Diocesan News
Bishop Ken Clarke's Presidential Address at Diocesan Synod
Kilmore Elphin and Ardagh Diocesan Synod
Bush Hotel, Carrick-on-Shannon
15th October 2011
Presidential Address given by the Rt Revd Ken Clarke
It is a pleasure to welcome you to another Diocesan Synod...my 11th as your Bishop. It was a genuine surprise for Helen and I to discover your plans to celebrate our 10 years with you. We will always remember that wonderful service in Kilmore Cathedral in February and the packed room in this hotel at the beginning of March. To all in the Diocese who were involved in any way we say a very sincere 'Thank you' for your kindness thoughtfulness and generosity. I have said it before and I will say it again, it is a great privilege to serve the Lord and to serve you as your Bishop. Ordained ministry is a high calling and a high privilege and I can honestly say that in 40 years I have never lost that sense of privilege.
However, the Church is not just about Bishops and clergy. We are a team together and I thank all those who serve in any way in our Diocese ... as Readers, members of Diocesan Councils and Committees, Vestry members, Church Wardens, Glebe Wardens, Mothers Union and Magazine Committees, musicians, choir and music group members, youth leaders in GFS, BB, or other youth activities. Thank you for all you give and all you do. To our Diocesan Secretaries Maud and Brigid who give so much of their time talents and abilities, Anne in the office in Cootehill, our Diocesan Treasurers and all office holders in the Diocese...Thank you. For our loyal and faithful Archdeacons and Deans I am sincerely grateful. You are great to work with! We also welcome to our clergy team one of the daughters of our Diocese, Naomi Quinn. Just a few weeks ago Naomi was ordained to serve as the first Intern Deacon in this Diocese. God bless you richly Naomi as you begin serving the Lord in ordained ministry.
In welcoming you I also welcome our guests from other churches, Fr. Francis Duffy, Rev. Noel Mills and Birinda. We also welcome our friends from CMSI, USPG, Bishops Appeal, Priorities Fund, TEAR Fund, GFS, Protestant Fund and Ecclesiastical Insurance.
When I was a young boy I was in the Cubs and Scouts. Every week we prayed the old prayer of St. Ignatius Loyola:
Teach us, good Lord, to serve you as you deserve,
to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest, to labour and not to ask for any reward,
save that of knowing that we do your will. Amen.
Those words have helped to mould me in my life and thinking. Today they are counter-cultural. So much of what motivates people in a consumerist culture is financial reward. In the Kingdom of God values and passions are different. The joy of knowing and serving the crucified and risen servant King is sufficient motivation to live a different kind of life. The greatest priority is to do His will, regardless of the cost ... and there is a cost. Christ comes first. The passion of the disciple is to please the Master. In my Synod address this morning I intend to look at some of Christ’s priorities for His people, the Church. In the life of His people prayer is foundational.
PRAYER
Through our Diocesan Forward initiative in this year of 2011 we have had a particular focus on prayer and I trust that for all of us we are making progress in our life of prayer, both corporately and personally. Prayer is a key which unlocks all kinds of blessings in the church and in the world. The whole of our Christian lives will be a journey in prayer and that journey will be experienced and expressed in many different ways. The disciples asked Jesus, 'Lord, teach us to pray.' That is our prayer as we move forward. It is the prayer of a learner. God’s people are to be a praying people. Our prayers can impact our nation.
A very clear example of this truth is to be found in the book of Chronicles. God’s words are so relevant to our context both in the UK and Ireland. They are as up to date as this morning's newspaper but are far more trustworthy.
'If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sins and will heal their land.' 2 Chronicles 7:14
God's call to his people is a call to humility and a call to prayer. Are His words not a word to His people in Ireland at this time? I am encouraged that churches and Christians in Ireland are being asked to have a special day of prayer on a special day this year. In just under a month's time the date will be 11 11 11. On the 11th of the 11th of the 11th please pray for Ireland. Prayer is a number 1 priority and who knows what can happen when God's people really pray. Pray for the church. Pray for communities. Pray for our politicians and business leaders. Pray for all those feeling the sharp bite of unemployment, trying to cope with huge mortgages which income can no longer sustain. Pray for those facing stretching and stressful personal circumstances with no apparent way out. Pray for the church, not least our own tradition at this time.
Please note that God's call is not just to humility and prayer ...i t is a call to seeking His face and repentance. God wants a clean church, a holy people, a Christ-like leadership. In the Church or Ireland we know the importance of this principle only too well. How often have we prayed, 'Clothe your ministers with righteousness.' As He is holy we are called to be holy. That too is a high calling. It is a call to a life of self-denial and selfless living. Such teaching sits very uncomfortably in a culture obsessed with pleasing self and demanding rights.
