Church of Ireland Gazette Banner Logo


Friday 5th October, 2007
You are here: Home - 5th October 2007 Index Page

Front Page

US bishops make positive move on inter-Anglican crisis

he Archbishop of Canterbury addresses the US House of Bishops in New Orleans
The Archbishop of Canterbury addresses the US House of Bishops in New Orleans

Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori is seated at the table, left. After nearly a full day of deliberations, on 25th September the House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church in the United States (TEC) agreed overwhelmingly by voice vote to "exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider Church and will lead to further strains on communion".

Editorial

A STEP FORWARD IN NEW ORLEANS

Last week’s New Orleans meeting of the House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church in the United States (TEC) had been at the centre of attention because of the request by the Primates’ Meeting that there should be a response from the Americans by 30th September to certain points raised by the Primates in relation to the current inter- Anglican controversy over same-sex relationships. Full Text

Home News

Successful unique fundraising rail journey by Bishop of Cashel

Bishop Michael Burrows (left) is greeted at Portlaoise station by members of Portlaoise and Stradbally parishes
Bishop Michael Burrows (left) is greeted at Portlaoise station by members of Portlaoise and Stradbally parishes

In less than 36 hours over the two days of 19th and 20th August, the Bishop of Cashel and Ossory, the Rt Revd Michael Burrows, raised over €40,000 for the Railway Children project in Tanzania through the Church of Ireland Bishops’ Appeal.

East Belfast church reopens with community centre

Willowfield’s music group at the reopening of the church
Willowfield’s music group at the reopening of the church

Willowfield parish church in East Belfast, Diocese of Down, was reopened at a special service on Sunday 16th September. The redbrick Victorian building has been in the hands of builders for the last two years, during which the Sunday services took place in the nearby church halls.

Institution

The Revd John Tanner (2nd right) is pictured following his institution

The Revd John Tanner (2nd right) is pictured following his institution as rector of Tullow, Diocese of Dublin, with the Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd John Neill, and churchwardens, Hilary Cran (left) and Patricia Stewart (right).

Kilmakee project helps overcome addictions

By Karen Bushby

Dennis McCarroll and Rosie Armstrong-Woodroffe at the Well Springs project
Dennis McCarroll and Rosie Armstrong-Woodroffe at the Well Springs project.

At his lowest ebb, Dennis McCarroll would stagger drunkenly to the grave of his 10-year-old daughter, Nichola, and sleep there. The grave was as comfortable as many of his other sleeping places – parks, doorways, the pavement – for, in the three years after his daughter died, the street was his home.

Armagh Diocesan Board hosts immigration seminar

By Shane Forster

The Armagh Diocesan Board of Social Responsibility, in conjunction with the Hard Gospel project, recently hosted a seminar in the Armagh City Hotel, at which some of the issues and stories around immigration were discussed. The evening was chaired by the Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Revd Alan Harper, and began with perspectives on aspects of immigration from six people, ranging from those involved in the wider business and Church community to those from within the Armagh Diocese.

New private secretary to Archbishop of Dublin

Lucy Connolly
Lucy Connolly

Lucy Connolly has been appointed as the new private secretary and personal assistant to the Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd John Neill.

CMH 75th anniversary service

To mark its 75th anniversary, the Church’s Ministry of Healing is holding a service of thanksgiving and celebration in St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast, on Thursday 18th October, at 8.00pm. The special preacher will be Brother David Jardine, the Director of Divine Healing Ministries

Institution

The Revd John Auchmuty (4th right) is pictured following his institution as rector of St Columba’s, Knock, Diocese of Down

The Revd John Auchmuty (4th right) is pictured following his institution as rector of St Columba’s, Knock, Diocese of Down, with (left to right) the Revd Simon Doogan, diocesan registrar; the Revd Gill Withers, vicar of Knock; Archdeacon Philip Patterson; Canon Walter Laverty, rural dean; Bishop Harold Miller; Bishop Edward Darling, preacher; and the Revd Harold Good, former president of the Methodist Church in Ireland. (Photo: Carolyn Stalker)

Tuam, Killala and Achonry Synod

By Aean Ferguson

This year’s Diocesan Synod was held in the Tuam Synod Hall following a celebration of Holy Communion in the adjoining St Mary’s Cathedral, during which Dean Alistair Grimason installed the Ven. Gary Hastings as Archdeacon of Tuam.

