Press Releases16 Oct 04

Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh Diocesan Synod presidential address

PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS

delivered by
The Right Rev. Ken Clarke, Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh
to
The Synod of the Dioceses
on
Saturday 16th October2004
in the
Shannon Key West Hotel, Rooskey, Co. Roscommon

"MUMMY WHAT GROWS WHEN YOU PLANT A BOMB?"

What are we passing on to our Children?

I begin this year's Synod address with a conversation during a coffee break in Castlewellan Castle, Co. Down. It was two weeks ago today. It was the first Parish week-end of the Newry Church of Ireland parishes. One mother told me about the following conversation she had with her 4 year old daughter some years ago during the height of The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Her daughter was watching her planting daffodil bulbs in the garden. She then asked, as children often do, a searching and penetrating question. "Mummy, what grows when you plant a bomb?? What grows when you plant a bomb??"

In today's post-modern Western culture the god of the now is extremely popular, and various expressions of violence are all too common. Any serious thought about the consequences of actions is often obvious by its absence. Violence has negative consequences whether it is a bomb or a gun, terrorist or state violence, personal or corporate violence. It may be expressed as cruel violence in a school in Beslan, in the obscene terrorism of the beheading of Kenneth Bigley in Iraq, in the senseless gunning down of a 14 year old girl on the streets of Nottingham. One thing is sure. Violence will have consequences. It always has consequences. Selfish violence breeds violence!

The question asked by this little girl is a vitally important one and is a real challenge to all adults. What grows when you plant a bomb? and it leads me to questions both church and country need to address: What are we doing to our children? What kind of society and culture are we creating for our children? What kind of society are we passing on to them?

Passing On?

It has been the year of the Olympics and the Para Olympics. Some of the most exciting events in the Olympics are the Relay races. The Relay races are about teamwork and passing on a baton. When the baton is not passed on successfully to the next athlete then the consequences are serious. The baton can be missed or dropped. When it is passed on effectively there is further progress in the race. What are we passing on to the next generation? What grows as a result of our attitudes, actions, values and life-styles? What are we planting? What are the results and consequences of decisions we make? What grows when you plant a bomb?

At the beginning of the 21st Century with all our knowledge education and resources what are we doing to our children? Good progress has been made by Church and State in fostering safer environments for children, in improving children's health and educational opportunities, in the greater protection of children through the initiation and implementation of child protection policies. So many developments are to be welcomed and applauded. However other aspects of the world and culture of children and young people are causes for both concern and action. The Church has a God-given responsibility to be a voice for the voiceless and to defend the rights of the needy. The wisdom of the Book of Proverbs is expressed this way

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Proverbs 31:8

Vitally Important Questions

Vitally important questions need to be asked and addressed. Why are so many children and young people lacking a sense of personal value and meaningful purpose in life? Why are suicides amongst young people increasing so much? Why in the United Kingdom are 3.6 million children still living in poverty and nearly half are outside the deprived areas where Government support is concentrated? Why in the Republic of Ireland (according to the End Child Poverty Coalition) are 66,000 children still living in consistent poverty and 237,000 living in households with incomes below the poverty lines? Why has such excessive alcohol and binge drinking become such a mark of youth culture? Do we need to look deeper than the statistics to moral values, fragile relationships and a search for new spiritual foundations?

Fintan O'Toole wrote in an article in the Irish Times, A culture of extreme repression in Ireland has been replaced by a culture of extreme tolerance. Too many young people are left in a moral wilderness that is in its own way almost as deathly as the airless room into which the old system once locked them. Do we need to re-visit the traditional Christian principle and value of the common good and that includes what is not only good but the best for our children?

The Contrasting Worlds of Children

Just think about the totally contrasting worlds of children in Ireland and in different parts of our global village, worlds which illustrate moral confusion and child exploitation. Think of the worlds children live in. Children inhabit a military world, a starving world, a sweat shop world, an abused world, a loveless world, a sectarian world.

Military World

For too many children their world is a military world a war torn world. They have never known normality nor peace in their country or region. We see photographs of young boys and girls, some as young as 9 years old, dressed in military uniform, with machine guns dangling from their shoulders. In the 9 years of their short life they have already seen more cruel senseless violence than most of us will witness in a lifetime. Sometimes they have watched the brutal and violent murder of members of their own family. It is estimated that there are 300,000 child soldiers around the world today. The Archbishop of Canterbury is absolutely right in saying that urgent and concerted international action is needed to end the abuse of children as military combatants.

