Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from 'The Irish Times'
Saturday 7 May 2011
General Synod Meets in Armagh
The General Synod will meet in the Armagh City Hotel next Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
As is usual much of the Synod’s time will be occupied with considering reports from the Standing Committee, the committees and commissions which report to it, and from the Representative Church Body. Among the bodies whose work will be debated this year are the Pensions Board, Board of Education, Youth Department, Commission on Ministry, Marriage Council, Covenant Council, Commission for Christian Unity and Dialogue, Council for Mission and the Liturgical Advisory Council
There will be legislation to consider relating to the provision of a prayer for Northern Ireland in the Book of Common Prayer, the regulation of local ecumenical partnerships, committee membership, stipends and the chapter of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh. In addition there will be motions for debate on education in Northern Ireland, a code of conduct for clergy, and the implementation of the Hard Gospel project. However, the most considerable matter for debate is likely to be the Anglican Covenant and whether or not the Church of Ireland should subscribe to it.
Associated with the Synod will several ancillary events. On Friday Changing Attitude Ireland will host a lunchtime talk in Armagh City Hotel by Mr Paul Rowlandson on ‘Parents Speak: My Child is Gay’. At the same time the Primate will launch a new on-line publication from Church of Ireland Publishing. The Book of Common Prayer (2004) Commentaries, by Canon Michael Kennedy, is a comprehensive treatment of all the authorized services in the BCP which is intended as an aid, especially for those in training for ministry, to deepen understanding of the Church’s liturgical heritage. Since liturgy is constantly evolving the online publication will readily facilitate further additions and modifications to keep it up to date and constantly relevant. Another publication to be launched is The Extra Mile, a guide to community engagement and development for churches. This has been written by the Revd Earl Storey and the Revd Robert Miller for the Diocese of Derry and Raphoe. On Saturday evening the Council for Mission will host ‘Making the Most of Back to Church Sunday’, a world wide initiative which began in Manchester in 2004. The principal speaker at this event will be Michael Harvey, World Co-ordinator of Back to Church Sunday.
Today (Saturday) the Church of Ireland Historical Society will meet in Armagh while this afternoon the Group for the Study of Historic Settlement will visit St Fethlimidh’s Cathedral, Kilmore. At the Dromatine Inter-Church Gathering the Bishop of Down & Dromore will be one of the speakers on the theme ’Bearers of Hope – As We Journey Together’. This evening at 8pm Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, the St Cecilia Singers will give a concert of works by, among others, Bach, Fauré, Dowland and Monteverdi.
Tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon the Dean of Kilmore, the Very Revd Raymond Ferguson, will be the preacher at the annual service for the Friends of St Ronan’s Association in Colebrooke, Co. Tyrone. In Christ Church Cathedral the new Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Michael Jackson will be enthroned at a service which begins at 4pm. The Archbishop will preach and admission is by ticket only.
On Tuesday at lunchtime there will be a lecture in St Bartholomew’s Church, Belfast, on the subject of the theory and practice of restorative justice. The speaker will be Dr John Stannard, Senior Lecturer in Criminal Law in Queen’s University, Belfast.
The lunchtime recital in St Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick, on Wednesday will be given by student from Mary Immaculate College.