World News

‘Watch this space’ says new Anglican leader

"Watch this space! The archbishop does not work alone. I will look at where the Church is and the context it is working in,’’ said Bishop Thabo Makgoba, of Grahamstown, when he was elected to succeed Anglican Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane, of Cape Town, on 25th September.

Inter-Anglican Commission reports on ‘communion’

The major task of the Inter-Anglican Theological and Doctrinal Commission, meeting from 10th to 16th September in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was to bring to a conclusion the consultative study on the Communion, and a communiqué stated this had been accomplished successfully, producing a significant report on the nature and sustaining of Communion.

Anglican leader prays for Burma nation

The leader of the Anglican Church in Myanmar, Burma, has said that he is praying for the nation, as thousands of Buddhist monks have taken to the streets of the capital in non-violent protests. "We pray for peace and the future of the country," said Anglican Archbishop Samuel San Si Htay.

Apology by Protestant Church to Pentecostals in the Netherlands

The Protestant Church in the Netherlands has apologised to Pentecostals for negative attitudes held in the past by Reformed and Lutheran Christians towards members of Pentecostal Churches.

Calls for universal suffrage renewed by Hong Kong Christian leaders

Following the beginning of a public consultation by Hong Kong’s government on the nature and timing of democratic reforms, Christian leaders in the country have renewed calls for universal suffrage in the former British colony.

Letters to the Editor

The 25th September 2007 Statement of the House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church

A Comment from the Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Revd Alan Harper, issued on 26th September 2007 in response to a Gazette enquiry:

I have read with some care the statement issued yesterday from New Orleans. I believe the statement to be helpful and deserving of a generous response. I note, in particular, the following commitments: 1. In accord with resolution B033 of the General Convention of 2006, "to exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider Church and will lead to further strains on communion".

Soap

Harvest time! It was Saturday morning and Fiona was woken up by the incessant and excitable yelps of Molly, their Jack Russell, at the back door. "Go and see what’s up, will you?", she said to Steve as she poked him in the ribs. "Huh? What? What’s wrong?" Steve was dragging himself up through layers of consciousness from a very deep sleep. Pulling on a dressing gown, he padded off downstairs to let Molly out.

Popular Culture

Russell Crowe vs. Jodie Foster

There have been revenge films a-plenty at the movies this year – from Quentin Tarantino’s alternately interminably boring and visually horrifying Death Proof to the unremittingly bleak Death Sentence. The Brave One, starring Jodie Foster, and 3.10 to Yuma, with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale, join these two in exploring what violence means, and how to respond to it.

Life Lines

Rock of our salvation

People recently queued in their hundreds - even thousands - to withdraw their hard-earned savings from Northern Rock, one of Britain’s largest mortgage lenders. For three days they queued, and then the queues went away. Others tried, often without success, to do the business electronically. £2b went out of the bank in those three days. Panic? Prudence?

Yours Faithfully

A fairly proposition

Talked to a smart woman in her sixties on the plane the other day. Short hair, coloured, well cut; blue cashmere dress, draped scarf in toning shades; navy court shoes, medium heel; soft leather briefcase; no wedding ring. She saw the collar under the scarf, and assured me she had no problems with women priests herself, thought the theological arguments against them were "specious" – her word. But she felt that, in her Church, a lot of the push for change was from educated women who weren’t content to be just members of the congregation any more, women who wanted to be important, standing up the front waving their arms around, instead of sitting anonymously in the middle. True of men too, she added, after a pause.

News Extra

Dean of Armagh enters synodical reform fray

The Dean of Armagh, the Very Revd Patrick Rooke, has stepped into the ongoing North/South controversy over representation on the General Synod. In an article published in the ‘Hot Potatoes’ section of the Hard Gospel Project’s website, Dean Rooke says that the current system of General Synod representation seems to him to be "a good compromise" between, on the one hand, the view that says that representation should be proportional to numerical strength of dioceses, and on the other hand, the view that "a diocese is a diocese is a diocese"

Psychotherapy and Spirituality Conference

The Third Annual International Conference on the interplay between psychotherapy and spirituality will be held at the Slieve Croob Mountain Inn, Castlewellan, Co. Down on Friday 19th October from 10.00am-4.00pm.

Missionary and social justice campaigner

A conference is to be held on Friday 12th - Saturday 13th October in the Synod Hall at St Mary’s Cathedral, Tuam, marking the centenary of the birth of Loughrea-born missionary and Christian socialist, Bobby Burke. On Tuesday 16th October at 7.30pm there will be a launch of the Bobby Burke Book Collection in Loughrea Library.