Sweat Shop World

Think of the sweat shop children. Yes, they have employment but it is a 21st century form of slavery, a new kind of torture, degrading and loveless. An increase in profit is more important than the welfare of people. Can the value of a child be measured in a few dollars or monetary gain?

World of Abuse

The abused child lives in a terrifying world of adult sexual gratification. If you don't do this are the words spoken by an adult and they are often the introduction to another round of indescribable terror, utterly selfish exploitation and heart-rending pain. Addicts seem to forget that child pornography involves real children, children who have feelings and needs, real boys and girls who have been robbed of a childhood world by self-centred and sex-centred adults. We don't like to hear them, but some of the strongest words of condemnation to come from the lips of Jesus concerned those who abuse and hurt children.

A Sectarian World

The sectarian child has not developed in a vacuum. Like Aids the disease of sectarianism has been passed on from parent to child. It is amazing what children absorb. It is absolutely true that so many of their values and attitudes are caught, not just taught. We are what we eat is the title of a recent Best Seller. Too many of our children have been fed the Big Macs of sectarianism and sectarian comments can really hurt. Sectarian labels and names can damage and diminish a sense of worth. Sectarian songs that are sung can taunt and tease. Sectarian bullying can injure and wound. Sectarianism is like deadly venom in the orange and green veins of Irish society. It affects everything we are. Sectarian language attitudes and activities do not come out of a vacuum. They have been passed on from the older generation to the younger, from adults to children, from mothers and fathers to sons and daughters.

What grows when we plant sectarian bombs or seeds of hate and misunderstanding? The history of Ireland is the answer to that question. 3, 000 lost lives is the answer to that question. Broken hearts, grieving loved ones, divided communities, are the consequence of centuries of sectarianism. Bombs have exploded not just because they were planted but because sectarian seeds were planted. Thank God it is changing. In both North and South we see many initiatives designed to foster mutual understanding increasing respect and new networks of relationships.

In Northern Ireland we are grateful for the establishment of NICCY Northern Ireland Commission on Children and Young people. In the Republic of Ireland we affirm the aspirations of the Minister for Children. In our own Diocese we are grateful for all who work with our children and young people, GFS leaders, G.B. and B.B. leaders, Mike Edwards our Youth Officer, all who are involved with MAD(Music Arts and Drama), the teachers and staff in our national and Secondary schools, our Sunday School teachers. In the wider Church of Ireland the vitally important work of the Hard Gospel Committee continues and in the next year we hope to see some exciting new developments which we trust will be a significant step towards eradicating sectarianism in both Church and society. The work of the Hard Gospel Committee has not finished, it is now only beginning its work to address one of the most serious social diseases which has marked our society both North and South.

Sectarianism has been one of the roots of terrorism and one of the fruits of bitterness. The baton of bitterness has been passed on. Why poison another generation of children when they deserve so much better? Christians are to pass on truth not distortion, wholesome values not the vitamins of violence. Our children deserve no less than words which heal and new attitudes of respect and love.

A World of Poverty and Starvation

Think of the starving children confused, hungry, crying out for even a tin of water a small piece of bread. Their pain is matched by the pain of their parents frantically trying to find food to eat, hopelessly resigned to not finding any. Many are in their graves before they are ever in school, if there is a school to attend! They are headlines one month. They are forgotten back-numbers for the rest of their lives. 800 million people will die of hunger this year, many of them children. 24,000 will die today, at least 5,000 during our synod the duration of our Synod. They don't hit the headlines as much as they used to. Perhaps we have become immune to their cries but children still starve to death in 2004. The daily bread is not daily. Basic necessities do not exist. The wealth and abundance enjoyed by the West is not shared fairly with the rest. The children suffer.