MISSION
Another of Christ's priorities for His people is mission. As he was sent into the world so are we. At the heart of His call to discipleship is the call to make disciples. The last command of Christ is to be a first priority in the Church. Too often we are ABC churches and our parish life is all about Attendance, Buildings and Cash. However, in seeking to maintain old buildings and reach our assessments sometimes we can lose sight of Christ's high calling to be a disciple making church. With this in mind our Forward initiative has designated 2012 as a year of mission. Of course every year is a year of mission. The Church is God's mission agency in the world. We are part of His mission.
We are asking that in every parish Group 2012 will be marked by some mission initiatives. These will be Good News events, activities and perhaps services that are marked by reaching out to people in our communities. It would be helpful before the end of this year to have some details of what is planned so that we can pray for one another as we seek to make disciples. Be imaginative, creative, adventurous, and faith filled. Let us help one another to be the missionary people God has called us to be.
CHURCH OF IRELAND
We cannot separate the mission of God and the unity of the people of God just as we cannot separate God's truth and God's love. We cannot separate Christ the friend of sinners from Christ the Lord of all. Following Him means not just being welcomed and accepted by Him, but living with Him and growing to be like Him in a life of holiness. These truths relate profoundly to our present challenges in the Church of Ireland. The recent well–publicised events within the Church of Ireland concerning the issue of serving clergy and civil partnerships are the context of these, my remarks to you, at this, our Diocesan Synod. I trust they will be helpful to you at this time.
1. The first thing I want to say is this - God loves everyone. I will say it again. God loves everyone. I will say it again. God loves everyone. There are no second class people in the heart of God. Last Sunday I had the privilege of preaching at the Harvest Thanksgiving and Flower Festival in Holywood Parish, the parish where I grew up. I remembered the many times I heard, in our weekly Service of Holy Communion, the words of Jesus as recorded by St. John, 'God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.' These truths are foundational. They relate to the nature of God, the means and cost of salvation, and an undeserved invitation from a generous God of grace. They speak of Divine initiative, human choice and eternal destiny.
2. Secondly, our primary identity as human beings is that the mark of God's fingerprints are on all of us. We are made in His image. With this identity comes our responsibility, to image the likeness of our Maker. Tragically the world, and the ease with which we are all deceived, robs us of this identity and twists our responsibility. Just as God loves everyone, so everyone is fallen. Everyone is sinful. Let me say it again. Everyone is sinful. As Leonard Ravenhill once wrote, 'If God had a "School of Failure", most of us would have graduated with Honours'. We all need to change and to be changed. Mercifully, gloriously, graciously, He gave us His son that we might not stay in our state of separation, but that we might believe and have life. Our primary identity is restored. As Christians we are in Christ, adopted into the family of God. Our primary responsibility is reframed. We are to bear witness to Christ ... Identity and responsibility. A holy nation, who we are to be – set apart and surrendered to Christ as our King. A royal priesthood, what we are to do – to intercede for the sake of others with His message of truth, forgiveness and grace. The people of God are chosen for His purpose, and we are changed by His power.
3. Thirdly, we come to Christ as we are yet He loves us too much to leave us that way. We discover Him to be the friend of sinners, and we submit to Him as our Lord who calls us to loving and radical obedience in a life of holiness and purity. Owning Him as Lord totally impacts and determines our life and lifestyle. The Christian life is a life of transformation as, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we grow in our faith and become more like the One we profess to follow. However, as we grow to look like Christ so too we grow to look less like the world He came to rescue. As the culture around us becomes ever more secular there will, increasingly, be times when the contrast between God’s law and civil law will become more apparent and the implications may be more costly for Christians.
4. Fourthly, who are we and how should we live? These are questions that each one of us no doubt asks during the course of our lives. These are the questions that we, as a Church family, must continually address if we are to live out our calling to His praise and glory. As with any family there will undoubtedly be disagreements along the way. In such times, the wise family will talk through the issues, listen to each other and find a way through them. I trust we as a Church family in the Church of Ireland, will do the same, recognizing that at all times we submit willingly and obediently to the mind of Christ as revealed in the Scriptures. So, I welcome and commend to you the process outlined in the Bishop’s Pastoral Letter. The Spring Conference, to which members of Synod and other guests will be invited, provides the opportunity to address who we are and how we should live. It is imperative throughout that we submit ourselves to the sustained and serious study of the Scriptures.
5. Fifthly, in the interim let me answer one question that some have raised with me. Some have asked if the teaching of the Church of Ireland has changed recently with regard to marriage and human sexuality. The answer is no, it has not. The teaching of the Church of Ireland is as stated in the recent Pastoral Letter from the Bishops. I quote,
'It is helpful, at the outset, to affirm clearly the teaching of the church on marriage. The Book of Common Prayer describes marriage as "part of God’s creation and a holy mystery in which man and woman become one flesh." It is to be monogamous, with a publicly declared intention that it be life–long. The church’s teaching has been faithfulness within marriage as the normative context for sexual expression.'
