hope and help in time of need. Meanwhile I want to commend the ministry of three of the clergy of the diocese who have been confronted with the devastating effects of suicide in their own parish settings, they are the Revd Brian Harper, Rector of Mullavilly; the Revd Shane Forster, Rector of Ballymore; and the Revd Alan Parkhill, Rector of Clonfeacle and Derrygortreavy.
7. The last item on my list was that of Developing a wider vision of the Church. It seems to me that this has two quite distinct dimensions: the first has to do with ecumenical engagements with fellow Christians of denominations other than our own; the second has to do with developing our knowledge and experience of the life of the Church worldwide. Along with a bigger vision of the Church we also open ourselves to a bigger vision of God in all His majesty, expressed through so much diversity.
I want us to develop closer local links with fellow Christians and also to develop diocesan links with dioceses outside Ireland. We are part of the Porvoo Communion, ought we not to learn about the Lutheran Churches of the Scandinavian and Baltic countries with which we are linked? Equally, we are part of the Anglican Communion, should we not seek partnerships elsewhere that give us a sense of the richness of the faith of others and the diversity of Christ’s kingdom. I will set up a working group to consider these matters and make recommendations to the Diocesan Council.
POSTSCRIPT
All that I have set out will not – could not – be enterprised or taken in hand all at once. We shall take our time and we shall need people with gifts and enthusiasm to work together in a common enterprise. Therefore, let me issue this invitation: if any of the initiatives that I have proposed strike a chord with you – any of you – or seem to be an area in which you feel that you would like to make a contribution, please tell me so. As I did with General Synod, so I shall do with the Diocesan Synod. I shall write to each synod member inviting each of you to offer your views and to offer to serve. I shall also feel free to look outside the existing membership of synod to find people with enthusiasm and expertise to help us in our task.
Furthermore, I shall neither be the chairman nor a member of any working group: this is not my work but our work, the work of the whole diocese planning and praying and acting together for the extension of Christ’s kingdom and the Glory of God. Together let us do the work of God.
Thank you for your patience in listening to me for so long.
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