Diocesan News
Former Chief Constable Guest Speaker at Connor Synod
Former PSNI Chief Constable Sir Matt Baggott was the special guest speaker at the annual Synod of the Diocese of Connor held in Carrickfergus on 23rd September.
Returning to Northern Ireland for the first time since his retirement as Chief Constable, Sir Matt (pictured right with Bishop Abernethy) brought a message of encouragement to the diocese as he reflected on the topic of managing change.
Synod 2015 was held in the Methodist Centre, Carrickfergus, and was preceded by a Service of Holy Communion in St Nicholas’ Parish Church.
In his Presidential Address the Bishop of Connor, the Rt Revd Alan Abernethy, called upon people to speak up for refugees, not only in prayer but by working together with other churches in their parishes and lobbying politicians.
‘One of the marks of the church is meant to be of hospitality, of incarnating the presence of Jesus in the chaos and pain of the world,’ Bishop Abernethy said.
‘As individuals we can pray daily for governments, aid agencies, refugees and all volunteers. As parish communities we can open our church doors for prayer vigils when communities can pray together.’
He continued: ‘As this crisis deepens there is going to be the need for housing. It is important that refugees are given somewhere they can call their own for a period as they settle and not just to lodge in other people’s homes.’
The Bishop urged people to write to MLAs and MPs to encourage them to find ways of acting to help those in need and not to ignore the crisis.
Referring to the political crisis at Stormont, Bishop Abernethy said: ‘We desperately need to pray for fresh thinking and for leadership that can help us all move forward as we deal with the past, a past we cannot ignore.’
Later in Synod it was agreed, on the proposal of the Ven Stephen Forde, that the diocese write to the Government, urging it to take is moral responsibility to refugees seriously.
Mrs Janet Maxwell, Church of Ireland Head of Synod Services and Communications, gave a presentation on the Dignity in Church Life Charter.
All Reports were passed. Three Notices of Motion relating to an Amendment to Standing Orders, Representation on the General Synod and Amendments to Diocesan Regulation – Voting Procedures were also passed by Synod, as was a Motion on the Diocesan General Fund.
A Motion on Climate Change – Disinvestment by RCB prompted some debate. It was proposed by the Rev Canon John Budd who said: ‘We will soon be taking part in Harvest Services, thanking God and making us aware of our debt to him, but also of our responsibilities. We have to think about the consequences of our actions at home and elsewhere in the world.’ The Motion was passed by a majority vote.
Kicking off a lively evening session, musicians from St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast, gave a presentation on the Cathedral Choir Schools Project, a cross community initiative which teaches singing in three north Belfast schools. The presentation ended with music from the Cathedral Choir.
Archdeacon Stephen McBride conducted interviews with the latest members of team Connor – Karen Webb and Stephen Whitten, Evangelists with the north Belfast Centre of Mission, and Youth Officer Christina Baillie. Introducing the guest speaker, Bishop Alan said it was a ‘joy and delight’ to welcome the former Chief Constable to Synod. Sir Matt’s good humoured and very personal presentation was well received and was followed by a questions and answer session before Synod was formally closed.
For further information please contact:
Connor Diocesan Communications Officer
Contact Details
Karen Bushby
028 4066 0798
07766103880
[email protected]