Although Canon 31 (1) is not quoted in the Letter from the Bishops it states clearly our Church of Ireland teaching:
'The Church of Ireland affirms, according to our Lord's teaching that marriage is in purpose a union permanent and lifelong, for better or worse, till death do them part, of one man and one woman, to the exclusion of all others on either side, for the procreation and nurture of children, for the hallowing and right direction of the natural instincts and affections, and for the mutual society, help and comfort which the one ought to have of the other, both in prosperity and adversity.'
Moving to the wider Anglican Communion the Bishops at the 1998 Lambeth said, 'This Conference, in view of the teaching of Scripture, upholds faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman in lifelong union, and believes that abstinence is right for those who are not called to marriage...' The full Lambeth 1:10 Resolution was re-affirmed and adopted by our Diocesan Synod in 2004. The teaching is clear.
6. Sixthly, I make a plea. I ask that in our conversations, discussions and debates we are faithful to Christ and the teaching of the Scriptures. We must discern truth and speak it in love. We must recognize the hurt, anxiety and trepidation that many will feel as we journey. Who are we as a church, as individuals, as families? How should we live, not just with our church structures but in our personal lives and human relationships? These matters touch us all. For many they may be deeply painful and poignant. There may be confusion and stress. There must be space for all to speak openly and honestly. As I said at the Service of Holy Communion at the beginning of our Synod, I pray we will all follow the example of the first Christians and devote ourselves to the apostles teaching as the source of truth, to fellowship as a sign of unity, to the breaking of bread at the table of grace, and to prayer on our knees as we humbly submit ourselves to Him. Then may we be struck with awe, seeing this land filled with signs and wonders, caring for the broken and needy, praising God, enjoying the favour of all people, and growing daily, yes daily, in number with those who are being saved. This is the hope of the Church because this is His church. This is the Church as God has called us to be. We are His people and may we live to His praise and glory. Amen.
South Carolina
Our links with South Carolina continue to deepen and grow closer. Our group of young people loved their time there this past summer and were truly blessed. Doesn’t it make everything worthwhile when we read the following in The Scribe, our Diocesan Magazine. One young person was describing a personal experience of God:
'To my own surprise and joy it took an overseas journey to realise I haven’t been living my life as I think God wants. On Friday the 15th in a small, warm cabin in Camp St. Christopher’s, Seabrook Island, South Carolina I became a real Christian. I realized that through every one of those people God was calling to me, desperately trying to pull me back to Him. The topic at camp was freedom. Now I know He is holding on tight to my heart I realize I have so much more freedom than before.'
Wonderful!
At the end of November, at the invitation of the Rev. Chuck Owens, a small team of our clergy and spouses will visit South Carolina for some training. Next year Chuck will bring a team to us and in the summer months a joint mission team from there and here will serve together as a Mission Team in another part of the world.
We thank God for this developing link and we assure Bishop Mark Lawrence and the people of his Diocese of our continued prayers for them, especially at this difficult time. They are amongst some of the most wonderful Anglican Christians I have ever met. Thank God for them and for their passion for Gospel ministry and mission.
Mike Edwards
Recently Mike Edwards retired as our Diocesan Youth Officer. Mike and his wife Liz have made a wonderful contribution to the life of our Diocese, not least in the lives of many of our young people and youth leaders. Thank you both for all you have given and we pray you will have a long, healthy and happy retirement. We are delighted that certainly for the foreseeable future you will remain in the Diocese.
Boards of Management
At this time the process has started for the appointment of new Boards of Management in our National Schools. I wish to thank our School Principals, the Chairpersons and members of our Boards of Management, for the wonderful work they have done and the time they have given during the past 4 years. Your work is never taken for granted. Thank you. We also congratulate Mr Edward Lindsay and the Staff of Cavan Royal for the inspiring events earlier this month celebrating 400 years since the appointment of the first Headmaster of the School.
Skills To Lead
One of the most positive developments in the Diocese has been the Skills To Lead Course. The Course is essentially practical and skills related. Amongst other things it is designed to build confidence and develop some basic skills which are useful in public speaking, conflict resolution, developing healthy relationships and chairing meetings. Maud Cunningham, Brigid Barrett and Hazel Hicks have given excellent leadership and training and we thank them. It is a great joy to join with the participants for the presentation of their certificates and to see their enthusiasm and hear their appreciation of the Course.
Conclusion
Members of Synod, we have much to give thanks for and much to look forward to. We are in the time of the year when Harvest is a familiar theme. I mentioned the importance of team at the beginning of this address. I pray that as members of God’s team we will so live and give, love and lead, serve as our Lord deserves that we will do His will. In this coming year may we see, sow and harvest His harvest fields. They are ripe in Ireland.
Bishop Ken Clarke, Bishop of Kilmore Elphin and Ardagh
ENDS
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