The Church is called to go to and serve the last the least and the lost. Starving children break Gods heart. I applaud the work of mission societies and charities which seek to resource those who are helping starving and forgotten children in different parts of the world. In Christ's Name they pass on Christian love and care. They are to be not only commended but wholehearted supported. In our parishes and in the Diocese I believe we need to strengthen and increase our support for those who are serving and ministering in other parts of the world. A local vision and a global vision are marks of a healthy church. This double vision is Christ's vision, a vision for Jerusalem, Judea and the uttermost parts of the earth. It is a vision for our parish, our community, our county and country, our world. During the coming years I pray that we will become more committed world Christians and impatient with a Christian vision which is no wider than our particular ecclesiastical ghetto or cul de sac

In the light of these realities...

Where do we go and what do we do?

I make a five-fold plea to all adults and then I will suggest 10 commitments. I make a plea for 5 priorities

* Give back to the children their childhood!
* Take steps to ensure they have a childhood marked by fun imagination love and safety!
* Don't deprive them of the most formative period of their lives! Let children be children!
* Let them know how valued they are!
* Recognize and affirm the high value given by Jesus to each and every child!

Every child is a special needs child in that each one needs to know how special they are! Each one needs to know that each one, regardless of colour class or creed, is loved and respected. They deserve much better than some of what we are passing on to them.

I am asking for a renewed commitment to our children and young people. Our parishes are not called to be adults only clubs! Yes, in some areas the numbers of children and young families have decreased. This has been the social trend. However in many parishes they are there, but are they welcome? Do they understand what is going on? Are we willing to understand and enter their world? Are we committed to exploring new and appropriate ways of relating the Gospel to their needs and dreams? Do we need a total change of mindset concerning the spiritual needs and Christian nurture of our children? It is estimated that in England over 40% of churches have no children's ministry, that only 15% of the nations children have contact with any church. Christianity is not an adult only phenomenon. The Lord of the Church loves children and welcomes them we are called and commissioned to follow His example.

What can we do?

I suggest, not another 10 commandments, but 10 commitments we can make as a Diocese and as Parishes.

* Welcome and affirm children in our times of worship!
* Make sure that our churches are child friendly!
* Ensure that the children of our parish and country are not the forgotten or neglected ones!
* Give our children the best!
* Recognize the power of example!
* Re-discover the love of Jesus for children and be a part of a church which expresses it!
* Explore ways in which our church can communicate a living faith to our children and grandchildren, worshipping communities which inspire and include them.
* Pass on to our children the flames of attractive purity, biblical principle, healthy positive life-styles and Christ-like living.
* Help them to know beyond shadow of doubt their worth value and potential human beings made in the image of God and for whom Jesus died.
* Develop a global vision and become world Christians helping all children to realize their God-given potential!

The Olympics may be over for this year but our race continues the Christian race in which we have the privilege of passing on to our children the Good News of forgiveness freedom and new life in Christ. We know what grows when bombs are planted. We also know what can grow when the bombs of Gods grace and truth are planted in our lives, in the church and in our country.

Diocesan Changes

We welcome into our Diocese Geoff and Naomi Wilson and their family in Swanlinbar, Arthur and Brigit Barrett and their family in Riverstown and Boyle, Raymond and Bobbie Moore in Drung and next month Craig and Veda Macauley in Virginia.

At the end of August Dean David Griscome moved to England to care for his elderly mother. We thank him for his years of service in this Diocese both as Rector and Dean. At the end of this month Dean David Godfrey retires and we pray that he and Heather will have many years of happy retirement. We thank Canon John Merrick for his years of conscientious and dedicated commitment as Headmaster of Sligo Grammar School and his wife Roberta for her immense contribution to the life of the school. We welcome Johns successor Mr Wynn Oliver and we know that he will continue to develop and strengthen the good traditions of that school. We are sorry that Sue Patterson is leaving the Diocese. We thank Sue for all her work and pray that she will enjoy her new responsibilities as Rector and Dean in one of our neighbouring Dioceses.

Thank you

The longer I am in this Diocese the more I appreciate the tremendous team of volunteers we have, not least in our Diocesan Secretariat. Thank you to our Secretaries Maud and Cyril and to our Treasurers Canon Richey, Des and John for the mammoth amount of work they do, not just in preparing for Synod but throughout the year.

Members of Synod it is a privilege to serve the Lord and serve you in Kilmore Elphin and Ardagh. Together may we plant sow reap and trust God to give the increase! We have seen enough of what grows when bombs of semtex are planted. Let us determine to plant the bombs of sincere faith and watch what grows!