Diocesan News12 Oct 11

An Interview with the new Bishop of Clogher

The Rt Revd John McDowell, previously Rector of St Mark’s, Dundela (Down) and an Honorary Secretary of the General Synod, was consecrated as Bishop of Clogher in St Macartin’s Cathedral, Enniskillen, on Friday 23rd September and enthroned in St Macartan’s Cathedral, Clogher on 2nd October; he will be enthroned in St Macartin’s Cathedral, Enniskillen on 16th October. As Bishop McDowell takes up his new position, he spoke to the Church of Ireland Press Officer Paul Harron. (This interview first appeared in The Church of Ireland Gazette on 7 October 2011.)

PH: What are your first impressions of your new Diocese and how will you approach leading it?
+J: These are very first impressions and no doubt will be modified as my depth of knowledge grows. There are clear opportunities within the Diocese, one made up of largely rural communities, each with a clear understanding of itself but very much parts of a whole diocesan family. The Diocese of Clogher is big enough to have a range of talents, reflecting the various traditions and expressions of the Church of Ireland, but it is also small enough for people to make their own contributions to the life of the diocese – to be noticed when those contributions are made and also noticed when not made.

There are some very grand metaphors in the New Testament for what Church is. One of the more homely and appealing ones, however, is that of ‘a household of faith’. The interest of family life lies in the variety within it. Diversity within the ‘household’ is to be welcomed. I see that the underlying instinct within the Diocese is that all are part of the same family, however individually different; each parish is like a child of the family, each unique, all part of the whole.

PH: What challenges do you envisage as Bishop, and what do you bring from your experiences of ministry?
+J: Well, my first one was the Diocesan Synod just five days after my Consecration…
The obvious major challenge is in getting to know the Diocese. I move here from a large Belfast parish; however, I have worked in a rural setting in Co. Antrim previously. While that was a very different community, I do, I hope, have a capacity to pick up on the distinctive characteristics of the great variety of life in rural settings.

The nine years which I spent in St Mark’s, Dundela have been formative in my ministry. It was a parish with an incomparable range of people from many different types of backgrounds and with a wide range of activities going on. I came to value greatly getting to know parishioners well. We said the Divine Office every day and in knowing people well it was, of course, much easier to pray for them. Getting to know people in Clogher will, therefore, be vital.

I’m looking forward also to getting to know the West of Ulster and sharing in its distinctive life. I know that being in the West means not having to look over your shoulder at what is happening in Belfast because the region has its own vitality and flavour. I will also have to get used to ‘Fermanagh time’.

One of my first duties is to dedicate a former schoolhouse as a parish hall for Clontibret. This will be a resource for the whole community. That’s a debut for me and I’m looking forward to be part of community life in that way.

PH: How do you see your role as Bishop?
+J: I see the role of the bishop as being a focus of unity, as well as to be a pastoral resource for his/her clergy. It is a Eucharistic ministry. This is not just about presiding at the Eucharist but understanding and conveying ministry as an expression of thankfulness, expressing the gratitude of the people of God for the life that has been given to them.
ENDS